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Adding an engine

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Dean:
I was trying to add an engine to my HC-2. The HC-2 found the new engine, but when I tried to set it up, I got a message that I had reached the limit of engines in use. This is odd as I had just turned the power on to my layout and was not using the HC-2 for anything. I fooled around for a while with no success accessing the new engine.
I finally did a hard reset of the HC-2 using the button on the back. Everything works fine now.
Is it possible I didn't release the previously running engines?

Alan:
Do you in fact have more than 12 RP equipped locomotives on your layout? If so then it is possible you were unknowingly in control of 12 trains, the limit. The others may have been at idle so you did not notice you had control.

If you have 12 or less locomotives then overload isn't possible. Something funky is going on.

G8B4Life:
I'll second Alan's assessment.

It took me a while but I found the post about the max number in use message. It appears from the way I read it that loco's can stay in the actively controlled list after powering everything off if one doesn't wait enough time before powering off the HC and the track, even if the speed of the controlled loco's was set correctly at 0% before powering down.

http://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php?topic=213.msg1238#msg1238

- Tim

Alan:
I accidentally discovered this during testing of my circuit breaker prototype. The HC would hold a loco active even after the breaker powered down the track section. If the speed was above 0% when the breaker tripped the HC would hold the module indefinitely and the loco would return to moving at previous setting when the breaker reset. Only after lengthy breaker-off time or cycling HC power would the HC release the module. Lesson learned - just because track power is removed does not necessarily mean the HC released the module. The 10 second delay at 0% throttle setting in conjunction with 12 max operating modules governs when a module is released. Or simply power cycling the HC.

Tip: If you use block (zone) circuit breakers and one of them trips, make sure to set loco to 0% speed before examining/rectifying cause of short. Otherwise, you may be in for surprise train movement when the breaker is reset.

Dean:
Thanks for your replies.
The layout had been shut down for at least 18 hours. The HC-2 the same.
The engine I was adding was number 12. The HC-2 let me add it to the roster, but if I tried any thing else, I got the message 'too many engines are active...'
If it happens again, I'll try bringing up all the engines and then delete them from the running roster by making sure the throttle is at 000, and then close the page. Then wait 10 seconds to do the next engine.

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