TMCC troubles ?

Bad reception of the TMCC signal. Lots of reasons for that. What is the layout like?

Hey Everyone ....

OK .... Yes it is the 6-13004 Hiawatha in standard gauge. My layout is wide open and relatively small (approx. 12 x 20 feet. If bad reception is culprit then do I check antenna on Loco or something else???

Do you have tracks that are close together side by side? That can interfere with the signal. The way to tell is if the head light flickers. That's a indication that it's looking for a signal. If so you need to run a wire next between the tracks and connect it to your AC common ground in your house. This is known as a ground plane.

Lets start with the simple stuff.

Is the power supply for the TMCC base original?  3 prong AC wall wart.

If so, is it directly plugged into a properly grounded AC outlet.  It should not go through a surge suppressing outlet strip.  This will cause signal issues.

The one wire off the command base is attached to the common rail of the track.

As far as the ground plane wire mentioned above, it should be attached to an earth ground, either the ground prong on a receptacle, a copper water pipe, or even the screw to hold the wall plate on.  It should be as noted laid parallel to the track.  The other end not connected...to anything.

DennyM posted:

Do you have tracks that are close together side by side? That can interfere with the signal. The way to tell is if the head light flickers. That's a indication that it's looking for a signal. If so you need to run a wire next between the tracks and connect it to your AC common ground in your house. This is known as a ground plane.

Yes I do have tracks close together. The headlight does flicker. I did not know about the "ground plane". Thank you!

Yep! read Marty's post again.  

MartyE posted:

Lets start with the simple stuff.

Is the power supply for the TMCC base original?  3 prong AC wall wart.

If so, is it directly plugged into a properly grounded AC outlet.  It should not go through a surge suppressing outlet strip.  This will cause signal issues.

The one wire off the command base is attached to the common rail of the track.

 

As far as the ground plane wire mentioned above, it should be attached to an earth ground, either the ground prong on a receptacle, a copper water pipe, or even the screw to hold the wall plate on.  It should be as noted laid parallel to the track.  The other end not connected...to anything.

The answer is yes to all ... except the "ground plane." I didn't know about that. Will try as soon as I get home. Thank you!