PS3 engine and sounds dropping out while running

Sounds like clickety clack is turned on. The thing is, that is a random speed based sound and what it does is disable other sounds like prime mover when enabled.

Again, this is the one known sound feature that is speed based but also randomized and perfectly aligns to your symptoms.

https://ogrforum.com/...h-dcs-clickity-clack

FWIW I think I heard stories here on the forum where a club had a problem with a TIU that caused some issues. Something like track signal test also turns off sounds. So, wondering if some noise or bad packets of data commands are interpreted by the engine to be either signal test or another one- protocast  that also cuts out sounds.

I don't't know of a way to tell a PS3 engine to disable so it will never do those 2 functions- protocast or signal test, both thing that can get a command to turn on and off from the track.

Questions:

What revision of hardware is that TIU? L, H, I, G ?

What does signal strength look like running around the layout?

Again, just trying to do a correlation:

Bad TIU- rare but again something I think I heard of here on the forum that a club has experienced.

Clickety clack enabled in sound settings in the engine could explain the speed based aspect.

Bad signal causing random packets to be read as a protocast command or maybe signal test- 2 things that also could disable sounds but are not a "setting" you could change.

Menu / Sound / Clikity Clack / Off

Did a track strength test around the layout and it was 10’s. Do not know the TIU version as I did not check but did bring my club’s TIU which we swapped and it is version L with 6.1. Both engines had the same issues.
Will take your recommendation to turn off clickecty- clack.

I agree with Vernon. Sounds like the clickety clack or doppler effect is activated. Sounds more like the clickety clack though as the doppler effect should drop out or down at the same areas on the track and is not speed based.

Brad

So we turned clickety clack off from the auto position and the sounds do not drop out any longer. Stay on constantly, rev sounds, bell, horn.

But, the headlight and back up light on the long Island RS-3 are now off and do not come on at all. Any ideas as to why that would happen? The SD70 lights work fine and clickety clack is turned off.

So far, thank you to the folks here for helping out.

There is a headlight key on the remote, the "7" key.  If that doesn't work, try a feature reset and then just turn clickety-clack off, that shouldn't affect the lights.

Thank you to everyone who helped here. Problem solved for a friend who is not on the forum here.
This forum is a valuable tool for toy trains!

What was the solution?

Ted, a solution to your problem would be great. It would be help to others who run across the same issue.

Brad

We turned clickety clack off from the auto position on the remote and the sounds so not drop out at all. Not sure what the clickety clack function does as I am not a DCS user but a TMCC/ Legacy user. A friend who built a layout for someone needed some help and asked me to assist.
Also, as GRJ noted, #7 on the dcs remote is for headlights.

Hope this gives everyone the simple solution to what we thought was a major wiring issue and turned out to be a few presses of the dcs remote!