Diagnosis please: signal loss? Internal short circuit? Something else?

Here is a better look. After it stops it resets to smoke on even though it was off when it stopped

James, it may be a nice looking engine but it’s time to realize you’ve got a lemon. It may be too late now to return where purchased. Please get with Lionel and send to them for a solution. This forum cannot solve these problems you are experiencing due to the electronics involved. It’s a shame Lionel does not contract with some of the highly qualified electronic guys on this forum that would be able to help with the aggravation you must be experiencing. You have the patience of a saint. 

Tried it..still happened. But the sudden loss of channel 1 has me wondering if I have an interference problem. Changed to channel 7 tonight and no stalls yet....but it’s early! I was hoping someone could tell me if that looks like a power loss or a signal loss......

So it seems like it was a signal issue....no troubles at all since changing channels. Of course the Legacy base is located pretty close to my wireless router so I may be in for more drama. Thanks Rod and Ameen  for your good advice....not many people responded to this one. I think I’m giving people Alco fatigue! Sorry!

I confirmed my memory (need to do that at my age) from this forum that Legacy Cab2 to Base communication uses 2.4GHz, the same frequency that routers and some wireless phones use. So picking a different channel makes sense to avoid conflicts.

https://ogrforum.com/...el-and-mth-frequency

AmeenTrainGuy posted:

Both the command control and your wireless router use the same 2.4ghz frequency. Even DCC can suffer from this issue. You can either switch to 5.0ghz on your router through its settings, or just move either the router or the command control equipment away from the other device.

Since it's summer, fewer people are likely to help out because there is less activity on the forum. During the colder seasons, there is much more activity though.

Ameen that is great information! I had no idea about the frequencies.  I just checked my router settings and looks like I don't have 5 ghz option. Just channel 1 to 11 which I believe are all in the 2.4 to 2.5 range. Do those channels correspond at all to the nine channels on the Legacy base? In any case my router is set for Auto which I assume means it may change channels for better reception. Would it be better to assign a specific Channel say Channel 1 so that it doesn't ever wander into the channel 7 I have set on the Legacy?

Ameen and Med....thank you guys SO much. I was about to return the set which I really didn’t want to. Now the train went from barely running to running perfectly. Information is power!

JamesRx posted:

Ameen and Med....thank you guys SO much. I was about to return the set which I really didn’t want to. Now the train went from barely running to running perfectly. Information is power!

What did you do to fix it? Others want to know.

RoyBoy posted:

JamesRx posted:

Ameen and Med....thank you guys SO much. I was about to return the set which I really didn’t want to. Now the train went from barely running to running perfectly. Information is power!

What did you do to fix it? Others want to know.

Changed the channel on my Legacy base from 1 to 7. Track is close to my wifi router which as Ameen explained in runs on the same frequency 2.4 megahertz. Train is running great now but just to be sure I never run into this again I'm going to upgrade to a 5 megahertz router. 

AmeenTrainGuy posted:

JamesRx posted:

Ameen that is great information! I had no idea about the frequencies.  I just checked my router settings and looks like I don't have 5 ghz option. Just channel 1 to 11 which I believe are all in the 2.4 to 2.5 range.

Do those channels correspond at all to the nine channels on the Legacy base?

Yes, they do.

In any case my router is set for Auto which I assume means it may change channels for better reception.

Correct.

Would it be better to assign a specific Channel say Channel 1 so that it doesn't ever wander into the channel 7 I have set on the Legacy?

That's one way to do it, but there is another much efficient way to do it.

I would first download a network scan tool on my phone such as Airport Utility and scan all the wireless networks around the house. From there I would determine the two channels that are least common around the neighborhood. This part sounds complicated, but it's usually just analyzing a table of data. I would set the router to the least commonly used channel and the legacy base to the second least commonly used channel. What this does is give you both faster internet speeds, and a much better Legacy connection. I highly recommend this it's safe, fast, and will guarantee that your neighbor's wifi is not slowing yours down.

JamesRx posted:

RoyBoy posted:

JamesRx posted:

Ameen and Med....thank you guys SO much. I was about to return the set which I really didn’t want to. Now the train went from barely running to running perfectly. Information is power!

What did you do to fix it? Others want to know.

Changed the channel on my Legacy base from 1 to 7. Track is close to my wifi router which as Ameen explained in runs on the same frequency 2.4 megahertz. Train is running great now but just to be sure I never run into this again I'm going to upgrade to a 5 megahertz router. 

Definitely, switch to the new 5ghz standard as it is much faster. Keep in mind that there are downsides to 5ghz if you do live in a larger house. 5ghz does not have the range that 2ghz has, so you may notice a weaker network if you travel far from the router. In the end, though you will notice faster WiFi speeds.

If anyone needs help with any of this just ask here.

Ameen thank you so much for all the information. You answered every question I had and I feel so much more knowledgeable now. Thank you for taking the time to help me!