I operate my layout in conventional mode only, with no thought of "up-grading". If I were to purchase a Lionel engine equipped w. TMCC, Odyssey & Railsounds 5.0, should I expect any problems or quirks running in the conventional mode? Thanks.
All Lionel engines that are TMCC or Legacy equiped can be run in conventional mode. You will not have access to all features though. I've never heard of any problems running the TMCC/Legacy engines conventionally.
One thing nice about operating the TMCC with earlier version of Odyssey, w/o an on/off switch, in conventional mode you can turn off the Odyssey whereas in TMCC ops you can not.
Plus it would be a relatively inexpensive upgrade to TMCC at a later date.
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dougdagrump One thing nice about operating the TMCC with earlier version of Odyssey, w/o an on/off switch, in conventional mode you can turn off the Odyssey whereas in TMCC ops you can not. Plus it would be a relatively inexpensive upgrade to TMCC at a later date.
I have no experience with either TMCC or Odyssey, so I don't quite understand your reply. To get more specific, the locomotive that I am considering purchasing was calalogued in the 2006 Lionel catalog, so I assume it has "whatever" version of TMCC & Odyssey was offered at that time. More explanation requested on the conventional operating mode of this type of locomotive. Thanks!
Which engine(s) in particular?
I suggest that you locate the engine you are interested in then go to this link http://www.lionel.com/Products/Catalogs/Findex.cfm and check to see if there is "an owner's manual" on line. It will give you some insight into the ops of the engine.
Apparently all of the TMCC engines in the 2006 cat. come with on/off switches for the Odyssey speed control. Without the ability to turn off the Odyssey speed control the engines didn't want to play well together when run in a multi-engine train.
dougdagrump Which engine(s) in particular? I suggest that you locate .the engine you are interested in then go to this link http://www.lionel.com/Products/Catalogs/Findex.cfm and check to see if there is "an owner's manual" on line. It will give you some insight into the ops of the engine. Apparently all of the TMCC engines in the 2006 cat. come with on/off switches for the Odyssey speed control. Without the ability to turn off the Odyssey speed control the engines didn't want to play well together when run in a multi-engine train. The engine is the GP30 pulling the PRR coal train. Serial# 2204. I will check out the link you provided, but I was "kind of" asking for personal experience, & not info from the owner's manual. Thank you for the info!
I suggest that you locate .the engine you are interested in then go to this link http://www.lionel.com/Products/Catalogs/Findex.cfm and check to see if there is "an owner's manual" on line. It will give you some insight into the ops of the engine.
The engine is the GP30 pulling the PRR coal train. Serial# 2204. I will check out the link you provided, but I was "kind of" asking for personal experience, & not info from the owner's manual. Thank you for the info!
Sorry, I can't be of much help as far as operating TMCC engines in a non-command environment. I use either TMCC or DCS systems for my command equipped engines.
One major point: you can't open the couplers without TMCC. The rest of the features will work fine, but you'll need to install a 9 volt "transistor" battery to get full sounds and lower voltage.
Or, you could spring for the $100 bucks or so, install the one wire to your lock-on, and upgrade your whole layout to TMCC.
Jon
On rare occasions I've run some of my TMCC engines in non command mode for test purposes. They run fine with the exception of being able to access some of the command control specific features. Odyssey equipped loco's often run better in conventional mode than they do in CAB-1/classic TMCC. The really run well using the CAB-2/Legacy base.
Some of the engines do have an Odyssey on/off switch and even the ones that don't can disable Odyssey in conventional mode by using conventional transformer controls (aka bell/horn plus voltage swings).
Thanks for the responses. I think I will purchase the engine. I wanted the engine but don't intend (nor desire) to use the TMCC & Odyssey features. This is not the first time I have come across a locomotive that had the "extra stuff" that I don't need or want, but it comes up often these days so I thought I'd ask. Same question applies to DCS, Legacy, & any other of those types of features when operated in conventional mode. Thanks again.
It is pretty simple actually.1. All engines can be run in Conventional Mode2. Sounds will work, but will not be 100% unless you use a battery (PS2 engines require a battery, TMCC/Legacy do not but the sounds cut out as soon as track power is zero)3. Not all TMCC/Legacy/PS2 features will be accessible (no electro couplers will work which can make exchanging cars lots of fun)4. Most engines come with switches to allow you to turn off features you don't want: sound, speed control, smoke, etc. Just remember to always keep the PGM/RUN switch in the RUN position.
Forgot to mention that when I first get my engines I put them on my conventional loop with nothing else on the track, I then power up and see how the engine responds in conventional mode. I do this so I don't have any unexpected mishaps (engines taking off a full-throttle and plowing into another engine or rolling stock).
I bought an RS-11 Mopac with TMCC and I can not get it out of Odyssey mode when running it conventionally. It takes off and starts running at a nice stately speed and will not accelerate for anything. I tried the neutral/whistle/ stuff to turn it off and no luck so I wish I could take the board out and go with out odyssey put that might muck up the rest of it. and yes, I bought a new board and it worked for about an hour and then went screwy on me. I'm using a LW125 transformer.
Roland
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