MTH DCS Remote Commander

It should work from a few feet away, but the remote really needs to be pointed directly at it. Most of the time when I use it, I have the remote very close to it, like it sounds like you are. What type of track and switches do you have, if any? The signal strength may not be great on these, and I think they are generally better suited for a small layout/loop of track. FastTrack switches, for example, can also interfere with the DCS signal and cause commands to not be received by the engine.

It's Lionel STD tubular track.  No switches at the moment.  I've even tried leaving the red cap off the receiver and trying to bend the photo cell diode leads to get a bit more clearance / better angle over the edge of the hole in the little case, but it only helped marginally.  IR is line of sight, so they really should have built this thing so the cell was above the surface of the case to prevent anything blocking the remote signal.

I use one on my layout for DCS. It's mounted to the front fascia and yes, the remote is very LINE OF SIGHT.

Only suggestion would be to try wiring the RC directly to the track buss- called passive mode. The RC will get power from the track and works just fine for me. Power wiring from your transformer should go directly to the track instead of through the RC.

My layout is 4x8 but I have lot's of switches, blocks and 2 levels and it works fine.

Bob

That's how I run mine as well.  Remote base wired to track.  Whole thing is powered by Lionel LW.  Only hassle has been fighting the angles with this IR remote.