Engine ID Has Disappeared

Are you sure that ID didn't go to the inactive list?

This happened to me years ago and I had to reset the remote which deleted all the engines, then I added each back. This happened in DCS Version 3 or 4,  if I recall. I haven't heard of this happening in the latest Versions of DCS.

If you cloned the remote to ,your PC, you can transfer the engines back to your remote and the engine IDs will be back as you originally had it.

Vernon...no...that's the first place I looked...it is not there.  Thank you for your comment and suggestion.

Joe...I think I may just reset the remote any way...there's a lot of "junk" in there and nothing too precious for me to remove.  Definitely running the latest version (6.1) of DCS.  Thank you for your comments and suggestions.

Additional information:

I went back to the trains and attempted to crank up the Tablet and Wifi operation.  No problem with addresses and/or running anything...Engine #s 10 and 11 even were in there and worked as they should.

Further comments are appreciated.

You sort of answered your own question.  If the problem locomotive works correctly using the Wi-Fi app then, there is nothing wrong with the locomotive or the TIU.  That leaves only the remote.  I would reset the remote and, hopefully, that solves the problem.

@Danr posted:

You sort of answered your own question.  If the problem locomotive works correctly using the Wi-Fi app then, there is nothing wrong with the locomotive or the TIU.  That leaves only the remote.  I would reset the remote and, hopefully, that solves the problem.

Ok, not a resident repair wizard, so pardon me if what I ask is so obvious no one else has bothered to ask. If, as the OP says, this “glitch” occurred whlist in a lashup, and the engine ID dropped out, how can the problem be located in the remote? Despite working with the app, wouldn’t the problem still have to reside in the engine?

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

Ok, not a resident repair wizard, so pardon me if what I ask is so obvious no one else has bothered to ask. If, as the OP says, this “glitch” occurred whlist in a lashup, and the engine ID dropped out, how can the problem be located in the remote? Despite working with the app, wouldn’t the problem still have to reside in the engine?

No. I can understand your train of thought there, however, because the OP has both DCS app control and a DCS remote- they have 2 separate databases of engines with addresses. When they used the APP the engine responded to the ID so the engine saved it.

DCS- being a 2 way communications profile- if it cannot reach an engine normally places it into inactive list. In this case, somehow, someway, the DCS remote removed that ID from the list. It didn't change the engine just the remote does not have that ID.

So, I would ensure that ID slot is in fact clear and nothing there in the remote, put the engine on the track and use the add engine command. Normally that then tries to use the address the engine has as long as the remote has that same ID slot open.

I typed up this lengthy explanation last night but should never post when tired. I then save them externally where I can think about it with a clear head before posting.

@SD60M posted:

• I think I may just reset the remote
• I went back to the trains and attempted to crank up the Tablet and Wifi operation.  No problem with addresses and/or running anything...Engine #s 10 and 11 even were in there and worked as they should.

Your remote and your DCS copy of the app EACH have a database of all the engines you added. The catch 22 is, that PC backup or app backup, I don't think you can take and transfer between the app and the DCS remote to "sync" and have a matching database. FWIW, I actually intended one day to compare the app export for transfer file and the DCS remote backup, and then figure out if a translation could happen.

First thing is, so when you go to add an engine, the remote or app query the engine(s) on the track that have power and DCS signal. Then a handshake negotiation to determine the address of the engine happens and this is key how works:

Your remote or app has 1-98 slots in the database ID table. If you start with a blank database (reset remote or reset app) then it starts at one and works it's way up as you add addresses.

However- the exception. Say an engine is NOT reset to factory defaults and not sitting at ID1 in memory in the engine firmware. Instead it's a number like 10 because it was previously added to "a" DCS system (might be the previous owner). This then factors into that add engine ID equation. If your remote or app has not yet filled ID 10, then the new remote or new app add engine function adds it using the slot 10. However if  the remote or app has an engine already in slot 10, then it will add the engine to the next higher open slot. Example it could jump to 48 because your last engine added was 47 and 1 through 47 are full.

It's by shear luck, that using the app and the remote, if you add the engine to one, and then immediately add to the other and never skip an engine, and never have a problem- they might - match up. Eventually there is a risk of getting a mismatch.

What makes DCS unique or different from Lionel TMCC/Legacy is a few things:

#1 There is no program/run switch for DCS. This means that DCS engines (PS2 and PS3)are sent special commands during the add engine process. This special 2 way communications the engine provides it's details, road name, road number, and via a complex set of rules negotiates what the new ID slot will be based on what the engine has stored and what the remote or app have available for open ID slots.

#2 Even harder to grasp, the add engine function is NOT COMPLETE until well after you added the engine when the engine is shut down and loses track power- this is the key moment when that new DCS ID slot number is stored into more permanent memory from RAM!!! let me say this again, when you add engine, and that negotiates the new ID, and then you are running the engine for that session, that is only in volatile RAM (Random Access Memory) used by the microprocessor. The PS2 or PS3 engine then relies on batteries or supercapacitors to keep the processor and RAM powered when track power is lost, and then given that special state or condition, the engine firmware then stores from RAM the settings and new ID into more permanent storage as part of the firmware shutdown sequence. If the battery is dead or there is a problem with the supercapacitors, then the system will fail to store the new updated DCS ID and revert back to whatever was previously in the more permanent memory of the engine.

#3 As previously explained the ID slot number in the database either in the remote or app- typically it just adds to the next free unused slot. That said, there is an exception- if the engine previously has an ID other than the default 1, then that address is compared to the remote or app and if free, that address is used. This exploit is how you are adding to the app after previously adding to the remote and NOT getting an ID mismatch, however, that is just luck and events like this glitch of an engine disappearing  could wreak havoc.

Thank you, gentlemen.  I will continue to work on it...off and on.

I appreciate the detailed answers and kind response.

Larry, please keep us informed. Thanks.

If you do a reset of the remote and the ID for that engine does not come back, you might have a corrupt/bad memory location in the remote.