I think I may have asked this last year. I scratch built a MP15AC switcher and installed PS2 inside. I forgot to plan for ditch lights at both ends. I was thinking they would just need a diode for directional lighting. That wouldn't work because they wouldn't get direction voltage, right?
So how does MTH do the ditch lights under PS2 on both ends of an engine? I'm using LEDs so I could just have both ends lit but that doesn't seem correct?
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PS-2 Ditch 1and 2 alternate flashing for ditch lights. If MTH was doing it is via the sound file and flash code. I believe the AEM7 ALP44 had bi-directional ditch lights. but required a special flash coding. PS-3 has more outputs to support that feature. G
Thanks G. I thought they had them also on the NS engines. So I know they could do it. For some reason, this board won't flash the ditch lights anymore? They turn on and off with either the ditch light command under control, or a soft key (number board or marker?). So something is scrambled. I probably will just connect them to the rear headlight then.
I now have three boards that are messed up. One of two, is on a brand new engine that I never touched. The speed algorithm thing is way off. They do about 80MPH when asked to do 50.
Then this board stops flashing ditch lights with the horn? This board was about 5 mph too fast. I'm only having troubles on the layout out back so I will have to work on better signal strength even though it reads all tens.
I sent an email to MTH through their contact form with no reply.
Joe, it's interesting that we saw a similar speed issue at the club last night. I had a DC3 PS/3 locomotive that I computed the scale MPH for, at 60MPH on the remote, I was going 57.5MPH. That's pretty close, and certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Another member was running a stock PS/2 Trainmaster, he was going at a commanded 40MPH and was pulling away from my 60MPH DC3!
The DC3 is an upgrade from an old 5V board that croaked, the Trainmaster is bog stock from the factory. Pretty odd that the DC3 was right on and the Trainmaster was way off in the weeds.
Joe, Did you try reloading the original sound files in your 3 bad boards?
John, I would look at the tach stripe on the Trainmaster. Maybe the flywheel is dirty or the tach reader and the engine is missing counts. That would account for a faster speed. I would clean the reader and restripe the flywheel. G
George, I was thinking that, but since it's not my engine, I didn't open it up. I'd think that it would vary a bit if it was dirty, but it's as steady as a rock, just way too fast.
I'll ask him if he wants to fix it. 
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