You need to find someone with the full DCS system and have them do a factory reset on the locomotive.  That should resolve your issue of running it with the DCS Remote Commander.  There is no conventional reset that will accomplish the DCS Factory Reset.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You need to find someone with the full DCS system and have them do a factory reset on the locomotive.  That should resolve your issue of running it with the DCS Remote Commander.  There is no conventional reset that will accomplish the DCS Factory Reset.

Thanks for the reply John.  I managed to reset it with my KW (see follow-up above).  I got the two horn blast confirmation indicated in the manual I attached.   I wasn't doing the combination fast enough.  All functions now work using conventional with my KW.

Assuming the address is now set to default address '1',  the Remote Commander still does not work.

Maybe there is some other incompatibility with my version of PS2?

John

Try the reset feature on the remote commander

1. Set the engine on the rails
2. Connect the DCS Remote Commander
3. Press the following buttons in the order listed below (remember - you are pointing the remote at the IR base, not the engine)
   • SND
   • DIR
   • - (this the minus symbol indicated when you press on the bottom half of the center, gray rocker)
4. You will get a two toot response from the engine and it will now be alive with lights, sound smoke, etc

You didn't read my previous post.  The DCS Factory Reset is different than the conventional transformer Factory Reset.  Resetting with the transformer will NOT do a DCS Factory Reset.

@My train book posted:

Try the reset feature on the remote commander

1. Set the engine on the rails
2. Connect the DCS Remote Commander
3. Press the following buttons in the order listed below (remember - you are pointing the remote at the IR base, not the engine)
   • SND
   • DIR
   • - (this the minus symbol indicated when you press on the bottom half of the center, gray rocker)
4. You will get a two toot response from the engine and it will now be alive with lights, sound smoke, etc

Were there different versions of the Remote Commander?

The directions that came with mine (which I recently purchased) say under the Reset to Factory Defaults section:

"The factory defaults cannot be reset with a DCS Remote Commander.  You must use a conventional transformer with whistle and bell buttons..........."  Which is what I did.

Maybe that method only works with PS3 ?   Any potential risk if I try it anyway?

John

I will say again so it doesn't get lost in any mis-information.  In order to run a PS/2 locomotive with the DCS Remote Commander, you MUST do a Factory Reset with either the full DCS System or the DCS Commander (note, not the DCS Remote Commander, they're different products).

Newer PS/3 locomotives after about 2014 had the capability of being reset using the DCS Remote Commander, but that was never an option with any PS/2 locomotive.

These are the ONLY two systems that will solve your problem!

DCS Commander

MTH DCS System

Listen to John   Thats the only way to do a factory reset   Conventional reset means doodly squat

I've got it now.  Sorry if it didn't penetrate my skull.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9bk2MrMGaA

Thanks,

John

Yeah - the "instructions" keep saying "reset", but it doesn't do a "factory reset". Ask me how I know. I have a friend with a full DCS system and he resets my used "assigned" locos to Factory Defaults for me, so I can use my Remote Commander. I have too many nice PS2 locos to convert them all to ERR, I'm too old to get it all done, and the Remote Commander works well, so long as you are mostly cruising along on the main line.

For switching - not so much.

Been awhile, but I just got around to trying this.

A forum member sold me a DCS WiFi Explorer awhile ago which seems to run this engine just fine using the DCS App. and I also picked up an MTH Premier GP-30 with Proto-Sound 3.0  (20-20250-1).  It too runs great with the WiFi Explorer and the DCS app.

You can do both a feature reset and a factory reset with the WiFi Explorer using the DCS app.

I reset the PS3 diesel and it worked with the DCS Remote Commander after a factory reset using the WiFi Explorer and DCS app.

I reset the Southern 4-6-4 Hudson (30-1363-1) with Proto-Sound 2.0    It still will not work with the DCS Remote Commander.  No response at all.

Anyone have any ideas as to why?

Thanks,

John

I had a PS-2.0 diesel that was really flaky with the remote commander as well. SP RS-11 I think. Try replacing the battery or having the locomotive sit on the track with the power on for a while. That might fix it. The combo was always troublesome for me so I got rid of the locomotive and just run PS 3.0.  If you keep fooling around with it you might find the trick. I always did eventually and it would work.

And like John said above, some but not all PS 3.0 can be reset with the remote commander. Otherwise you need the DCS Exploder or better.

@Mark Holmgren 110217 posted:

I had a PS-2.0 diesel that was really flaky with the remote commander as well. SP RS-11 I think. Try replacing the battery or having the locomotive sit on the track with the power on for a while. That might fix it. The combo was always troublesome for me so I got rid of the locomotive and just run PS 3.0.  If you keep fooling around with it you might find the trick. I always did eventually and it would work.

And like John said above, some but not all PS 3.0 can be reset with the remote commander. Otherwise you need the DCS Exploder or better.

Thanks Mark,

I'll try replacing the battery.  Like I said, the DCS WiFi Explorer did the factory reset and the engine disappeared from the roster so I presumed it reset it.

I did try leaving it sitting for awhile with power applied before pressing the startup button on the remote, but it wouldn't start.

But the battery I haven't replaced.   Worth a try.

Thanks again,

John

But the battery I haven't replaced.   Worth a try.
Does it hold sound through the shutdown sequence (about 10 seconds) when you cut the power while it is idling? If so, the battery is fine.

It's possible there could be a signal issue on your track. Unfortunately, the Explorer can't report DCS signal to the App.  To test this, put the PS2 engine on a short piece of test track and try to run it with the Remote Commander.

@Craftech posted:

Thanks Mark,

I'll try replacing the battery.  Like I said, the DCS WiFi Explorer did the factory reset and the engine disappeared from the roster so I presumed it reset it.

I did try leaving it sitting for awhile with power applied before pressing the startup button on the remote, but it wouldn't start.

But the battery I haven't replaced.   Worth a try.

Thanks again,

John

I know you performed a reset but this may not have defaulted the engine to ID1.

Also- the reason why the battery matters. The add engine or even reset process only happens in RAM- memory lost upon power cycle unless the working battery subsystem- both charging and then using battery for logic power works at the end of the track power down sequence track to then store all variables (example DCS ID) from RAM to stable more permanent memory location for next boot.

I cannot stress this enough- a symptom of a failing system (battery or supercap) on PS2 or PS3 is you can add the engine to DCS. It works for that session, however if track power is dropped or lost- now the engine DCS ID doesn't match and you have to re-add the engine and it works but increments up an ID- repeated over and over with each power cycle. Yes, sounds continuing to play for so many second after track power is lost is also a test, but the true test really is this final storage of variables as part of the final processor shutdown power loss action- powered by this battery or supercap system.

Again, the new ID- be it a reset sequence or new ID, is held in RAM- which will be lost when power is dropped, and needs a working battery/supercap system to then write the value from RAM to permanent storage. This is just how PS2 and PS3 microprocessor firmware works. The system boots and takes the values from it's permanent storage location. If the final shutdown and power down sequence doesn't write or update the value, then the next time it boots it keeps using this old previous ID value.

This easily explains why some resets and some other sequences did not get you back to ID 1 required for use with the IR commander remote.

I don't have a spare rechargeable battery.  I can order one, but won't a new 9V battery work OK to test the suggestions Vernon and H1000 made?

Following the Factory Reset, the DCS app says that the engine will be assigned an address of 1 when I add it as long as no other engine is on the roster.  I did that so shouldn't it be assigned an address of 1?

Thanks,

John

The 9V Alkaline is OK as a test, but since they can't be recharged, they won't last long.

From a 5V PS/2 User's Manual.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The 9V Alkaline is OK as a test, but since they can't be recharged, they won't last long.

From a 5V PS/2 User's Manual.

Hi John,

I looked at the bottom of the tender and compared it to the illustrations in Barry's book.  It looks like it's 3V and not 5V.  I haven't opened it yet to look.

But I got it to work. 

I reset the engine with the DCS app and the WiFi Explorer again, but this time after the engine was cleared from the roster by the Factory reset I let it idle for more than five minutes.  Then I pulled the circuit breaker to kill the power and apparently it wrote to the engine this time because it then immediately worked with the Remote Commander.

Or it just finally charged enough.  It did and does in fact stay alive for 10 seconds or so when the power is cut so I guess the battery is "OK".

Should I order a BCR2 and if so which one?

Thanks,

John

Obviously, you need the BCR2 for a 3V board.  If you're at all handy with a soldering iron, you can also make your own.  These were made by clipping the connector and wire off an old battery and soldering it to a 1.5F 5.5V supercap.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Obviously, you need the BCR2 for a 3V board.  If you're at all handy with a soldering iron, you can also make your own.  These were made by clipping the connector and wire off an old battery and soldering it to a 1.5F 5.5V supercap.

Nice !

Thanks John

John

This is interesting:

If I use the WiFi Explorer and let the DCS app assign an address of "1" to either MTH engine (The PS2 or the PS3) I have neither of them work with the IR DCS Remote Commander.  They only work if I do a full factory reset. ??

I thought the Factory Reset assigns an address of "1" to the engine so why if the WiFi Explorer assigns it an address of "1" would it not work with the IR commander?

Thanks,

John

Actually, the factory reset doesn't set the engine to engine address 1, it apparently puts it in limbo.  If it really set it to 1, you could edit the address in the DCS remote and run a reset engine, but that doesn't work.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Actually, the factory reset doesn't set the engine to engine address 1, it apparently puts it in limbo.  If it really set it to 1, you could edit the address in the DCS remote and run a reset engine, but that doesn't work.

Thanks John,

Limbo it is.

John

@Craftech posted:

I thought the Factory Reset assigns an address of "1" to the engine so why if the WiFi Explorer assigns it an address of "1" would it not work with the IR commander?

There's a longer explanation to this but the short point is that you should add 1 to every engine in your Remote or APP roster to obtain the true DCS id number assigned to the engine.  so for example in the remote & app, the engine with DCS ID #1 is actually #2 and #3 is actually #4, and so on and so forth.  The DCS Remote & App cannot access an Engine with ID of #1.

For an excellent explanation of how DCS IDs work refer to Appendix E of Barry Broskowitz's DCS Companion Book.

@H1000 posted:

There's a longer explanation to this but the short point is that you should add 1 to every engine in your Remote or APP roster to obtain the true DCS id number assigned to the engine.  so for example in the remote & app, the engine with DCS ID #1 is actually #2 and #3 is actually #4, and so on and so forth.  The DCS Remote & App cannot access an Engine with ID of #1.

For an excellent explanation of how DCS IDs work refer to Appendix E of Barry Broskowitz's DCS Companion Book.

I checked that Appendix.

When you add an engine and it assigns an address it is actually written to the engine as one MORE than it says.  So when the DCS App says it is assigning an address of "1" it is actually "2".  Only a full factory reset will assign a true address of "1".  That's why it wouldn't work with the IR Commander.

Thanks H1000

Regards,

John

It's really not important to know the minutia of exactly what happens, only that a factory reset puts the engine in a unique "factory fresh" state.  The whole point is that the actual +1 number is invisible to the user.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Obviously, you need the BCR2 for a 3V board.  If you're at all handy with a soldering iron, you can also make your own.  These were made by clipping the connector and wire off an old battery and soldering it to a 1.5F 5.5V supercap.

Picked up a pair of no name (supposedly Cermant) supercaps rated at 1.5F and 5.5V

Looked at an earlier post of yours regarding the connector and ordered those.  JST-PH  2mm.  I should have looked at the connectors before I ordered them.  They are not JST-PH.  They are something else.  I didn't want to cut off the connector because the battery is still good.

JST-PH I ordered is on the work surface.  Actual connectors are on the tender on the right

Close-up of the connectors

Also, what is this interface for?  An external charger?

Thanks,

John

@Craftech posted:

Also, what is this interface for?  An external charger?

Thanks,

John

Yes indeed, that's an external charging port.

(5v PS2 systems with a charging port have a round barrel jack.)

---PCJ

@Craftech posted:

Also, what is this interface for?  An external charger?

John

Yes.      The charger is an MTH item with 2 leads.......one for the 3 volt and another for a 5 volt system.  The one you show is only for the 3 volt system.

Thanks guys.  Much appreciated.

Do either of you know the type of connector used so I can make my BCR 2 without cutting off the connector on the battery?

Thanks,

John

@Craftech posted:

Picked up a pair of no name (supposedly Cermant) supercaps rated at 1.5F and 5.5V

Looked at an earlier post of yours regarding the connector and ordered those.  JST-PH  2mm.  I should have looked at the connectors before I ordered them.  They are not JST-PH.  They are something else.  I didn't want to cut off the connector because the battery is still good.

JST-PH I ordered is on the work surface.  Actual connectors are on the tender on the right

Close-up of the connectors

Also, what is this interface for?  An external charger?

Thanks,

John

The JST-PH connector can be used to connect the BCR directly to the PS2 board. There are times when I remove the Charging port/ battery harness completely to reduce the amount of wiring in tight spaces that simply aren't needed anymore with a BCR.

The JST-PH connects directly to the top board as H1000 indicates, so you can use them.  If I'm building a bunch of these, I use the JST-PH connector.  If I'm just ad-hoc replacing a battery with a supercap, I just cut off the leads of the battery and solder them onto the supercap as illustrated.

@H1000 posted:

The JST-PH connector can be used to connect the BCR directly to the PS2 board. There are times when I remove the Charging port/ battery harness completely to reduce the amount of wiring in tight spaces that simply aren't needed anymore with a BCR.

Thanks that worked great.

John

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The JST-PH connects directly to the top board as H1000 indicates, so you can use them.  If I'm building a bunch of these, I use the JST-PH connector.  If I'm just ad-hoc replacing a battery with a supercap, I just cut off the leads of the battery and solder them onto the supercap as illustrated.

Yes, thanks.  That worked great.  JST-PH Connectors were kind of cheapo that I got from Amazon.  The  wire was only 26 gauge and the black and red leads had to be reversed in the connector.

But it works great.

Thank you both. 

John

The JST-PH connctors were my "standard" for mass production.  Also, back in the day when the upgrade kits were the 3V PS/2 boards, I could use the supercap and just toss the whole charging harness, made the installations easier to do and maintenance-free for the battery.