Quick question on change over DCS

Nothing to stop you from converting it, note that the PS2 conversion kits are in really short supply right now.  I have one on order with MTH, but it's apparently going to be Sep. (at the earliest) before they ship.  No dealers I know of have them for list price or better, I did find one seller with one at a premium.  I'm not that impatient, I'll wait and get one for the MTH club price.

Another option would be to wait for a PS3 board.  I'm not sure what the difference in availability is going to be but at this point I'd rather go with PS3 if I am doing the upgrade.

There is no certainty that MTH will produce a PS3 upgrade soon or ever.  AFAIK, it hasn't been announced in any way.

The tech that did my upgrade talks as if it is just a matter of time.  I should ask him if he thinks there is a chance they won't make one.  I can see delaying the "upgrade kit" until the supply of boards for the production engines is assured but after that it doesn't make sense to me not to produce one.

I guess we will see.

I think the new design of the PS3 electronics and the tether has to be worked out.  It sounds like it'll be more work to install a PS3 upgrade from what has been posted here.

I do not yet have a PS3 locomotive, so I can't say what is required, only that what has been said is there are some additional complications.

You also have the lights to change out when installing ps3. I believe ps3 only supports   led lighting. Ps3 upgrades kits are at least  a year or so away according to MTH. 

An aux. lighting board is being developed so the existing PS2 lights can be used with PS3 upgrade kits.

Dealers can order PS3 boards now  

Tommy,

Why not just add TMCC or Legacy to your DCS?  They work just fine together.

John,

We have PS2 upgrade kits for MSRP.

Dave

Having a PS3 board is a far cry from having an upgrade kit.  After going through the PS2 upgrade process, there needs to be a number of other things as well as instructions for the upgrade.  Also, you didn't mention anything about the discussion over the differences in design for steamers and the complexity of retrofitting PS3 into existing models.

Note that I can also order a PS2 upgrade kit, but there are none available.  Being able to order it and being able to actually get it are separate things.

I just spent the $25 to join the MTH RR Club to get the club price since I'm going to do several of these.

You should put them on your site, when I did a search there, I didn't see anything about PS2 upgrades.

John,

There for a while, I was buying donor engines just for the boards.

I like to have them in stock at all times so I don't sell them from my site.  Most people that call and happen to be club members think that I should give them a club discount which is another reason I don't advertise that I have them.

I certainly do not mind selling one here and there to forum members.

Dave

Well the way I see it if the boards are available to the dealers ie: there is stock then why wouldn't PS3 upgrade kits be very far behind?

Why do YOU need any discussion about differences between steam and diesel installs?

Just buy a PS3 equipped loco and gut it then install it into whatever you want..it's really quite simple unless your scared of it.

PS2 kits are available..how many do you need? I figured with you inquiring on here about what the manufacturers part numbers are for the plugs and contacts you could build your own wiring harnesses..or do you just want something to b1tch about?

PS2 locomotives have been available for years, yet MTH is out of upgrade kits for steam and diesel and has been for months.

Why do YOU need any discussion about differences between steam and diesel installs?  Just buy a PS3 equipped loco and gut it then install it into whatever you want..it's really quite simple unless your scared of it.

Sure, if money is no object, I could buy a brand new locomotive and throw it away for the parts.  It's nice that you can afford to throw money away in that manner, I tend to be a little more careful with my buying habits. 

PS2 kits are available..how many do you need? I figured with you inquiring on here about what the manufacturers part numbers are for the plugs and contacts you could build your own wiring harnesses..

It's not a question of the ability to build it, it's the time involved vs. having a lot of the work already done.  Also, just because I have the connectors, that doesn't mean I have the boards.  Also, there is also the other components of the upgrade kit like the tether connectors and cables that aren't a simple connector.  Having some compatible connectors to do some simple lighting upgrades is a far cry from having the while package.  Buying the stuff individually and assembling the harness would end up being really expensive as opposed to buying the complete kit.  Have you priced it?

or do you just want something to b1tch about?

More constructive dialog,  tell me again what was your purpose in posting this?

There is no certainty that MTH will produce a PS3 upgrade soon or ever.  AFAIK, it hasn't been announced in any way.

 

John

In this case the information of which you were not aware is available right here on this forum.

DCS Users Group Meeting Notes

Wednesday April 18 , 2012

 

Andy Edelman, vice president of Marketing, and Rich Foster, vice president of sales, arrived from MTH.

 

Andy then responded to those questions submitted prior to the meeting via the OGR Forum.

 

• Q.- When will PS3 upgrade kits become available?
• A.- When the current supply of PS2 upgrade kits is expired, possibly by the end of this year, there will probably be PS3 kits. The kit is currently in development. PS3 is a more extensive upgrade than PS2 because a lot of things have to be changed, such as lights to LEDs, etc.  The initial PS3 kit will probably be offered to HO users first.

 

 

The complete thread with Barry's full notes is available here.

https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/5512461237627638

While it may not have been your purpose to mislead others by posting bad information it certainly happens frequently when the volume of ones opinions or advice significantly exceeds their knowledge base.  Please consider reading more before posting.

I hope you have found this dialog to be constructive.

Thanks Ted, I wasn't aware of that thread.  Too bad the previous poster was too concerned with snappy replies to point out this thread, I guess it's more fun to simply bash the poster.

I wonder why they're taking orders for PS2 kits if they're waiting for the supply to be exhausted?   When I talked to MTH, no mention of this kit was forthcoming, and I asked if there was going to be one.  She responded she wasn't aware of any plans.  This was just a few days ago, so I ordered the PS2 kit.  I wonder if there'll ever be any more PS2 kits since they don't currently have them in stock.  That thread seems to indicate the answer is probably no.  I may be waiting forever for something that isn't going to ever come.

Still begs the question of when the PS3 upgrade might be available for O-gauge users.  I also notice that thread confirms the other thing I'd heard about a possible PS3 upgrade, that it would be more extensive than the PS2 upgrade.

Too bad the previous poster was too concerned with snappy replies to point out this thread, I guess it's more fun to simply bash the poster.

Oh, I know!  Awhile back someone who kept posting in verbal circles for pages and pages told me to go crawl back under a rock just for suggesting he simply follow the correct advice he had already been given here by the DCS experts.

Watch out for those pots and kettles, they can be blacker than a 700E.  

As for the particulars of the last run of PS-2 kits and the coming PS-3 kits......

You now have a link to the DCS users group thread.  And you have a very good search function on the new forum.  Why don't you find out what you have missed.  If you took a day or three off from posting and just read the forum you might be amazed what you can find here. 

With guys like Barry, Marty, Dave Minarik and Dave Hikel you have DCS beta testers, factory trained technicians and then some posting in depth and technically accurate information.  Or read a chapter a day of Barry's book.  After reading more you might find that many of your misconceptions are dispelled, you are better informed and will burn up fewer electrons posting things that aren't quite so.  You might even have some really precise questions to ask of the experts and have a better grounding from which to understand the answers.

And if you still have a question that the pros here can't answer you might just have something worth asking at the next DCS users meeting. 

Just be thoughtful with your question.  Limit one per customer.