MTH WTIU Setup

ok, so when you say you connected power, you did positive to the Red and Common to Black correct?  I'm not sure what the red light means on the WTIU, but I'm going to assume there is a short somewhere.  I would start simple, find a small loop of track or clear your whole track except 1 DCS locomotive.

Can you post some more about how you have the WTIU wired in?  Should be wires from the Transformer into the In, the from the Out side to your distribution block / track.

Also, Fixed just means it will pass through whatever voltage is passed in, so if you crank your handles up to 19 volts, that will be passed to the track, if you only go to 10, only 10 will be passed to the track.  Variable channels allow you to adjust them as if they are handles.  i.e. you pass in 19 volts but use the remote or app to change the voltage to the track.  Keep in mind to use the variable channels like that you will need the premium side of the app.  Also, that will allow you to change the variable channels to fixed if you'd like.

The WTIU will do nothing for your Lionel locomotives, you need the Base3 for Lionel, the WTIU will only run DCS locomotives (unless you link the Base3 through the WTIU with a cable coming in the future, but given your issues keep it simple) leave your Lionel engines in run and use them as normal using the Base3, DCS and Legacy can run on the same track, the signals don't interfere with each other.

For the DCS locomotive you put it on the track, add power, get the purple light on the WTIU for that channel, then in the app you "add" the train in.

Also, I added the WTIU manual, it isn't great but has some basics about adding and running engines.

@ArtsModelTrains I accidentally figured it out. The directions are ridiculous. I actually watched a video from Mike at Brady trains and figured what I was doing wrong. I ran power from transformer to WTIU and had plugged for WTIU connected. So, you cannot do both, duh. Anyways, all set with power. I have a new problem and same old one. I got my Burlington GP40 to add, however if the screen sleeps, the app puts the locomotive in inactive and you cannot connect to it (to control it, you can close app and it will become active, but you cannot control it 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬) . You have to cut power to track and start over again. Extremely weird bug and oversight. The app should require the screen to stay on if it will loose connectivity. And the problem from before is still the same. The Atlas locomotive is not seen by the WTIU. It is a brand new Proto 3 and according to Atlas they should easily connect. So, not sure what I am doing wrong. I got my MTH connected per instructions easily. Thank you for the manual and yeah, these manuals are nonsense! If you have been in the hobby for years, all this maybe simple, but for those who have not or you want to get in the hobby, saying something is "easy" and giving minimal instructions is a fool's errand. Yes, it is easy for those who have been doing this forever, but it is another language for prospective customers and newbies. 🤬🤬🤬🤬

@ArtsModelTrains here is a video of current setup which based on what Mike from MTH said, power from plug and out to block/track and I have solid purple and was able to connect my MTH engine, no problem. However, it disconnects as I said before if my phone screen goes to sleep. #Nonsensical

Any insights on connecting Atlas, would be much appreciated. Also, I am very disappointed in MTH saying you can run any manufacturers locomotives with this system, because you cannot. Lionel powers up like a conventional locomotive by having WTIU on and Base3 off, but that is it. Locomotive does nothing but sit there smoking...lol. False advertisement. 🤬🤬🤬🤬

ok in that video I notice you have nothing coming in the WTIU, just the out.  Is that on purpose?  That is fine if what you are doing is powering your track directly from the Transformer.  What this is called is passive more and actually how I ended up wiring my unit in. 

For that atlas engine, can you put in on the track closest to the WTIU connection?  That will be where the signal is strongest.  I would also suggest getting the voltage on the track to 18 volts to make sure the signal is strong.  One other thought I would have is make sure the track and locomotive wheels are clean.  Really not sure why it won't show up to add to the system, I'll have to think more about it.  Maybe also double check the wires going from the WTIU to the track and make sure those connections are solid.  Take that GP40 and go to the sounds "tab" in the app, at the bottom there is a "signal test" button, that will put the locomotive in signal test mode and tell you in the app what your DCS signal strength is, that might help determine if signal strength is your issue.

I do think the way MTH marketed was a little deceiving to new users since you are right, if you aren't familiar with the control systems saying it is one unit for all comes off wrong.  Basically, what they are saying is you can connect through the WTIU and use their app o control Lionel engines (I believe with limited functionality).  In reality it is cleaners and easier to just link both systems to the track per their instructions and use their respective apps to run their brand locomotives.

@Dntbsillynow posted:

@ArtsModelTrains here is a video of current setup which based on what Mike from MTH said, power from plug and out to block/track and I have solid purple and was able to connect my MTH engine, no problem. However, it disconnects as I said before if my phone screen goes to sleep. #Nonsensical

Any insights on connecting Atlas, would be much appreciated. Also, I am very disappointed in MTH saying you can run any manufacturers locomotives with this system, because you cannot. Lionel powers up like a conventional locomotive by having WTIU on and Base3 off, but that is it. Locomotive does nothing but sit there smoking...lol. False advertisement. 🤬🤬🤬🤬

The DCS system has not changed from the way it has always been before with the new WTIU.

Just some clarifications:

1.  Yes, you can control Lionel engines from the DCS app, BUT you still need the TMCC/Legacy or Base3 because that is what is controlling the Lionel engines, not really DCS system itself.  Neither Lionel nor MTH command systems can directly control each other engines from the command bases.  You basically are just joining 2 systems together to allow the MTH system to control the Lionel system.  This has not changed from before.

Having said that, right now with the New WTIU you cannot control Lionel engines at all until the special pigtail cable is released to be able to hookup the Lionel base to the WTIU.  Supposedly in a month or so it should be available.

2.  Disconnecting when the phone goes into screen lock is actually happening from both Lionel and MTH, just turn off your screen lock when running trains.  Or do what I did and buy a cheap iPad mini dedicated to run trains and keep the Lock screen off.

3.  Current Atlas engines with DCS should work fine as it's the same system and actually made by MTH for Atlas.  There is no difference than a currently made MTH engine.   I have the Atlas Amtrak Genesis P42 PS3 and it ran fine with the WTIU. 

4.  You don't have to close and reopen the app if an engine goes Inactive.   Just Re-Read it by hitting the refresh icon in upper left, next to the engine name and if it is on the track, it will make it active.

Any locomotive on the Track that does not see a command signal (whether MTH or Lionel) will automatically power up in conventional mode.  That is your indicator the engine is not seeing a command signal.

If you are serious about using the DCS system I highly recommend you spend a few bucks and buy Barry Broskowitz's book (The DCS Companion Guide) on Amazon.  It has everything you ever wanted to know about DCS.  Most new users are surprised what it can do and also the requirements for it to run correctly (how to wire your track feeds for best performance).  The book is worth every penny.

Can you tell us how it is wired to your track (how many track feeds do you have) and how big is your layout?

There are a lot of factors depending on your layout, how many loops/power districts, etc.

All I can say is it is working fine on my layout so it's unlikely it is the WTIU.

The DCS Companion 3rd Edition: Broskowitz, Barry: 9781517374396: Amazon.com: Books

@Sean's Train Depot I did finally get the Atlas to connect. No idea why it was not doing it, but turned off and on everything multiple times and it finally worked. I have a pad. I was using my phone to get started. I put the MTH app on the tablet and it worked after a couple resets of everything. I have to check my Atlas this morning as I was utilizing the signal and voltage checking features of the app and the sounds did not work anymore on my Atlas loco, it was making the signal sound. I was tired and went to bed. Lol. But good thing is the signal is 10/10 on every inch of my track and volts were set at 20 on transformer and read 20 the entire length. I have a small layout. 80x80 and the largest loop is .25 miles (scale miles). Awesome benefits of this system. Thanks for the time to share your insights and information. Much appreciated! Let's just hope I did not damage my new locomotive. Not sure why it was acting weird last night. 🤔

@Sean's Train Depot here is a video on my layout.

https://youtu.be/foPB6yz-Pwc?si=2GYafwz5tl8b60ZK

I have been in the hobby/trains exactly 1 year and the layout is 10 months in the making. 80x80. Z4000 transformer. Base 3 and now WTIU (powered by plug, fixed 1 to track block)  It is overkill as far as wiring as I have about 10 or so drops for these two loops as I was honestly just practicing developing the skills to even do this. 🤪🙃

@Dntbsillynow posted:

@Sean's Train Depot here is a video on my layout.

https://youtu.be/foPB6yz-Pwc?si=2GYafwz5tl8b60ZK

I have been in the hobby/trains exactly 1 year and the layout is 10 months in the making. 80x80. Z4000 transformer. Base 3 and now WTIU (powered by plug, fixed 1 to track block)  It is overkill as far as wiring as I have about 10 or so drops for these two loops as I was honestly just practicing developing the skills to even do this. 🤪🙃

That sounds all good! 

If you have 10's across the board then no problem as even in the new manual for the WTIU, MTH says a signal of 5 is sufficient.

Yeah, so here is the thing if using an Atlas engine for signal checking.

I have had issues with Atlas engines when doing signal checking.  The sounds would not come back after ending the signal checking and locomotive became unresponsive/acting quirky.

So, I had to shut everything down and back up to get it back.  I tried it a couple time and same result.  I had to rest engine one time to get it to come back.

But that only happened if I tried using the Atlas engine for signal checking.   Otherwise, the Atlas engine worked perfect like any other MTH one.

When I used an MTH engine to check the signal, it worked fine and came back to normal after ending the signal check.

Not sure why Atlas has an issue (might be the sound files).  But since I never need to use that engine for signal checking I did not worry about it.

Some quirk with the Atlas engines even though the electronics are supposed to be exactly the same as the MTH engines being made today.

Thanks, @Sean's Train Depot I will check it in a couple hours. Appreciate your time!

I’m going on memory here from many years ago. After adding DCS I did a lot of signal tests. After you exited the test the engine would be silent. You had to hit Volume Up to restore the sounds but it ran fine. I did one the other day and all was fine the sounds came right back. But when I was doing initial testing. DCS was in it’s infancy with Proto 2 and 5v boards. Not sure why your Atlas would exhibit this trait.

@Dave_C posted:

I’m going on memory here from many years ago. After adding DCS I did a lot of signal tests. After you exited the test the engine would be silent. You had to hit Volume Up to restore the sounds but it ran fine. I did one the other day and all was fine the sounds came right back. But when I was doing initial testing. DCS was in it’s infancy with Proto 2 and 5v boards. Not sure why your Atlas would exhibit this trait.

My new MTH PS3 locomotives (3 of them) all have this issue, if I use them for testing the signal my two hints are turn off the test where you know you have an 9 - 10 signal and then adjust the vol to get sounds back.