Lionel SC2

The SC-2 needs to receive a signal from the house wiring ground. An easy test is  to temporarily lay a three wire extension cord next to the SC-2. The extension cord must be plug  ged into a three prong outlet. The Cab-1 does not talk directly to the. SC-2. Placing your hand next to the SC-2 will let see a stronger signal also. If this experiment improves operation, a permanent solution would be to install a ground wire near the SC-2.

David is correct.  The reason it improves holding the remote close is your body's capacitance coupling to the antenna, it has nothing to do with the remote.  If you hold your hand next to it without the remote, it'll do the same thing.

Thank you both so much. I plugged in a three cord extension and laid it beside the SC-2  and it now works perfectly, even with the  Cab-1 as much as 20 feet away. What a delightful and simple fix. One would think that Lionel might have included something about this in the instructions. But no matter, I am now a happy operator again. David, as you suggest I will next hook up a single wire ground, just to keep the wiring nice and tidy. Thanks again to both of you for sharing this tip.

Jim

@JWH posted:

Thank you both so much. I plugged in a three cord extension and laid it beside the SC-2  and it now works perfectly, even with the  Cab-1 as much as 20 feet away. What a delightful and simple fix. One would think that Lionel might have included something about this in the instructions. But no matter, I am now a happy operator again. David, as you suggest I will next hook up a single wire ground, just to keep the wiring nice and tidy. Thanks again to both of you for sharing this tip.

Jim

@JWH,

In practice your house wiring is supposed to take on the role of the extension cord.  Thus the cord is only a band-aid.  That's why Lionel doesn't mention it.

Is it possible that you had electrical work done on your house wiring just before the SC-2 started acting up?

You may need an electrician to check for proper grounding on your wall outlets, particularly the one that your command base is plugged into.  This could also be a safety issue for you and your family.

This is because the ground pin on the wall wart that is powering your command base is critical.  It must be plugged into a properly grounded outlet, hence the suggestion in the paragraph immediately before this one.

Yes, the extension cord works, but because it does it's a potential sign of bigger problems.  You need neither it, nor the single ground wire, because they're both band-aids, and not genuine fixes.  To be safe have your house wiring checked out, before someone gets hurt.

Mike