When I turn on the DCS240 and system, the DCS240 beeps 10 times and track power goes off. When I retry turning on track power, the 10 beeps occur again and the track power stays off. What is happening, and how do I fix this so I can run trains?
The DCS240 actively scans for conflicting Command Stations at Power up, any time Track power is turned ON, and additionally about every 2 minutes. If another Command Station is detected the DCS240 will issue 10 long beeps and the Track Power is turned off. The DCS240 will not allow track power to be turned on until the offending command station is removed from LocoNet or converted to a booster. In most cases it is easy to disconnect sections of the LocoNet wiring until a track power ON command is successful, and this connection typically leads to the offending unit that is in Command Station mode instead of being a Booster.
On modular layouts it is possible and/or common to connect and power up random LocoNet sections at setup or maintenance times, so having this continuous diagnostic screening capability ensures the layout is always configured so it will run properly and consistently.