Lionel Site About command control

Thanks for sharing! I would have missed this.

I do not have an answer to #1. Do you run all command control locomotives?

I always assumed those locomotives were powered but dark and quiet.

@BAM Railroad posted:

1. I have three levels of track that do not connect to one another. Reading through the new website for connecting the Base3, appears you can connect a wire to the back of the Base3 on the TMCC binding post to the ground/neutral post of your transformer. Since I have three transformers, one for each level of track, assume I need to connect three wires to the back of the Base3 and then to each transformer's ground/neutral post in order to be able to use the Base3 throughout my layout?

2. Watching video of others' layouts on YouTube, appears you can power up the command base and all of the locomotives on the layout sit idle and appear unpowered up until you call them up on the command remote or app. Are the locomotives truly "off" and unpowered, or is just the sound and lighting off until they are signaled by the remote? I am used to running Bluetooth where you power the track to 18V and all locomotives on the track come alive at once. Was hoping that I can have more locomotives on the layout at one time, some not drawing amps, until I am ready to use a couple of them at a time. Perhaps what I am seeing though on these videos is various blocks where certain sections of the track are turned off . . .

Thanks in advance for the help!

Yes connect all the transformer commons together assuming all you power supplies are in phase.  This is not new.  TMCC has always worked this way.

The engines are powered but waiting to be addressed and operated unless you use Block control to turn off power to that sections.  I turn off blocks all the time to not continuously have power to those tracks for no reason.

This post should be in the TMCC section.

@BillYo414 posted:

Thanks for sharing! I would have missed this.

I do not have an answer to #1. Do you run all command control locomotives?

I always assumed those locomotives were powered but dark and quiet.

Yes, they are all command control, or will be once the Base3 comes out (a few are LionChief).

@MartyE posted:

Yes connect all the transformer commons together assuming all you power supplies are in phase.  This is not new.  TMCC has always worked this way.

The engines are powered but waiting to be addressed and operated unless you use Block control to turn off power to that sections.  I turn off blocks all the time to not continuously have power to those tracks for no reason.

This post should be in the TMCC section.

Thanks Marty. Do the three transformers have to be in Phase if they each power their own loop of track that do not connect to one another?

@BAM Railroad posted:

Thanks Marty. Do the three transformers have to be in Phase if they each power their own loop of track that do not connect to one another?

No but if you need a command signal on all of them you are effectively connecting the common via the command base.  Good practice would be to make them in phase.

@MartyE posted:

No but if you need a command signal on all of them you are effectively connecting the common via the command base.  Good practice would be to make them in phase.

Sounds good. Are you able to share the process for putting them in phase? I currently have one GW-180 and two CW-80 transformers. Thank you.

Great to see this up so early in the month. Definitely a much needed and missed website with the LCS information. That's been down for some time.

Also- hoping we can get IRV2 and the sensors into production again.

The website is very comprehensive and has a lot of information.  I'm sure there will be some things that need updated but it's certainly great seeing Lionel Command back on the Lionel site!  Nice job Lionel!

@Vernon Barry posted:

Great to see this up so early in the month. Definitely a much needed and missed website with the LCS information. That's been down for some time.

Also- hoping we can get IRV2 and the sensors into production again.

I also hope to see the IRV2 and sensor sleds come back!  I have money in hand when they do!

This new site is great to see as it provides a convenient one-stop shop for Power, Control and LCS info.

It also seems to indicate that the LCS system and its' components are alive and well as I was concerned they were falling off of Lionel's radar.

The new Lionel Power/Control Website is off to a good start. The one thing I want to see on the website is an updated LCS App guide. Lionel's old LCS App Guide is no longer available on their website. Also, I want them to update the LCS App with some new features sometime in the near future.

Updates to LCS App I want:

-Larger track selection, including all available diameters of curves and switches and smaller fitter straight and curve track sections; also 30" straights and crossovers

-Better control of locomotives

-4-Digit Addressing

Thanks for the link, I missed the site addition. The new material is a great improvement.

@BAM Railroad posted:

Sounds good. Are you able to share the process for putting them in phase? I currently have one GW-180 and two CW-80 transformers. Thank you.

Marty E did a guide for phasing here.  Also note that the CW-80s changed polarity around 2006 as discussed here.  I would find 2 of your transformers that are in phase and then try to phase the 3rd one to one of the two.  If the plug needs to be reversed, it should be done on the 3rd transformer.  Note that you may have to file down the larger plug to reverse it.  Alternatively, sometimes you can jam the plug into a 3:2 wire plug adapter which has equal sized plugs.  Once you figure out the polarity, mark the non-polarized plug "top" to ensure it is plugged in the same each time.

Bob