PS-1 and PS-2 Boxcars?

[2356]

 Being new to this hobby I have been reading on an auction site about PS-1 and PS-2 boxcars. By reading some of the posts on here I can tell it is something to do with sounds but what ?

[rtraincollector]

first in most cases it isn't boxcars its engines and it has to do with Mike Train House and there proto sound more or less the ps1 had a problem from which I understand was corrected with ps-2 PS-1 you had to keep it charge or it would scramble the main chip and the engine wouldn't work but you could get it fix by taking to a repair shop that had the chips to correc it

[Ole Timer]

 The best thing you can do is stay away from proto-1 = PS1 ....   avoid them like a plague !

[Andrew Falconer]

In 1947 Pullman-Standard introduced a series of freight cars.

PS-1 for Box Cars

PS-2 for Covered Hoppers

PS-3 for open-top hoppers

PS-4 for flat cars

PS-5 for gondolas

 

Mike's Train House started with QSI Sounds in the 1990's. 

Then they created their own Proto.Sounds

When Proto.Sounds chips malfunctioned they created the Proto.Sounds 1 replacement chip.

Around 2000 the much improved Proto.Sounds 2.0 was created to operate in conjunction with the Digital Control System, or,  D.C.S.  

 

Mike's Train House is selling Proto.Sounds 2.0/D.C.S. upgrades. 

 

The original Proto.Sounds and P.S 1 can be and should be replaced with P.S 2.0 boards and rechargers as soon as you can afford them.

 

Andrew

[challenger3980]

Andrew,

  As far as I know Proto-Sounds and Proto-Sounds1 are the same thing. I don't know if MTH ever designated anything as PS1, I believe that the PS1 designation is pretty much a modelers term, to differentiate between PS and PS2. MTH did have the sounds only Loco-Sounds before Proto-Sounds.

  Most Proto-Sounds locomotives offer a remote coupler function by using the throttle and Whistle controls, Loco-Sounds are sound only. PS2 includes full DCS control.

  If an operator is not using DCS, changing boards to PS 2 is not going to be a cost effective option for most modelers, bcause in conventional control you don't gain much, if anything, and the upgrade is EXPENSIVE, the last figures that I have seen were $179.00 for the parts alone, and about the same $179.00 for labor, if you can't/don't want to do it yourself. I have heard that it is a fairly complicated conversion, not just a simple unplug one board, and plug in another, like many HO DCC decoders. If you do not live near a shop that can do it for you, and have to ship it to someone to do it, factor in shipping charges(both ways) and that PS to PS2 upgrade is getting very close to $400.00. If your locomotive is now available equipped with PS2, you may well be able to get it new for less than what it would cost to upgrade the original.

Doug 

[challenger3980]

Ole Timer

 The best thing you can do is stay away from proto-1 = PS1 ....   avoid them like a plague !

Actually, the BEST thing that you can do is avoid MTH altogether. Proto-Sounds (1) has gotten a worse reputation than it deserves, at least compared to PS2 in MY experince. PS(1)'s main drawbacks are, SOME units are susceptible to scrambling the control chip if you let the battery get weak. The other drawback is not being able to operate in DCS for those who use it, and the upgrade to PS2 can be as expensive as buying a complete nw locomotive in some cases.

 I have had problems with PS2 as well as PS(1). I have had a PS1 SW8/9 need to go back to MTH to be reset, before the reset chip was available. I currently have a PS1 2-6-0 that is totally unresponsive, a PS2 2-8-0, that is totally unresponsive, and a PS2 F3 that in conventional control(I don't have DCS) has a mind of it's own. The very first MTH that I bought was the Rail King F3 Passenger set, and it still runs great, and is the unit that convinced me(at first) to buy more MTH products. I also have an MTH RK Big Boy, PS1, that the sound system has died on. add in the PS2 systems inability to play Nicely with Lionel's CW-80 transformers, and I don't buy many MTH locomotives any more.

  I have many more Lionel locomotivs than I do MTH, I have MANY more PROBLEMS with MTH than I do Lionel.

  Whn I first got involved in the 3-Rail side of the Hobby, coming from many years in HO, I did NOT come into it with any preconcieved biases towards or against any manufacturer. I thought if they all make GOOD trains, then GREAT for Me, I will have more to choose from. I now prefer Lionel locomotives over MTH, but that is because of MY experiences with them both.

Your experiences may vary, but those have been MINE.

Doug

[Ole Timer]

 Challenger ... you left out Weaver - K-line - and Williams engines .... all great engines besides only lionel . I was referring to protosound 1 ENGINES  to stay away from ....

2356 MTH train cars are darn good cars plus K-Line and Weaver cars .... usually more detailed than most lionel train cars . Not so toy-look designed . As well as the above mentioned accessories ... more realistc designed ... the lionel items look more drop on toy related .

2356  ... Plus all MTH engines take their own special control system the others don't need .... all the others run on the same type systems .... a real pill to say the least .   Look at k-line and weaver and mth cars not engines in my opinion also ...

[challenger3980]

Ole timer,

  I really Like K Line's Porters and Plymouths, I also have a K Line Pacific and an MP 15 diesel switcher. I Like a lot of the K Line cars as well, especially the 18" aluminum passenger cars that I have. K Line's high end Cabeese, are the Nicest that I have seen in 0-Gauge.

 

My K Line Pacific and passnger cars, although the Diner in the Streamlined set is a Lionel, that I had been running with this set, to have a Full Diner included.

 

The Cabeese in this pic are all K Line, and very nice cabeese, a Porter is pictured on the left just above the cabeese.

I know a LOT of people have and really like Williams, the only Williams locomotives that I have are a Powered/unpowered set of FP45's, that I got with a bunch of other things that I bought in a lot sale. I wasn't really interested in them, and they haven't impressed me at all, they don't run very well and the couplers won't hold more than a few cars without opening unexpectedly. If I had bought them, just them to get them, I would have been very unhappy, but I got a good deal on the rest of the lot even without the FP45's, so I just consider them "Freebies" and don't worry about it. In all fairness, I got them used, they are a little rough, and I don't know how well they were cared for, but they haven't convinced me to go out and buy any more Williams locomotives.

I don't have any Weaver locomotives that I can think of, but their PS-2 covered hoppers( of the confusion in this thread fame) are very nice cars, that I have a growing collection of.

 MTH cars, I like the looks of the 027 Rail King Madison passenger cars, very nice looking, much better than the similar Lionel cars IMHO, but they are rather heavy and not very free-wheeling, so they create a heavier load for a locomotive than would normally be expected for a similar car. I have found MTH couplers to open unexpectedly under load, particularly the semi-scale gondola with 3 crate load, I really like the looks of these, and had bought several of them, now if I buy them, I just plan on changing the trucks to Lionel die-cast sprung trucks, and am happy with them.

Again, these have been MY experiences, YMMV.

Doug

[Andrew Falconer]

The original Proto.Sounds system can be replaced with the Lionel TrainMaster Command Control and Lionel RailSounds by someone who is reasonably familiar with the principles of electricity and electronics.

 Andrew