DCS issues after updating to 6.10

Mike,

   You might consider the purchase of a newer DCS TIU, pick up a rev L, I just had MartyE upgrade mine to 6.10 and all works perfectly now.  For some reason I did have to re-enter a couple engines.  Your older TIU may not be able to handle the latest revisions, this is just a guess however.  Maybe Barry will be nice enough to give you further insight.

PCRR/Dave

Hotpressmugs posted:

Hey Folks,

Before I please let me explain that I have both of Barry's DCS companion books which are awesome btw and do consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable with MTH DCS minus extreme technical repair issues.

Okay I have one of the first DCS TIUs, 9 pin serial port no usb probably built by Mike himself in his garage back in days when he was getting started   Ok anyway I was running version 4.10 on the TIU and remotes and decided I'd like to try this smart phone/Ipad  WIU option so I updated all remotes and TIU to the latest version of 6.10, in addition I also went in LuCI and verified the the WIU was at the latest version available.

So now upon updating, I constantly get RF OUT OF RANGE error even with the remote and TIU 6 inches apart. When she decides to see the TIU it's almost impossible to add any engines and if one happens to get lucky to pop in most of the time the name is screwed and all the soft keys say MTU. In addition if I try to use one of the engines that's already in the active list, when I send the command there is anywhere between 7 to 18 seconds delay to the train. By the way this did this with the WIU connected and then even without the WIU connected, power cycling everything between each configuration to be sure any memory was erased.

Now I took it a step further and pulled the TIU got a brand new 40" piece of atlas track, lightly sanded the rails to be sure they were clean, wipe with an alcohol prep pad had it dry and connected the TIU directly to this track and sure enough the same results, even without connecting the WIU.

Prior to updating I had no issues on the layout with DCS engines or lag, out of ranger errors etc...

Is there maybe some sort of memory issue with the older TIU's? Should I revert back to an older firmware but I guess that would render the WIU pretty much useless. Any ideas?

Power Supply MTH Z4000

 

Mike

Are you using the recommended lighted lock-on?  Did you update the remote version? Are your remote batteries fresh?

George

Pine Creek Railroad posted:

Mike,

   You might consider the purchase of a newer DCS TIU, pick up a rev L, I just had MartyE upgrade mine to 6.10 and all works perfectly now.  For some reason I did have to re-enter a couple engines.  Your older TIU may not be able to handle the latest revisions, this is just a guess however.  Maybe Barry will be nice enough to give you further insight.

PCRR/Dave

I have both a rev L TIU and a 9 pin serial TIU. I don't have any issues with either. I have had RF Out of Range before but usually due to some problem with my track or engine.

George

I have my wires soldered directly to the rails throughout the layout I don't use lock-ons, the remotes were updated ( 3 of them ) all had fresh batteries installed just before doing so. The lag and out of range error occur with every single remote as well.

Dave I was beginning to think along those lines myself, thinking maybe the later version have more of a memory buffer inside then the older ones which would help with the multi tasking, especially if the program firmware updates have more going on within the coding.

Mike, sounds to me like your RF circuit board in your TIU worked loose. Open it up and press it down into it's sockets. It's the small board with the short piece of wire coming off of it. Add some foam on top of it to allow the lid of the TIU to hold it in place. While your in there, snug up the 16 nuts on the input and output post.

Is a tiu and one remote  reset an option? everything will be deleted.  Or a re-load of the software. Why Am I thinking  with the older software  the resets are required...???   

Dave Zucal posted:

Mike, sounds to me like your RF circuit board in your TIU worked loose. Open it up and press it down into it's sockets. It's the small board with the short piece of wire coming off of it. Add some foam on top of it to allow the lid of the TIU to hold it in place. While your in there, snug up the 16 nuts on the input and output post.

You know that might actually be the issue for my TIU is mounted under my board and upside down so I'm going to take a look, then if nothing I'm going Greg's route and going to attempt to reset everything and reload the software again.

Tether the remote to the TIU using a 4-conductor curly telephone handset cabl,e. If things improve, do as Dave suggests above and reseat the transceiver boards.

Resetting the remote or TIU is highly unlikely to correct anything.

This is absolutely not a DCS 6.1 issue!  

DCS 6.10 Software Upgrade Revision Available

October 6, 2017 - The latest version (6.10) of the software used in the DCS system includes several new features detailed below. The user MUST use the most recent DCS Loader Program, Version 5.00 to upload DCS Version 5.00 into the TIU and Remote.

Because the memory assignments are dramatically different in software Versions 3.X and earlier, upgrading the code is required in both the remote and the TIU. The system will not function correctly if only one of the two components has been updated. In addition, if the remote and the TIU are currently running any version of 2.X DCS software, both must be reset using the appropriate System menu commands prior to uploading the Version 4.01 software into the remote and the TIU. By resetting both components, all previous information and settings (engines, accessories, switches, etc.) entered into the remote and TIU will be lost and must be reentered by the user after the software update has been completed. Users upgrading from 3.X and higher will not have to reset the remote and TIU prior to uploading the new 4.00 software.

There are two software files attached to the download. Both feature the same numeric code and should be used together (the appropriate file for the remote and TIU) when migrating from Version 3.X or earlier.

The user MUST use the most recent DCS Consumer Loader Program, Version 5.00 to upload Version 5.00 into the TIU and Remote. Earlier versions of the DCS Consumer Loader Program prior to version 5.00 will not function with the DCS Version 5.00 code.

Version 6.10 New Features

• Added Record/Playback In Super Mode
• Required For Wi-Fi DCS Premium App (Build 2.0.1 iOS and 2.0.2 Android)

Version 6.10 Fixes

• Addressed numerous fixes resolved with release of DCS WiFi Premium App (Build 2.0.1 iOS and 2.0.2 Android)

As always, you'll find the 6.10 download FREE by clicking HERE.

It seems one must use  loader..... version 5.

Barry Broskowitz posted:

Tether the remote to the TIU using a 4-conductor curly telephone handset cabl,e. If things improve, do as Dave suggests above and reseat the transceiver boards.

This is absolutely not a DCS 6.1 issue!  

Unlikely 3 remotes would have loose transceiver boards at once  however that leaves the tiu???

Ahh I see now what you were talking about Greg regarding the early software, I was at 4.10 before updating so I don't think the reset was mandatory. I will try as Barry suggested with the curly "hello 1980's calling" wire, if the issues resolve then it might just me the TIU transceiver board. Will give an update shortly.  Thanks all of you for all your great advice.

Ok thus far with the 1980's phone cord wire attached, I have had zero lag issues with any of the engines.

Great...Now to find the reason... TIU ? remote or both?    The tiu is much easier to take apart.

I suspect TIU as it happens with three remotes, will open it tomorrow and take a look-see

Mike, I have 2 original issue Rev G TIUs.  They both work fine, with remotes or WIUs, and are running 6.1  One of them was on & off my layout many times because I had a Rev L (since withdrawn from service) that kept having problems.  I'd drop in the Rev G and run happily.  The other is now running a grandchildren's layout, with an original issue remote.

If you moved the TIU around when updating, you may have loosened the transceiver board in that.

I would NOT do a reset at this time.  Nor would I buy a Rev L unless I were sure there were an unrepairable failure.

By the way, If you have many items in your remote, back it up to your computer, and if you ever do a remote reset, you merely reload all the data from your computer.