New ZW-L. Any tips?

Great purchase! No previously released product has single handedly upgraded the way we run our trains.

First off, you no longer need the fast acting breaker box, they seem to trip at lower amps than the ZW-L and this unit can really supply the amps to run those passenger trains.

You can sell off your trainmaster variable control boxes. This puppy can run remote control variable voltage for your conventional engines.

I like the fact that this unit can replace two ZW post war units and easily split up voltage required from other controls.

My emergency power cut works now from cab 2 no more remote power cutoff switches are needed to hang around my neck.

I don't have to deal with my post war ZW's getting hot during operating sessions

The amp and voltage meter is a great plus.

The ZW-L will replace a ZW-C.  The ZW-C will replace a PW ZW that was running some smaller loops and accessories.

At this point all my transformers will be command.  Looking forward to the added power of the L.

Marty for me it has been a great transformer. I use each dial for a channel on my mainline TIU. It has a fast acting breaker and it is great, that it only kills the respective handle and zone or channel if there is a derail. And with the slide switch to connect all four channels on the rear, it has gotten me to operate my old NYC conventional equipment with the Legacy remote. It a beast for sure.

Marty, I just use the MTH Z-1000 Brick to power my Legacy system.

Marty, definitely superior power handling but here's a few observations on some details involving Z-Stuff pieces:

*  Common is not necessarily common.  In order to get common across the circuits I cannot rely on a direct connection in the transformer to supply a common.  I must always make an explicit connection to cover my grounding.

* In powering Z-Stuff and the track I had to either use all Zw-L or all PW ZW as I was getting intermittent flashing on the switch machines.  Dennis and I couldn't come up with any good reason here.

A general comment:

*  I don't run any conventional and don't find the command mode very useful.  When I power up I always have to bring the power up to on all 4 to run.  An extra step that is annoying to me.  If there is a command way to get around this on power up I'm all ears.

Overall I love it but I have had some interesting debugging sessions that didn't always make sense.  

You asked for feedback so there's some real world experiences...  Hope it helps. 

Thanks for the feedback!

Well some interesting results and or issues.

When setup as a TR, the ZW-L and the layout operate as expected.

When setup as an engine, the control of the ZW is as expected but the engine will come up hit or miss in conventional.

Connections per instructions.  The ZW-L is on the same loops my ZW-C was connected to without issue.  Any thoughts?

LionelAG how about doing a Legacy recording and run it when you start up. That will get you up and running in a couple of keystrokes.

Ron

Marty,

No advice to offer regarding the ZW-L but I am anxious to hear your impression of it when compared to your ZW-C as that's what I have and I've been considering an upgrade to the L.

Don't drop it on your foot, it's a heavy sucker!

Can you elaborate on the engine hit or miss part?  I'm not getting what you mean.

Are you talking about a conventional engine or TMCC/Legacy engine?

Do you have the Engine type for the ZW-L ID's set to XFRM (or something close to that, I'm not at my layout at the moment) for the engine type?

-Dave

I'd have to try this to confirm for myself, but is it not logical to Put the Transformer in Conventional mode and just leave the handles dialed up physically set to the voltage you want.  This should (I think - again, I didn't go try it just now confirmed) put the voltages to the track when you hit the power switch.  (I'm somewhat certain the ZW-L does not have the same characteristic of the Z4000 where the voltages don't come up if the handles are already set when powered on also confirmed)

It's important to note the "Command/Conventional" switch on the transformer doesn't relate to what type of engines you are using, but how the transformer will respond.  (Which makes sense since the engines will see the command base no matter what you do with the transformer.)  If you don't wish to vary the voltages with the remote, this may be the answer.  (further disclaimer since I didn't go and play to confirm - I don't know the effect on the halt button if you do this.)  Note that the halt button has no effect on the track voltages when operating this way.

Hope this may help.

-Dave

 {edited to reflect experiments I just did}

That's exactly the way I am running it now.  Other than conventional engines, I'm not sure there is value to the command mode.  Just exploring options and features I may miss running the ZW-L in conventional mode.

MartyE,

   I would like to invest in a ZW-L someday also, the fast acting breakers and the additional power seem to be a good investment, however I am concerned about this floating ground I keep hearing about, not sure what this means and how the ZW-L would match up on my layout with the Z4K & the DCS TIU.  As you get more familiar with the ZW-L please let me know some of the things you have encountered about running both Legacy & DCS with the ZW-L.

PCRR/Dave

I'm running full command. When the ZW is assigned as an engine, the command engine will intermittently come up in conventional. I get a lot of odd things happening and one of them is the big boy coal load randomly loading. 

Assigned as transformer.   Not sure why the engines would care Whether the transformer is an engine or tr. 

OK.  I misunderstood your comment.  I re-worded my response after confirming my suspicion on how the transformer would behave.

I mistakenly thought you were not liking having to spin the red knob on the CAB-2 to bring the voltages up on the track.  That is what my solution above eliminates.  But, as I also confirmed, this caused the halt button to not remove track power as well.  So the value to the Command Mode is at least partially that you still have the Halt safety net if something goes wrong.  For me, dialing up the voltages with the remote in command mode is a small trade off to retain the Halt key safety net.  Also, for those of us that do operate some mix of conventional sometimes, the way Command Mode works is very useful!

-Dave

OK, that does sound really odd.  Sorry, but I have nothing to help that.  I don't have a BB to see if it does something similar here, but I haven't seen that type of intermittent behavior with any of my engines.  I've had the ZW-L set as "engines"  (XFRM) for quite a while, so if it was a global "unintended feature" , I think I might have bumped into it by now on my set up.

Best of luck to you in hunting this down!

-Dave

Marty I am curious are you assigning each output of the ZW L A-U, B-U, C-U, D-U its own ID,  individual ID number as a TR or Eng or are they all the same number, trying to recognize what you are seeing. For me I run them as TR 1-4 and have no issue to date. Hope I am clear.

When assigned as TR91-94 all works as expected. When assigned ENG91-94 as I raise the voltage the command engines come up intermittently in conventional. They do not respond to commands from the Cab 2. 

Marty,

Just curious, I'm assuming that your Legacy base is connected to the ZW-L via the extra ground post provided on the L. Any difference in behavior if you connect your Legacy base directly to an outside rail?

And how was your ZW-C connected to the track?

when you set them up as an engine, do you also set the type to XFMR?

Just curious Marty, what was the attraction of the ZW-L if you run strictly command?  While I think it's certainly an impressive transformer, being another strictly command person, I find the PH180 bricks to be the ideal power source.

John

I gotta helluva good deal on it. And no there is nothing wrong with it. It's gotta be something simple. 

The he only thing that changed between the ZW-L and C connections is the post on the ZW-L for the track signal wire. Might try to add a command wire to the track. That being said what mis a bit of a miff is why TR works perfectly. 

Besides the small issue I am having with the transformer set as an engine, if I had to pay retail of even the discounted prices the sponsors are offering I'd be disappointed.  My ZW-C was fine for my layout. 

If I didn't get the L at a great price, I would do what GRJ recommended and just go with the 180 bricks.  The meters are a nice touch but not worth the cost over the bricks and a TMCC lock on or other in-line breaker.  If you need to have variable voltage just ad the Legacy PM or a TPC device.

Don't get me wrong it's a nice transformer but for the price these are going for on the open market, I think you could do better.  Maybe once I have more time under my belt I'll feel more excited but for now it delivers as promised but just doesn't make me want to buy another one with the other options you could use.

MartyE,

   Your analysis is right on the money about the ZW-L cost, it's why I still have the Z4k and the ZW's & KW's. Keep the bricks however, they limit you to much.  I know Guns loves em, we definitely differ on this particular powering set up point. I want something with Channels I can control with handles, for operating all kinds of different switches and accessories, when needed.   My one big beef with the Z4K is that the handles need to be reset at each usage, foolish limiting engineering no doubt about it.

PCRR/Dave

I will say, the ZW-L has a good feel to the handles.  Much better than the PWC and previous ZW controllers.  Over all a much better built transformer, and it really looks cool.  But again steep $ for the cool factor.

Marty,

When you assign the first ENG ID # the other three are automatically assigned the next sequential ID's.

So, when you program ENG #91 to XFMR, does it automatically assign the type to #'s 92,93,94 or would they need to be programmed manually?

When you assign 91 the other 3 assign automatically but you must go into the CAB2 and set them individually to XFMR.

Thanks, just trying to learn about the new beast.

Marty,

How are the transformer and your legacy base powered? Meaning what are they plugged into and do they get powered up at the same time with one switch or are they powered up separately?

Does powering the Legacy base first have any impact?

I have a single wall switch with everything plugged into that.  All items (Legacy Base, ZW-L and PWZW powered up at once.  No issue.

Hi Marty, We bought a ZW L for the club. We had a big problem with it. It was out of phase with the Z 4000. We had to file down the plug and turn it around to get it to work right. We really should have sent it back to Lionel and let them look at it.

Jim D.

I have ZW-L and it has been great.  My only tip - put it somewhere that it can be seen.  It really looks amazing in my opinion and shouldn't be hidden.

Although the Halt button doesn't remove the track voltage in Conventional, it does stop all the Command engines. So maybe the most common use of stopping collisions, but not having to reset the track voltage is a good thing. And as well if there is a short, the ZW-L will still respond to shorts and remove the track voltage.

No extra breakers needed for the bricks, as they have the best circuit breakers of any transformer I'm aware of.  I run the bricks thorough the TIU, so I have variable voltage if I want it, and I see no need for handles.  I have a Z-4000, it's helping put a bow in the shelf behind me.

I have it so the ZW-L and the command base could get power at the same time, done this with the ZW-C without issue, but with the L the base comes on first and I use the ZW-L power switch to power it up.  There is usually 10 seconds and plenty of boot time for Legacy to engage.

I really don't think the issue I am having is a ZW-L problem as I said works well in TR mode.  Just not sure what happens in ENG mode that makes my engines want to come up in conventional.

I watched my BB last night as I experimented with the ENG setting.  The CAB lights all blinked indicative of looking for an non existent command signal.  Then popped on with sounds.  I'll figure it out.

The transformer is really nice but I do think on the retail and even sponsored level over priced.  But they seem to sell a lot of them so who am I to say.

Just to chime in, I use the halt button all the time to remove the track voltage in conventional.  Not with a ZWL, but a brick and a TPC or powermaster.  I can't imagine it being different with the ZWL.  But he's running all Legacy, so perhaps the point is moot anyway.

 I run my standard gauge trains with a TPC.  You can set a stall voltage, a max voltage and it really helps to fine tune the performance of conventional trains.  I use the halt button to take all the power off the track, and AUX1 - 4 to reinstate the stall voltage, which has been preset and is closer to the starting point of the engine.  And again, halt, to remove all the power to the track.  I would be surprised if you can't do all of the above with the ZWL.  It seems to be basically 4 bricks and 4 TPCs rolled into one.