Hello another crazy MTH question. I have mth real trax three rail track with a tiu and wiu connected. When I run my ps3 locomotives and I go to check the track voltage via my iPhone app it sometimes says read failed. Does this happen to anyone and why does it happen? Thank you
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No, I have not seen that on my layouts.
Thank you for replying, I don’t why nobody else did? Sometimes you get a bunch of replies and sometimes not any.
I have had that happen, caused by poor signal.
How would you correct poor signal? Also thank you so much for replying!!
there's a long list of things that can make the signal suffer. Anything with a capacitor to aid in power loss needs a choke to keep the signal strong. Certain brands of lighted cars for example seem to wreck the signal and need to be modified, or kept on separate loops. Seems like most engines with TMCC/Legacy needs chokes installed if they are on the same power (TIU) source.
The first thing with good signal is to have good power delivery. If the power isn't flowing to the rails all around the layout, the signal may suffer where the power dips. There's a famous list called Barry's rules that guides us to keep the power and signal strong. Too much track, too many engines, etc., on a single TIU channel can be bad. If you draw down the power by having too much on the rails (too many amps), the signal will suffer.
Try taking extra stuff off the rails that's not running and do a signal strength test and see what you get. If it's still low, we'll have to help you get it stronger.
this is a good read
Low dcs signal strength | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)
Thank you and I will read and try what you have suggested! Have a good night!!
I have my signal strength up to 10 now thank you for all of the help!!