ERR Commander in MTH PS1 Norfolk and Western

Just to clarify, I am looking to make the connections to the inputs for the DC cruise commander.

I can revert to a 6 pin tether but not sure how to make the connection from the commander to the smoke/lighting board in the MTH loco.

Mind a suggestion?......I mount the CC in the boiler, ....then carry the antenna back to the tender and up into the coal pile, .....hide it under some fresh coal, ....I’ve swapped quite a few PS1 or dead PS2’s to ERR, ....so far, I’ve mounted all in boiler,....then I use a ten pin MTH tether to carry everything else needed to the tender for Railisounds,

1 wire for serial ...

2 for B/U light

1 hot

1 not

2 for coil coupler

1 for antenna

I have 10 pin tether sets if you’d like to get a set,..

Pat

Thanks for the suggestion, but I have to go the tender route There is no room in the engine cab because in addition to the motor there is a cam motor that creates the puffing smoke.

I am still pondering the tether connection, I do have a 6 pin tether, but was trying to determine if the 4 pin MTH tether was an option.

Ralph, how do you plan on driving the old PS1 smoke unit?...that thing will surely fry itself in short order at a constant 18V ,.......most of us opt out for a PS2 smoke unit ( modded for TMCC )  or the Lionel LC smoke unit, either are very compact, and then we either use GRJ’s ( John’s) super chuffer and chuff generator or an optic set up with a 5 volt source to drive the smoke motor,.......if you don’t mind me asking, what are the total goals?...Obviously a CC, but what else are you potentially adding?...Railsounds?...fan smoke in time?...what’s the plan for chuff?...I can fit a PS2 smoke unit, ERR CC, and all of John’s chuff stuff in the boiler of a Hudson,.......that’s my preferred method anyways,......

Pat

Actually, the PS/1 smoke unit will work on 18V without going up in smoke, though the amount of smoke it puts out may seem like it's on fire!   However, when you drive it with the Cruise Commander, it gets half-wave track power and works quite well, still a lot of smoke.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Actually, the PS/1 smoke unit will work on 18V without going up in smoke, though the amount of smoke it puts out may seem like it's on fire!   However, when you drive it with the Cruise Commander, it gets half-wave track power and works quite well, still a lot of smoke.

I’ve never attempted to drive one full time at 18V .....I’ve divorced the element from some, and used the TMCC to power a 27 in the chamber, then used a cherry switch to make and break track power input, but never drove one continuously at 18V or continuously from the CC either,.....I figured continuously, it would make way too much smoke, and at some point burn things up, ....it’d be great in a warehouse, but golly, it’d fog out even my 40 foot room,...😉

Pat

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Actually, the PS/1 smoke unit will work on 18V without going up in smoke, though the amount of smoke it puts out may seem like it's on fire!   However, when you drive it with the Cruise Commander, it gets half-wave track power and works quite well, still a lot of smoke.

I would like to use a PS/1 smoke unit mounted under the table for an accident scene or building on fire with LED's. If I run the smoke unit on a dedicated accessory transformer at 14v or less will it operate correctly?

No problem at all, they run on track power in the PS/1 locomotives.

If his PS-1 N&W is the RK version it does not have a true PS-1 smoke unit.  It is the piston type and he may want to drop the voltage with a diode to limit the effective voltage to the element.  G

Yes it is the piston/cam  type so I would have to drop the voltage. Thank you.