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@Alabama Joe posted:

It could be me, maybe one of those days where I should have stayed in bed.        I loaded all the engines I run into my base 3, including my two lash ups.        I run with the Base 3 on my ORBI network on Channel 1.     My 990 is on Channel 1 also.    Most of the time I run with the 990 powered off.   Only time I power up the 990 is when the Base 3 acts up…….  

Today the Base 3 would Power up a Legacy Steam Engine, sounds were activated, Whistle working but the throttle would not work.    What am I doing wrong?

Train Brake on somewhere in either the app or Cab2?

in addition,  one lash up with three engines worked well, the other lash (that worked previously) would not even power up?   Thoughts?

Not enough information.  I'd recheck the programming.



using the 990 everything above worked well.

Joe



i wanted to post a video but the 40 second video was to large for this forum.

@MartyE posted:

Do you know how much information on the website has changed since Base3 was released?  A lot.

Not only that but it's laid out for quick access to the various components and topics.  The online site is much more valuable than any paper manual.  Updated at a moments notice.  I'll take the website over flipping through a manual any day.  This is the way 95% of products have their documentation.

Marty, I agree. The website is invaluable and the best way to handle the dynamic environment of the new system and app. The print icon at the top of every section is a quick way to produce hard-copy. (Probably not wise to us that method for the entire website. ) However, FWIW, I also find hardcopy to be useful as well, so I pick those portions of the website that I would like to have available hardcopy and produce my own. For example, the TR section  explains how to Build a Train and use Train-link.  I selected what I wanted, pasted the selection into into a Word document, manipulated the size of the graphics to save space w/o compromising my eyes (I'm an old fart and that's important!) then I saved it as a PDF. I printed the PDF as a 'booklet'.  Result is a handy-dandy hard copy that's the size of the  Lionel Owner's manuals.  The TR section was last updated in October 2023. The pics are examples of the output.

They are 8.5"x5.5".  I slip them into 'sheet protector' and then into a a mini-binder binder. Left doc is from the website. The right hand doc was from I can't remember!



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i haven't seen much if any discussion of the fact that when you IPhone "times" out while using the CAB3 App(???) it isn't always easy to get the app to re-establish a connection to the Base 3.  It would be nice, if when you restart the app, it automatically would re-establish it's connection to the Base 3.  I'm not saying this is "hard" to do, but it is a pain.  You get the can't find the Base 3 before it does reconnect without doing much else to make this occur. 

Most thing work good as long as you don't let your phone time out on the APP.

@donhradio posted:

i haven't seen much if any discussion of the fact that when you IPhone "times" out while using the CAB3 App(???) it isn't always easy to get the app to re-establish a connection to the Base 3.  It would be nice, if when you restart the app, it automatically would re-establish it's connection to the Base 3.  I'm not saying this is "hard" to do, but it is a pain.  You get the can't find the Base 3 before it does reconnect without doing much else to make this occur.

Most thing work good as long as you don't let your phone time out on the APP.

Answered here in response to your post a couple of weeks ago.

@donhradio posted:

i haven't seen much if any discussion of the fact that when you IPhone "times" out while using the CAB3 App(???) it isn't always easy to get the app to re-establish a connection to the Base 3.  It would be nice, if when you restart the app, it automatically would re-establish it's connection to the Base 3.  I'm not saying this is "hard" to do, but it is a pain.  You get the can't find the Base 3 before it does reconnect without doing much else to make this occur.

Most thing work good as long as you don't let your phone time out on the APP.

Why reopen the app?  Just push the WiFi symbol in the app.

@donhradio posted:

i haven't seen much if any discussion of the fact that when you IPhone "times" out while using the CAB3 App(???) it isn't always easy to get the app to re-establish a connection to the Base 3.  It would be nice, if when you restart the app, it automatically would re-establish it's connection to the Base 3.  I'm not saying this is "hard" to do, but it is a pain.  You get the can't find the Base 3 before it does reconnect without doing much else to make this occur.

Most thing work good as long as you don't let your phone time out on the APP.

You can also just turn off your lock screen on your phone before a running session.  Then turn it back on after you are done. 

@donhradio posted:

Can't press that because the phone goes into power down mode, and you have to restart the app when you bring the phone out of it's "sleep" mode.  You are looking at a dark screen on an IPhone.

I don't have to restart the app.  Yes the screen goes dark, I open the phone and the app is already open.  I just push the WiFi symbol and it connects.

Tape Here

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@ToledoEd posted:

I can't find the member that posted the attached PDF of the control website:  control.lionel.com  I tried searching to recover the original post...no luck.

I just want to thank you for the effort you put in to produce this document. No doubt a time-consuming effort.

I'll stick with the website.  It's updated as needed and easier to navigate but to each their own.

@ToledoEd posted:

I can't find the member that posted the attached PDF of the control website:  control.lionel.com  I tried searching to recover the original post...no luck.

I just want to thank you for the effort you put in to produce this document. No doubt a time-consuming effort.

I'd like to take credit but that is actually the document Lionel submitted to the FCC for device testing and approval.

Last edited by H1000

Hi Experts,

This may have been asked before, but how do I load 30 orange modules into my Base 3? I tried to simply put the modules into the port on the Base 3, thinking it would trigger a load option in the phone app.  No such luck.  I think it should be a separate page in the app to load modules.  Maybe it is, and I am not learned enough to know it.

@donhradio posted:

Hi Experts,

This may have been asked before, but how do I load 30 orange modules into my Base 3? I tried to simply put the modules into the port on the Base 3, thinking it would trigger a load option in the phone app.  No such luck.  I think it should be a separate page in the app to load modules.  Maybe it is, and I am not learned enough to know it.

Chose the ENG address you want to load the module to.  Swipe up to the engine configuration screen.  There is a load module button there.  Insert the module and push Load Module.  The information will be added.  Push back and hit YES to save.

The Power and Control Website covers this here.

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Last edited by MartyE

I asked some BASE3 PDI questions to TalktoUs @lionel.com.  I may have a long PDI cable run for an overhead layout.  I like to be sure on power questions.  Here are the questions as asked and answered.

  1. The  processor power for the LCS modules cpu's is provided by the Base3.  Each LCS item has different power needs and I need to calculate what is available before a PDI bus joiner is needed.   What is the maximum amperage per PDI port provided by the Base3? Each PDI port on the Base3 is fused at 5A. The max that a LCS module’s CPU pulls is around 250mA. So you can get quite a few modules on each of the 3 ports. We did state on the website that each port is rated for up to 10 modules, but that’s just playing it safe. And most people come nowhere near that many.
  2. What is the maximum recommended amperage the PDI cable can carry for the processor power?    I need to know the max amperage to supply a PDI bus joiner. 5A
  3. What is the max length of PDI cable daisy chain run before a PDI bus joiner would be needed to overcome voltage drop?   You can join 2 20’ cables before it becomes a problem.
  4. I may need to have up to 40 feet between LCS modules.    Can I splice 2 cables together and not worry about voltage drop? Or is 20ft the maximum? You can use 40ft. Instead of splicing, consider the joiner board we sell through service.

I think when adding a joiner and power supply. Having a fuse for the added power supply would be a good idea.   

@VHubbard posted:

I asked some BASE3 PDI questions to TalktoUs @lionel.com.  I may have a long PDI cable run for an overhead layout.  I like to be sure on power questions.  Here are the questions as asked and answered.

  1. The  processor power for the LCS modules cpu's is provided by the Base3.  Each LCS item has different power needs and I need to calculate what is available before a PDI bus joiner is needed.   What is the maximum amperage per PDI port provided by the Base3? Each PDI port on the Base3 is fused at 5A. The max that a LCS module’s CPU pulls is around 250mA. So you can get quite a few modules on each of the 3 ports. We did state on the website that each port is rated for up to 10 modules, but that’s just playing it safe. And most people come nowhere near that many.
  2. What is the maximum recommended amperage the PDI cable can carry for the processor power?    I need to know the max amperage to supply a PDI bus joiner. 5A
  3. What is the max length of PDI cable daisy chain run before a PDI bus joiner would be needed to overcome voltage drop?   You can join 2 20’ cables before it becomes a problem.
  4. I may need to have up to 40 feet between LCS modules.    Can I splice 2 cables together and not worry about voltage drop? Or is 20ft the maximum? You can use 40ft. Instead of splicing, consider the joiner board we sell through service.

I think when adding a joiner and power supply. Having a fuse for the added power supply would be a good idea.   

I suspect that your questions were answered by Dave so I'd feel comfortable with those responses.

Like Marty says, those would be accurate answers that Lionel provided, but like almost anything electrical, there are assumptions underlying the answers. For an LCS network, the number of  devices and how they are distributed along the length of cable determines the voltage at each device. For example, consider a network with 50' of PDI cable and six LCS modules. If five are located in the first 10' and one is at the end at 50', the voltage the last device sees will be higher than if one device is in the first 10' and the remaining five devices are in the last 5' of the 50' run.

Definitely use a Joiner to connect the two 20' PDI cables. It may or may not need to be powered depending on what is connected in that run. My LCS was designed and built 10 years ago, it has 42 LCS modules plus five powered Joiners. Lionel R&D was most helpful and analyzed this system using their design software. They recommended the locations of the powered Joiners and the total amperage capacity required using the actual resistance per foot of their cables and the actual current demand of each module.

Posted below is the LCS one line of my layout. The purple dots are the powered Joiners. Note the total number of devices and the total cable length each Joiner powers varies. This is a 990 Cab 2/Base 2 system. the separate LCS power supply is rated at 2A. An additional single 3A, 13.5VDC power supply was used to power all five Joiners. A 12VDC regulator was used at each Joiner to assure 12V at all the Joiners.

Using a Base 3 the end of the LCS line would be connected to a separate Base output, the WiFi Module eliminated, and the 20' PDI cable across the swing gate would be eliminated. Four powered Joiners would be required because of the voltage drop.

The LCS has proven to be very reliable, and in my opinion from 9 years of daily use, an excellent system for controlling a layout.



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