Record /playback & super mode...doesn't work anymore.

Gregg,

While I haven't any idea why you're getting the Out of RF Range message, it sounds as if your remote doesn't know that the TIUs are in Super TIU mode.

The remote appears to be behaving as if the TIU that you selected (even though you're in Super TIU mode, which means that the recording is in all TIUs, the remote still wants to know which TIU is doing the recording) isn't in Super TIU mode.

All remotes (8) are in super mode, else the trains wouldn't operate in other tiu zones,  Unfortunately the layout is not in my basement so I'll have to wait until next week for other tests.(different remote)

I did try starting the recording using  tiu #1  and Tiu #3  as well. same results. There's something amiss. (version 5)

Can anyone else record and playback with multiple tiu in super mode with version 5?

Thanks Barry, As you know I'm an experienced operator and think I'm doing this correctly.

Gregg,

Can anyone else record and playback with multiple tiu in super mode with version 5?

If no one else has any definitive proof one way or the other, I'll try to replicate the problem over the weekend.

Great... Thanks.

Fixed....  Time to eat a little Crow, The record playback in super does indeed work .  We have 8 remotes  and I used remote #8  to try the recording staring in TIU #2s zone, Would only record in TIU #2 .

 After speaking to Barry yesterday I phoned  my friend  Jack  and he tried a different remote and started the recording in  tiu #1 zone. . Before recording he set each tiu to SPR. (4 of them) and everything recorded and played back in all tiu zones.

We tried remote 8 again , but first , set all the tiu to super again before recording. Success again... I'm not sure why it worked because the trains ran fine in all tiu zones before attempting the recording  meaning the tiu must be in super?

Thanks To Barry who phoned me with some important tips.   I'm really happy to report  this feature works . gregg

I may have  misspoken.(again) I was final able to record one  recording and play it back successfully in all 4 tiu zones.. In fact we're still using it.  However I tried another recording yesterday and the thing failed again, It only recorded in one tiu zone and then carried on with the last command given in all the other tiu zones. It is very frustrating because it take at least 20 minutes just  to do  one  recording.

 Would you agree that if we can run  trains perfectly through all tiu zones that the remote must have the tiu set to super?

It seems that if we reset the tiu to super again before starting the recording there's a greater chance of success.

I'm going to try again next week.

 Next... There seems to be quite a delay in super mode when trying to select a engine. Not always but every now and then.

One more thing....When selecting a proto-2 engine from the inactive list it doesn't come up directly on the screen. it seems to go into the active list and then you have to scroll , find it and select again to bring up on the screen....I don't think this has always been the case.

Yep . The feature reset now deletes the custom name....

What's the beef.....We've spent quite a bit of money (8 remotes, 6 or 7 tiu) and things seem to be getting worse rather than better in my opinion.. I' thinking of going back to 3.11 again but that's a lot of work. Maybe keep one tiu & remote with the latest.

The record /Playback feature is very accurate and a lot of fun and should  not be dismissed lightly in my opinion.

Lets gets this feature working correctly  in super mode. Yes it works fine with 1 tiu in normal mode.

Gregg,

Some comments...

It seems that if we reset the tiu to super again before starting the recording there's a greater chance of success.

I strongly suspect that something or someone is causing a problem TIU or remote to go back into Normal TIU mode, since every time that you set it to Super TIU mode, it handles Record/Playback fine. This could be some kind of rare TIU defect or simply operator error/intervention, since this is a club layout with many potential "cooks" in the kitchen.  

There seems to be quite a delay in super mode when trying to select a engine. Not always but every now and then.

I see this sometimes on my own 3-TIU layout that operates exclusively in Super TIU mode. I chalk it up to a combination of the following two facts:

• I have 90+ engines in my remotes.
• The order in which the TIUs are scanned to find the engine.

However, this has been the way I've seen it work since the advent of DCS 4.0, or possibly 3.1.

When selecting a proto-2 engine from the inactive list it doesn't come up directly on the screen. it seems to go into the active list and then you have to scroll , find it and select again to bring up on the screen....I don't think this has always been the case.

This has, most definitively, always been how DCS works. It has to work this way so that one can promote an engine from the Inactive Engine List to the Active Engine List, without selecting the engine. This is often necessary to do when setting up an All Engines session.

Further, I believe that it's been documented that way in all of the editions of The DCS Companion books.  

Yep . The feature reset now deletes the custom name....

That's a known bug in DCS 5.0 of which MTH is aware.

I'm thinking of going back to 3.11 again but that's a lot of work. 

You are most definitely the "poster child" for that bug-ridden, feature and function poor, ancient release!  

Thanks for the reply  Barry...

 Nope  I'm the only  cook in the kitchen.. It could be a range problem but since I can operate in all tiu zones with out errors.  I doubt it.

You are most definitely the "poster child" for that bug-ridden, feature and function poor, ancient release!  

Well that's  kind of funny... as a beta  tester (not me, you )  must have passed the software.     Digs aside , I hope MTH can find a software programmer that can fix this. I know the beta testers don't write the software and have to  deal with what  they've been given...

We finally have this layout running well and starting to have fun without working and building  stuff. It's disappointing this feature doesn't work very well in super. Is my post going to help? The squeaky wheel gets the grease....Unfortunately MTH doesn't really care about the record play back in super and probably will never fix it.

Options... wait for a fix

Keep trying and hope to find a fix. I think we're close.

Go back to 3.11..   Stay tuned.

Gregg,

Unfortunately MTH doesn't really care about the record play back in super and probably will never fix it.

That's not really a fair statement.

From MTH's perspective, this isn't a bug. At present, you're the only one who's reporting it. Further, your results are inconsistent. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Every time it doesn't work, putting the remote's TIUs into Super TIU mode makes it work.

If there is, indeed, a bug in Super TIU mode, until it can be replicated by someone else on a different layout, there's nothing that's going to be done about it, nor should there be.

How many times have we seen people post on this forum that's something in DCS doesn't work properly only to have it turn out that the problem was due to one of the following:

• Operator error
• Not understanding how DCS should actually behave due to not reading documentation, or by making erroneous assumptions
• A layout wiring issue
• An engine issue
• A defective DCS device.

The known issues in DCS 5.0, AFAIK, are the following:

• Turning engine smoke on/off can sometimes cause engine lights to turn  off. However, this varies from layout to layout, Further, I've seen many fewer (possibly none at all) occurrences of this with the latest DCS 5.0 beta.
• The DCS Remote's Mic gets stuck on (been there forever).
• Turning on ProtoDispatch or using the remote's Mic prohibits control from other remotes (been there forever).
• Adding engines occasionally causes a Z4K Track to go to zero output (been there forever). However, I've done quite a bit of engine adds using the latest DCS 5.0 beta and this bug may actually have been corrected.
• Lashup lighting effects are not always as expected. However, my personal suspicion is that this is due to DCS engine firmware not conforming to standards in all cases. Regardless, it's correctable using the FSV soft key in DCS 5.0.
• Feature Reset erases an engine's Custom Name.

There were a couple of DCS App-related bugs that were corrected in the latest DCS 5.0 beta codes.

Is there any one else  running 4 tiu in super that can make  a successful record playback recording  over all 4 tiu zones. Is there any one else who has tried?

Gregg,

I did some testing today on my layout (3TIUs in Super TIU mode).

I recorded a session using all 3 TIUs, and it recorded and played  back perfectly. I then shut everything down for a few minutes and then powered everything back up. I then repeated the playback which again ran flawlessly.

I don't see a problem. Let me know if there's some other test that I can perform?

Just a couple of things Barry.

Recording in Normal mode with a single   tiu .  when you stop the recording we get a confirmation message  "secession stopped" Immediately

In super mode with 4 tiu........ No confirmation message but a slight flicker on the remote

Same thing with trying to save a secession  . Normal mode   .. goes immediately to save the secession.

Super mode with 4 tiu  ...Screen goes blank, out of range message but eventually a place to save the recording.

 Recording ..If we set the tiu  to super (even though they're  already in  super)  the recording  works and so does the playback.   We usually start & finish  the recording in the tiu zone the engine is in.

Have you tried playing back 2 secessions at once?  Have you tried starting the recording in a different tiui zone  other than the one the engine is sitting in?

And of course the recording isn't limited to a single engine, many engines can take part in the recording.

 The tiu are in 4 different location due to the size of the layout.   80 x 40 roughly , Range is not usually a problem.

Bottom line.... It does work and when it does it's very accurate and fun.... with about  8 scale miles of track we have one passenger schedule  recording with long station stops which take about 30 minutes to go around our layout (single track..one big loop with sidings) Other trains can run at the same time. We  can run in opposite directions but don't.    jack did 2 successful recordings since I was last over.

It would be nice if MTH could refine this feature and have it work as well in super as it does in normal mode but I can live with this as is, It's a really fun feature and I'm a bit surprised more members don't use it.

Thanks for your replies and testing.

Gregg,

Have you tried playing back 2 secessions at once?

No, and I don't know if that's even possible of that to be supported in Super TIU mode, since the "super" session includes all TIUs. However, I expect that one could playback 2 sessions simultaneously in Normal TIU mode, as long as they used different TIUs and remotes.

Have you tried starting the recording in a different tiui zone  other than the one the engine is sitting in?

Yes, I have with no issues at all.

And of course the recording isn't limited to a single engine, many engines can take part in the recording.

True, however, that's really not an issue. To DCS, commands are commands and it matters not which engine is the intended target.