Can I Make Railsonds, Crewtalk, and Towercom Function On a Conventional Layout?

[MickeyDemian]

Hello:

  So I went out and purchased a Lionel 409 Lehigh Valley engine with all the above electronic functions and smoke.  When I run it, the engine sounds and horn work when the unit is in neutral.  When I stop and shift it to forward/reverse and move it I lose all electronic function--no sounds at all.  Crewtalk and towercom never have worked yet.  My question is must I run this engine with a TMCC set up to experience all the electronic sounds/functions all the time like it was designed or is there another trick or hoop I must jump through?  I am really impressed with how smooth and quiet this engine runs compared to all of my PW units which growl.  Thanks for any input on your experiences with this problem.

Mickey

[fifedog]

I run conventional only (Z-4000), and it's been my experience that those engine's special features tend not to "wake up" unless they are in command mode.  Hope this helps.

[MickeyDemian]

So is "Command Mode" something I must switch on inside the engine or is it the outside electronics used to run the system like TMCC or Legacy?  I get confused by discussions of all the electronic systems available to run modern trains where as I am familiar with the simple PW (ZW) method. 

Thanks--Mickey

[rtraincollector]

Command mode is running your engine in TMCC or Legacy. You still have a good engine I would say.

[robmcc]

You should be able to access most of the Railsounds and Crewtalk with a conventional transformer. I haven't had any issues when operating with a conventional transformer occasionally, although you won't have all of sounds such as couplers clanking or start up sequences, etc. You will need to use a CAB-1 or 2 setup and run in command mode to trigger those. The horn, bell and engine should still be present when operating in either direction. You can activate the Crewtalk by tapping the horn button when in neutral.

[MickeyDemian]

Thank you for the information.

 

mickey

[BigAl 956]

MickeyDemian

My question is must I run this engine with a TMCC set up to experience all the electronic sounds/functions all the time like it was designed

Short answer is yes. You will need to have a TMCC base unit and CAB control to activate the advanced sounds including crew talk.

Without the TMCC base unit the only sounds that will work are the horn, bell, and railsounds engine noise.