PS3 UPGRADE KIT 50-1911

The board should be mostly a drop-in replacement as that's a 3V PS/3 locomotive.

I hasten to add, before sticking another expensive board in there, you need to make sure it's not something else.  You also need to make sure some wiring short or other flaw isn't going to kill the new board!

Hi, John.

After some time, is always good to talk with you again.

Thanks for the reply.

Just don't try to connect the battery!  That connector that looks temptingly like the battery connector is NOT for the battery.  The PS32 board uses super-caps and doesn't require a battery.

John

John

Regarding the battery you warned me the last time we talked, but it's always good to remember. Thank you.

John

Antonio. I received 2 steam PS3 upgrade boards a few days before the MTH closing announcement and ordered them direct from MTH - you have to call - cannot order on line. I ended up joining the Rail King club, because MTH offered discounts on the boards. For one probably not worth it. Still trying to decide on whether to install myself of have someone else. A local shop will do it for 125.  I do not know which sound versions you have to download and install. There are installation instructions, but I assume there are tricks the installers learn that are not in the public instructions - have never done this yet.  Good luck  Jeff

One thing I did not quite comprehend. I have a Shay that needs repair and after speaking with the repair people they said they had PS1 boards to make the repair. But since they had the boards they could not upgrade to PS3. I had to send it to an authorized shop, or I could do it myself. I guess there is a business deal in the background - but really?  

@ScoutingDad posted:

Antonio. I received 2 steam PS3 upgrade boards a few days before the MTH closing announcement and ordered them direct from MTH - you have to call - cannot order on line. I ended up joining the Rail King club, because MTH offered discounts on the boards. For one probably not worth it. Still trying to decide on whether to install myself of have someone else. A local shop will do it for 125.  I do not know which sound versions you have to download and install. There are installation instructions, but I assume there are tricks the installers learn that are not in the public instructions - have never done this yet.  Good luck  Jeff

One thing I did not quite comprehend. I have a Shay that needs repair and after speaking with the repair people they said they had PS1 boards to make the repair. But since they had the boards they could not upgrade to PS3. I had to send it to an authorized shop, or I could do it myself. I guess there is a business deal in the background - but really?  

 

There is no business deal per se other than MTH has not done upgrades as they don't want to compete with their trained techs who do upgrades.  If they had no PS1 boards, fixing your locomotive with PS3 boards would arguably be a repair, but if the PS1 board are available then changing to PS3 boards is clearly an upgrade.I

As to whether to do the upgrade yourself, I don't think it is heart surgery but if you are new to it I would rather pay a competent tech rather than chance damaging the board via experiential learning.

Shays are pretty tough 

The PS32 board from the steam kit "should" have the correct chain files loaded for steam.  In that case, you use PS/2 3V files to load your sound file.

@Ray Lombardo posted:

There is no business deal per se other than MTH has not done upgrades as they don't want to compete with their trained techs who do upgrades.  If they had no PS1 boards, fixing your locomotive with PS3 boards would arguably be a repair, but if the PS1 board are available then changing to PS3 boards is clearly an upgrade.

I suspect that MTH doesn't do upgrades simply because they had their plate full with repairs, etc.  I'm personally not worried about them taking business away, I can't do the work that is already knocking at the door!

John

Fwiw, the only reason I know this is because I live in MD and called the MTH office maybe two or three years ago to ask about an upgrade to a Williams locomotive.  The person who answered explained what I relayed above and referred me to Engine House Hobbies in Gaithersburg, MD.  (I know you and the other forum techs do a terrific job but I don’t like shipping locomotives - anecdotally  I suspect many forumites complaining of quality control of this or that product from Lionel, MTH, etc., are really dealing with shipping damage). More recently, when we did need a repair for a Wi-Fi unit, the unit was repaired and returned within the span of a week.  Right now the situation is certainly more in flux.

Take care, stay safe.

I can't blame you for not wanting to ship stuff.  I will say, much of the shipping damage I see is from poor packing, there are some basic rules to follow if you want stuff to arrive intact.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I suspect that MTH doesn't do upgrades simply because they had their plate full with repairs, etc.  I'm personally not worried about them taking business away, I can't do the work that is already knocking at the door!

Still have two months of backlog John? 

Nicholas Smith *did* have the 50-1911 steam upgrade kit available on their website, having personally bought two in the past month, i should know. 

EDIT: wow, I was copying the link, went to grab a quick drink and in that span, it went from one left to out of stock. Sorry about that!

Getting better, I've actually been turning away stuff temporarily until I get it to a manageable level.  Running out of places to store the incoming stuff, had to make some adjustments.

Thanks all for your comments on the board replacement. As much as I would enjoy digging into doing the upgrade myself on the Shay, its time to get it over to the repairman. I've already spent hours searching about how to do upgrades and I know this is not a 10 minute job. The money spent is probably well worth the job being done right. I tend to be a jack of all trades so its hard for me to let someone else do the job for me. This forum is a great reminder that there are lots of really talented  craftsmen/women out there whom I can appreciate their work and learn from.  Jeff 

Hi Scouting Dad

 Thanks for the reply. I have no difficulty in downloading and installing sound files, not least because I live in Brazil and I have to perform certain tasks, since sending locomotives for repair in the States is very expensive. Courier fees are high.

Anyway, thank you very much for the information.