LEGACY System Utility v1.0

Don, could you please update your email address in your profile? 

Done

I still see dfmott@comcast.net as the display address.  That isn't correct, is it?  My message to you bounced.

 

Fixed (hopefully)!

 

Hi Don,

 

You're right--my mistake. There is a gender issue, as the ARC serial cable has a male DB9 and the COMMAND BASE connector on the LEGACY Y cable is also male. If you're still interested in experimenting, I believe a DB9 female-to-female gender changer, wired straight through, will allow you to keep your ARC, computer and keyspan adapter connected at all times.

Hi Everyone

 

Just completed the V1.4 Software Update. I know very little about Computers, so put this thing off as long as I could. I will have to say it wasn't the easiest thing I'v done, but not the hardest either. The next Upgrade will be a "SNAP"!! You won't believe this, but here goes. NO where does it say to "POWER UP" your Base Unit while you make these Modules.  SO, once I got past that place in time, it was pretty easy! If you just follow the Directions, it all comes together!!!

 

Good Luck!!!

 

FREDSTRAINS (LOL to Myself)

Well... I guess that's true Fred.  OTOH, I hope it didn't take too long to figure out you needed power!

Fred.  Fred. Fred....Fred. Fred. Fred. Fred. Fred.  LOL!

When I was working and responsible for training in a large company, we had a saying;

 

"The good news is people will do exactly what you tell them to do, the bad news is people will do exactly what you tell them to do."

 

Doug

what is parallels

 The popular "run Windows on a Mac" application.

Virtual Box is the only free 3rd party application I find for the Mac to run Windows.  There is Apple's own Boot Camp, but that requires you to boot into a separate partition and run Windows exclusively until you're done.

 

Those are the free choices.  Of course, for either of these you'll have to have a licensed version of Windows to install.

 

Here's the information on Parallels.

Okay so i run on my macbook pro with Mac OS v:10.6.8

What should i use and what is easier to use

Easiest to use?  That would probably be Parallels for $50.

Cannot get LSU to work with either of two XP SP3 computers.  Using Keyspan USB adapter.  I have set the com port for Hardware Flow Control and set the speed setting in the LSU to slow.  My computer sees the base but will not communicate with it for database backup or to create modules.  Any help would be very appreciated.

You mentioned the computer sees the LEGACY Base. If you use LSU to modify something in an engine record--for example, change the road name, is that change reflected in the display of your LEGACY Remote?

If you save the changes to the base, then the changes will

show on the Cab 2.

 

Thanks for the responses but the problem is my computers cannot talk to the Legacy base due to a Hardware Flow Control error.  As a result I cannot do any of the functions of the LSU software such as database backup or module creation.

Right, I understand you can't make modules or do backups. Just wanting to confirm that the third function, modifying and engine record and SAVEing the changes also does not work. Have you tried changing the road name and Save Changes?

Also, are you using the original black LEGACY serial cable that came with your LEGACY Cab and Base? That cable is known to support the flow control. If you're using another cable, it may not be wired correctly internally.

I have no data stored on the computer to make any engine changes.

 

Yes I used the black serial cable that came with the Legacy system.

 

I suspect this is a Windows XP issue but have no idea what to do about it.

ekaplan, it is possible that LSU is talking to the wrong com port. This would account for LSU "seeing the base," but with no functionality at all. This seems to be what you are reporting.

 

Quoting from page 25 of the LSU manual:

 

Most modern PCs don’t include an old-fashioned 9-pin serial port. Instead, a USB-to- serial adapter is required. But the operating system still keeps track of “virtual serial ports,” and the LSU software must be pointing to the correct port in order to communicate with your LEGACY Base.

 

Once your USB-to-serial adapter has been connected and it’s drivers installed, you can determine which “com port” it is connected to by the following steps:

 

1 Right-click My Computer

2 Choose Properties

3 Click Hardware

4 Click Device manager

5 Scroll down to Ports (COM & LPT) You’ll see something like this:

6 Find the com port associated with your USB-to-serial adapter and use that number when setting the LSU’s Com Properties.

 

(See the PDF manual for a screen shot which shows a Keyspan USB adapter connected)

 

cheers,

rudy

Thank you but I had already selected the appropriate com port.

 

BUT I realized that I had made an assumption from your previous suggestion about trying to modify an engine record.  I had thought if I could not backup the database then that engine record function would not work.  Wrong!  I just successfully connected to the base and was able to modify an engine record. Well then I went back and successfully backed up the database. So its working as its supposed to. Thank you for your help!  It is most appreciated.

Excellent. I'm glad to hear LSU is now working properly. Thanks for your follow-up.

Cheers,

 

Rudy

Lionel Engineering

Hi,

 

It is possible to configure the lights photo # 4011 (do not know the name)
by LSU?

 

You can turn the headlight off with your remote already no use for the LSU. (AUX 2 button) The number boards are not wired separately

The class lights may be separately controlled, did you try holding the AUX2 key down for several seconds to access the extended lighting menu?  You can also add things to the menu using the LSU.

 

The actual ability to control the lights will depend on the capabilities of the locomotive itself.

 

Is this the Legacy Lionmaster model?

Yes, Legacy Lionmaster !

 

Thanks,

Would anyone be willing to load the update onto a black cartridge (would I need 2?) and mail it to me? I would provide the cartridge of course. The Mac process seems overly complicated.

Good Evening!

 

Happy to Help.

 

E-Mail Address in Profile

You need two, one for the CAB2 and one for the Base.  If you're doing it locally, you can program one, load it into the unit, then program the other, and load it into the other unit.  However, by mail, it will require two cartridges.

 

I decided to just figure it out, because that was the right thing to do. Turns out it's much easier than I thought. Here is the instructions for Mac users in 9 easy steps.

 

Steps

1. Download and install Crossover for Mac
2. Download LSU Software, and LEGACY Update zip files. Unzip.
3. Make a new Bottle in Crossover, install the "Folder" for LSU, you will see what I mean when you are looking at Crossover.
4. Download and Install software for the USB Serial Adapter (see below "what you need")
5. Hook everything up to your Mac per Lionel's Instructions
6. Make a symlink for the usb serial adapter in the bottle's dos devices in terminal:
   cd ~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles/<Your Bottle Name>/dosdevices
   ln -s /dev/cu.usbserial com1
7. Launch CrossOver again, Launch your Bottle for LSU
8. Choose Com1 as the serial port and everything should just work.
9. To make it easy move the Legacy update files to ~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles/<Your Bottle Name>/drive_c/Program Files/Lionel/LSU/

 

What You Need

• Crossover for Mac... google it. 14 day trial will work for now.
• TRENDnet USB to RS-232 Serial Converter TU-S9 easily obtainable on Amazon for under $10
• Latest ProlificUsbSerial driver, you can find it on Prolific's Taiwanese site, it's easy to find and install.
• Lionel stuff... Legacy base station, CAB2 Remote, The Y Serial cable that came with the base station, black memory module, and the Lionel software which is free on their website.
• A Mac, a power outlet, etc. duh!

 

Enjoy!

Never tried crossover, will give it a try.

Did the crossover software program the black modules properly?  Did the modules program the legacy base and remote properly?  I use a mac and this would be great..

 

j.r. carter 

If you follow my directions it will work flawlessly.