My reception to and from my cab2 to the base is getting worse. If I'm within 8ft I'm okay. Anything beyond that the red light starts blinking. I even put on a 2.4 with 9dbi gain 14" tall antenna and no difference. I put new batteries in and still no difference. Thoughts?
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Sounds like you may have channel interference, have you tried changing channels? I find channel 9 best for my environment.
After an hour of playing with it I've found channel 3 to be the best. I can now get 12 feet away with only a few blinks. What are your maximum distances?
I get over 30 feet away with two walls and downstairs separating me and it still works. When I turn the corner and a 3rd wall is in the way, I lose contact.
Golferdg,
Do you have your 990 Legacy Base plugged directly into a well grounded house
outlet, if you are plugging the Base unit into a multi plug bar, eliminate the multi bar
they cause all kinds of problems because most are not grounded properly for the Legacy system.
PCRR/Dave
What release are you using? It should be V1.5. The Range was greatly improved on Release V1.3
FREDSTRAINS
I'm plugged directly into a wall plug. I have version 1.51.
Is the antennae properly attached? Anything blocking it, may want to move the base around
The red light is ONLY for remote to base communications, it has nothing to do with the TMCC signal or grounding.
Am I correct that when the red light is on that there is no communication to the base meaning that the buttons I'm pushing are sending a signal but the base is not receiving it?
The conversation with the base is 2-way, so if the base doesn't respond, the red light stays on briefly. If the red light lights, it means the keystroke was not acknowledged.
The output to the track is 1-way, and the CAB2 has no idea if the track commands are sent or received. Track signal issues will never light the red light.
Okay, I'm a little confused. I'm standing next to the engine that is 15 feet away from the base. I rotate the speed control , nothing happens as the red light is on. Doesn't that mean the base is not receiving my handheld actions? Doesn't all communication from the handheld to the engine go through the base?
Correct, the red light is indicting a CAB2 to base communications issue.
The base is the unit that sends the signals to the track. I only mentioned it to point out that the red light has nothing to do with the track signal or it's issues.
So, that being said & understood, any thoughts?
If changing the channels doesn't help, I'd send it back to Lionel. I have a pretty "active" 2.4ghz spectrum in my house, there are three routers spread across the 11 available channels running, and I have no problem with my Legacy on channel 9.
Golferdg,
You may have a problem with your Legacy 990 base or with your Cab2 or the batteries in your Cab2 are no longer any good or under charged. As Guns advises you may need to send the 990 Legacy in for repairs.
PCRR/Dave
Just put new batteries in. I don't use the charger.
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