Whats the deal with MTH "boards"

[pbjwilson]

I keep reading about MTH "boards" frying, shorting out, going bad. I've got three old proto 1 steamers that run like new. I replace the batteries once in a while. And once in a while I get a glitch of some kind where the engine is "stuck" but the problems are minimal. So what happens and how does it happen when the electronic boards fry?

[cnw1995]

Paul, I heard - and that in itself is dangerous - [;)] that it had something to do with the battery going bad and not being replaced. You know, I recommend searching on the OGR forum for this -

[Anonymous]

The PS-1 system is prone to problems IF the operator allows a battery to get too low AND runs the loco in a fashion likely to cause problems.

The real issue with PS-1 is that a loco can drop into RESET mode pretty easily if you aren't careful and from that point on any voltage shifts or spikes can be misinterpreted as commands. Usual culprit is a weak battery and a "dragging" short from a partial derailment. Initial derialment cuts power to the board and then when power is re-applied (as engine bumps along the track), it sees any further shifts/spikes as programming commands. If your track work is in good shape, you keep the batteries fresh, and you shut down cold on any anamoly, you won't see any problems.

There are a small handfull of loco's with "bad" chips that need to be "fixed" using the fix chip available from MTH. These represent a fraction of the loco's out there.

chuck