MTH blown board

Older 5V boards are not available. You are looking at a PS2/3 upgrade.

I am in the same boat. Which is better? TMCC or PS3?

Is it cheaper to buy a new engine?

Depends on the engine.

DMASSO posted:

I am in the same boat. Which is better? TMCC or PS3?

Is it cheaper to buy a new engine?

 

 

"Better"? That's a dangerous word. Both work; I do TMCC and upgrades (TMCC) from Electric Railroad (ERR; 3rd Rail now sells them).

If you run conventionally, a simple reversing unit will get you back on the road. No sounds, but such is available. 

Buy a new loco? Depends, of course - these days some things are so cheap that it might make sense, but an ERR Cruise Commander is not hard to put in, and some guys offer an installation service.

how do I do a PS2/3 upgrade

You do not do a ps2/3 upgrade unless you are an MTH ASC Technician.  PS2/3 boards are available only to technicians.  By doing this kind of upgrade you use the same wire harness, saves $$$ by not having to change everything.

bruce

Do NOT do a PS3/2 upgrade. Contact one of the many qualified MTH service techs on the forum and see if you can get a PS 3/2 board set that is a direct replacement for your blown board. You do not need to rewire the entire loco. MTH has a PS3 board and an adapter board to adapt to the old wiring in your loco. It just plugs in with a bit of mounting and a speaker repalcment 

Matt is giving you the correct advice.  You are about to turn a 20 minute job into hours of work!  Don't do it!

That one will be a "bit" more work on the front end as MTH hasn't had the 5V connector boards for some time.  However, I just swap the connector shells for the 5V ones, (plenty of dead 5V boards in my junkbox), and then it's compatible.

I hate to see guys go down the unnecessary rabbit hole of upgrading a loco with blown boards. I have a set in stock if you want em but I’m short a heat sink bracket and the speaker.

About half of these I put in get a custom heatsink out of .060" aluminum stock, simple to bend and fabricate something that fits.  Funny thing, I'm still waiting on speakers from MTH as well.

Jeez guys, this is a PS-2 5V RK RTR Set engine with only a headlight and the Board is in the engine.  While I have done plenty of these for sentimental reasons to a Bantam RTR engine.  It is a tight fit and requires mechanical skills and alternative parts for heat sink.  Not for the novice.  An upgrade kit in this case, while requiring some more work, is simpler for a customer to do themselves.

Anyway, your engine can be repaired either way, but it is an expensive one for a Bantam engine. ERR To integrate sounds and stuff is even more.  So chose your poison.  But it can be repaired.  Boards are in short supply again though:-(  G

thanks everyone I will call about getting this fixed since it is my grandson's favorite. He has been running it since he could blow the whistle and ring the bell. 

I actually have this set, I’ll sell it to you