CB band was 27MHZ, original cordless phones were in the 900MHZ, most current cordless is in the 2.4 ghz range while newer phones are up in the 5.6ghz range.
Link to a wikipedia article on interference in the 2.4ghz band:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2.4ghz_Interference
you seem very knowledgable on this and appreciate your help to try and understand all this. one last question. if i'm correct the cab-1 worked on 2.4 gz ? so why didn't they stick with a know viable signal strength between the remote and base? or was it not being able or allowed to use the same as cab-1 due to backwards compatibility so legacy would know which base needed to respond just curious. again thank you for all the help. also am going to put base back to it's original location as I moved it to within 6' of troubled area and all it did was lose reception at other end and never helped at troubled end, so rf interference only possibility left.
If there was a true problem with the antenna or transmitter in your CAB-2 or the receiver in the command base, it wouldn't work, period, or the behavior would be truly random. Since it behaves badly in a specific region of the room the issues boil down to interference. The red light comes on whenever the base and CAB-2 lose communication. That COULD be from straight signal loss but it can also occur when the signal is garbled. Upping the power output or changing the antenna's sensitivity only works when there is a straight loss of signal. If the signal is actually being scrambled by an outside source you could make things worse by using a more sensitive antenna.
There are all sorts of devices operating in the 2.8gz band. Some of these consume large amounts of bandwidth and opeate at higher power levels. There is a wirless TV transmitter/receiver pair that can eat almost half the channels and has a range of 150 feet.
Good luck!
the neihbors home is about12 feet away from side window and that room is a bedroom and a bathroom after that. we do have a cell tower about 1/4 mile away to the west of us. I've seen the inside of remote strange it has a chip ? that says tmcc antenna and a long braided like wire going to another printed circuit board with 2 wires soldered. wonder if this is the main antenna board and if so would an antenna like some have used on the cab-1 a rubber and more powerful one would this help both components hear each other? will try the foil sunday and will let you know of my findings.
The electrcial outlets have nothing to do with what is happening.
You have a source of rf interference in parts of the room. You said things were worse by/near the windows. The interference may not even be coming from anything in your house. That is why I asked about proximity to neighbors and or outside RF sources like a cell tower.
You can test the possible issue of problems with the windows by temporarily using aluminum foil, just cover the window. If this does block out the interference you can try to get some transparent rf blocking material. Tracking down rf interference is very, very dificult.
Back in 94 when the CAB-1 and PowerMasters were first released there was a brief resurgent interest/use of the CB radio band. There were issues reported with interference at those times as well. By comparison, the current use in 2.8ghz band is even more crowded.
Some other things that can affect signal transmission are air ducts (if you use forced air heating/cooling), these can attentuate signals or act as wave guides and redirect them. Sheet metal can be arranged in shapes to form corner reflectors that will redirect signals.
just came home from work to read all replies since this a m. as to earth ground how much more earth can one get than a 10' copper rod in ground up into 200 amp box and back out to water lines in house. but I only use 1 outside rail for the common wire is it possible I need to hook it on both out side rails? wish I was an electronics geek would tear the system apart and fix it to work as the cab-1 as far as good positive signal response no matter where I go so exasberating. wheres my hammer and wood block at. thanks for your helpful reply. as to the center rail wire wow that would have been a ride eh!
The wire from the antenna terminal on the base goes to the OUTER rails, not the center rail. DCS uses the center rail. TMCC uses the two outer rails to generate a "sausage casing" envelope around the track to propogate commands from the base to the locomitves. You need the ground plane to generate a base for the radio signal to work against. This is why the command base wall wart transformers have three prong plugs and why this transfomer needs to be plugged into a properly earth grounded outlet.
CB&Q not sure I follow the ground concept. are you saying to run 2 wires one to the track outside rail as usual and then another to a good 120 v ground from the command base or do I have it backwards in my understanding? I have to go to work so won't be able to trey till 5-6p m today. thanks for the help this is the only downfall to an otherwise very enjoyable system. couldn't wait did a quick try just happened to have a ground wire coming out of a plug strip so took 1/4" off and used a jumper wire with alligator clips to attach to it and base end result the same turn back at 14' red light go to 10' red light gets shut down and intermittent within that end most times its ok and then for no reason whamo red light even dead on with the base. so either I misunderstood you or its time to find a hunk if wood and hammer my frustrations upon it. will check after work for any updates to this reply. thanks for your help so far.
not sure I follow the ground concept. are you saying to run 2 wires one to the track outside rail as usual and then another to a good 120 v ground from the command base or do I have it backwards in my understanding? I have to go to work so won't be able to trey till 5-6p m today. thanks for the help this is the only downfall to an otherwise very enjoyable system. couldn't wait did a quick try just happened to have a ground wire coming out of a plug strip so took 1/4" off and used a jumper wire with alligator clips to attach to it and base end result the same turn back at 14' red light go to 10' red light gets shut down and intermittent within that end most times its ok and then for no reason whamo red light even dead on with the base. so either I misunderstood you or its time to find a hunk if wood and hammer my frustrations upon it. will check after work for any updates to this reply. thanks for your help so far.
All I have left to tell and that's it is you need one wire for the connection to the track. Connect the one wire to the base and connect that to the middle rail of the track. That's all I got. I'm sorry.
Ground plane only affects track signals. You are running into straight rf problems between the controller and the base. Since it works in some places I don't think the base radio or CAB-2 radio is "bad".
SInce it seems to be local to certain areas of the room, the interference is probably from an outisde source. We can't "see" radio waves so this is going to be harder to track down. You mention it's worse near the windows? How close are you to the neighbors? Do you live near a cell tower? Is it possible something on one of the floors above is causing the problem? There is plastic film with shielding properties that can block out rf (or keep it in for security reasons).
I just noticed there are three new wireless SSID's broadcasting in my neighborhood, some folks got wireless for Christmas! So far I haven't noticed any issues with Legacy, but the layout's on the floor and the base/CAB-2 are in the same room!
I have the base set on channel 9 and have taken remote to both computers and the router and it had no effect it will work fine. the area of most trouble is an 8' extension for depot and can get 4' and then the red light. this room has windows. the opposite end of layout also has windows and 2 small refrigerators and a chest freezer I cannot get it to respond at the 12'6" area at its furthest usually 10' is the max. now from that to opposite end no windows and works fine go figure. thanks for your reply.
Original CAB-1 to Command Base used rf signals in the CB range. This is why the original CAB-1 antenna was so long.
The new base uses the 2.8 ghz band which has a lot of competition including cell phones, BlueTooth, WiFi, and even Microwave ovens.
Have you tried switching the CAB-2 and Base Bindings to the upper channels (aka 5-9)?
CB&Q well I tried to remedy the red light coming on to no avail. I tried a trend 10dbi omni directional antenna no difference in area coverage and still a red light and no bigger of a distance from base to ends of train table 24' in length so put base at 12' 6". tried antenna in mid air no improvement, tried original antenna same results as with the trend antenna. so became curious and left antenna and no cable for an antenna just the nubbin on base where the antenna screws onto it same result. it doesn't matter if an antenna is on my base or not. so do I have a DOA Antenna assembly? this is baffling to say the least tmcc you can go clear across my house aprox 35' from train room and it works. can someone explain to me why they didn't stick to an antenna strength that worked well instead of this? thanks for any input you can share.
well I tried to remedy the red light coming on to no avail. I tried a trend 10dbi omni directional antenna no difference in area coverage and still a red light and no bigger of a distance from base to ends of train table 24' in length so put base at 12' 6". tried antenna in mid air no improvement, tried original antenna same results as with the trend antenna. so became curious and left antenna and no cable for an antenna just the nubbin on base where the antenna screws onto it same result. it doesn't matter if an antenna is on my base or not. so do I have a DOA Antenna assembly? this is baffling to say the least tmcc you can go clear across my house aprox 35' from train room and it works. can someone explain to me why they didn't stick to an antenna strength that worked well instead of this? thanks for any input you can share.
I have a Legacy Controller for my trains. I have had that happen to me once and that's it. I tell you how I did it so it worked backed to normal. First off I made sure I use an Orange Ground Ground connect to Ground to the base. I made sure the batteries were fully charged and made sure that one wire is connected to the middle rail of the track. Most important to me was the Ground. The ground cord is a cord that has three prongs on one end to plug into a ground box and that the orther end of the cord has three ground holes to connect the base to it. If you use an exstension cord instead of the ground you'l get the signal but it will probably say what it said for you the screen of the legacy. First see if that Three Prong Ground cord help's your problems. Tell me if it works or not. Oh by the way the antenna I have had no problems with it at all. I have kept the same one it has had since I opened the box. I'll come back to this forum later to see if that Ground cord works for you.
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