PS2 BCR

You want this .... hopefully your loco (tender) still has the original battery connector...

https://www.jandwelectronics.com/bcr

Tom

if I were you I would temporarily put a 9 volt battery inside the engine and  then try you're  engine the sounds should continue for 7 to 10 seconds otherwise your engine will not save its setting on power down,.

ps do not leave the 9 volt battery in engine just use as a test and see if it will work maybe even try a conventional reset with  a know good battery! after reset you should get 2 whistle tots and you'll know the reset   worked! 

.

p.Ss the cap you said is in your engine is the wrong one!!!!!!!!!! there a 2.5 Farid capacitor not a 1000 uf!

      What you really have is a Loco-Sound engine in the wrong box.  The board and no Proto-Coupler is the give away. That's how a Loco-Sound works. Conventionally only and sounds quit with the removal of track power. I would send it back!

"BCR" is a trade mark for a particular brand of supercapacitor which is available  in different models for the old 5-volt PS2 board, which I believe you have and which used an 8.4-volt battery, and the newer 3-volt boards which use 2.4 volts.  The BCR is a well-rated product.

I have converted all my locos to use supercapacitors which I fabricated myself, and I use 2.5 F (much larger than 1000uf), but mine are all 3-volt units. 

Do be aware that the life expectancy of a 5-volt board is not good. 

That capacitor you are showing does not appear to be adequate. 

Thanks guy's for your comments. I will take them under advisement. I have ordered a 8.4 volt BCR and replacement battery connection.

This loco looks to have started its life as a Locosound and has been upgraded. Mind you it shows no evidence of being on the track. the upgrade may have taken place to make it more marketable, hence the missing proto coupler. It does show evidence of a board having been in the locomotive due to screw markings on the frame. The whole harness is new though. After installation of the bcr I'll try a reset and see what happens. Any additional comments to confirm what this is or what I have would be appreciated. 

Joe Allen posted:

      What you really have is a Loco-Sound engine in the wrong box.  The board and no Proto-Coupler is the give away. That's how a Loco-Sound works. Conventionally only and sounds quit with the removal of track power. I would send it back!

I'm afraid that Joe is 100% correct, you got taken!  That is NOT a PS/2 board.  Here's a side view of the 5V PS/2 board, your looks nothing like this.

by the way that new old engine you purchased was built in 

: 

• Pennsylvania

Product Item Number: 

Catalog: 

• AU 2000 Volume 1 - RailKing

Product Line: 

• RailKing

Alan, from the pictures, it doesn't appear that he actually got the 30-1159-1 engine that the box is for.  He clearly doesn't have a 5V PS/2 board in there.

yes , John I did not realize that when I looked up the mth item number !your correct! have a good night. Alan

So what do you guys think this is? The engine has a tach sensor. Should I just throw it away? Is there any hope?

It sure takes the wind out of your sails when this happens. Thank God for Mr. Scotch. 

    There isn't anything wrong with that engine, it just doesn't work in DCS and does't have a battery. So forget the BCR or capacitor.  FYI Loco-Sound engines have speed control and that's the reason for the tach  sensor. If your not happy with it, can't you send it back?

patternpilot posted:

So what do you guys think this is? The engine has a tach sensor. Should I just throw it away? Is there any hope?

It sure takes the wind out of your sails when this happens. Thank God for Mr. Scotch. 

It's a LocoSound engine, nothing wrong with it, it's just a conventional engine.  LocoSound has speed control and uses the tach sensor.

So being a loco sound should i leave the capacitor  or install the battery?

There is no battery with conventional locosound engine.  All the caps on the board are needed.  BCR are for PS-2 3V and 5V engines.  Plus the older PS-1.  G

Whatever capacitor you see is probably a part of the LocoSound board, as George says, no battery on those.

The other question should be asked then- CAN you add a battery/ capacitor to Loco-sounds to keep the sound from cutting out when changing directions?

No provision for that in the board design.  I suppose if you wanted to reverse engineer the board you could find a place to add the battery, probably with extra circuitry, but I'll leave that as an exercise for someone else.

Thanks John- If you don't want to tackle it then I'm sure I won't

I can live with the sounds shutting down. Not the end of the world.

Well, in my case it's simply because I don't run LocoSound, and investing the time would not yield a decent ROI.  I have no idea if it would be difficult or simple to do, but it would take time, of that I am certain.

patternpilot posted:

So what do you guys think this is? The engine has a tach sensor. Should I just throw it away? Is there any hope?

It sure takes the wind out of your sails when this happens. Thank God for Mr. Scotch. 

Have you contacted the seller to see if they will make this right?

I have not contacted the seller yet. I bought this a while back (less than a year) and never opened the box until the other day when the discovery was made. Not sure what they may say and I haven't made up my mind what I want to do yet. I have learned one lesson though. When you buy something take it apart and inspect it to make sure you receive what was advertised and purchased. 

I do want to thank everyone here for their input. This is a great resource for us who are still in the learning mode about model trains. 

I'm guessing after close to a year that you now own it.

That lesson has been well learned by many folks, including me.