DCS and MRC Pure Power Dual

John,

everything was acting weird

Could you please define "weird" and also exactly how everything was connected?

I suppose you will have to answer Barry's question first. I bought a used MRC dual power

transformer off EBay to use with my DCS and TMCC. other than a broken handle -- which is the way it was advertised and arrived--  I have had no problems.  The metering is nice and the auxillary terminals give me power for my homebuilt switch machines.

Al W.

The MRC is a hefty supply so external fuses or circuit breakers should be used with

this transformer just as with a PW ZW.

Barry,

   I can't remember exact results because I was afraid I would hurt the electronics. I hooked it up passively on both transformers. On the MRC hookup the control was intermittent at best. At one point it would not move. Speed control did not work either. I could hook it up again and give you more detail.

          John

John,

I could hook it up again and give you more detail.

It would be good if you could do the following as a controlled test:

• Connect it with the KW first and assure yourself that it works as expected
• Then, without touching the DCS Remote Commander, swap out the KW for the MRC, so that you use the same tack for both tests
• Then, repeat the above on the layout, first with the KW and then with the MRC. This will identify which is the problem, the MRC or the layout's track and wiring.

Post your findings.

You can't hook the TIU up "passively", it must pass the power from the transformer to the track!

Are you talking about the little DCS Remote Commander product?  That's the only one I know that you can use passively.

John,

You can't hook the TIU up "passively", it must pass the power from the transformer to the track!

Whoa, buddy!

You can most certainly use any TIU or the DCS Remote Commander in Passive mode!

Regardless, he's referring to the DCSRC, not a TIU.

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

WOW!  Sorry, I did not think you could use the TIU passively.

I'll have to check that out, I thought the power had to go through the TIU.

Sorry for the mis-information!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will try Barry's suggestion and report back.

    John

I've been using my MRC dual for 5 years with no issues. Works great for both DCS and TMCC. The breakers on it usually trip before I even know there's a problem, just about as fast as the one on my Z1000.

- walt

I tried the KW on my main layout. As soon as I power up, The engine starts up and doesn't respond to the remote. I wired the control passively at the transformer. On the single loop for my grandson everything works. So it is not the MRC. Any suggestions on what to try next?

John,

I don't know if this is pertinent, however, be aware that the DCSRC, like any single TIU channel, can only work on one power source. So, if you're using both KW handles to power two sets of blocks (loops), it can only be connected to one of those handles.

Further, if there are multiple blocks being powered from a handle, it would be best to connect the DCSRC receiver to the terminal block to which all the track blocks are connected.

I know everybody says the DCSRC should work in passive mode and many have it connected this way with no problems. I had one of the early production ones and I could never get it to work properly in this mode. I just assumed it had something to do with the transformer. Worked just fine when the power was fed through the input. I recently had occasion to obtain a new one for another use and just for kicks tried it in passive mode where I tried the original one, it worked just fine. The point is there may be a small few out there that for some reason just don't like passive mode. They should work but you get intermittent results. It seem like there are occasional post to this effect on this forum.

Al

Al,

The point is there may be a small few out there that for some reason just don't like passive mode. They should work but you get intermittent results.

Any such units should be categorized as defective and returned for service.

It seem like there are occasional post to this effect on this forum.

If that's the case, I've never seen such a post, and I read every post on the DCS Forum, as well as, every post on the 3 Rail Forum wen I'm not traveling.

Just got back to trains for a while. I can get the RC to work on parts of the layout, but not on others. I have separate loops, but with a DPDT switch I can switch between two throttles or one throttle. Running on one only, certain areas don't respond. What would make certain areas different than others?

          John

Barry, I have your book and have read the passive mode section a few times. That's just how I am with these things. It takes a few reads to sink in. I must comment that it is very worthwhile for any level user of DCS to read your book slowly and thoroughly. Every page. We all know our layouts grow over time and reading it will help you decide how to grow your set up before the mistakes are made. I'm guessing most people are not even aware passive mode exists in DCS. 

I know that I didn't know that the TIU would do passive mode.  I knew DCS Remote Commander did it, so I guess I should have known that it probably worked with the TIU as well.

John,

What would make certain areas different than others?

That's really hard to say without actually seeing a track diagram.

I could try active mode, but I need a jack to hook it up. Does polarity matter since it is AC? My main concern is whether I will have the same problem if I go to the full DCS system. I have a PS-3 engine on order(supposed to ship in June but now it's October) and would like to utilize all the features.

John

John,

What would make certain areas different than others?

Polarity makes a huge difference with DCS. Engines look for commands on the center rail and send commands back on the outside rail. It is absolutely essential that the DCSRC Receiver's red post is connected to a center rail and the black post to an outside rail.

Further, the DCS signal cannot get to any track block where the center rail is not connected to the same transformer terminal as is the track to which the DCSRC receiver is also connected. That's why a DCSRC will work with one transformer handle only.

I suspect that somewhere in the wiring around your DPDT switch you've inadvertently swapped the wires from the transformer on some of the blocks, so that the wire from the DCSRC's red terminal is connected to that track block's outside rail, rather than its center rail. On those blocks where the wires are swapped, any PS2 or PS3 engine is going to think DCS is not present on the layout and will come up in conventional mode.

If I did have wires switched I should get a short through wheels every time a set passes because all the outside rails are connected except for control rails. I am going to order your book, Barry, and try to get a better handle on the whole thing. I'm attempting to attach the layout file. If it works I'll describe the bad areas.

John,

The track plan opened in RRTrack as a bit of a mess, with track sections and switch tracks missing, and without anything to show the wiring or where the DCSRC is placed.

Can you somehow add those missing pieces and wiring, and just post a screen shot of the track plan as a photo?

Barry,

     That's going to be a project. I have wires going everywhere. I'll try to draw a basic plan with my blocks and where the DCSRC is hooked up. Thanks for all your help so far.

          John