Mark R. wrote: jwils1 wrote: I am trying to figure out how to get rid of that beep everytime a key is pressed on the cordless phone. I had an old phone and practiced on it trying to disconnect the beeper but didn't really know what I was doing and now it doesn't work. So, I need to learn how to do it before opening up my good phone.What I found when I opened up MY phone, the ear-piece speaker wasn't where the beeping was coming from, but rather a small transducer mounted on the circuit board. Instead of removing the transducer, I placed a couple pieces of electrical tape ove it to muffle the sound. The has a few tones it uses to acknowledge it's receiving information, etc., so I didn't want to completely disable it. By doing it this way, the operator almost needs to put the phone to their ear to hear the tones, but they CAN hear the tones when they need to. When the phone is first turned on, it makes a unique sound, if this sound isn't heard you know communication has been interrupted and the sytem needs to be reset.Mark.
jwils1 wrote: I am trying to figure out how to get rid of that beep everytime a key is pressed on the cordless phone. I had an old phone and practiced on it trying to disconnect the beeper but didn't really know what I was doing and now it doesn't work. So, I need to learn how to do it before opening up my good phone.
What I found when I opened up MY phone, the ear-piece speaker wasn't where the beeping was coming from, but rather a small transducer mounted on the circuit board. Instead of removing the transducer, I placed a couple pieces of electrical tape ove it to muffle the sound. The has a few tones it uses to acknowledge it's receiving information, etc., so I didn't want to completely disable it.
By doing it this way, the operator almost needs to put the phone to their ear to hear the tones, but they CAN hear the tones when they need to. When the phone is first turned on, it makes a unique sound, if this sound isn't heard you know communication has been interrupted and the sytem needs to be reset.
Mark.
Mark:
Thanks, the tape idea works great. It muffles the sound very well.
Jerry
Rio Grande vs. Santa Fe.....the battle is over but the glory remains!
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
ajmott wrote: Just wanted to echo Tilden's thoughts about the PA wireless cab. It was extremely easy to use. I picked up my conversion kit last weekend and used it for several hours over the weekend without a problem. The range seems to be more than I'd ever find the limits of. My layout is 12x15 in one corned of my basement. I actually went upstairs and was able to operate trains without any noticable signal degredation.On the point of response times - I noticed no lag from when I gave a command to when the engine responded. If I hadn't been lacking the tether cable, I'd not have been able to tell you if it was a wireless or not. I'm extremely pleased with the purchase. I think what I'll end up doing is going out and buying 2 sets of four 2500mah batteries and an external charger. That way I'll always have a set available, and it won't take 5 hours to charge.
Just wanted to echo Tilden's thoughts about the PA wireless cab. It was extremely easy to use. I picked up my conversion kit last weekend and used it for several hours over the weekend without a problem. The range seems to be more than I'd ever find the limits of. My layout is 12x15 in one corned of my basement. I actually went upstairs and was able to operate trains without any noticable signal degredation.
On the point of response times - I noticed no lag from when I gave a command to when the engine responded. If I hadn't been lacking the tether cable, I'd not have been able to tell you if it was a wireless or not. I'm extremely pleased with the purchase. I think what I'll end up doing is going out and buying 2 sets of four 2500mah batteries and an external charger. That way I'll always have a set available, and it won't take 5 hours to charge.
Sounds like MRC may have a winner here! That's good news for our hobby.
jwils1 wrote: Tilden wrote: I just got the wireless conversion kit for my PA and am very pleased with it. It is simple and straight forward to use. That's encouraging. Glad to hear it. I'm particularlarly interested in throttle response. When pressing buttons or changing direction and speed settings are you noticing any lag in response or does it seem fairly immediate?Thanks for your post and keep us informed as to how you like it as you continue using it.Jerry
Tilden wrote: I just got the wireless conversion kit for my PA and am very pleased with it. It is simple and straight forward to use.
I just got the wireless conversion kit for my PA and am very pleased with it. It is simple and straight forward to use.
That's encouraging. Glad to hear it. I'm particularlarly interested in throttle response. When pressing buttons or changing direction and speed settings are you noticing any lag in response or does it seem fairly immediate?
Thanks for your post and keep us informed as to how you like it as you continue using it.
caellis wrote: jwils1 wrote: I am trying to figure out how to get rid of that beep everytime a key is pressed on the cordless phone. I had an old phone and practiced on it trying to disconnect the beeper but didn't really know what I was doing and now it doesn't work. So, I need to learn how to do it before opening up my good phone.As I only use the Cordless phone with my Lenz there is no reason for the speaker to be operational. If this is also your case perhaps the following would help.While I did not disable my speaker I would think the only thing you would need to do is disconnect the speaker. Then maybe put a 8 or 16 Ohm resistor across the disconnected leads.The LCD screen on my phone displays whatever I type in so the beep is not really necessary.
I am trying to figure out how to get rid of that beep everytime a key is pressed on the cordless phone. I had an old phone and practiced on it trying to disconnect the beeper but didn't really know what I was doing and now it doesn't work. So, I need to learn how to do it before opening up my good phone.
As I only use the Cordless phone with my Lenz there is no reason for the speaker to be operational. If this is also your case perhaps the following would help.
While I did not disable my speaker I would think the only thing you would need to do is disconnect the speaker. Then maybe put a 8 or 16 Ohm resistor across the disconnected leads.
The LCD screen on my phone displays whatever I type in so the beep is not really necessary.
Thanks. I'll try that. I too have the LCD screen and would kind of like to get rid of the beep as it can become a little annoying. I operate solo so it's not too bad with the beep but I've heard of clubs that have used the XPA and with all of the beeps going on it became quite bothersome.
caellis wrote:I also use Lenz XPA's and have been very please with the results. I also like being able to add a 'radio' throttle for about $60.00. Range is a couple hundred feet and the base unit can be placed anywhere, even under the bench work.
I too really like my XPA. I used a CVP radio throttle for awhile with my Lenz system but it was no better than the XPA and cost me $318!. Needless to say it sure wasn't worth that so I sold it and am very happy with my $60.00 XPA.
Tilden wrote:The nicest thing is not worring about cords.Tilden
The nicest thing is not worring about cords.
Tilden
I'm considering to buy a radio throttle and a receiver to my Digitrax. I now have a DT400 throttle now and though it's ready to use IR instead of cable it is not possible to disconnect from the throttle so it seems you need to worry about a cable anyway even if you can wrap it up in your hand. Any suggestions or comments on this?
No, I have not noticed any lag when giving commands. However I'm in the middle of a 12x15 foot room, so I'm not really testing the range. It's Friday, so maybe I'll play, I mean run the layout and mosey around up stairs and into the family room to see if I notice any lag.
I use three Lenz XPA modules and cordless phones as throttles .... I can run trains from three houses away !!!
I also have a wireless camera mounted on the front of a flatcar on a pivoting mount that turns with the truck. Using my cordless phone and sending the video to the "big screen" in my living room, I can run the train from my La-z-boy !!!
Loathar,
I just got the wireless conversion kit for my PA and am very pleased with it. It is simple and straight forward to use. I plugged the receiver "tail" into one of the open jacks on the layout, turned on the unit (it comes with the rechargable batteries installed and had enough charge to operate) and started running trains. That's simple. The wireless hand held comes programmed as cab one, so I had to re-program my existing cab one to avoid interference.
The control is slightly longer(maybe half inch, but is the same shape) than the wired handheld but has an additional row of buttons which are shortcuts and actually a good idea. It is also heavier by the weight of 4 AAA batteries and the top portion is a little, say 3/8" thicker to accomodate the batteries.
The controls and buttons are in the same places which is nice cause you don't have to re-learn the layout. One of the extra buttons is to read the battery level. Operating range is 4 to 5.5 volts. You can use alkalines if you wish or replace the rechargables with a higher mah rating (comes with 600mah batteries). This will increase run and charge times. A second extra button allows you to add the train you are controling to the "stack" the controller remembers when you shut it off. This is a nice feature which was missing in the PA. I'm still not exactly sure how the other hand helds decide which units to remember. The third extra button is a shortcut to Programming on the main. This eliminates the need to scroll through the program button options and is handy.
I have not checked the range on the unit but am told it is substantial. The unit re-charges by being pluged into any cab jack and can be used while re-charging (but it's teathered). The instructions say it can take up to five hours to fully charge the unit and I believe that is with the unit off.
That about covers it. If you have other questions let me know I'll check it out.
At the local club we use Digitrax radio since 2000. The layout room is 60x30 feet and the only one receiver is installed under the bench work. The system works flawlessly, there is no blind spot, no lag in the signals, no problems with peoples interference, no need to be very careful in keying the commands, 100% reception 100% of the time.
Jack W.
NCE -- works fine
dehusman wrote: I have an NCE system and its fine. there are several other NCE systems in the area and they haven't had problems other than the signal being blocked by too many people between the transmitter and the reciever.Dave H.
I have an NCE system and its fine. there are several other NCE systems in the area and they haven't had problems other than the signal being blocked by too many people between the transmitter and the reciever.
Dave H.
Dave:
On your radio system do you get any lag at all in response to key presses or throttle adjustments?
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
jwils1 wrote:From this experience I wouldn't hesitate to recommend CVP radio, assuming conditions similar to mine.
There seem to be some reports of DCC radio systems not working all that well. Others seem to be very pleased with theirs. For those considering a radio system it might be helpful to get first hand reports on how well radio really works.
It would be very helpful if those of you using radio could give a report on how yours works, e.g., system brand, layout size, number of operators, and anything else that might be a factor in radio response and range.
I've had some experience with a CVP radio throttle and receiver on a Lenz system. I operated solo on a 6' x 18' HO layout with one receiver under the layout. Maximum distance of throttle from receiver was about 16'. Resonse was excellent with no noticeable lag. Benchwork is wood/foam on metal legs. Furnace and water heater close by and one 5.8Ghz cordless phone in the room and one computer. From this experience I wouldn't hesitate to recommend CVP radio, assuming conditions similar to mine.