hello everyone , this is probably a simple question so excuse me for my lack of smarts here , I'm running a small layout with a few lionchief plus engines that is fast expanding , mth rail king has a lot of engines I'm interested in as they fit the need of what I'm doing I would like to get mth dcs equipped , so my question is if I get the dcs remote and track interface unit and wire it into my layout what rail king engines are out of the box dcs ready , as in how can I distinguish them from conventional rail king engines when looking to buy , and are older engines upgrade able , can I get dcs chips for older conventional engines and convert them to run on my layout ? I know about ps1 2 and 3 now are those just sound boards on conventional engines or are all ps equipped engines dcs ready , any help filling in the blanks here would be awesome thanks all!!
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PS2 and PS3 are DCS
Trains after 2000 with a -1 at the end of the product number are PS-2 and after about 2010 PS-3. So any PS-2 or 3 is DCS capable. It is a complete board set that does everything, not a chip.
It an engine states it is ProtoSound and or has a QSI marking, that is a conventional engine. Other conventional system is LocoSound, but that product has a -0 at the end of the product number.
I would look for RK engines from 2005 and newer. These would be PS-2 3V boards or the latest PS-3. Try to avoid the first generation PS-2 board which is a 5V board (uses the 9V batter). They were 2000 to about 2004. G
Also, you can upgrade the older PS-1 engines. However, for the cost of Railking, it is easier and cheaper to just buy used PS-2 and PS-3.
Thanks for the help everyone!
Railking locomotives are a great buy. New they are not very costly. The guys gave you excellent advice. Don't get caught up in buying a PS-1 Railking and converting it to PS-2 or PS-3. It can be done but not a good move cost wise.
One great thing about Railking is that the locomotives use the same boards as the higher end Premier locomotives. Good luck.