first off run and don't look back Okay now the smart remark is done I'll explain you need to keep battery in them charge if you don't and you try to run it you probably hear what is know as the 3 clangs of death it actually make 3 beeps and the board in it is scrambled and you need to either send to mth or take to a mth repair center hopefully its you local hobby shop. To avoid it if it has sat for a while put a new battery in it.
now to be fair there are guys out there that have them and they have no problems they get ( can't remember exactly what its called) but it basicly takes the place of the battery and has a super long life I believe its called a BCR but probably have it wrong ( mind not working right tonight)
Hope this helps even with my smartness
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
I have had these MTH PA-1 Ps-1 units since 2000.in 2004 I changed to a Nickle Metal Hydride battery to be safe but I have had zero problems and they run and sound great.Here is a clip .
I have an MTH WM GP-7 that has had a BCR installed. Hadn't run it in 2+ years. On Saturday I took it down to the LTS and they put it on the test track, fired it up, and it ran like a champ!
I have about a dozen or so MTH PS-1 locos that I bought new 10 to 15 years ago. At about the 5 year period I replaced the MTH batterys with BCR's. I have logged a ton of hours on these guys and have had only one scrambled chip. I bought the MTH chip descrambler for about $20 and it took about 10 minutes to fix the problem, very simple procedure. As far as I am concerned the PS-1 locos are excellant locomotives, that had pretty good sound for the time period, and are super strong pullers.
Bill T.
I HAVE had the 3 clangs of death, low battery issue with a ProtoSound SW8/9. It locked in neutral and would not respond to the factory reset function. I had to return it to MTH for service, they had it for 8-9 MONTHS, they have since released the board descrabler chip kit which sells for about $30.00 I hear, but I have not used one.
I also have an MTH ProtoSound 2-6-0 that is completely unresponsive, and a PS2 2-8-0 that is also DOA, also have a PS2 F3 that decides for it's self which direction commands it will obey and which it will ignore in conventional (I don't have DCS)
I have many more Lionel locomotives than MTH, I have MANY more PROBLEMS with MTH than Lionel. Now, it has to be something that I can only get from MTH such as the AeroTrain(mine runs very rough in reverse) or the Bantam GS4, for me to buy an MTH locomotive.
Your mileage may vary, but my experiences with MTH have not impressed ME. My first MTH set, a Rail King PS2 F3 passenger set, still runs very well, so there is an exception to every rule.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
I have one PS-1 engine, didn't know for sure that I had bought a PS-1 engine at a train show, as it was the only steam engine that I really wanted. Before I put it on the track, I installed a new battery that I charged overnight with a wall charger. So far no problem except it won't open the coupler on the tender like the MTH manual says it should.
The PS-1 system was good for when it came out, but now there is PS-2 and even PS-3 engines. The PS-2 and newer need the DCS unit to get the most from them. DCS won't work with PS-1 except for the voltage control(like running an engine in conventional) to the track.
If it gives me problems there is always the simple cure of gutting it and installing a 6 amp bridge rectifier. With that cure I will lose direction control but I don't use it much, so why spend extra money?
Lee F.
they have since released the board descrabler chip kit which sells for about $30.00 I hear, but I have not used one.
The chip descrambler kit came out quite a few years ago, guessing I bought my kit about 7 years ago.
Seayakbill they have since released the board descrabler chip kit which sells for about $30.00 I hear, but I have not used one. The chip descrambler kit came out quite a few years ago, guessing I bought my kit about 7 years ago.
Bill,
I'm guessing, that your guessing is off by a bit. I got started in 3 Rail O, in 2005, and it was probably in 2006 that I had to return my SW 8/9, MTH did not advise me that a kit was available, and if it was my LTS was not aware of it either. If the kit was available at that time, it was not well known yet.
Kit or no kit, one of the things that I prefer about Lionel, is that I do not know of any Lionel locomotives that require a battery for basic operation, they are just used to maintain sounds during conventional direction changes.
Even PS2 locomotives REQUIRE a battery just to operate(at least the ones that I have do). My PS2 locomotives do not respond with a weak battery, but at least they don't scramble a board, simply because of a weak battery.
When I got involved in 3 Rail, I had no Biases for or against any manufacturer, my second set was an MTH RK F3 Passenger set. My preference for Lionel has been because of MY experiences, in which Lionel has been MUCH more reliable, others may have differing experiences, but that has been MINE.
Doug, I was a little off, descrambler kit was announced in the fall of 2004 ( 2005 vol 1 catalog ) for a MSRP of 24.95. Item number 50-1023.
I don't recall the exact date of my SW 8/9 failure, but I had talked to MTH, and they told me to send it in for repair, no mention of a kit available. It is possible that it was announced in the 2005 vol 1 catalog, and not actually available for some time after that, which seems to happen to all the mfrs in this hobby.
I love my Proto Sound engines, all Rail King. I also have a PS-2 Rail King Challenger and it is also a delight to operate. Once you get the hang of pressing the horn and bell buttons to operate sounds and couplers they are a blast. Diesel and steam sounds make their operation even more enjoyable.
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