SC-2 Was Working but not now?

SC-2's pick TMCC signal from the exterior rails of the track, just like the engines. The SC-2's antenna may be grounded or disconnected.

Mike, how would we determine that?  What should we look for?

George

Open the SC-2 there should be a wire antenna.

Thanks, we'll give that a shot.

George

You also need a common with the rail so that the other half of the TMCC signal makes it to the SC-2.  That may be the missing link.

The SC-2 antenna gets it's signal from the air...just like an engine. The outside rail wire should be connected to com on the SC-2 just like the wheels of an engine.

John has it right.

I very much appreciate the responses I received regarding this problem.  There are actually two issues here.

The first is documentation.  I have registered a complaint with Lionel regarding the horrible quality and lack of clarity in the instruction manual (particularly around the 3 methods of powering the SC-2). 

The second issue was actually a ground plane.  And it might well have been solved by connecting the outside rail to the SC-2, but I don't know where.

In any case, it was solved by extending the ground plane wire under the yard (near the two SC-2s).  Once the ground plane was in place, the SC-2 began behaving normally.  We observed that with the SC-2 hanging approximately 2" below the bottom of the roadbed, it worked great.  As soon as we mounted it to the roadbed, it stopped working.  Putting a hand near the mounted SC-2 also caused it to resume operating.

Thanks again to all who responded.

George

The U terminal which is connected to the outside rails and also to the U output of the Legacy base has to be connected to the COM terminal of the SC-2. That's like setting the engine on the track.

You probably had that.

Your problem sounds like the SC-2 was not getting the air signal which comes from the power AC ground wire in your house. This can be due to the SC-2 being located under the layout and shielded by the track system from the air signal. Placing a power system house ground wire under the table over the SC-2 restores that air signal to it. The same issue happens to engines when they try to operate under an overhead track. Also holding your hand over the engine, or the SC-2, restores the air signal since your body receives it from the air like a big antenna and radiates it to the device...SC-2 or engine.

Chuck,

Yes, I think that is it.  The SC-2s are located at the opposite end of the layout, with the entire 10-track stub passenger yard in between them and the TMCC Command Base.  The yard itself had signal issues until we installed a set of ground plane wires.  That fixed the problem.  Solving this problem required extending the ground plane wires to the proximity of the SC-2s.

Basically, this reinforces the point that most TMCC issues resolve easily as one of several known conditions.  No tin foil hat, exorcism, or 200 page book of spells required.

Thanks!

George

Quite so.

However, waving your hand over an engine does sound a bit...

Reminds me of my Toyota remote with limited range. A 10 year old told me to hold the remote up to my chin and it extended the quite a lot. Kids know the magic, eh?

Kids are like a sponge, they absorb all these little tidbits.   My 9 year old grandson teaches my wife how to use her new electronic gadgets.  My worry is soon he'll be teaching me how to use them!

thanks for the info too!

I bought four SC-2s at a show last month for $80. total. They were lightly used from a dismantled layout.

I hope to use them in conjunction with LCS.

That was a very good purchase!