Legacy System - Advice Sought

Eric,

Although this may surprise you as far as many of us know Lionel is still fixing CAB-2 and its Command Base under warranty, no matter how old.

Contact the service center at TalkToUs@lionel.com, or call 586-949-4100, and select Option 2.  Ask for a Return Authorization to ship your CAB-2/Base back for diagnosis and repair.

Once you have it you can ship your system back for servicing.

Mike

My advice is don’t worry about changing the batteries. Most people I know turned off the charger and taped over the contacts. Matter of fact mine sits in the base flipped over to keep it from getting dusty.

The sticky issue can be solved by wiping the grips down with alcohol. This happens with a lot of these types of surfaces.

3rd if you really want the charger to work, the Lionel warranty on the Legacy system is non expiring so far as long as it isn’t abuse. So you can obtain a RA and get your issues corrected.

Using DCS to control Legacy will require you use the DCS app. Along with the Legacy base on the Lionel side you will need a LCS SER2 module and LCS power supply. Always get to the latest software.

On the DCS side you will need the latest software and the DCS to Legacy cable.

Keep asking questions  we’re all her to help each other  

Here is a basic illustration of the hook up.

There is no reason to buy a new Legacy system!

The sticky coating is a common issue, and some Isopropyl Alcohol and a rag for a few minutes solves that problem.  Whatever they used for their non-slip coating, apparently Verizon used the same thing for their FIOS remotes, I had to clean it off those as well!

FWIW, I never charge batteries in the #990 command base, I recommend charging then in a separate charger.  The #990 command base has all the electronics in it, and it gets fairly warm.  When it's charging the batteries in the remote, it gets the CAB2 a lot warmer than I feel comfortable with.

I personally use the #993 charging base as I have that as well.  I had to send both bases back to Lionel for charging system issues, and Lionel is still fixing these on an extended warranty, so I'd consider that option to resolve any issues with the Legacy system.

You can also easily update the software in your Legacy system to the latest if it's version 1.2 or later.  Command bases with the first 1.0 version have to go back to Lionel once to get a later field upgradeable version of the software.

I think all the earlier Legacy bases had to go back for charging modifications. My 993 charging base also. Although after I got that back, it still died "lights out" once in awhile which I traced to a bad (intermittent) rectifier bridge of all things.

I have two legacy remotes and only charge on the 993 base as well.  Doesn’t get hot and I’ve had no issues, both remotes have the original cells in them.