err chuf

People who know enough (not me) will want more details.  What kind of locos are being modified, who is doing the installation, etc. Not aware of consistent problems with ERR products, so it's not going to be straightforward.  Sticking with MTH will have its own issues.  Getting rid of it all is a personal decision no one can help you with all that much.  

Yep,...we need more info....what’s the model your working on?..model #, model mfr.,...and how are you trying to trigger chuff....

Pat

I've used the ERR products for years, and three of them in a row being "defective" is a bit hard to believe.

Note that one issue in mounting the ERR RS Commander board is with the DS foam tape supplied, it's possible for pins to project far enough to touch the chassis.  That will result in a dead board very quickly.  I carefully trim the projecting leads for my boards before use.  Note that you have to be careful if you do this as there are small surface mount components close to the leads, damage those and you've killed the board as well.

Another issue I've seen is a rechargeable battery replacement being used on these that smoked the board.  Without mentioning any names, there are products that don't work with the RailSounds Lite board but will work with the older modular RailSounds boards through RS 5.5.  If you're going to use a battery replacement, make SURE it's compatible with the RS-Lite boards.  The YLB - RailSounds Battery Replacement is one such compatible board that will work with any Lionel RailSounds boards that support a backup battery.

I recently did have one odd failure of the ERR RS Commander, it just slowly lost it's marbles.  It started by skipping chuffs, then the background sounds and crew talk disappeared and only whistle & bell were left.  Oddest failure I've seen with a sound board.

On their website Scott stated that the $5 price increase to sound boards was because they added a plastic mounting board to eliminate leads punctuating the mounting foam.

Hmm...  I just got a shipment of boards, no plastic in sight that I could see.  The package was exactly the same.

That’s a shame the have to add a plastic piece and increase by $5.00 when you should always check the length of those solder leads on the bottom of the board. Simple to snip off and be done. 

You know that and I know that.  Obviously, not everyone knows that.

One problem with clipping them, there are very small surface mount components close to the leads.  If you're not careful, you can kill the board by damaging one of those, so it's not a foolproof solution. 

That being said, I've trimmed those leads for years, it also helps the board stick to the foam better without those holding the adhesive suspended in midair.  I also once broke a small part and had to fix the board before proceeding, so I know it's easy to screw it up.

we will find out wed morning what's going on