MOUNTING DCS BASE UNIT

Al,

I'm new to DCS & am wondering about where & how to locate my DCS System so it will most effectively pick up the infrared remote signal at the base unit.

First, the DCS Remote and TIU communicate via RF not IR, so line of sight is considerably less important. What's more important is removing substantial obstacles to RF transmission, e.g., concrete walls, water heaters, etc.

Second, the best way to mount the TIU is vertically, above table height and standing up with the serial port on the bottom edge. This orients the antenna for best transmission and reception.

Regardless, the majority of deviations from this "perfect" placement are common and work just fine.

I've managed to go about 25 feet away from the base unit & still maintain control with it,but today I had to hit emergency stop as I seemed to lose contact.

This is perfectly normal. Once you press E-Stop, you must turn off and then on again all of the layout's TIUs, as well as the remote on which E-Stop was pressed. If you do not, you cannot operate DCS again until you do so.

This and a whole lot more is all in “The DCS Companion 3rd Edition!" This book is available from many fine OGR advertisers and forum sponsors, or as an eBook or a printed book at OGR’s web store!

Is it a full DCS or the remote commander? If it is the full DCS, it is not a infrared signal. I recently mounted mine in a closet for a shelf layout. The reception is very good. It goes through walls and quite a good distance. We have never tried the remote more than 20 feet, but it will work all the way up to 20 feet.

Corey,

Since the DCS Remote Commander lacks an "E-Stop" button, which he claims to have pressed, I'm assuming he's referring to a DCS TIU and remote.

Yes,I forgot I'm running 2 rail & yes I have the TIU & Remote. That makes good sense to mount the red eye on the TIU vertically. Thank you,fellas.

Al Hummel

Ive had MTH DCS for about a year and it still does not work, right out of the box. Is it compatible with TMCC? Or do I need a different hook up? It is frustrating.

Buzz 

GG1 2340 posted:

Ive had MTH DCS for about a year and it still does not work, right out of the box. Is it compatible with TMCC? Or do I need a different hook up? It is frustrating.

Buzz 

Guess you need Barry's book! I've had DCS (3-Rail) since the first month it came out, and have since up-graded to REV L TIUs. Since we power the layout in "super mode", we have two TIUs, two Z4000 transformers, and two Lionel 180 bricks. All the power supplies, TIUs and Legacy/TMCC bases are located on wood shelves under the layout (generally out of sight), and we have NEVER experienced any communication issues with all the various walk-around handheld controllers.

If the E-Stop worked I'm pretty sure the remote and TIU were still communicating.

In any event, I highly recommend you get Barry's book, link in his post above. If you are new to DCS this book has a wealth of information that you will find nowhere else and it will also greatly improve your DCS experiences.  

rtr12 posted:

If the E-Stop worked I'm pretty sure the remote and TIU were still communicating.

In any event, I highly recommend you get Barry's book, link in his post above. If you are new to DCS this book has a wealth of information that you will find nowhere else and it will also greatly improve your DCS experiences.  

I have his book. Nothing works

Not sure what to say? I followed the book and everything works fine here. I haven't had a DCS error since I got trains running on my permanent layout about 2-1/2 years ago.

I got errors previously with a few temporary layouts I set up, where I did not follow the book. Still worked, but was somewhat fiddly and strange things happened once in a while.

I gave up about a year ago.

My TMCC works fine. I do not know if its the hook up in addition to the DCS.

Maybe I'll try it again. If I get another headache I stop.

Buzz

Al,

The "red eye" (LED) isn't the issue. Orienting the TIU as I described puts its internal antenna in the best position for communicating with the remote.

Buzz,

Are you aware of these two things:

• TMCC or Legacy engines can interfere with the DCS signal.
• Sometimes, often in shipping, the transceiver board in the TIU, remote or both can float out of its socket, causing very poor or nonexistent DCS communications.

Both of these situations have straightforward solutions, as discussed in The DCS Companion.

This and a whole lot more is all in “The DCS Companion 3rd Edition!" This book is available from many fine OGR advertisers and forum sponsors, or as an eBook or a printed book at OGR’s web store!

GG1 2340 posted:

I gave up about a year ago.

My TMCC works fine. I do not know if its the hook up in addition to the DCS.

Maybe I'll try it again. If I get another headache I stop.

 

Buzz

I have both DCS and Legacy on my layout, they both work just fine together here. I don't have any TMCC only stuff, all my Lionel stuff is Legacy. All but one of my MTH engines are PS3. My only PS2 is boxed up.

Barry Broskowitz posted:

Corey,

Since the DCS Remote Commander lacks an "E-Stop" button, which he claims to have pressed, I'm assuming he's referring to a DCS TIU and remote.

Good catch, I missed that.