Following are notes from the 23rd York DCS Users Group Meeting, conducted on October 18th. Many thanks to Don Klose for, once again, being our scribe and compiling the meeting summary. Any errors that you may find in the following information were more than likely introduced by me during the editing process.
24th DCS Users Group Meeting October18, 2017 at the York Fairgrounds
Barry began our meeting at 7:00 pm and welcomed everyone to the 24th DCS User Group Meeting. He thanked Marty Fitzhenry and Jim Osborne for providing DCS upgrades to those seeking them. He also thanked Sensenig Catering for providing our meal prior to the meeting.
Barry said that after the question and answer portion of the meeting Dave Hikel would provide insights into the best ways to connect and utilize the WIU. Following Dave’s presentation, Andy Edelman would discuss the latest product information from MTH, and entertain questions.
Q and A Session
One individual stated they were having signal issues in their yard area. In building the yard, he stated he used insulated track blocks, a Rev. L TIU, 14-16 gauge wiring with 12 ft runs, and used no filters on the TIU. It was suggested that he do a signal test of different engines in the yard and then on a separate track to compare signal strength. The problem could possibly be either the TIU channel used for the yard area, or the way that the yard itself was wired.
Another individual stated that he was having trouble with his WIU importing data for lashups and stated that the lashup’s soft keys were not appearing. Barry stated that there was a bug related to this and that it was corrected in the recent DCS App 2.0.x update.
The next question was related to a person having a PS3 engine that gets a DCS signal strength of 2,3,4 and a PS2 engine getting 8,9,10. It was suggested that the problem could be due to the wiring harnesses of the PS3 engines laying on top of a capacitor, which could be degrading their DCS signal.The solution is to relocate the harness. There is a thread on the O Gauge Railroading forum that addresses this issue and discusses the solution.
One person made the observation that it takes longer for a PS3 engine to be added to DCS than it does for a PS2 engine. It was pointed out DCS begins to look for a new engine at the highest possible DCS ID#. If the PS3 engine has a low address, it will take DCS longer to find and add it.
In building his layout, an individual used MTH RealTrax for the crossovers and his engines are hitting the switch machine’s motor housing when passing through the switch. He asked w-ill MTH modify the design in the future? The answer was that this is unlikely. In the mean time, the suggestion was made to carefully, surgically modify the machine box to solve the issue.
An individual asked can you use a resistor instead of the light bulb to clean up the DCS signal? The answer was no, you cannot.
The question was asked, what did the DCS 6.1 update do for the DCS Remote? The answer is that the DCS 6.1 code for the remote is essentially the same as the remote’s DCS 5.0 code. The remote’s code was renumbered to maintain the remote and TIU at the same level of DCS. The DCS 6.1 code for the TIU was modified to support the DCS Explorer and to correct some bug in the DCS Apps. If you are not using the DCS App, you do not need to upgrade to DCS 6.1. However, it is almost always in your best interests to do so.
The question was asked, can a Rev. I TIU be upgraded to a Rev L TIU. The answer is no, they have a different motherboard with a different chipset. However, all TIUs and remotes can use the very latest DCS software.
Barry brought the Q&A session to a close and introduced Dave Hikel, of Hikel Layouts and Trains.
Dave Hikel
Dave introduced himself and said he had available to those interested his battery holder for the DCS Remote and his TIU screw-post repair kit.
Dave made a presentation on how one could get the best performance out of the DCS WIFI App. He made the following observations for best performance:
- Use the newest tablet or smart phone that you have available.
- Update all of your device’s OS systems to the latest version of which they are capable of using.
- When operating with one TIU, use MTH mode on your WIU for the best operating experience.
- When using multiple TIU’s, utilize MTH mode if you don’t need Internet access while operating your trains.
- If you prefer to utilize your home router, the best performance will be obtained by using wired Ethernet connections, if possible.
- If one desires the best possible performance with multiple WIUs and the home network router is not in close enough proximity to the WIUs, then it’s possible to use a second router, located in the train layout room, to create a second network to which the WIUs may be connected using Ethernet cables.
Dave has promised an in depth look and discussion regarding these recommendations on the OGR forum.
Andy Edelman - VP of MTH Sales
Andy welcomed everyone and gave away a few WIU’s and other MTH products to the group. He asked, how many have done the latest update to DCS 6.1? Of those that did, he asked if they had any issues to date. He also asked those who have not started using the DCS App, what is holding them up?
Many at the meeting were very satisfied at how well Legacy operated on the DCS App. One person mentioned that he believed that there was issue that DCS 6.1 was causing TIU Variable Channel #1 on the TIU to burn out. Andy at this time did not believe that this was a wide spread problem.
The DCS Explorer will be in Ready to Run sets arriving in a few weeks and should be on dealer shelves by early November. The DCS Explorer will be available for separate-sale in early December and will be sold without a power supply. If you purchase the DCS Explorer and also have a TIU and WIU, the DCS App will determine if you are working with the TIU or the DCS Explorer.
Separate sale TIU’s and DCS Remotes, and DCS sets will be arriving in approx. three weeks. At present, this is the last batch of DCS Remotes that are scheduled to be manufactured.
The meeting concluded at 8:50 pm.
