Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Originally Posted by Moonman:

The Lionel signal may be in the air to the engine, but it emanates from the outside rails and wiring. The antenna on the base is only for the handheld\base communication.

Actually, a small correction.  The antenna for the TMCC/Legacy does not receive the signal from the rails, but rather from the "earth ground" that is propagated using the ground lug from the Legacy base and radiates through the building wiring and even the actual earth.  The other side of the signal comes from the rails.  If you connect the antenna to the frame (hence the rails), you'll kill the TMCC/Legacy signal dead for that locomotive.

 

DCS uses the center and outside tracks as a crude transmission line and the signal is transmitted down the rails.  That's the reason that sometimes filters or "magic bulbs" will help the signal strength, they provide termination for the transmission line to minimize signal reflections.

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×