cab1l

Perform basic tests on the Cab1L.

With good batteries can you hear a slight beep when you press a button on the CAB1l if you hold I near your ear? That indices the batteries are making good contact, the microcontroller is working and the buttons presses are being read.

Next, if you think you got both on the same channel, then the base should blink with each button press of the cab1L.  If you don't get the blink, then you are not yet communicating and most likely a channel mismatch still.

Vernon ,i don't hear anything when i press any button ,but the light on both the cab 2 base & the TMCC base both blink when i turn the red nob ,i don't have a base 1l i don't know it that makes any difference ,if both the Tmcc base & the cab 2 base lights blink doesn't that mean the cab 1l is on the same channel ? The lights blink only when i turn the red knob .

If you don't hear the slight beep again, put the remote near you ear when pressing a button, then that button press is not being responded to. Could jus be a dirty keypad or some other error. It's not very loud, but important you know that it should make a slight beep and not making a beep= not working.

The fact that you have both it does not beep when a button is pressed and the base doesn't blink indicates the remote is not responding and sending commands.

Same answer for the older model- they too used rubber conductive button pads.

https://ogrforum.com/...3#162616682956991963

I just tried again ,when i hold down the set button & press any number on the key pad i do hear a beebing sound & when i press any number on the keypad both the lights on the tmcc & the cab 2 base do blink so wouldn't that indicate the cab 1l is on the same channel ? Don't forget this is a new remote i would think that dirt shouldn't be a problem .

Ok, Gerald, did you buy the Cab 1L New, also did you get the instruction manual?
Now, look on your Cab 2 remote, it will tell you the channel that the base is set to, it’s programmed from 1 to 9? Next step, when you see the channel, take your new Cab 1L, press the number that correlates to your Cab 2 Remote base number, at the same time hold down the set button, you should hear a beep, this will indicate they are paired. Good luck and see if that works. Happy Railroading Everyone

Leapinlarry ,I  did that several times i tried holding it down the set button ,then pressed number 1 & it does beep if  i then keep holding the set button down it will keep beeping ,i tried letting go of the set button after 1 beep & still could not power up the track ,& i kept hplding the set button down for several beeps & still could not power up the track ,but if the lights on both the tmcc base & cab 2 base blink when i press any of the buttons or turn the red nob doesn 't that indicate it is on the same channel ?,  this is what i don't understand .

As it sounds if you’ve ran trains with it and you see the lights blink that’s enough to confirm that the remote is sending commands to the base and the base is sending them out to the track.

what are you using to power your track and what’s your sequence of normal operation

PS the Original PowerMaster (grey plastic) only receives commands from the original Cab-1

Ok, 1st, did you get the instructions for Cab 1L? Did you buy the remote only, no base?
Now, how is your track powered? Do you have a PowerMaster? So, what transformer are you using? Did you see what frequency your Cab 2 base is set to? Please let us know. Thank you

Zachariah ,Yes i did run command control engines what i did when i first got the cab 1l is i powered up the track with the CAB 1 ,then i took the cab 1l & i just pressed engine 8  ,this was a TMCC engine  & it responded & i was running it ,then i tried a legacy engine & i had no trouble running it with the cab 1l ,but i could not run a conventual engine because i could not control power to the track .I have four independent loops each one is powered with 180 watt power house ,what i normally do is i power up my tracks with the cab 1 ,then i switch to my cab 2 . I am lost i don't know what else to do .

@Gerald Marafioti posted:

Zachariah ,Yes i did run command control engines what i did when i first got the cab 1l is i powered up the track with the CAB 1 ,then i took the cab 1l & i just pressed engine 8  ,this was a TMCC engine  & it responded & i was running it ,then i tried a legacy engine & i had no trouble running it with the cab 1l ,but i could not run a conventual engine because i could not control power to the track .I have four independent loops each one is powered with 180 watt power house ,what i normally do is i power up my tracks with the cab 1 ,then i switch to my cab 2 . I am lost i don't know what else to do .

What is in between the PH 180 and the track?

Zachariah ,I don't understand what you are asking ,can you give me more details ? In the cab 1l manual it states that it will work with the cab 2 base .

My layout is set up with 2- 180 watt bricks, thru a TPC 400, and I utilize cab 2 for command operation. I use Eng 4 to power up the track. My cab 1L turns the TPC 400 on. My cab 2 base is on channel 8, so, I programmed the cab 1L to channel 8, pressed 8 and the set key, 1 beep. If it beeps 3 times, it’s not paired. So, tell us how your set up is controlled.

@Gerald Marafioti posted:

Zachariah ,I don't understand what you are asking ,can you give me more details ? In the cab 1l manual it states that it will work with the cab 2 base .

In order to control track voltage there must be some sort of controller between the PH180 and your track. IE a PowerMaster or TPC.

Leapinlarry ,I have 4 , 180 watt powerhouse 's,& 4 tmcc powermaster's ,my response above explains how i power up my tracks .

@Gerald Marafioti posted:

Leapinlarry ,I have 4 , 180 watt powerhouse 's,& 4 tmcc powermaster's ,my response above explains how i power up my tracks .

Above is the problem. The Original TMCC PowerMaster only receives commands from the original Cab-1 on its 27Mhz frequency. Lionel’s original fix for this was the #995 PowerMaster bridge witch allowed you to  control TMCC PowerMasters via the Cab-2 because it used a 2.4GHz frequency. This also applies to the Cab-1L because it also talks to the base on the same 2.4GHz frequency. The new LEGACY PowerMasters respond via the 455 KHz track signal so that any Lionel base or remote can control them.

Long story short either continue to operate as you have in the past

or

1. Upgrade to LEGACY PowerMasters

2. Find a PowerMaster Bridge, I don’t know when Lionel stopped producing theses.

CAB1 original remote, base, and powermaster is 27Mhz (old school radio control frequency) however, CAB1L, Legacy is 2.4GHz. The CAB1 grey remote could talk directly to the original grey power master without a base.

Agreed 100%, that a long term fix is either getting a Legacy powermaster or the powermaster bridge so that your CAB1L or Legacy remote can operate the powermaster.

In the mean time- you have to remember to use the CAB1 original grey remote to command your powermasters.

Again, the fundamental issue is your old school powermasters only listen for a 27MHz signal that comes from the grey CAB1 remote. Your new CAB1L and Legacy setup (2.4GHz) , you obviously connected the Y cable to your old grey CAB1 base, but the base does not retransmit serial data commands nor does it talk to the old school powermasters.

Another option that is wired- could be the TPC (Track Power Controller) either the 300 or the 400 watt. They would accept serial data commands sent from any remote and received by your base setup and Y cables.

Leapinlarry ,now we are getting somewhere the powermasters that i have now are still working great so i won't change them at this time i have had them ever since i got back into the hobby but at least now i know what i would have to do ,but one question that still bothers me is why does the lights on the tmcc & the legacy bases blink whenever i turn the red knob ,or push any of the buttons ?

You guys are great ,thanks for all your help ,i learned something today .

@Gerald Marafioti posted:

,but one question that still bothers me is why does the lights on the tmcc & the legacy bases blink whenever i turn the red knob ,or push any of the buttons ?

I explained it, you apparently have the Legacy Y cable connecting your Legacy base with your old grey TMCC base. This allows either the CAB1 grey remote to talk to the Legacy base through the Y cable. Conversely, you also see the command go the other way when the Legacy base receives a 2.4GHz command from a remote and sends that out across the Y cable back to the old base.

I’m glad to know how your powering your layout, I’m using the TPC 400 with 2-180 watt bricks, 19 blocks, also, inter-connected are 2 more 180 watt bricks going through a new Legacy 360 watt PowerMaster for 19 blocks.  My legacy system, Cab 2 base is also connected via a “y” cable so I can run my layout with Cab 1, Cab 1L, Cab 2 remotes. I do not have any cab 1 remotes. I think you need to get the new Legacy PowerMasters. Your problem will be solved. Thank you for your information. I do not know why your getting blinking lights, hopefully Zachariah will chime in again. Happy Railroading Everyone

@Vernon Barry posted:

CAB1 original remote, base, and powermaster is 27Mhz (old school radio control frequency)

I knew 900Mhz was wrong must’ve been thinking DCS remote and TIU. 🙃

      I thought about the last question i asked last night & i realized that my question was already answered ,sorry about that ,as i said before my tmcc powermasters are working fine ,so i won't be buying any legacy powermasters ,unless i really have to,i only bought the cab 1l to have if my cab 2 broke & couldn't be repaired ,i also have a couple of extra cab 1 remotes if i should need them .

This is something i was  also thinking  about last night ,with this new base 3 coming out will you still need the powermasters to power up your tracks ,i am not sure what all the base 3 can do .

                Again ,thanks for all your help.

@Gerald Marafioti posted:

      I thought about the last question i asked last night & i realized that my question was already answered ,sorry about that ,as i said before my tmcc powermasters are working fine ,so i won't be buying any legacy powermasters ,unless i really have to,i only bought the cab 1l to have if my cab 2 broke & couldn't be repaired ,i also have a couple of extra cab 1 remotes if i should need them .

This is something i was  also thinking  about last night ,with this new base 3 coming out will you still need the powermasters to power up your tracks ,i am not sure what all the base 3 can do .

                Again ,thanks for all your help.

Of course you will still need the powermasters for power control.

Either control them via a grey Cab1 remote or get the powermaster bridge device, and then that allows more modern remotes and Legacy in general to be able to control the old style original powermasters.

Base3 is just a massive hub of communications data. It also does nothing with 27Mhz meaning you would need a PDI cable and LCS SER2 module to then connect an old CAB1 grey base to allow commands from a grey CAB1 remote and until it ships and we know what the firmware does, I "think" that is possible but again, without the product or manual- we can only speculate on what has been said to this point.

@Vernon Barry posted:

Of course you will still need the powermasters for power control.

Either control them via a grey Cab1 remote or get the powermaster bridge device, and then that allows more modern remotes and Legacy in general to be able to control the old style original powermasters.

Base3 is just a massive hub of communications data. It also does nothing with 27Mhz meaning you would need a PDI cable and LCS SER2 module to then connect an old CAB1 grey base to allow commands from a grey CAB1 remote and until it ships and we know what the firmware does, I "think" that is possible but again, without the product or manual- we can only speculate on what has been said to this point.

One little problem.  The Legacy Powermaster Bridge will preclude using the old CAB1's he's using as the PM Bridge transmits on 27mhz all the commands that it sees, that steps on the CAB1 transmissions.

From the Legacy PowerMaster Bridge User Manual...

Thanks Vernon for your reply ,as i have said i will not replace anything right now unless i really have to ,at least now thanks to the help from you & everyone else on the forum i know what i have to do .

Gunrunnerjohn ,If i were to use the legacy powermaster ,would that be a problem also ? Just asking in case i ever have to do this.

Nope, the Legacy Powermaster is fully compatible with the Legacy system, it receives it's commands using the track signal, not the 27mhz CAB1 transmission.  The only use for the Legacy Powermaster Bridge is for the old TMCC Powermasters.  So, if you don't have the Legacy Powermaster Bridge and the CAB1 both fighting for the 27mhz band, it's not a problem.

Thanks John for your response ,good information for me in case i have to do anything in the future .