A MTH PS1 with direct plug in TMCC?

Digital Dynamics was an aftermarket TMCC company. Not sure about how they work with conventional, but you may want to post something in the TMCC forum and see if anyone there can help.

There are some Digital Dynamics manuals in this thread

You appear to have the Digital Dynamics Equalizer board installed.  If you're running strictly conventional, I'd probably consider finding the standard MTH reverse board and going back to stock PS/1, I suspect you'll be happier. Going back is pretty easy, I installed a couple of the DD Equalizer boards, and it's mostly moving plugs, they were designed to be a drop-in replacement for the standard MTH bottom board.

The good news is, there is a market for the DD Equalizer boards, so you could end up money ahead on the deal.

Here's the Digital Dynamics Equalizer Installation Manual, you can basically just reverse the instructions to "unwind" the installation.

Thanks to Chris's post I already have started reading the manual.  I think I'll leave it in until I get the Cab-1 set and try it.  If it works correctly that way, I may just start looking for more of these DD boards.  If not, I already have a PS1 board set in the mail to me for this very reason.  Shame these boards aren't made anymore.  If there is such a market for them, why hasn't anyone started making new ones?  I know some EEs, maybe we should reverse engineer this one and see if it can be improved and made again.  But I think you are right John, I'll most likely swap it back out and stick with the original.

I converted two 400E's to TMCC with the Digital Dynamics boards.  Pretty easy conversion.

I thought you could still run them in conventional, but do not remember ever trying to do so.

"I did notice that the sounds and motion also could go out of sync, so they aren't talking to each other"

This has happened to me, even when running under TMCC.  There is nothing, if memory serves, to synchonize the sound with the motion of the locomotive (chuff, for example, is not synchronized with the actual movement of the wheels).

You're correct, the sounds are basically the PS/1 sounds, and they didn't have chuffing smoke, the chuff rate was just determined by the transformer output voltage setting.  The operation in conventional mode is detailed on page 10 of the above attached instructions.

Sinclair,  If you decide to remove the DD board I would be interested in it.  I have PS-1 boards if you needed it.

I have not seen one and I am interested in how it is integrated.  G

Thanks for the thoughts and info on this board.  I'm going to leave it in for now as I have a Cab-1 TMCC set coming that I want to try it with.  With 5 TMCC equipped locomotives in the house, I figured I should bite the bullet and try this command stuff out.  And when I found a deal here on the forums for a set with extra Cab-1 remote, I jumped.  If it has issues in command, I'll replace the bottom board and convert it back to PS-1.  I already bought several PS-1 boards from a forum member, and one happens to be a Cab Forward set, so I'm good on parts.  If it's really a drop in mod (I still need to read the whole manual from John.) I may try it in another locomotive to make sure it's the board that is bad.  If I decide to sell the board, I'll let you know GGG.  Even if I don't sell it, I'd be willing to let you borrow it so that you can see one and play with it.  Like I said above, the thought to have a drop in conversion to TMCC for PS-1 and still keep the sounds is appealing.

If you replace the bottom board, the sounds will remain the same, the audio is on the top board.

Yes, that I've figured out.  Now question, are all PS-1 boards the same?  Or in other words, can I take the tender from another one of my PS-1 steamers and plug it into the locomotive?  I've wondered as the tethers are all the same and I haven't been able to tell of any differences in the boards.  I'd do this just to check that the engine is good.

I wouldn't count on all the tethers being the same.  I know there are several versions of the PS/1 boards, but I don't know about the tether wiring.  For most of them, there are only four wires, track common, roller, and two motor leads.  The headlight and smoke are driven from track power, sometimes lights have a constant lighting board.

Yes the 2 outside pins are motor and the inside are the AC.  There maybe some exceptions.  The Shay has a 5 pin plug as and example since the Shay has a coupler on the front of the engine.

The only issue could be if someone modified the internal wiring and swapped leads. Normally manifested in the AC leads.  Since the engine and tender may provide ground you could wind up with Center Rail from engine grounding with tender and the transformer would trip.  Otherwise the PS-1 tenders were wired the same.  G

A friend of mine has a MTH PS1 N&W A-class 2-6-6-4 which he bought after it had had a DD Equalizer Board put in. It runs and responds just fine, but there is, I believe, a procedure required (a couple of key strokes at start-up) to address the DD board; then it acts like any other TMCC loco. I do not recall what they are, but I imagine that the DD instructions are available on the good ol' InterWeb. Don't get too frustrated; once

you try Command Control, you'll never look back.

Yeah, try the setup first. I wish that ERR (yeah, I know, legalities, etc) would release

a "new" DD Equalizer Board or the old Train America UCUB (Universal Command

Upgrade Board) to put on top of PS1.

I have some PS1 locos that sound fine and run quite well (NYC P2 electric, for one), and are flawed only by being Conventional. I would love to keep the good stuff and overlay it

with the Command system.

The DD instructions for the Equalizer have been posted in a sticky thread at the top of the TMCC/Legacy forum.