Virginian Railroad
The com1, com2, com3 port roll is usually an indication that your computer doesn't have a higher end UART to support the serial comm lines. Some of the manufacturers dumbed the serial and parallel ports down when USB came along or when they used an internal modem.
DCS is looking for a serial port capable of running at 56K. You can check this out by accessing the Hardware Tab in the System icon in the Control Panels. If you find the comm ports, check the detailed settings and see if you can kick them up to speeds beyond 9600. If the computer has a low end UART it will be stuck at 9600. If the USB ports are fully supported and you have a decent USB to serial adapter you may get the download to work. Other wise you will need to get a PCI serial adapter card which usually runs about $20.
I just did the newest (4.02) update to TIU and remote. Just had one glitch. A while back my comp had a meltdown and I had to do a full re-install. So I had lost the driver for the USB-to-serial cable. Found it at the place where I bought the cable. Installed that and the update went great.
Dep
phillyreading wrote: It's 5-1-08 and I still can't get the MTH upgrade to download from my computer to the TIU unit. The computer keeps saying trying to do comm port one two and three, and that will go on until I cancel the program. Have to abort the MTH upgrade.Lee F.
It's 5-1-08 and I still can't get the MTH upgrade to download from my computer to the TIU unit. The computer keeps saying trying to do comm port one two and three, and that will go on until I cancel the program. Have to abort the MTH upgrade.
Lee F.
Lee: I know this thread is pretty old, but I don't get here very often. I wondered if you got your system updated? If not, and you couldn't find a dealer to do it, I would be happy to do it for you. Dep
John,
I bought the cable that you mentioned and it didn't work either! Maybe my computer is out of date?
Anyway took cable back to Radio Shack and all I could get was store credit "even with the receipt!" Needless to say Radio Shack won't get much return business from me!
Hello Lee:
I am sorry that you have not been able to get the update loaded. In the meantime, MTH has made available version 4.01. I am planning on installing that in the next day or so. The updates are really worth the effort. The biggest improvement is that you can now have the engine stay at the speed that results from pushing the boost/brake button. This rocks because the boost/brake button was the only way to use the programmable acceleration/deceleration rates. It makes for much more realistic operating and adds a lot of play value.
Another cool feature is that when you start from a stop, the coupler slack sound is automatically sounded. A nice touch of realism.
Finally, you can also now input the speed you want the engine to travel by inputting the speed on the remote keypad.
Good luck in getting the upgrade on your system.
Regards,
John
Deputy,
Can you let us know how the update works. I am lost as to how to install the update since my computer won't send the info to the TIU, keep getting comm port error or trying to access comm port one thru three & it keeps saying trying to acces comm; port one, port two, port three, until I stop the attemped transfer.
Have not tried to do the remote as yet, haven't got TIU updated yet!
Just got the cable from California in the mail and will see if that helps.
Another thing to mention is that Ready To Roll in north Miami FL may set up a class or something to help people deal with the upgrade issues for the DCS. There will be a charge for Ready To Roll to help update the DCS or TIU. A trick picked up while down there is to use a clothespin or other device that will keep pressure on the button on the remote while you download info to your remote.
Brad, let me know if I sent you the MTH dowloader 1.57 version in the email.
Dave,
What software are you talking about adding again?
What I tried with NO success was to reload the settings for the UBS cable port but it didn't work. I think my computer is out of date! Also the little screw in devices at the ends of the cable would not screw into the TIU, the cable went in but still the screws were about half an inch too short.
I'm probably the last person who should be giving advice on this. Not to computer bright but I'll give it a shot. I decided to try upgrading myself rather than have a friend do it. I purchased the same cable from Radio Shack. As well as the mini cable. Assumed this was a quick hook up. Still don't know why you needed a to run software to hook up a cable. I ran the disc and assumed I was ready to go. Kept recieving the same error messages as you. Noticed a message for Installation Wizard kept coming up. I thought I was done with the install. It appeared on my Program list. I clicked on and without out the disc installed it said finished. Just kept following the instructions on the screen.I thought I had installed but apparently it may not have been done. I gave the process another shot and upgraded 3 TIU's without a hitch.
You might try adding the software again.
I ordered the cable, and tried to return the Radio Shack cable but can't find the receipt and Radio Shack won't take it back.
John I hope that takes care of the problem!
I hope, for your sake, it works out. Please rembember to set up the output as Deputy laid out and that SHOULD take care of the problem.
Good luck,
I sent off for the cable that Deputy is using & an extension cable, hope that fixes the problem!
johnandjulie13 wrote: Hello Lee:The description of the cable is on page 3 of this thread. Deputy said he paid 9.95 for the cable. BTW, I was informed that you LHS should be willing to do the upgrade at no charge. What is your local store telling you?Regards,John
The description of the cable is on page 3 of this thread. Deputy said he paid 9.95 for the cable. BTW, I was informed that you LHS should be willing to do the upgrade at no charge. What is your local store telling you?
I may have to drive to north Miami about 70 miles to the south of me and I am not sure if they would do the update or not. Local shop in Lantana FL is too busy and don't work on MTH that much.
Upgraded one TIU and two Remotes today from 3.1 to 4.0.
Went perfect and fast with no hitches. Worked on the first try. I use the Radio Shack Serial to USB cord. THe RS kit contains a Driver CD for your PC if you never loaded it before.
You unZip the MTH files with the "unzip" button. You would only need Win-zip if you were going to SEND large files.
Don U. TCA 73-5735
The description of the cable is on page 3 of this thread. Deputy said he paid $9.95 for the cable. BTW, I was informed that your LHS should be willing to do the upgrade at no charge. What is your local store telling you?
What is the cable that Deputy used? Need to know brand name and part number.
I don't want to spend that kind of money for my local hobby shop to upgrade it for me!
Are you sure that this upgrade isn't a hoax to get us to spend good money needlessly??
Again, I am sorry to hear that you have had a very frustrating time with the update. Can you return the cable you purchased to Radio Shack? I would recommend trying the cable that Deputy used. It worked for him and may work for you. Plus, the price seemed very reasonable (I wish I would have known about it before I bought my expresscard).
Another alternative is to bring the TIU and remote to your LHS. They will do the upgrade for you.
Hello John,
I have a desk top computer, I don't like laptops! What I am going to do is choose the custom install feature and see what happens when I try to enter those settings, I printed those settings so I don't forget what to choose.
News update: the Radio Shack drivers won't let me do anything so I am at a total loss as to how to install the update!! Seems like the USB port won't let the info out! Nothing happens to my DCS unit when I try to install the update.
To me the update was a TOTAL WASTE OF TIME & MONEY!!!!!
Since your cable came with an installation disk, it should have the ability to adjust its settings to more closely resemble a serial output. As Deputy indicated in his post:
"I used this adapter cable with port settings of 9600 bps, 8 data bits, parity none, stop bits 1, and flow control none."
Can you make these adjustments? In addition, you have to make sure that the computer is now recognizing the USB port as a com port. Since I am far from an expert on these issues, I am not sure how you would make that configuration.
As to your question on other alternatives, if you are using a desktop, you can purchase a serial adapter port card that would be installed in one of the unused slots inside your computer and the port would then be on the back of the case. If you are using a laptop, you can purchase an expresscard that has a serial adapter. This is what I did. When I slid the card into my laptop, the port was automatically configured as com 4 with the appropriate data settings. As a result, I had no trouble with the upgrade. The downside is that the card cast me $42.00 at MicroCenter.
Also, since no one else seems to be chiming in, you may want to post your question on the OGR board, in the MTH DCS forum. There are a lot of computer literate gentlemen that follow that forum and they may be able to provide the computer assistance you need.
Whatever you do, don't give up! The upgrade is actually very nice and some of the new features really make the system shine.
I am using a USB(USB plug in) to serial cable connector, the cable cost me $35.00 at Radio Shack. Also ran the installation disk that came with the USB to serial cable.
What would I need to do it another way?
The screws on the serial connector shouldn't matter as long as the connector is snugly connected to the TIU. Since you are getting a comm message, the data is not finding its way to the TIU (or the remote). Are you using a USB-serial connector? Or, do you have a serial port on your computer?
Hey John,
This is what happens; I have powered up the TIU and sent the download to it but all that happens is that I get a message saying sending to comm ports 1 to 3 repeating about every 3 to 5 seconds.
I have the miniture jacks in the back(on both sides) jumped off with the 1/8" stereo cable. Now when I power down the TIU or disconnect the jumper cable in the rear nothing differant happens, also won't recognize the handheld unit either for the update.
One thing that I have found; the screws on the serial cable plug-in are too short, is this the problem??
You are having a computer problem. The message you are getting means that the upgrade program is not able to send the data. Do you have a serial port on your computer? If you are using a usb-to-serial cable, MTH has indicated that they do not always work as the data rate might be too fast for the TIU to handle. Are you using a stereo mini-jack for it's connection?
I know you are very frustrated, but you are very close. Let me know about your computer and maybe we can walk through a solution.
johnandjulie13 wrote: phillyreading wrote: Joel,I found the cables at Radio Shack, they were cheaper than Staples Office supplystore.So far I have spent over an hour on the downloads and half an hour on setup for the cables.Lee F.Hang in there Lee, you are near the finish line. Did you complete the update?Regards,John
phillyreading wrote: Joel,I found the cables at Radio Shack, they were cheaper than Staples Office supplystore.So far I have spent over an hour on the downloads and half an hour on setup for the cables.Lee F.
Joel,
I found the cables at Radio Shack, they were cheaper than Staples Office supplystore.
So far I have spent over an hour on the downloads and half an hour on setup for the cables.
Hang in there Lee, you are near the finish line. Did you complete the update?
I downloaded or tried to download the program to my TIU from my computor this morning but kept getting: openning comm port 1, openning comm port 2, openning comm port 3. Retried about five times to load the TIU but is acting like there is a major problem.
phillyreading wrote:Joel,I found the cables at Radio Shack, they were cheaper than Staples Office supplystore.So far I have spent over an hour on the downloads and half an hour on setup for the cables.Lee F.
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