Cruise Commander "Motor Type" Selection?

All the motors you'll typically find are "large" motors as far as the Cruise Commander is concerned.   I think the only "small" motors would be the little ones found in motorized units, not any actual locomotive that's intended to pull any load.

I've never used anything but Large Motor in any of my installations.

The Small Motor selection "softens" the servo; you can use this selection on any motor, and sometimes it may smooth out the loco at low speeds.  Normally Large Motor is the best for most configurations.

Good to know Jon, I was told by Ken at ERR that pretty much everything is a "large" motor.  I'll have to give the small motor configuration a spin and see if it makes a noticeable difference.

Thanks John, I'll leave it alone.

I was having a quirky problem where the engine would stop (did it when the CC was in the E7 too, though not as bad).  I thought the motor selection may have had something to do with it.

The RS3 was throwing a traction tire, so I replaced it and cleaned the wheels.  When I put it back on the track it continued to do it (maybe 1-2 times around the layout and in the same spot) so I cleaned the track as well.

I believe I had a combination of dirty wheels and track, I ran it at various speeds for maybe 30 minutes with no power loss, until I pulled into the yard, where I had NOT cleaned the track

I could have a intermittent loose connection, but I'm going to run it for a while and see what happens before I pull the shell off again.

The only hole I had to drill in the RS3 chassis was to mount the heat sink/board, the engine had a spot where I could mount the PRG/RUN switch which was surprising.

The RS3 was bought back in the mid-late 90s (my 1st O scale train ) and that's the 1st traction tire I've had to replace out of 10 engines.

Note that once a traction tire comes off, typically it's not a good idea to try to reuse it.  I toss them after they come off, as I've never had any luck trying to use them again.

Oh yeah, went right in the trashcan

I have a "collection" of new MTH tires (steam and diesel), didn't bother to label them when I got them and was worried about the size.  But I seem to recall all the MTH diesels use the same tire.  The Lionel and 3rd Rail engines I have still have them in the bags with other stuff so I'm not concerned about them at the moment.

Thanks Jon

Funny, I didn't see your post or John's reply to it until this morning (after I had replied to one of John's other posts).

Final update...The MTH RS3 is running fine with the ERR Cruise Commander, must have been a combination of dirty track/wheels and traction tire coming off.  I'm getting excellent slow speed when I select the higher speed steps (I'm using DCS right now) and the cruise must be working as I see no change in speed when the slight changes in track elevation (aka uneven trackwork) are encountered.  Even the headlights are brighter now, instead of that dirty yellow glow I was getting.

I presently don't have any sound, but plan on getting the Railsounds Commander for the ALCO engines and may install a cab light if I can figure out how to open the cab up without seeing too much of the motor that's inside.

This is an underestimated effect on train performance.  I have seen PS-1 through PS-2 and TMCC engines that behaved poorly due to filthy outside wheels and corrosion on center rail picks.  Wheel and track cleanliness are a must.  G

George, I agree.  I've been working on that 2-8-2 conversion so long that I forgot about cleaning the track

Another question,

Is the 9v battery for the Rail Sounds Commander needed for command control?

No, It helps with sound continuity, but many who only run Command don't use it.  G

Thanks George!

I don't put batteries in any of my TMCC/Legacy locomotives.  The Alkaline batteries do tend to really leak when they go bad, it's just one more thing to screw things up!

Good enough, that'll save me space.

Got another question:

What's the voltage on the terminals of the ERR Cruise Commander for the front and rear lights (headlight)?

The front headlight (bulb from what I can tell) on my MTH RS3 blew today.  It could have just been it's time, or have I put too much voltage on it with the ERR CC?  It was definitely brighter than it was on when hooked up to Locosounds.  The rear is bright too, but I haven't run it much in reverse.

I have another bulb with connector already on it, but I want to make sure I'm not overloading the bulb before I plug it in.

Bob, I think you need to switch to a 14 or 18 Volt bulb.  6V MTH bulb is too low for the output of the TMCC units.  G

You get the track voltage half-wave rectified.  If it runs conventional, I believe you get plain track voltage through those outputs.  This is the same as the smoke output.

A 12V bulb is plenty, as you get about 9-10 volts effective voltage in command.   As George says, it'll clearly cook a 6V bulb.

Thanks guys, it sure was bright while it lasted (didn't know MTH bulbs were 6v).

Some of the PS/1 bulbs are 1.5 volts, they go really bright when connected to TMCC, and quickly as well!

I rummaged thru my parts box and came across a couple of packs of Radio Shack 12v lamps, worked fine (and hopefully...last a long time)

I thought about LEDs, but since I had the lamps I thought I'd use them.

I really prefer LED's, and especially for headlights.  They are much more directional, and actually look like a real headlight shining down the tracks.

Lionel uses a 14V bulb in TMCC, sometimes the 18V.   If in conventional mode you will get full wave AC at track voltage less diode drop, so you may see a shorter bulb life, in a diesel I would worry about heat effect on plastic.  12V should work fine for a die cast Steam.  G

The MTH RS3 has a metal "L-shaped" stand that holds the bulb in place, I think it's far enough away from any plastic that it should be alright, but I'll watch it the next few days.  If it feels too warm, I'll switch to LEDs.