DCS problem solved by moving cell-phone away from layout

[NewbieLady]

Hi, I realize I'm very new here but thought I might have something to share. Ran the trains last night with DCS. No problem. (2 engines on 2 loops.) Everything was fine at the time I shut down last night. Went downstairs tonight, and happened to lay my cell-phone in the center of the layout, very near the tracks. Turned on the remote, powered up the transformers, and nothing would run. Said "Out of RF Range", "Train Not On Track", "No Active DCS Engines", etc. Tried deleting one engine, which worked, but wouldn't read it again to add it back. Removed and replaced batteries - nothing. Went upstairs with cellphone, and left it there. Went back downstairs and tried everything again. This time it read the engines again without a problem. Could it be that the cell-phone signal was interfering with the DCS signal? Just thought I'd run this up the flag pole. Any experts out there? Just thought it might be something to consider if anyone else ever has this problem, before you go nuts wondering what could be wrong.

[ChiefEagles]

Never had that problem.  Talk on the cellphone and protable phone when running TMCC and DCS.  Had one place in the other room where I could turn one certain way and I would loose contact with DCS and TMC bases.  Could go downstairs and all over the house and still get a signal back.  Just that one spot.  Strange.

[rtraincollector]

never heard of that befor but it does sound like it may be the problem . I'm not big on dcc but see its the way everything is going so will be in it soon I guess. I do run it at LHS that freind owns. And have seen plenty of problems with the boards either no sound or won't run or out of nowhere the train will go like a bullet and you have to grab it quick.

oh heres a command to try on yours that a lot don't know it happens on a few so far that I have tried hit (Ibelieve it is ) aux 5 I know its 5 but do you hit aux to get the train to talk if so hit it and 5 it will come across engine XXX comence emergencey stop we have a track blockage. or something to that affect.

[NewbieLady]

Well, it was just a thought, and seems to have been the problem in my case, rare though it might be. When all else fails, and DCS is acting crazy, the solution might be that simple.

[ChiefEagles]

Probably the frequency your cellphone is on.  Thanks for passing it on.  Glad to see you post and contribute.

[csxt30]

I think I can understand it !! Well, not technically, but we have had at our R/C plane field, instances of cell phones interfereing with planes. It was also well documented in the Academy of Model Aeronautics when I was still into that hobby. That's where it can get real dangerous !

Anyway, I suppose a certain freq. could cause a run away train in an extreme case & all the right conditions.

Newby Lady : you should visit us on the Coffee Pot !! We have Lisa-n-NC there & also has trains !!

Thanks, John   

[NewbieLady]

Thanks John! There were no problems like a runaway train, just wouldn't read either of the engines at all. A runaway train would have been an improvement. :-) Well, not really...

[spankybird]

DCS operates in the 900Mhz range, same as some Cell Phones. As TMCC operates in the 27 to 28 Mhz range, same as some garage door openers and CB radios.

 

Chief must be getting old that he forgot about when he first got his DCS and was call me for some help and the DCS interfered with his cell phone and keep disconnecting us.

[3railguy]

Other than the fact they are a public nuisance, this is part of the reason cell phones are not permitted in the York train meet halls as they proved to interupt DCS signals on the display layouts.

[wrmcclellan]

Tom is right. Cell phones that operate in the 900 band could interfere with the DCS 900 MHz frequency that connects the DCS remote to the TIU. Also keep in mind that the DCS signals that travel on the tracks is a very low level signal. A cell phone laid near the tracks may interfere with the track signal.

A powered cell phones are always in communication with the network so it is transmitting on a regular basis as it "reports in." The power levels the cell phone may communicate at are the same or sometimes higher (approx 1 milliwatt up to 1 watt depending on the system) than what the DCS remote communicates at (1 milliwatt or less). Even though the frequencies are not exact, the radiation from all devices is not confined to its exact channel. This type of interference is the reason the FAA and airlines are reluctant to allow you to use the cell phone while the navigation system is in use. (the other reason is that cell phone systems are designed for ground communications - a cell phone at 20,000 - 30,000 feet will hit dozens of towers at the same time, possibly confusing the system or your phone - and potentially a loading problem for the operator of the system although they do not seem to understand aspect this clearly).

[daan]

I don't know on which band the cell phones in america are on, but there are cellphones which operate on 3 bands to be able to use them around the world. Since the cellphone itself doesnt know where it is, I guess all 3 bands are working at once. Probably the 900mhz band is not used in the us, but if you have a multiband cell phone, they will also operate on the 900mhz band.

But I guess that the 27mhz does get much more interferrence of other users (27mc and radiocontrolled vehicles) then the 900 mhz band. (unless you live near an airport)

Thanks for sharig, it's valuable information.

 

[phillyreading]

Another cause of concern can be two radios used by Police Departments or Department stores like Target & Wal-Mart for employee communication, hospitals also have two radios for their security departments.  Unsure of what frequency these radios operate at.

Have personally witnessed a two radio activating a paper shredder at work!  Also possible is interferance from a computor with wireless keyboard or WiFi connections.

Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel on cable T.V. did an episode on cell phones interfering with airplane radios, the result was that the cell phone was not able to interfere with the aircraft radio, however they were not able to test this theory in the air because of Federal Communications Regulations. Bottom line is that the United States Government won't let cell phones be used on aircraft!

Lee Fritz

[cnw1995]

I hope they don't do this... http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cellonplanes.html