Crew talk question re Vision Line Big Boy Union Pacific

If you are using the "older" LionelChief APP, There is a 2nd page where you can adjust the volume of the different sounds.  Make sure you have these adjusted to your liking.

Have you tried to use the newer Cab3 Bluetooth APP using your phone?  This is a free APP.  And I think you will have better luck.

If you are using the universal remote, there is a way to increase and decrease the sounds by pressing and holding down the "speaker" button and then turning the dial to the right increasing the volume or to the left decreasing the volume.

Here again, I would recommend using the Cab3 Bluetooth APP.  There are functions that do not work on these legacy engines while using the LionelChief APP.  Example will be back-up light illumination while in reverse, triggering the rear coupler, etc.

I am assuming you do not have a Cab2 or a Base2 or a Base3 to run this engine.  Either of these options will out perform the Bluetooth APPs.

Dave - thank you for the reply. I turned the volume all the way up using the hold down method you mentioned above and using the second page of the older app, but the crew talk still isn’t working for some reason. I have the newer Cab3 app as well and I am able to use the Bluetooth side of the app for basic functions (forward, reverse, horn and bell, but not crew talk). When I use reverse in the Cab3 app the engine illumination light comes on, but no lights on the tender (not sure if that’s normal).

I also bought the base 3 and was hoping that would resolve the crew talk issue for me. I was able to add the engine to the base 3 side of the Cab3 app, but for the life of me I cannot get the engine to respond to any commands when trying to use the base 3 side of the Cab 3 app (The app is showing green for connection to the base 3 and both the engine and base 3 are set to run). I was able to control my order polar express engine using the base 3 side of the app, but it’s not working with the big boy for some reason.

I doubt this is the sound boards.  You probably have a problem with the IR link to the tender.  Your symptoms match exactly what happens to mine if I just separate the tender from the locomotive.

Check and see if the IR sensors are aligned on the drawbar.

If that looks good, the top suspect is the wire under the heatshrink, that frequently is broken at a solder joint.  Gently tug on each wire and see if one of them comes out on either the locomotive or the tender.

Yes, the crew talk and tower comm only comes from the tender.

Thanks for this. The IR sensors seem like they’re aligned, but I’m not sure how to confirm that 100%. I did tug each wire gently and neither came out. Out of curiosity I placed only the tender on the track to see what would happen. There are no lights or sound coming from the tender when I do that.

When the train arrived new in box last week, both of the red blow down valves were sheered off from the engine (pics attached). Perhaps that is indicative of other possible damage.

One follow up question - assuming this is an issue being caused by the IR sensors, would that also cause any issues with controlling the train using the base 3 side (as opposed to the Bluetooth side) of the Cab3 app? I was able to assign an ID to the big boy, but I am unable to link with the engine and control it using the base 3 side of the app. Bluetooth control works fine minus the crew talk, but my beginner understanding on this is that I will want to use the Base 3 side of the Cab3 app to access all of the train’s features. Thanks again.

Based on your update, sounds like there is an issue with the tender.  There should have been sounds coming from the tender when placed on the track by itself.

The IR detector and receiver could be just fine.  I am wondering if the power is getting to the board(s) within the tender (loose wire), or if the boards within have failed.  Best case will be a loose power wire and hopefully not a shorted wire.

Try doing a continuity check between the pick-up rollers on the tender. Not having continuity between the rollers would narrow the search for the problem.  I have opened a couple VisionLine Big Boy tenders to make repairs and they can be a challenge. The front bulkhead of the tender has to be removed and the coal load will side out.  But you have to disconnect wires as you remove, etc.  If this is new and under warranty, think hard about sending it in to Lionel for repair.

In any case, does not sound like a controller problem.

Dave is right, if you put the tender on the rails by itself, you should be getting steam idle sounds.  Also, if you power the tender alone with a conventional transformer, the whistle and bell buttons should function to operate those functions.