Start with that absolutely nothing about a computer or computing is intuitive to me. Add to that the fact I can read and usually follow not-too-complex instructions. So the scene is set.
After a year's absence due to a serious case of procrastination, I finally returned to the railroad room to start work again on the Paducah Switching layout. Following two days of cleaning, discarding, setting up the work bench, and putting things away, I turned to installing fascia, and then, the second NCE throttle. Fascia installation went well, with good friend Don Loso stopping by and assisting with holding and clamping Masonite strips. And the installation of the two throttles, likewise went fine ... the primary worked just like it was supposed to, capturing engine addresses ... horns, lights, everything. I then carefully measured the distance between the two throttle insertion points to eleven feet (the auxiliary throttle conveniently comes with a twelve-foot connecting cable), drilled the necessary holes, and attached the face plates. I even got down under the benchwork - with significant effort and even some pain - and strung and attached the connecting cable, as per directions.
Back in an upright position above the benchwork, I anxiously plugged in the auxiliary throttle, and ... nothing. Nada. Bumkus. Oh, the LED message window in the throttle lit up, but it would not accomplish any functions. No engine address capture, no horn, no lights, etc. Let's see, where are those directions? Do I remember something about the throttles also each having an address ... and did it say each had to have its own unique address? Ah, here they are, and yes, each throttle has to have a unique address and there are the four simple steps to set them.
Went through the four steps. Nothing. Maybe I hit a wrong key with my fat fingers. Do it again, more deliberately this time. Give it a try. Again, nothing. Thirty maddening minutes of reversing cables, exchanging throttle hookups, and every conceivable iteration I could think of, all with the same results ... nothing.
Next I did what I always do when I'm at my wits end on the railroad, call David James in Cleveland. David, readers of this blog will remember, is a dear friend, my model railroad mentor, and a devotee of the NCE system. Reached David ... he is on his way to a Chris Stapleton concert and off the top of his head, can't help me without the instruction book to check. But he does give me the phone number for Lee, from whom I purchased the system, and who is the absolute guru about all things NCE. Called Lee, got his answering machine. By now, I'm late for a dinner gathering with the neighbors, so shut everything down and left for dinner.
it was on the short drive to the restaurant and still thinking of the previous hour's frustrations, that a thought occurred: the throttle has an "enter" button, which I never pushed. The simple directions did not say "hit enter" and I didn't. I wonder ...
Returning home to a ringing telephone, it was Lee. I explained all that had gone on, adding the "enter" issue and asked if that could be the problem. He thought yes, told me go down and try it, and to call back if I still had problems. Went downstairs, turned everything on, carefully went through the four steps outlined, AND HIT ENTER.
SHAZAM!!! It works fine. Now on to non-computer stuff, like putting down ground cover, and building scenery, and running trains, and ...
