Handheld range to two TIUs only about 10-15 feet.

Is this behavior consistent between all of your remotes?

I have no range problems with DCS remotes at 75+ feet.

How old are the batteries in your remotes? I've had the same issue with mine, and replacing the batteries did the trick.

Stackm746, check out OGR magazine's April/May 2010 issue page 83 with your digital subscription, if you don't have the magazine itself. Jim Barrett did a very good article called, WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE.

If you don't have any comms issues when close to the TIUs the problem doesn't seem related to Barrett's article.

Are you running Legacy at the same time? Do you still have this issue if you leave Legacy off?

Have they ever worked far away?

Greg,

Having the TIU's mounted vertical works much better when under the layout. Or you can drill a hole and extend the antenna upward so it is vertical.

Try extending the antenna to 13" total and having it extend vertically.  13" is the wavelength of 900mhz.

My TIU is mounted vertically 16" below the track and works well. I was thinking 10" might be close enough for some EMF issues.  That would be a good experiment to try, move the TIUs down 1/2 foot or so.

Greg,

The "engine not on tracks" or "out of RF range" was a problem that I cured by switching to the WIU / Wi-Fi app.  I realize you did not ask about it, but might be something to consider when MTH/Atlas comes out with their next generation TIU with a WIU built in.

John

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Try extending the antenna to 13" total and having it extend vertically.  13" is the wavelength of 900mhz.

John: How do you do this with the antenna?

@RJT posted:

John: How do you do this with the antenna?

I use a soldering iron, it's just wire.

There are various discussions about increasing the antenna length and how to do it.

http://www.rayman4449.dynip.co...Antenna_Modification

TIU and antenna extension orientation

I would test the remote with a TIU in an open area.  But on those occasions where a remote will not communicate except close range and other Remotes will with the same TIU, the remote RF unit may need to be replaced, or possibly the antenna module.  G

Is your layout in your basement? Do you have a steel main beam with steel support columns in your basement that your layout runs around? If so that may cause an issue with remote transmission. My layout surrounds one of the steel support columns in my basement, and butts up against another. My layout TIU is under one section of the layout. If I stand behind one of the steel columns and hit a button on the remote there is a noticeable delay in command response. The steel columns seem to interfere with the remote signal. Walk to the other side of the column and the issue disappears. As long as I'm on the side of the steel columns where the TIU is I can go across the basement with no signal delay.

Thanks for all the thoughts.   I am in the attic above the garage.  No steel beams although there is one below.    I have moved one of the TIUs about 30 inches below the layout and no change in operation.    I have had these problems from day 1.   I have these problems with or without Legacy being active.   Both TIUs are mounted vertically.    I don't tend to get an error message on the handheld but rather just no response at all to any commands.   

I will look at the link on extending the antenna that GunnerJ provided.    Any thoughts on what material I should solder?  Just a bare copper wire?   Include a high gain antenna as I have use with Legacy?    Thoughts on the antenna extension or other ideas is appreciated.

Thanks,

Gunner John is the the 13 inch length the length I use for the add on exposed area of the extending antenna or the total including the antenna in the TIU.   Is there a diagram of the antenna or just obvious when opened up?   Thx.

It's the total length of the antenna including the stub that's inside the case.

I would not recommend using a bare wire. If your full of static from walking on a carpet or running a Shop Vac, then happen to touch the wire while the TIU is on, a static discharge could do some damage.

My single TIU is mounted on a wood column (metal column inside) above the layout, I know of another person who mounts his on the ceiling. We both have full basement layouts.       

I have mine below layout level on one wall, no problem at least 20-25 feet away, as far as I can reasonably go.  No extra antenna or other allowance, just hung it on the panel.

Before you start modifying things, have you tried a line of sight test?  Even though few of us do, I believe MTH recommends keeping the TIU above the layout. You should be able to get the distance others are with a TIU in sight. If not I would suspect the TIU since it appears to happen with two different remotes.

He has two TIUs.

Thanks, John!  I'm confusing situations.   If line of sight doesn't work at distances something is amiss. I'll leave it there.

I said that way back when, but they want to modify first.  I would rather test properly to ensure not a hardware issue before modifying, but not my stuff:-)  G

Line of sight works with legacy off but I have upper layers of track and bridges which would require the TIUs to b above 60 inches and I assume one would need to hold the handheld at that level as well.   I will try extending the antenna but it likely won’t help my signal balancing issue between dcs and legacy.  

On another front I was running trains on all 4 TIU channels for twenty minutes and one TIU starting smoking with a strong plastic smell.  I cut power and thought it was fried but when I powered things up everything worked and no smoke.   Any thoughts on what might cause this.  I assumed the fuse would blow if too much power but that did not happen.   Thx

@Stackm746 posted:

On another front I was running trains on all 4 TIU channels for twenty minutes and one TIU starting smoking with a strong plastic smell.  I cut power and thought it was fried but when I powered things up everything worked and no smoke.   Any thoughts on what might cause this.  I assumed the fuse would blow if too much power but that did not happen.   Thx

Open that TIU and inspect the inside screw terminals where the wires come from the TIU board. If these terminals are not tight, it can cause extra resistance in the connection and the terminals will get hot.

Maybe not a bad idea to check all of your TIUs for this condition.

The terminal are indeed the top suspect, and they can do a lot of damage if you ignore them!  I keep the cases of old TIU's that have permanently died around to replace these when they destroy the case!

Fuses are 20amp to protect the TIU PCB traces.  Not your layout, transformer, or those terminals.  Happens alot when TIU run at max current, and or loose terminals.  G

@Stackm746 posted:

Line of sight works with legacy off but I have upper layers of track and bridges which would require the TIUs to b above 60 inches and I assume one would need to hold the handheld at that level as well.   I will try extending the antenna but it likely won’t help my signal balancing issue between dcs and legacy.  

On another front I was running trains on all 4 TIU channels for twenty minutes and one TIU starting smoking with a strong plastic smell.  I cut power and thought it was fried but when I powered things up everything worked and no smoke.   Any thoughts on what might cause this.  I assumed the fuse would blow if too much power but that did not happen.   Thx

I am starting to believe all of your troubles are with implementation, not equipment short-comings.

No, you don't need to hold the remote up on the same level as the TIU. You just need a mostly unobstructed view of the TIU.

@Stackm746 posted:

I have these problems with or without Legacy being active.

So you have learned something new about your layout?

My suggestion is that you address the signal issues between Legacy and DCS before you modify anything.

For TIU ter inals, I recommend to everyone opening all TIUs and checking the tightness of the terminal nuts.  I added inside star washers under all nuts.

As to range, I had a remote that was giving poor range, and found a failed solder joint where the antenna connected to the Board.

I've been tempted to solder the terminals like they used to do with the first version, the Rev. G TIU.  No problem with loose terminals melting things on those.

        Every TIU I have opened up has at least 1 or more terminal nuts not tight. I remove the nut and star lock washer, then the wire terminal, replace the nut, then the wire terminal, then the star lock washer and finally another nut (M4-70). With the wire terminals between the nuts, the terminal should not come loose.

      The use of quality dual banana plugs also helps IMO.

Does anyone have a picture of the terminal nuts so I know what everyone is referring to?    Thx in advance.

If you take the cover off your TIU there easy to identify, there on the other end of the banana jacks. My two TIU's are attached under my layout or I'd show my nuts. Hopefully someone here can show you their nuts.