Help needed to program the stack, Lenz LH100

[abenn]

For a long time I haven't bothered using a stack, just switching between locos by Clearing the existing loco number and Entering the new one I want to control.

I've been aware of the principle of the stack for some time, but have only just tried to implement it. The Lenz LH100 manual tells me how to switch between stack positions, and how to alter the size of the stack (up to 12 positions), but I can't find, or figure out, how to put the locos into the stack in the first place. My stack is populated, but not in a logical order, with some locos in there twice, and I don't know how any of them got there

Can somebody explain it please?

[Bigmet]

What version of the LH100 are you on is the first question. I suspect you will do best by reading the manual to obtain instructions on first completely deleting the stack, and then following the instructions for defining the stack and populating it. Since I don't bother with the stack at all on my Lenz system that's about the best I can suggest. (I have not long past cleared the entire 250 slots address list for the fourth time in coming up to twenty years ownership of a v3.6 unit. That's what happens when you use the Lenz regularly to talk to friend's decoders that other systems seemingly have trouble with...

[abenn]

Thanks for responding Bigmet. The LH100 keypad is labelled "Digital Plus". The 76-page manual which I printed when I purchased it in about 2004 refers among other things to ".... new and updated features in version 3.6". One of the new features it mentions is "New stack for quick change between up to 12 locomotive addresses ..... ". I've checked on the internet and the currently available manual appears to be the same version.

I can find nothing in the manual about clearing the stack, though I suppose that could be achieved by setting the stack size to 0. There's a section about switching between stack positions, but I still can't find anything about how to put loco addresses into the stack in the first place.

[centenary]

For a long time I haven't bothered using a stack, just switching between locos by Clearing the existing loco number and Entering the new one I want to control.

I've been aware of the principle of the stack for some time, but have only just tried to implement it. The Lenz LH100 manual tells me how to switch between stack positions, and how to alter the size of the stack (up to 12 positions), but I can't find, or figure out, how to put the locos into the stack in the first place. My stack is populated, but not in a logical order, with some locos in there twice, and I don't know how any of them got there

Can somebody explain it please?

In common with other DCC systems, isnt the stack automatically updated with any new loco you control, up to the unit's maximum number of locos? In other words, you dont need to 'add' a loco to the stack, it does it for you.

For example, my Prodigy Express has a stack of upto 25 locos.

As I add and call up a loco to run on the layout, this is added to the stack. If I call up and run 24 other locos in the session, my stack has 25 locos in it, ie 1 + 24.

If I call up a 26th loco in the session that is not already in the stack, the loco at the bottom of the stack drops out and the 26th replaces it at the top of the stack. Since the stack maximum is 25, there are only 25 locos in the stack.

Once I turn off the Prodigy, it automatically dumps 20 locos from the stack so that the last 5 used locos remain as ready to go in the next running session.

Id be surprised if other DCC systems do not follow similar stack protocol.

[abenn]

Thanks Centenary; from what I'm seeing that seems to be how it's working, though somehow loco #2 has got into the stack even though I haven't run it today.

I've discovered today that I can't reduce the stack size to less than 1 but, given that it seems I can't influence the order of addresses in the stack, it doesn't really matter because that being the case the stack doesn't seem to give any advantage over Clearing the current loco and Entering the new address I want to control, which is what I do at the moment

[aleopardstail]

don't currently have it, garage roof fell in (long story) but I used to run the Lenz system with the LH100. have to say while it was technically very capable it wasn't exactly user friendly to operate. I think the LH100 handset is meant more as a programming interface that can also drive trains with the LH90 being the main one for driving.

the Lenz software reminded me of SAP, software designed to extract vengeance for losing the war

[abenn]

Interesting observation aleopardstail I've never really had any problem with the LH100 -- was just wondering if there's a simpler way to switch between locos when I'm controlling several.

I've never seen an LH90 in the flesh, but from what I see on the web I see that I can switch simply between up to 8 locos by pressing the "A" key repeatedly. Sounds good, but not good enough to warrant replacing my LH100, especially as I presumably have to access my locos beyond #8 in some other way.

[Bigmet]

This tells you how often I look at the LH100manual, it was under a pile of receipts for decoders, the decoder on top of the manual was from 2012. And it's v3.0; a friend has the v3.6, but he's now in Canada...

Anyhoo, clearing the stack: enter an address of four zeroes, press ENTER, press 4 up to 25 times. HTH

[abenn]

Thanks Bigmet, I'll give it a try tomorrow. But I'm not hopeful because my 3.6 manual says the stack for 12 addresses is a new thing in v3.6 and, even if it does work, the way the stack is then populated seems to be at odds with what I hoped it would do.

[Bigmet]

There are two 'stacks' as I understand it, one is the collection of the 250 addresses entered, and on 3.0 there are the two most recently called up addresses which you can toggle between using the ESC key, and the latter I believe has been expanded to 12 addresses, but having no experience of this I know nothing of it. (Being something of an automaton myself, I just enter the numbers: there are only 94 traction units on the layout, so easy to remember.)

[abenn]

Address 0000 and several 4s doesn't seem to achieve anything in my LH100.

Seems like Entering the addess is the way I'll continue. With something less than 94 traction units it's no big problem for me

Thanks for all the contribuitions.