LEGACY System Utility v1.0

Rudy,

I just downloaded the System Utility software-- no issues.

Tried to open the PDF file of the user manual, and had to "extract" procedure.

The extract procedure came up "error- not enough memory".

Any ideas on how to solve??

Regards,

Carl J

Carl

Worked fine for me.  If you open up the program and run the "How to use LSU" on the drop down.

Carl, do you have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your system? The manual is in the "PDF" format, which requires the Acrobat reader to view.

Before it gets asked, yes it works fine on the Mac using 10.7 and Parallels

For all you S3 runners you can now edit the keypad to control the Mars Light! 

For all you guys with Legacy engines give the functions on the drop downs a try.  On my Pennsy 2-10-4 it comes standard with tender marker lights and Rule 17.  Before I did anything I made sure rule 17 was functioning, then I edited that position, where rule 17 was and added engine marker lights.  I can now control both tender and engine marker lights individually and rule 17 functions!

These feature are on a trial and error bases.  Not all will work.  You have to experiment.!

Some of the features available are...

Engine Marker

Tender Marker

Hazard

Ditch Lights

Ground Lights

Rule 17

Strobe Light

MARS Light

Other (Unknown what this is yet)

and blank!

Thanks, Chris. As a fellow Mac user I can also report LSU runs fine under 10.6.8 and VMWare Fusion.

Thanks Marty, I guess I won't be on the forum this evening.

Dan

Marty E,

Thanks for the help.

Yes, opening-up the Systems Utility Program and going to the "Help" and "LSU Manual" opened-up immeditely in the Adobe Program-- then save to hard-drive.

Thanks,

Carl J

After finding out the number of the black module, I found that on the Lionel site, and the manual is there in PDF form.

Lionel 6-37125 Legacy Writable Utility Module

I wonder if those modules are actually in stock?

John, not yet

Very resourceful, John! Indeed, the manual is on the Lionel site and Chris is correct, the black LEGACY Writable Utility Module is not yet available. As soon as I can get an ETA on that part, I'll post the info in this topic.

Thanks,

Rudy

Lionel, LLC

We eagerly await the module arrival!

I have to dig through my closet and find a serial port card, haven't needed one in years!

The  modules are listed on the lionel site (not out yet) how many do you need for updating 2?

The serial "Y" cable that ships with the LEGACY system is the recommended cable to use, but I've found other cables that work. You need a male connector on one end, female on the other. I've seen these described as "serial extension cables," but as they say, your mileage may vary.

rudy

jojofry

You only really need one. Write the CAB-2 module and upgrade then write the base module and upgrade.

Jojofry, it can be convenient to have a couple black modules, but you can certainly get by with one. 

If you need a USB/Comm adapter I have found the system is not picky. There is a nice one recommended in the manual, but I have also used a real cheap one that works fine too

gunner wont a usb to serial cable work? i use one to program my mth tui

I know I have a bunch of serial cards, so it'll be free to install one.  I'll have to make sure I have a PCI slot, they're in short supply on new motherboards, and this one is only 3 months old!

JoJofry yes they work great

Indeed, we expect most if not all USB-to-Serial adapters will work, but the one we mention in the manual is what we tested with. 

Ah i have the software to run my trains off my laptop

John, thanks for posting the manual!  Two questions spring to mind:

• What's the new R100 mode?  Is it only selectable via the utility, or with the CAB-2 as well?
• Can you change the order in which engines or accessories are stored in the CAB-2?  Currently, when you scroll through engines or accessories with the CAB-2, it seems you have to scroll through in the order in which the items were added.

1) R100 is for ERR items

It will not allow you to re-order the scroll.  It only lets you edit engines.  Accessories are not accessible, at least in the current release.

I take it that basket of modules i have that came with stuff up to now are not writable.

CJack,

They are not

I am interested in installing this utility.I read the PDF attachment and it mentions there is a Legacy software version 1.5.My base and Cab 2 is currently 1.3.Is there a new version available that I should be upgrading to?Am I missing any functionality I wasnt aware of?Appreciate.Al B.

1.4 is out on some new bases, 1.5 is early, early Beta. 1.4 is mostly to support the ZW-L and has a setting to work with ERR TMCC items. Neither are available to download at this time

1.3 will work, except you will not get the multiple personality modules (where you can store more than 1 engine on a black module)

Adding the ground lights on and off and rule 17 to my legacy challenger  was neat ..

I have a feeling in future years there is  gonna be some legacy stuff that is gonna make the stuff we have atm look like a 8 track tape...

FasTrack with IR sensor as demoed last York.. Just wait

Reading through the manual this looks really cool. 

I just ordered one of the Keyspan Hi-Speed USB Serial Adapters.  As soon as that shows up I get to play.

The software works flawlessly, installed in minutes, used a serial USB/Serial cable found the port and had the base backed up in a few minutes. Also added ditch light buttons on a Dash-9 and they worked great. This will be a great feature that will allow us to keep all data for our club layout stored for future use.

Outstanding work Lionel, Thank You.

And when the module become available, you can make a new module with the custom settings you've edited.

Clubs could conceivably store an entire base based on the users that are present and recall those settings again.  There are a lot of neat possibilities.

I also see a lot of potential for additional tabs for editing and even creating lists for print out.  This will be a topic of discussion at the LUG meeting for sure!

I am happy to report a flawless experience using the LSU software.  Details For those who might need step-by-step instructions: 

1. Not a fan of the quirks in Windows 7, I continue to use MS XP Pro on a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 laptop.
2. I downloaded the file to the subdirectory Programs > Lionel > LSU successfully.
3. I ran the setup.exe program successfully without a glitch and placed a shortcut LSU icon on my desktop.
4. I plugged in my long serial cable leading from the Legacy base via my USB-serial cable dongle and turned on power to the Legacy base.
5. Double-clicking the desktop LSU icon launched the program.  The program launched flawlessly and presented me with the LSU orange screen with the two tabs (“Maintenance” and “Edit Engine Data&rdquo, defaulting to the Maintenance tab view.
6. I went to Maintenance > Configure > Com Port and selected “Com8” (which is the Com Port number assigned to my USB-serial dongle).  Within a few seconds the LSU software paired successfully with the Legacy base and so indicated.
7. I pressed the “Backup Database” button on the Maintenance screen, selected a file name, and specified the location on my hard drive where I wanted the .hex file saved.  The Legacy base data was then saved there culminating in a message indicating a successful backup.

No luck with the R100 mode. Anyone try it yet? Shows up as a blank mode on the remote, no control at all for that engine.

Norm, I'm guessing you are running CAB software v1.3. You'll need v1.4 in order to use the R100 mode. LSU will let you do that update yourself, once the black LEGACY Writable Utility Modules are available.

rudy

You got it Rudy, I am on 1.3. Looking forward to trying it out. Will 1.4 be a free download?