MTH DCS Version 4.3

Hi ROGERW,

What other issues have you seen besides the flickering marker lights?

Hello Dave, My 5-unit lashup (consist) which is all PS-3 Engines (TIU Ver. I3). Some of the engines won't start when pressing the start up button in lashup mode. When starting one of my other PS-2 engines, one of the engines will start up on it's own. The reason why I upgraded to Ver. 4.3 is to gain the LSV function that would retain all of my setting on my lashups. When I start my 5-unit lashup, I have to make sure that each engine is started before moving the consist. I didn't have these issues with flickering marker lights and my lashups acting buggy in Ver. 4.2.

4.3 has known issues with lash-ups and flickering lights.  It's supposed to be address in 4.31 which was originally announce in March or so.

I noticed that if I use my remote to access the TIU version, I get "04. 3" whereas on the previous version, I get "04.20". Another indication that it wasn't ready for prime-time.

And here it is 18 March 2015 and no sign of 4.31.

Mark,

I get "04. 3" whereas on the previous version, I get "04.20". Another indication that it wasn't ready for prime-time.

If that's a big deal for you, you probably need a different hobby.

SDMark,

    You must remember this is a toy train hobby and MTH keeps making advances in the DCS all the time, with everything I have seen from the MTH engineers, this problem will be fixed, your "wasn't ready for prime time" is way off base.  These Remote Control systems are very complex and a few years back, they did not even exist.  You need to understand DCS & Legacy are on going engineering development programs, that get up graded all the time, think of it as another Computer that you can play with, that must have upgrades as the system, goes on into the future.  The amazing thing to me is most of the upgrades can be done over a computer generated network.

Barry takes these kind of statements kind of personally, he has a lot of time invested in technical writing and helping people with DCS, although I do not want to see anyone leaving our hobby, Barry's comment was spot on the money. 

PCRR/Dave

Hello SDMark, If you're that impatient with the DCS system, maybe this part of the hobby isn't for you. I'm currently having issues with DCS 4.30. I know that there are some issues that is being worked on. I'm waiting until there is a new upgrade or patch for the issues that I'm having. One thing that I know from experience, it will be fixed..............Rogerw.

1 bugs that I know of.... Turning on the smoke unit sometime causes the headlight to go out.   .

 We lived with the super mode scrolling  and engines in the inactive list issues for quite some time (4.2) but it eventually was fixed. There's always a workaround.

I agree, they will fix it and add the Wifi mobile device in the same build.  Is it taking a while, yes?  But it's worth it.

My training locomotives in a consist that are PS2 flicker if a PS3 locomotive is the lead.  I haven't tested to see if it still happens with a PS3 loco in the middle.

I've also noticed that when a consist isn't powered on and I'm using my layout, sometimes the smoke heater is on, but the fans are not.  Has anyone else seen this with their PS3 locomotives?  I honestly can't say whether this is specific to 4.3, but figured I'd ask.  I was running my subways and not the rest of the layout when I noticed the smoke from a powered off locomotive.

Thanks

Phil

I just looked at my handheld and also the three TIUs I have to determine that I am at 4.20.  

Is it worth upgrading to 4.30?  What does 4.30 have?  I have to admit I don't remember when I upgraded to 4.20, but it seems like a long long time ago (2-3 years).

John

John,

Look below and decide for yourself!

Version 4.30 New Features

• The management of lashup settings has been completely rewritten to allow accurate and repeatable retention of settings. A new soft key, “FSV”, has been added as the first lashup soft key. This allows lashup settings to be changed and then retained from the time a lashup is created, through its operation, shutdown, and subsequent startups.
• When adding an engine that's already in the remote, the message "Engine in Remote" appears, the remote returns to the engine screen and displays the engine with which a conflict was found.
• A new TR screen soft key, “MSV”, allows setting a starting and ending voltage for "ALL TIU Tracks" just like individual TIU tracks. By default, "ALL TIU Tracks" start at 1 volt. Additionally, individual TIU tracks also start at 1. volt instead of the 5 volts as previously. This allows for more effective conventional engine control layout-wide. 
• A new TR screen soft key, “MSV”, allows setting a starting and ending voltage for "ALL Z4K Tracks" just like individual Z4K tracks. By default, "ALL Z4K Tracks" start at 5 volts, witch is the lowest voltage available from a Z4000 transformer. This allows for more effective conventional engine control layout-wide.
• The following lists now also support direct access to entries by keying the item’s 1, 2 or 3-digit DCS ID#: TR List, Track Setup Edit/Delete, Accessory Setup Edit/Delete and Switch Setup Edit/Delete. 

Version 4.30 Fixes

• Previously, if a PS2 or PS3 engine, when operating in a Super TIU environment, is made Inactive and is then attempted to be made Active, it would not come out of the Inactive Engine list unless it was on a track connected to the TIU with which it was last associated. The workarounds were either to perform a READ; delete and re-add the engine; or physically move the engine to a track connected to its associated TIU.  This issue has been corrected. The engine now is able to be moved out of the Inactive Engine List and also to be made active.
• Previously, ”ENGINE ERROR" would result when attempting to add an engine that had the same DCS ID# as a lashup that was already in the remote. This issue has been corrected. The engine now is able to be successfully added to the DCS Remote.
• Previously, when operating in a Super TIU environment, increasing or decreasing speed by turning the thumbwheel faster than very slowly could cause speed to go change in the wrong direction or not at all.  This issue has been very much improved.
• Previously, the time that “Out of Range” and “Engine Not On Track” messages were displayed was very long, as was the time that the remote locked-up while displaying these messages.  The time that these messages are displayed have been considerably shortened.
• Previously, when editing a scene’s accessories or changing a Scene’s name, one could not scroll to the second Scene to select it if there was more than 1 Scene in the remote. It was necessary to select the Scene by keying its DCS number in the Scene list.  This issue has been corrected. One may now successfully scroll to any item in the list of Scenes or, alternatively, still access an entry by keying its number in the list.
• Previously, if TIU #1 was in Super Mode, all TIUs were in Super Mode and if TIU #1 was in Normal Mode, all TIUs were in Normal Mode.  This issue has been corrected. Any engine that was added to a TIU that is placed into Super TIU mode will operate on all of the TIUs that are in the DCS Remote, regardless of whether a TIU is in Super TIU mode or Normal TIU mode. However, any engine that was added to a TIU that is not in Super TIU mode, will only operate on tracks connected to the TIU to which it was added.
• Previously, sometimes, when attempting to select the System menu, a different menu was selected instead.  This issue has been corrected.

Thank you Barry.

but be aware that already built lashups in your remote, will probably need to be rebuilt.

 When I ran 4.3x I encountered some issues and was not sure what was causing them. I ran the other way (back to 4.2) and didn't work it out! I need to try it again since I've fixed things. Overall it worked great.

I'm having problems recognizing my MTH engines.  I had a Lionel system, but wanted to control my MTH engines with the remote, so I converted to a Z4000 and MTH TIU to get DCS control.  I have added numerous TMCC engines that work well with this system, however my MTH Protosound 2 engines are a problem. I added a GP-7 and it found the engine but will not find it again when I put it on the track a second time. I tried to add a 30-1391-1 tonight and the control locks up "searching for engine".   I have to remove a battery to get it to turn off.  I have system 4.3 that the LHS just downloaded for me. This is driving me "nuts" as I thought it would be an easy switch.   Any thoughts are very much appreciated.   George

George,

First, this is not a DCS 4.30 issue.

I added a GP-7 and it found the engine but will not find it again when I put it on the track a second time.

The GP-7 most likely needs its battery charged or replaced. Check the battery as follows:

• Delete the engine from the remote
• Add it back to the remote
• Start it up
• Immediately turn off track power - do not press Shut Down
• If sounds do not persist for 6-7 seconds, charge the engine's battery
• Repeat from step 1 until sounds do persist for 6-7 seconds
• If the battery won't take a charge even after charging overnight, replace the battery.

 I tried to add a 30-1391-1 tonight and the control locks up "searching for engine"

Attempt to add the engine on the exact same piece of track where the GP-7 successfully added.

This and a whole lot more is all in MTH’s “The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book at MTH's web store!

I've just updated my remote and purchased a new TIU rev L at York.  Have yet to try to create any lashups yet.  But with software version 4.1 I was seeing the same issue with two PS3 diesels, with one not starting up.  Another issue was I would turn down the volume and one of the PS3 sounds would just drop out and not come back up unless I did a feature reset.

Barry, Thank you!   I'll "give it a whirl" tonight.   George