new to Lionel cab control, have questions

Thanks Marty,

can you advise how much railsound function I will use lose running newer Lionel and conventionally?

Again, thanks, Jerry

Marty-

Typically the only sounds which are inaccessible when running conventionally are the CrewTalk/TowerCom announcements, and also the sequence control feature (found only on newer Legacy locomotives). It is highly recommended to add a 9V battery or a BCR (w/accessory charging circuit) if you plan on operating Railsounds locomotives conventionally, as the battery will preserve the sounds when the direction is changed; without the battery the sounds will automatically reset to the startup sound each time the locomotive changes direction.

Another point to consider is the locomotive's couplers. While not part of the railsounds system, it is still important to note that the couplers will only operate in command mode; Lionel's workaround is to couple the locomotive to a car with traditional operating couplers, and rely on the car's coupler and an uncoupler track to uncouple the locomotive. MTH's locomotives (Proto-Sound 2.0 and higher) are capable of remotely uncoupling the locomotive's couplers, even when running conventionally.

Hope this helps!

-John

Jerry A,

    IMO eventually you will want to run Legacy & DCS together, it took me a while to figure this out myself, after doing so the engineering advantages of running with the 990 Legacy Base unit and the full DCS are well worth investing in, especially if you are going to purchase more Legacy and DCS P2/P3 engines.  Remember when running both Legacy & DCS you have full control of all the different kinds engines, including conventional engines.  It took me a while to realize the best way to operate my multi level layouts was with both DCS & Legacy combined.  IMO it is a mistake to invest in TMCC Cab1 when you will eventually want the the full Legacy package with Cab2 to run with your DCS.  The only way I would invest in TMCC Cab1 is if I could pick up a perfect one, on the used market for very little money, because sooner or later you are going to want a full Legacy Base unit and Cab2.   The good thing about the TMCC Cab1 is that it will operate the FasTrack Command Control Switches.  However I like the Cab2 even better for this operation also.  Marty E is correct however, if you never intend on purchasing more Legacy engines, which seldom happens, then purchasing the TMCC Cab1 is the way to go.

PCRR/Dave