MTH DCS Remote Commander 50-1033

something to add

the people in brown delivered a new UP PS3 4-6-0 train set with the remote the set is great by the way. I have my UP Sd70ACE and put it on the track even though it has been run in conventional ever since bought in June and to my surprise it started up with the commander. It is very nice and controls both engines very nicely. 

If it was factory reset before you got it, running conventional doesn't change that.  So, that would indeed still work.  It's only when the engine is powered up with a DCS system that it suddenly won't work with the DCS Remote Commander without a factory reset.

I got the mth dcs remote commander a couple of weeks ago then last week got a mth z750 transformer then took it to the club did a factory reset then used the remote commander im  proud of it runs what i need on my engine and works great thanks for the input guys   

Is there a way u can hook a MTH  Z750 controller up to the DCS commander the reason im asking because this thing puts out full power with my bulbs 18 volts this putting out 21 volts im afraid going to blow the bulbs or a way to control the voltage

Hello chessie1971........

I had the very same problem so i switched to 24 volt bulbs in my caboose and boom tender.  I have not had any burn out bulbs lately.  I LOVE my DCS remote commander set.

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

Thanks Tiffany i may have to do that some of my cabooes and cars has lights has a switch to turn them off but some don't

Hello chessie1971.........

I am using the williams porthole caboose and railking boom tender, they both use bayonet base 12 volts(williams) and 18 volt(railking) so switched to 24 volt bayonet bulbs. Too bad nobody makes a 24 volt bayonet base LED bulbs.

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

Thats true Tiffany maybe they will some day the leds will last forever if they did

Personally, I'd probably just change transformers.  A nice PW KW with an external circuit breaker or fuse would solve the problem, and you can set the track voltage at anything you like.  I know that my Lionel Powerhouse 180's put out a pretty consistent 18 volts, but the Popwerhouse 135's, are putting out close to 20 volts.

You should switch to LEDs Evans designs are very nice and they willtitans up to high volts I have tested them up to 23 volts with succes. I'm thinking that's MTH's reasoning for having LEDs in the new PS3 units. I also love My DCS remote commander and am now running it with a Z1000 because I really expanded the layout and the Z500 was not enough. Should I be using a Z1000 it's for a imperial sd70ace and a RailKing PS3 4-6-0 I run 3 lighted cars and two lighted lock ons. 

I just went under the layout and checked here are the ratings of the Z750 and Z1000

Z750- Output 21V AC 3.75A 78VA

Z1000- 18V AC 100W or

14v AC 80W (Accespry)

Its seems like the Z1000 is a better choice because it's only rated at 18V while the Z750 is at 21V. I will check later with my voltmeter on the ends of the DCS remote commander later.

Yes.  You can plug the transformer into the Z750 controller to lower the voltage before it goes into the DCSRC.  This requires a coaxial/barrel connector which plugs into the DCSRC.  But you might not have that connector lying around with suitable amperage rating. 

So another option is to run the DCSRC in so-called "passive mode". The Z750 output directly powers the track and the DCSRC output connects to the track - at the lockon is probably most convenient. You probably have suitable wiring or cables lying around to do this. The DCSRC input (that coaxial/barrel connector) is not used in passive mode.

Running 18V bulbs at 21V will cut their life in half or worse so you're on the right track.

Hello chessie1971.........

you're very welcome, i am sure it was allan that removed the post but at least someone had to stand up to him so it might as well be me !!!  My e-mail address is BlueRose95953@hotmail.com .   For the bulbs and to keep the costs down i would use the 24 volt bayonet base bulbs for now until someone makes the 24 volt LED version of that.  If yours comes with a bayonet base.

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

allan.............

If you didn't remove the post then who did ?

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

Tiffany,

Since the advent of the new forum, each of us is capable of removing our own posts. Just click on the trash icon at the upper right to of your own post to do so.

What if I run Legacy but I have one Ps2 engine?  Could I buy the remote and just hook it up to the track and it wouldn't interfere with the Legacy?  I'm sure there are other variables like you can/can't run Legacy at the same time etc... Just looking for answers...

Thanks!

Rob

Hello guys and gals.........

ok, just forget about it and move on .......... no harm done 

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

Rob,

What if I run Legacy but I have one Ps2 engine?  Could I buy the remote and just hook it up to the track and it wouldn't interfere with the Legacy?

You can just hook up the remote and run the PS2 engine simultaneously with your TMCC and Legacy engines, even on the same track.

 I'm sure there are other variables like you can/can't run Legacy at the same time etc... Just looking for answers...

The only caveat is that some, but not all, TMCC or Legacy engines may interfere with the DCS signal.

If this happens, there is a relatively simple fix for any offending TMCC or Legacy engine.

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

>facepalm< Great. That's what I get for reading this after I bought a remote commander today. I picked up an MTH 4-6-0 frankly because it looked neat in YouTube videos and was affordable. I also decided to pick up one of these remote controllers, because I will have a small layout, running one train at a time. I wanted to access all the other sounds beyond the bells and whistles. None of my locos have ever been touched by a DCS system or had their settings changed by me. So are the odds in my favor that it's at factory settings? I have no intention (nor the finances) to go full tilt DCS. Also, is there any way to use this with Lionel fastrak?

If your locomotive has never been operated with another DCS system (meaning it is from-the-box factory fresh, if you will), you won't need to do anything to operate it with the DCS Remote Commander.

Certainly you can use the DCS Remote Commander with Lionel FasTrack.  That's what I do on my tinplate layout.  The two wires from the track connect to the Remote Commander receiver and the cord from the power brick plugs into the outlet on the other side of the receiver.  Put the batteries in the handheld and you're good to go.

Just remember--always--that as long as the green indicator lamp on the receiver is on, you will have a full 18-volts (more or less) going to the track.  To avoid the possibility of a short, you'll need to disconnect the receiver from the power source (I just pull the plug from the receiver) before adding the locomotive or cars to the track.  Ideally, in my opinion, MTH would have equipped the DCS Remote Commander with an on/off switch to cut power.

Allan,

Ideally, in my opinion, MTH would have equipped the DCS Remote Commander with an on/off switch to cut power

The easy way is to use the receiver in Passive Mode and use existing track power, with its existing throttle and on/off switch.

This and a whole lot more is all in "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

I was nervous about pumping amps through the tiny barrel connector on the DCS Remote Commander, so I always connected it in passive mode.  As Barry says, that took the power issue out of the picture, it powers on or off with the transformer.

Since getting the DCS system, the DCS-RC is in the closet, I'll probably put it on the block one of these days.

John,

Since getting the DCS system, the DCS-RC is in the closet, I'll probably put it on the block one of these days

If you have small children that visit the layout, you might consider using the DCSRC to let them run an engine that has been factory reset. You can connect the DCSRC  passively to a loop on your layout controlled by a TIU channel. It won't interfere with operations using DCS through the TIU and remote. That way, you and teh visiting child can both run trains together with the child using the simpler DCSRC handheld.

That's how I exercised my DCSRC when I was writing the chapter for the 2nd edition of The DCS O Gauge Companion.

Barry, that's interesting.  What about the conflict between the DCS signals from the TIU channel and the DCSRC?  I thought that would be a problem.

John,

What about the conflict between the DCS signals from the TIU channel and the DCSRC?  I thought that would be a problem

There is no conflict at all.

DCS does not send out a constant signal as do both TMCC and Legacy. Rather, it sends out a watchdog signal at channel power-up and then is quiescent until a command is issued.

When the DCSRC handheld and a DCS Remote both send a command to an engine, that command is address to a specific engine by its DCS ID#. Operating a DCS Remote and the DCSRC handheld is just like operating two (or more) DCS Remotes at the same time. The only difference is a positive one - it's impossible for the two different devices to send a command to the same engine.

When I first got the DCSRC, I had to reset each engine to factory defaults before it would work.  It was immediately powered down and removed from the tracks.  I was told then, (perhaps incorrectly), that even powering up the locomotive on a track with a full DCS system running would corrupt the factory reset configuration and the DCSRC would no longer recognize the engine until it was reset again.

Is that not correct?  I know that the first time I had one reset, power was brought up on the full DCS system again before we removed the engine, though we didn't actually try to address the engine.  When I got it back home, the DCSRC did not recognize it, which seemed to validate the previous statements.

I see that you can disable DCS output from one or more DCS channels, I suppose that would be one way to insure this didn't happen.

What am I missing here?

John,

I was told then, (perhaps incorrectly), that even powering up the locomotive on a track with a full DCS system running would corrupt the factory reset configuration and the DCSRC would no longer recognize the engine until it was reset again.

 

Is that not correct?

No, it is not correct. You were misinformed by someone who did not know what they were talking about.

To change the engine's DCS ID# from its factory setting, it must be added to either a DCS Remote or a DCS Commander.

I know that the first time I had one reset, power was brought up on the full DCS system again before we removed the engine, though we didn't actually try to address the engine.  When I got it back home, the DCSRC did not recognize it, which seemed to validate the previous statements.

All that it validated was that the engine's battery was too weak to hold the DCS ID# changed by the factory reset.

I see that you can disable DCS output from one or more DCS channels, I suppose that would be one way to insure this didn't happen.

You could do that, however, it's completely unnecessary.

Great Barry, thanks for the clarification.  I knew about the startup watchdog, but I thought the operation of other locomotives would corrupt the factory reset if that one was on the tracks.  Obviously, I was misinformed.

So, does the RC actually take the place of a transformer? So I won't need my MTH 750? I know- I should read the manual, but I won't have a chance to break it open for awhile, and figured the "Cliff Notes" version I could get from members here would be of help.

I am so excited over the idea of using this with my new MTH 4-6-0 in Pennsy. I've seen videos on YouTube, and it looks like a cool locomotive. And it was affordable!

The DCSRC does NOT take the place of your transformer, it merely works in conjunction with it.  You still need to provide the AC power for the tracks, the DCSRC doesn't have that capability.  The Z-750 happens to have a barrel connector that plugs right into the DCSRC to power both it and the tracks.  You can also run the DCSRC in passive mode with any transformer powering the tracks directly, just connect the DCSRC to the rails.

Dave,

I know- I should read the manual

Yeah, you absolutely should find the time to educate yourself before jumping to completely unfounded conclusions.

If you simply rely on asking uneducated questions of forum members, you run a very high risk of thinking that you understand the answers, but in reality you truly don't understand them at all.

If you want to get the most out of your purchases you truly need to invest some time to gain a basic understanding of what they are all about.

No offense intended, however, you being too lazy to crack a 20 page manual is no reason for the rest of us to bend over backwards to "read the book to you piecemeal".

Gee, thanks, Barry. You're a real fun guy. Bet they love you at parties. Please feel free, if these are such a chore for you to lower yourself to a newbie's level, to just refrain from saying anything in response to my posts. I don't want you to sully yourself. 

Dave,

That's about what I expected your response would be. What, you think the forum owes you answers just because you're lazy?

Everyone who answers questions on the forum does so because they want to help. They don't look for anything for doing so, however, a simple "please"or "thank you" in a post certainly goes a long way to make us feel good about helping.

In the three posts you made on this thread, the only time you used those words was sarcastically in your last post to me. Your words, or lack of them, display your selfish nature. That's self-ish, as in all about you!

You have a lot of nerve coming after me. I've made literally thousands of posts in response to requests for assistance over the past 10 years. I'm one of the good guys.

Hello Tiffany, I maybe interested in that but i don't have the money for it right now. I got a couple of other things to get out of the way first. I don't know what would be a good price. I paid 35.00 for mine brand new a couple of months ago maybe 25.00 plus shipping.  Thanks Jeff  

hello chessie1971..............

25 dollars plus shipping is good.  let me know when.

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany