MTH Y6B sound upgrade

 John... he can't with 3.1.. needs 4.1 or higher This message will self destruct in 10 minutes.

I think maybe he needs to move up to 4.2.

That was quick, thanks guys. Will be going to the hobby store to upgrade the TIU and hopefully recover that engine and maybe try a different sound file.

One of the "garbled" things is the ID, if it's out of range, that's exactly what the Recover Lost Engine function is there to solve.

its not in the remote any longer.

I removed it when I was doing all the resets one at a time.

This is why I recommended a TIU update 3 post below this one.  There are reasons to have the latest update even if your trains are running fine at the time.  G

The "upgrade" I was talking about was the recommendation that he buy Rev. L TIU's, not that he not update the software.

2 of my TIU's & the Y6B are at the LHS. I should have some news by Tuesday or so.

Ok,  Wasn't clear, since at that point we were talking about how he can upgrade his software.   Previous post were about the merits of a new TIU.  Just wanted folks to know its worth having the latest software even if trains are running fine.  G

And you would be 100% correct, updating to 4.2 is worthwhile, even with the earliest TIU hardware, totally agree.  I differentiate between an upgrade and an update.  The upgrade normally costs money.

Well, I think it's about time to wrap this up. I've been to my "LHS" and they updated, not upgraded, my TIU's and remote to 4.2.  So far, all seems good. I'm going through the process of adding my locos back into my system. Once again, so far so good. Very encouraging. LHS was also able to get my Y6B online, so to speak, with there system but not mine. Could not add into my remote, odd? They wanted to explore further but I figured let me take it home and try myself. All I needed to do was a track read and I was able to locate and add my locomotive. That seemed logical to me but they seemed to miss that.

So, to re-cap.  2 TIU's and 1 remote updated. Y6B is running like a champ, although when I start it up it says maintenance required! What does that involve beside cleaning, oil and grease? And, what started all this, the sound file was not changed, since there really isn't a point without a full upgrade.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I'm sure to have more questions in the near future.

Joe

Yes, clean and oil/grease, and than you can go into the remote and reset the maintenance clock.  G

Thanks.

 Hi Joe, you can reset the Maintenance required  , You'll find it under the "more" softkey when the engine is selected, Scroll down to maintenance and  reset it.(another softkey

We know when engines are added to the remote they're associated with the tiu they've been added to. I noticed you have 2 tiu.

However the "read" is king of association. It can move the association from one tiu to another if the engine is on that tiu's track. Maybe that's what happen to you.

Hi Gregg,

So far everything seems ok. Thanks for the info.

Joe

I'm still considering changing some sound sets on my own. My LHS is willing to do this, at a cost, which is fine but if it actually isn't that difficult I'd like to give it a shot. They did make it sound like it's a long drawn out process that takes 4 hours or more. Could that be possible?

After I download the DCS loader and have everything hooked up, how complicated is it, and about how long should it take per engine? I'm really only considering doing this on some engines that have been upgraded to 3V. Are there any risks?

Thanks,

Joe

It takes me about 5-6 minutes to change a sound file for a PS2/3 locomotive.  I guess if you count the time to connect the laptop to the TIU, call it 10 minutes.

There is very little risk upgrading the sound files, they don't get committed until they're properly read.  I've had loading failures, but never had any issue just reloading the sound file.

Anyone that tells you it takes hours to upload a sound file is conning you!  You have to wonder what other lies they're feeding you.

Ironman:  It is simple.  MAke sure no loco but the one you wan to upgrade is on a track that can get power.  Turn off all power to the layout.  Start the program on the computer and follow the instructions there as to when to turn on power to what.  If the load fails, turn off the power and start from scratch.

I personally recommend a separate loading track, though that's not necessary.  I normally load them on my bench with a short test track.

Since all of my layout is toggle-switched blocks, I simply turn off all but one block on the circuit I am using.

Thanks guys for the feedback. I thought it wasn't really that involved and the guy at the LHS was stringing me along. I have a dedicated track on the bench anyway for adding new engines into DCS. I just don't have a computer nearby or a laptop. Maybe I can get an old laptop from a family member looking to upgrade.

Another question on a different subject, it's about smoke units, specifically recent Lionel fan driven units. Most of my locomotives are MTH but I have a few Lionel JLC and one Legacy. My MTH engines smoke like crazy and have only suffered from noisy fan motors that a little oil has fixed. On the other hand the Lionel units smoked ok when new, but soon after, output was weak. I know if you add too much Lionel Premium fluid it affects the output. How can you tell when it's just low fluid? I've been guilty in the past of over adding. I have been careful with the Legacy engine, only adding the amount recommended on the product video. Now I'm afraid to re-add.

Any thoughts or rule of thumb?

Thanks again.

You should normally add fluid when the smoke output at a specific volume setting has significantly slowed.  I'm working on a locomotive right now where that rule was not followed.  There is smoke fluid EVERYWHERE!  Contrary to some beliefs, it will kill circuit boards it seems.

Run it until you think the output is low and than take shell off and add some and inspect it.  That way you can have a feeling for how much for each engine. But given most smoke unit are the same size I think you will have a standard.  I usually add 10-20 drops for MTH. 

I've never had a problem with the MTH smoke units. I haven't done the Lionel Alleghany smoke unit yet. Maybe tonight. If that works out maybe I'll tackle my JLC Y6B and N&W Class J. My concern has been with my Legacy EM-1. It's new, and I only added fluid when I first got it. Since I don't want a repeat of the Alleghany disaster I reached out for some feedback. After reading gunrunner's reply above, I added just a few drops. Figured that couldn't hurt. I can honestly say, LESS IS MORE! With only a few drops, the output is significant, and equal to when I first tested it.

Now to build my confidence with the Alleghany rebuild, I hope.