I added a mini commander to an MTH signal man boxcar (30-79016). All went well and it works but I do have question. If I press and hold either the AUX1 or AUX2 key, per the instructions, the lantern lights and it clicks 3 times, like Dorothy trying to return to Kansas, then the motor starts and goes through the sequence.
Does anyone know if there is a way to eliminate the 3 false starts?
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Could it be the duration of the pulse to start the action? I haven't actually looked at that car or using the MC to upgrade it, so this is somewhat a "shot in the dark".
The mini commanders are defaulted to the following configuration:
When power is applied, both HC1 and HC2 will be set to 12 volts delivering a 0.25 second pulse. The LC1 output is on, and the LC2 output is off.
You can reprogram the outputs to stead voltage from 2-18 volts (increments of 2) and also pulsed power from .25 - 2 seconds (in increments of .25 seconds). The manual explains how to program the outputs and even gives examples. It sounds like you want steady power and you are getting pulsed power.
Thanks, John and Joe.
Joe I think you hit on what I need. Funny, I didn’t see anything in the signalman instruction sheet about a .25 pulse. It does mention a soft configuration with no real explanation. Reading the full mini commander instructions, it includes the details you mentioned. I will try re-configuring it later.
Thanks for your help.
My sense is you don't want steady power, but the pulse duration may need to change. If you needed steady power, I question whether it would run through the sequence if that was the issue.
Thanks, Joe, everything is working.
I cheated a little bit by using the jumper provided to close the run/program pins. I added a light bulb to the LC1 output so I could tell whether it was listening to me.
John, you are right, I did not want continuous power only a pulse long enough to start the sequence. I programed the power to 14v then I kept increasing the duration of the pulse until it worked (about 2 seconds). I reprogrammed the Mini Commander from ACC to ENG #80 using AUX1 to activate the signalman. Ultimately the sequence was:
Pretty easy, once I understood what was going on.
So with everything working I accidentally discovered a quirk. In changed the mini commander to be ENG 80 and decided to add the info to my CAB2. When you address the car, as you would any engine, ENG + 80 + (POWER ON), the signalman starts - you don’t need AUX1. Is it because it is an engine rather than an accessory? It’s not the end of the world, but just curious if I missed something?
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