Skip to main content

Ok I have once again done something that demonstrates my mastery of stupid.  I ask your assistance in undoing it.  So I was trying to create my first lash up in DCS.  My first attempts were disasterous (lesson learned my PS 2 Mikado does have enough power to drag a long freight combine and a 0-6-0 PS 3 with its wheels locked).  So i went upstairs to watch the old O gauge magazine DVD on DCS lash ups (because I lost my manual and the printout is strewn through out the house).  So while watching them run the lash up I hit a button on my DCS and it said Ouside RF range (another note apparently DCS range is less than one story and 1000 feet away).  So having learned from the DVD how to set up the lash up I went back down stairs and tried to do it was greeted with a "Outside RF range"  So I shut everything down and (power to track and TIU and pulled batteries on DCS and restarted) low and behold kept getting outside RF range message sometimes with the TIU touching the remote DCS.

 

Please help me overcome my stupidity, how can I fix this?  It isn't even recognizing the DCS at all.  

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Originally Posted by fmbugman:

Ok I have once again done something that demonstrates my mastery of stupid.  I ask your assistance in undoing it.  So I was trying to create my first lash up in DCS.  My first attempts were disasterous (lesson learned my PS 2 Mikado does have enough power to drag a long freight combine and a 0-6-0 PS 3 with its wheels locked).  So i went upstairs to watch the old O gauge magazine DVD on DCS lash ups (because I lost my manual and the printout is strewn through out the house).  So while watching them run the lash up I hit a button on my DCS and it said Ouside RF range (another note apparently DCS range is less than one story and 1000 feet away).  So having learned from the DVD how to set up the lash up I went back down stairs and tried to do it was greeted with a "Outside RF range"  So I shut everything down and (power to track and TIU and pulled batteries on DCS and restarted) low and behold kept getting outside RF range message sometimes with the TIU touching the remote DCS.

 

Please help me overcome my stupidity, how can I fix this?  It isn't even recognizing the DCS at all.  

Try resetting the TIU and remote.

Ok sorry for the delay life intervened.  The lash up does not appear on the remote.  This is my first lash up so I am looking for it in "engines"  The engines when I attempt to startup now give me the out of rf range and now add the insult train not on track.  Anymore suggestions?  barry I am definitely buying your book now.  All the trains are PS2 except a PS 3 that is/was  part of the lash up.

Originally Posted by fmbugman:

Within 1 foot of TIU when I push read button I get TIU 1 address not found

Not good, you have to get the remote and tiu communicating with each other else nothing works period. Check out the red led that blinks on top of the tiu as "G" mentioned, Each blink is the actual tiu number, yours should only blink once.(tiu #1 not found)

If it does only blink once you may have a loose transceiver board in either the remote or tiu, (probably the remote)

 

How do you know if you have a loose transceiver board..... Tether the remote and tiu together with the curly phone cable. The cable between the hand set and the base, not between the base and wall (it won't fit anyway.

Now try the read...

Originally Posted by fmbugman:

The connections are good as I have rescrewed everything down. I have to say at a certain point in this mess they were loose.  But that is no longer the case.

At this point it doesn't matter if the connections are loose. You have to get the remote and tiu communicating as a first step.... Tether  and try the read again.

I haven't been following this very closely, but it seems you've identified a communication problem between the Remote and TIU.  Fix that first.  It's probably just a loose board in the Remote, or less likely, the TIU.  Once you're re-established comm between the the Remote and TIU, if it were me, I'd reset both the TIU and the Remote and start from scratch.  As it stands now you've probably pushed so many buttons we don't really know what state any of the fields are in.  A reset of both DCS components will put you at a known starting point for further trouble shooting, if required.

Originally Posted by fmbugman:

Ok when I push read it says it can't find it despite being tethered.  I reset the the remote. still no read on TIU so resetting the TIU is not a go.  Any thoughts anyone?

Things aren't going well with this problem..anyway back to the beginning... power up the tiu again and check out the red led blinks again..

 

Each blink is the tiu's ID number

 

A remote reset leaves tiu #1 added  by default.

 

It's too bad we still have loose transceiver boards after 10 or so years.

 

I still have my cab-1 from about 96 with the antenna broken in half,  been dropped at least once and it still works,

 

BTW taking a  dcs remote apart is not easy and if not careful may have to be shipped for repair.

Try this .... add all 5 tiu to the remote under  menu/system/ tiu set up/add tiu..... go ahead and add  all  5..

 

Now try the read..... do you get the same" tiu error" message or something different..." all 5 tiu not found", be patient. it take a while for the remote and tiu  to communicate with 5 tiu added. Hopefully the remote can communicate with 1 of the 5 added  tiu.... worth a shot and beats shipping.

 

The error message TIU ERROR is the error message that you get instead of OUT OF RF FRANGE, except that you get it only when the TIU is tethered. Both mean the same thing - that the TIU and the remote cannot communicate.

 

When untethered, it'a most likely because of bent or shorted pins in one or both ports where the cable is connected.

Post
The DCS Forum is sponsored by
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×