Okay! I took the plunge! I need help!

Terry What are you trying to  activate with the 5906 sound button?

if you are trying to blow the whistle or horn on a conventional locomotive you can use the remotes bell and whistle buttons to do this

Doggone,   I have not slept good last couple of days, A/c has been on Fritz,

but you are right I can move forward,  and take the sound button, off,  Ta-Da.

Really, to use to the way something, is, an just not processing the info

THANK YOU!!!!!

not sure if you are referring to me or not but you are welcome I try to help in any way that I can

Bobbie,   yes , yes,  --  I did find out , that using the Fixed #2,  outlet (by itself)

and a ZW (PW)  ,  --   WILL NOT, cut the TIU on   , where as  the FIXED #1 will in fact cut the TIU, on and  THerefore, am thinking DAVE's suggestion about the

radio shack power supply seems to be the idea.   !!!!

I have the fixed #1 attached to a track,  and then I have the Fixed #2 attached

to a seperate track---  NO ACCESSORIES at this time

Okay, I just had to share that i just completed my first lash-up!  So freakin cool!  There is one problem i have noticed.  I have a RTR MTH CSX SD70ACe Diesel PS/2 engine.  The first day it worked flawless.  I was moving it around backwards forwards.  Since I updated my TIU the engine now goes steady then all of the sudden will have a sudden burst of speed and instantly slow down to the SMPH.  Has anyone experienced this???  Now I can cough it up maybe that the tracks are dirty which i do clean or maybe there is parts of the track that has more power and gives the loco a power surge?  It does not happen with my NEW MP15AC LIRR Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0.  Any thoughts would be great.  Thanks again for all of your help!

terry as long as there is power to fixed one then you do not have to power the TIU

Fixed one will power both the Track and the TIU you do not need the Wall Wart.

However you will need an External if you are Using Variable one or variable two as neither of those channels can power the TiU.

If you are using your Post war ZW make sure that there are fuses between the output of the ZW and the input of any of the channels of the TIU

otherwise you could blow out the fuse or fuses in the TIU if there is a Short Circuit.

you have never said if you are running Command or Conventional

Jim,

Since I updated my TIU the engine now goes steady then all of the sudden will have a sudden burst of speed and instantly slow down to the SMPH

This is almost certainly not a DCS problem

Much more likely is either a problem with the track where the  engine is losing power, or a similar problem with the engine that also causes a loss of power.

 It does not happen with my NEW MP15AC LIRR Diesel Engine w/Proto-Sound 3.0

It's all about where the pickup rollers and drive wheels land on the track.

Any chance that the issue occurs over a switch track?

Thanks,,   there certainly has been value of information to help, myself

and I hope, JJ , as well.     Kinda of I took the plunge as well, wanna be sure

that this not thought of as hijack.  

JJ, be sure you catch the idea on the fuses and  TVS, as you sleep better,

My transformer config, is 1 -trans for my conventional engines (Williams)- 1 track

1 -transf,  and dedicated track for Lionel command engines, total 2 tracks

and 1 transf - 2 -dedicated tracks for MTH, DCS (now), -- making  5 total tracks

Terry are you controlling your Williams engines by the DCS remote or are you using straight Transformer to track?

how is your Track interface unit (TIU) Wired

You do know that you can control your Williams engines from the DCS Remote ?

If any questions don't hesitate to holler we will do our best to help you out.

Jim,

i dont know if this would do you any good, but can you take the 1 engine

you are running, (with issue), and use a different track,  ( I think everybody

on here says 4 - 5 ft),  but  I keep 1  track TOTAL conventional just to run things

I think are screwed up,  You will not be able to check your track , but it will tell

you your engine is good to go as normal,  ( just a suggestion) for you to work

with, and these gents to further help and by the way,  I do like your husky stack running ,  It seems like it is stack running season for N/S, here in Tenn,  (long enough for the pizza to get cold, in the car). 

The test track running it s just something I do when I scare myself if something goes wrong.......

  Bobbie----------  I'll get with you on the Conventional running and DCS, little later

I had the same issue with my engine surging in a certain spot of MTH Realtrack. I ended up taking apart a few sections before the surge spot and a few sections after to find that one of the contacts was bent and not making a good connection. Straightened out the tab and have not had a problem since. 

JJ go back in the post and Give GGG an email and talk to him he is an Authorized MTH Tech he should be able to work with you to see what the issue is

and answer any of your questions on Repairs and what not

You can inspect under the truck to see if a coupler wire is off.  The other issue for sparks can be the pickup power lead.   G

Okay, well tomorrow I will be making a visit to my local hobby shop to get my CSX engine looked at.  I am reading the book a lot.  I am now interested in an AIU.  The reason why I am interested is that I could potentially control all switches on my layout.  Does anybody have there switches setup in an AIU and use the controller to use the switches?  Is it difficult to control?  Is it difficult to install?  Is difficult to use?  Any feed back would be great?  Also, do you recommend getting the DCS 24 block attachment?  would this make things easier?  Once again thank you!

Jim,

When I turn on the main power, the Aux power to the TIU powers before the track power, so it misses the watchdog signal. 

Do you have a copy of The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition? If so, there are sections of the book that discuss, in considerable detail, how to connect, program and operate switch tracks, and many different kinds of accessories, via the AIU.

This and a whole lot more is all in MTH’s “The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book at MTH's web store!

Okay, well my obsession with DCS is almost complete.  Earlier this week I purchased the AIU for my TIU.  So now I am hooking up my switches to the AIU, with the Barrys book as my guide.  All i have to say is what a pain in the *** this is.  Its not the DCS's fault.  When I started on this journey i quickly wired and made connections without even thinking a year later I would be using a DCS system.  I have a rats nest!  Wires some loose some so tight i can't make a sound connection when splicing the wires together.  So now I am debating weather or not to do the whole thing over!  Anyways vent is over.  I have 2 out of the five switches working so maybe will be a better day.  Must admit!  DCS is pretty cool!

jjmmagoo,

   I fully understand your frustration with all the switch wiring via your AIU, for this exact reason I went into the FasTrack Command Control Switches, they eliminated 99% of all my AIU switch wiring.  Of course I had a fair sized FT layout that transitioned in & out of 072 Lionel conventional tubular switches already.  If you are using FT, I suggest you take a good look at the CC switches, and eliminate the massive wiring mess.

PCRR/Dave

If you only have 5 switches, re-wiring might be a real good idea. Proper wiring and labeling could eliminate some possibly hair pulling and frustrating experiences down the road if a problem ever comes up.

jj,

   If you are only using 5 switches, definitely rewire making sure everything is perfect.

No need for troubles down stream when you are only rewiring 5 switches.  If you have 5 pair now that is a different engineering matter.

PCRR/Dave

Not to jack the thread, but your CSX ACe is not the only one running with problems. I bought my engine (#4850) from a dealer at a train show. Ever since Day 1, its had problems. At first it wouldn't respond at all. hen it finally started "working," the sound comes out at a reduced volume no matter what volume the engine sounds are set at. I run the engine as the secondary unit in my (lashup? or lash-up?) because of that. Once or twice, while it was running in a (lashup? or lash-up?) the engine would run in the direction opposite the one of travel (with the requisite spark show).