Mode of power update

[smcgill]

Track power as my layouts are small and to run a track claening car is not a chore!

[bman36]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kimbrit

Hi guys,
Brian, 'fair dinkum' means (&this is from a pom) ok/it's good/that'll do etc etc. I now expect all the Oz guys on me back telling me to stick to Brit/Lancashire sayings!!
Ian, my thoughts and moral support are with you, it's only brass mate at the end of the day. Let the legal process take its course and keep smiling.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

Hey Kim,
Thanks for the lesson eh. Well the sun is shining so it's time to work on my deck. Later eh...Brian.

[bman36]

QUOTE: Originally posted by iandor

Things went well with my MTS for a while, I actually got 1 month straight use out of it without any problems 1 month out of seven. Now things have gone awry again and so has my relationship with my LGB supplier and I have lodged a legal complaint gainst him with the Department of Fair Trading. I expect to go to court with him ASAP. This cannot do LGB any good and it certainly isn't doing me any good. For legal reasons i cannot divulge details, but it is a sad ay indeed.

Sad but true.

ian

Ian,
Hope it all works out for ya' mate! Keep a smilin' my friend. Later eh...Brian. [tup]

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,
Brian, 'fair dinkum' means (&this is from a pom) ok/it's good/that'll do etc etc. I now expect all the Oz guys on me back telling me to stick to Brit/Lancashire sayings!!
Ian, my thoughts and moral support are with you, it's only brass mate at the end of the day. Let the legal process take its course and keep smiling.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[Anonymous]

Things went well with my MTS for a while, I actually got 1 month straight use out of it without any problems 1 month out of seven. Now things have gone awry again and so has my relationship with my LGB supplier and I have lodged a legal complaint gainst him with the Department of Fair Trading. I expect to go to court with him ASAP. This cannot do LGB any good and it certainly isn't doing me any good. For legal reasons i cannot divulge details, but it is a sad ay indeed.

Sad but true.

ian

[bman36]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kimbrit

Hi Brian,
Looks like we have similar views on cats! Moggie is a brit word for a cat, or it is in Lancashire and the word is also used for an old car - the Morris Minor 1000, affectionally known as the Moggie thou'.
Cheers mate,
Kim
[tup}

Kim,
Now that we're totally off topic, I have one more. Ian used "Fair Dinkum" on another thread. Is that "On the up and up"? or to say someone's actions are true and legitimate? Learning while it's raining here. Later eh...Brian. [:D]

[Anonymous]

Hi Brian,
Looks like we have similar views on cats! Moggie is a brit word for a cat, or it is in Lancashire and the word is also used for an old car - the Morris Minor 1000, affectionally known as the Moggie thou'.
Cheers mate,
Kim
[tup}

[Anonymous]

I have bought my first live steamer, Accucraft's Mich Cal #2, and I have fallen in love with it. :) I still run DC power, Aristocraft, 3.5 volt powerpack with radio controiled Aristo receivers, but have noticed I'm running my electric trains less compared to my steam. I have a small layout that is a double oval so if i just want to sit back and have my trains run I use DC power and when I want to be more hands on and interactive I use the live steam. Well, that's my 2 cents worth. Thanks everyone [2c][:D][:D][:D]

[bman36]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kimbrit

Hi Troy,
Looks like the cat's in for a hard time, steamer, no lights, dead of night. The moggie will be limping, and all that hot water, it looks like there are truths in old sayings.......off like a scalded cat!
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

Kim,
We use "Off like a scared rabbit" here. Like the cat one though. Being the cat lover I am (NOT)[V] (Sorry Rene)[:D] that is funny! That's a big thing here...keeping cats out of my yard. They dig.... and well leave business cards. Keep that up and they will become "Book ends" on a shelf. Live steam sounds usefull for "sneak attacks". Hmmmmm. BTW what's a "moggie"? Educate me mate! Later eh...Brian.

[Anonymous]

Hi Troy,
Looks like the cat's in for a hard time, steamer, no lights, dead of night. The moggie will be limping, and all that hot water, it looks like there are truths in old sayings.......off like a scalded cat!
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[Anonymous]

Well I'm still with MTS and everything seems to be going fine.
However,I have a Mamod steam traction engine that is just crying out for some locomotive wheels!
Live steam,here I come!
If you don't hear from me for a while it has gone hideously wrong[:D]
Troy

[toenailridgesl]

I am currently running one live-steamer and 4 Batt-R/C locos. Have another 5 locos that need track power but haven't bothered to hook that up in over 2 years.
Am about to convert the rest to R/C-batt except the B/mann Climax which is going on ebay.

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys

After much reading, research and discussion around the traps I have taken a leap of faith and ordered a Lenz Set-100 and 2 x LGB55021 for my 2 Stainz. I find it hard to justify spending bigger dollars for a lower feature MTS system. I love LGB trains but the controls it would appear are some thing else.[:D]

Thank you for your informed and honest opinions, (some maybe slightly biased)[:)]

Regards
Martin

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys

After much reading, research and discussion around the traps I have taken a leap of faith and ordered a Lenz Set-100 and 2 x LGB55021 for my 2 Stainz. I find it hard to justify spending bigger dollars for a lower feature MTS system. I love LGB trains but the controls it would appear are some thing else.[:D]

Thank you for your informed and honest opinions, (some maybe slightly biased)[:)]

Regards
Martin

[Anonymous]

As seen in the other thread I have gone over to MTS.
I currently have a train engineer handset with an "elect trains"transformer and transmitter.This is one of my Dad's sets that stopped working when one of the trains derailed.He gave it to me to see if I could fix it .Has anyone else had this poblem before I send it to the the electronic fixer people?Troy

[Chompers]

RHB_HJ as far as i know i am the only one in my neighbor hood that even likes trains. (small neighborhood) so no one to help. [:(][:(][:(][:(]

vsmith tell me mor about the train engineer. one of my favorite hoby stores uses it to controle its layout frome N to G.

[vsmith]

If your layout is small and track powered I HIGHLY recommend Aristo's Train Engineer system.

I have the Basic Train Engineer which allows me mobile control of the train no walking back and forth between train and powerpack. Its dead simple to install and works like a charm!

[:D]

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Chompers

ok so if i only have 130 feet of track out side then who should i go with.??????????????!!!!!!!!!1

ps i don't need and thing for switches, already built my own switch box.

Chompers,

Who runs what in your neighbourhood? Anyone doing Digitrax? Lenz? NCE?

Having some buddies who run the same system will be of great help when you run into problems i.e. they are there, rather than on the Net.

[Chompers]

ok so if i only have 130 feet of track out side then who should i go with.??????????????!!!!!!!!!1

ps i don't need and thing for switches, already built my own switch box.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the very useful information RhB_HJ.This is the sort of thing we need.The stuff behind the adverts.It's a bit of a minefield really.Troy

[Anonymous]

Hi all
I couldn't vote as it only allows you to pick one.
My line has live steam, standard annalogue track feed and currently under construction an
IP Engineering Lolly Pop Farm battery powered rail motor perhaps that should be kit bash
as a new propper chassis is being built for it.
In the planning stage is Jarrdi a local timber companies
Locomotive as a manual control battery powered locomotive .
By the way you missed one spring power I believe there are a few of them about
regards John

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Chompers

are you shure RhB_HJ? i have heard a lot of goood things.

Nah, I'm just spouting off as always.

OK let's look at some of the nitty gritty:

MTS still operates with 14 (fourteen) speed steps, the decoders have two F functions, one for lights and one for the rest which up to now meant if you weren't using LGB's engines with the custom interface to the sound you handy-capped yourself right off the bat.
The bus and general architecture of the system is as slow as molasses compared with full feature systems like Digitrax, Lenz, NCE and ZIMO.
Unless you get one of the recently upgraded systems all F functions are sent in serial mode. The upgrade that's coming/available applies to only the newest generation of decoders i.e. all the old stuff will continue working in the same "less than stellar" fashion, some of the older decoder are just plain dumb (in an electronic sense).
The newest generation of decoders (55021onboard) has all kinds of goodies built in that the MTS2 (current system) can't even make use of. That's left to systems that play nicely with the NMRA-DCC features that have been added above the very basic standard.
When you add up all the accessories that you may buy (this depends on what you want to do) the total is within 10% of a high-end system with the difference that MTS2 is at best (actually very best) a mid-range system with considerable limitations.

What LGB MTS has going for itself is the "no brains required" factor i.e. they tell you it is "Plug and Play" (plug and pray is more like it!) because they supply the engines with decoders installed.
The praying starts when you need technical help; the manuals are getting better, but are still a joke compared with what other mfgs provide. If you want to find out what the decoders can do you're on your own. LGB will only provide the info on what the MTS2 control can address.
And on and on and on it goes........

You can read all about it by going through the archives at YAHOO GscaleGroup, has all been discussed ad nauseum.

Last but not least, the upgrade path on MTS is an absolute insult to the consumer. You want it upgraded? Send the whole system to LGBoA, EPL or Massoth! Have any problems after the upgrade, please send it again!
This compared to downloadable upgrades from the Internet, which are mostly free of charge (at least in ZIMO's case). Yeah, I know you're not upgrading...... tell that to the people who bought MTS1 and MTS2.
And then there is the small matter that, in my opinion, MTS is not good value for the sticker price.

My recommendation still is: read up on DCC, the start comparing feature by feature with the price tag firmly in mind.

[Anonymous]

Hey all, I didn't vote because I don't as of yet have any. I'm thinking of going battery/radio control. I talked with Tony Washlam with RCS via e-mail due to wanting a ready run battery radio control setup and not having to figure how to make various components work together. I was told however it might be a trick involved in getting batteries into a LGB 260 Mogul. With a total layout of 250 foot of track(future) I see battery power as the only way to go.

[Chompers]

are you shure RhB_HJ? i have heard a lot of goood things.

[RhB_HJ]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Chompers

So far i am still using a 5-10 amp Controle master 20 ( not sure what the amps are) that i recieved from my grandfaather at the age of 4. that worked great when i had 1 engine, but now i am running 2 and possobly 3 in the neer future. i want to go with the LGB mts, i know that it had problems with the first verson, but LGB is making a new system that wont have the old glitches. should i go with it? or some body else???????????????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chompers,

Assuming that you will need to retro-fit the decoders, there is little reason to go with MTS, never mind which version.

Massoth, the OEM of LGB MTS, makes a DiMax1200 which delivers a cool 12A and the new version will have several "wrinkles" that sound very interesting. They are also working on a new handheld which will have some real features.

BTW the MTS being a skimpy in the tech specs department is not Massoth's doing, no more than it was Lenz's in the previous incarnations.
Any OEM will tailor the control to what the manufacturer orders. The question is always: does that mfg know what DCC is all about or is this just going to be one more item in a large product line? I let you provide the answers.

If you would like to read a review of the 1200 go to
www.easternmountainmodels.com select the English version, click on "Services" and then "GARTENBAHNprofi". The review is in issue 1/2004.

BTW GARTENBAHNprofi is a glossy German garden railways mag. The summary translations are provided by a friend of mine and yours truly.
Starting with issue 2/2004 we are translating the whole shebang - by popular demand - but there are no pictures i.e. to get all the context of the write ups one needs to have the original German magazine.
The translations are so far provided as a "free of charge" PDF.

There is a summary of the contents listed with each translated issue. Lots of interesting stuff that hasn't been covered by the North American press. [;)][:)]

[Chompers]

So far i am still using a 5-10 amp Controle master 20 ( not sure what the amps are) that i recieved from my grandfaather at the age of 4. that worked great when i had 1 engine, but now i am running 2 and possobly 3 in the neer future. i want to go with the LGB mts, i know that it had problems with the first verson, but LGB is making a new system that wont have the old glitches. should i go with it? or some body else???????????????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

So far I'm using Aristo RC track control but have purchased an Aristo on-board system to give that a try.
Now all I need is the knowledge and confidence to get the thing installed.
I like the idea of constant track voltage with on-board receivers...no batteries to charge; maybe I should go that route.
Larry T.

[Anonymous]

I am going to use DCC, but I would like a few battery powered units in reserve.

[RhB_HJ]

Troy,

Here's my recommendation:

a) get the "Digital Command Control - the comprehensive guide to DCC" book (ISBN 91-85496-49-9), once you're done with that have a look around what the price brackets are.

b) After that download the manuals from the mfgs you figure you can afford. Note: by the time you add on all the "extras" with some mfgs to get a reasonably good system you're at the price of the excellent systems. Pity is lots of people don't realize that 'til it's too late.

c) after wading through the tech specs and instructions, head for the forums and start asking questions. Trust me 4 years back I had no idea what a CV is other than a curriculum vitae.

It takes some work, but it isn't rocket science. Yes, it helps if you're used to reading manuals and don't get flustered.

BTW the documentation from LGB MTS is getting better, it used to be much worse.

Way back I recommended to them to get someone who is fluent in English and German, knows all the electronic terms and knows how to write.
Tall order, but not my problem! [;)][}:)][:D]