Operating question regarding DCS

Ray,

I know you can NOT use both control systems at the same time

Where'd you hear that?

Actually, you most certainly can use both together, and no additional switches or anything else is required. Simply do not supply power to the DCS Remote Commander receiver, rather, run it in passive mode.

For additional information about this and a whole lot more, refer to "The DCS O Gauge Companion 2nd Edition", now available for purchase as an eBook or a printed book from MTH's web store site! Click on the link below to go to MTH's web page for the book!

In case you don't have the book, passive mode is just connecting the DCS Remote Commander to the track directly and powering the track directly with the transformer.  I've connected the DCS Remote Commander to the tracks and run TMCC/Legacy stuff at the same time as the one DCS locomotive, runs fine that way.

I think it depends on what you mean by "at the same time."  Do you mean both you and he can control a single engine "at the same time" such that you can, say, over-ride his Remote-Commander command to go 100 MPH using your DCS remote?  Or do you mean he is controlling his own engine while you are controlling other engines "at the same time."  Depending on what you're trying to do there may be an issue with DCS engine address assignment.

Stan, note that I said TMCC/Legacy at the same time, not DCS locomotives.   I didn't read close enough to see that he was trying to use it with the full DCS system, never tried that.

EDIT:  Believe it or not, it sort of works with the DCS Remote Commander and the full DCS system on the same track.  The RC was a little finicky with the full DCS system, but it did manage to control the individual engine.

Stan & John,

As I previously stated,,,

Actually, you most certainly can use both together, and no additional switches or anything else is required. Simply do not supply power to the DCS Remote Commander receiver, rather, run it in passive mode.

However, one cannot control the same DCS engine with both remotes, simply because the DCSRC only works with DCS engines that are set to their factory default ID#, and the full DCS works with engines that are not set to their factory default ID#.

As far as demonstrating "finicky" behavior, my experience is that both remotes work together extremely well. without any issues at all.

John, that's most neighborly of you to try that so quickly!  Hopefully Ray will clarify what he is trying to do.  It could be that part of the finicky behavior results from a "weaker" on-track DCS signal from the DCS Remote Commander vs. the full DCS system.  In which case perhaps his grandson could run his engine on a TIU output that connects to a smaller or less "complex" track section if Ray's layout is so configured.

Once I got it running it was OK, but it acted like the signal to the DCS RC controlled one was not as "robust" as the one from the full DCS.

Ray, as one grandpa to another:  My grandchildren, from the time they were toddlers, had no problem with the DCS remote:  They quickly learned how to use the thumbwheel for speed, the DIR button for stop & reverse, and the whistle & bell buttons, and to ignore the rest.  Gradually they learned more of the buttons, the first being the emergency stop when they see a problem coming up.  By 6, they are starting to learn how to jump from loco to loco, and to read loco numbers of cabs and compare the numbers to what's on the remote.

BUT, here's a money-saving tip:  mount a small eye at the bottom of the remote, and clip a lanyard to it.  A dropped remote can be a problem, especially if floor is concrete.