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help with lenz handheld throttle

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  • Member since
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  • From: Rochester, New York
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help with lenz handheld throttle
Posted by cxsroch07 on Thursday, April 21, 2011 9:15 PM

hello every one im in ho scale an im running a lenz dcc system on my layout im having  problem with my handheld it dont turn on an when it does all that comes out is 4 lines on the led screen then it turns off i try to reset the hole system but dont work im using an atlas dcc handheld too for my other trains that im running any help with this issue PLEASE !!!!!

  • Member since
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  • From: Colorful Colorado
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Posted by Texas Zepher on Thursday, April 21, 2011 11:12 PM

Is the throttle and LH100 or an LH90?  I'm guessing the LH100.

Are you plugging the throttle directly into the LZ100 unit or into a bus?

So the Atlas throttles are working just fine?

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  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Friday, April 22, 2011 6:35 AM

On a Lenz system, the throttles are all connected via the "XpressNet" bus.  Each device on the bus must have a unique bus address, from 0 through 31 according to the manual.  If you have more than 1 throttle, one of them will have to be changed.  The instructions for doing this can be found in the SYS section of the appropriate manual.

Have you tried unplugging the Atlas handheld and seeing if the Lenz throttle works then?  If it works, then the problem is most likely a bus address conflict.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by cxsroch07 on Friday, April 22, 2011 9:27 AM

i have the LZV100 Command/Power Station but it cant with the LH90 not the newer version

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Posted by cxsroch07 on Friday, April 22, 2011 9:30 AM

@ MisterBeasley : i did all of that but nothing work i notice that the LH90 is the old version its the 3.1 not the 3.6 does that have anything to do with it

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Friday, April 22, 2011 9:46 AM

I haven't heard that there are any incompatibilities between versions of the Lenz systems.  I bought my system about 6 years ago and have not updated anything.

Try plugging the LH90 directly into the back of the base station.  See if that works.

How did this problem come about?  It sounds like you are trying to add an LH90 to a system which already has an Atlas throttle.  Is that the case?

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
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  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Friday, April 22, 2011 11:35 AM

Another thing I thought of:  I wired a "control bus" around the outside of my layout using telephone wire and the appropriate jacks.  The manual said to put a resistor across two of the terminals at the jack on the end of the control bus.  (The resistor came with the unit.)  I tested my wiring before installing the resistor by plugging the throttle into each of the jacks, and I discovered that it didn't work until the resistor was installed.

So, if you put in a control bus, or even just a single remote jack, make sure the resistor is installed as the manual suggests.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by locoi1sa on Friday, April 22, 2011 3:50 PM

Can you plug the LH90 directly into the LZV100 and unplug the LMAB socket if you are using it? See what comes up on the screen then. Version 3.6 will run any older control throttle regardless of version. Some of the guys in our club still use an LH200 which has not been made in 8 or 9 years. As long as there are no throttle address conflicts any Lenz express net control devise can be hooked into the control buss.

     Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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Posted by cxsroch07 on Friday, April 22, 2011 10:30 PM

@ locoi1sa : i did all that but still nothing maybe i just need new system :(

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Posted by locoi1sa on Saturday, April 23, 2011 6:45 AM

I don't think you need a new system. It works you said with the Atlas hand command throttles. You can have the LH90 repaired and upgraded for a lot less than a new system would cost. Give Tony's a call for an estimate on repair and upgrade. Our club just had a command station repaired and upgraded by Train Tech LLC for $40. That is a heck of a lot cheaper then a new system. Debbie Ames used to upgrade and repair LH90 throttles at train shows in the area before she retired. This is the link to AHD which is owned by Tony's. http://www.amhobby.com/  They are the North American distributor and repair center.

      Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Saturday, April 23, 2011 11:41 AM

If the Atlas hand-helds work, then there's nothing wrong with the base system.  If you unplug the whole bus and all the throttles from the base station, and plug in the LH90 and it doesn't work, chances are it is indeed bad.

Has this LH90 ever worked?

If you determine that the LH90 is bad, what you might want to do is have it upgraded.  Most likely, the problem is the internal computer anyway, so by replacing that you will fix the problem, get the updated firmware and probably save some money.

On the other hand...have you ever used an LH100?  I have one of each, and I never use the LH90.  If it turns out that the LH90 is new, and not working, I would suggest returning it and upgrading to the better throttle.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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  • From: Rochester, New York
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Posted by cxsroch07 on Saturday, April 23, 2011 2:55 PM

@ Mister Beasley : i did that an the LH90 does work if i conect it into the base station. it just dont wana work whn i plug it in the xpress net. the atlas one does work on bothe base station n xpress net i think all i need is the upgrade for it so were can i find that ..... :) 

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Posted by chpthrls on Saturday, April 23, 2011 3:10 PM

If the LH 90 works when plugged into the command module (LZV 100), then as stated earlier, the address on one of your throttles needs to be changed. I'm not familiar with the Atlas throttle, but the change is fairly easy on the LH90. If you don't have the necessary manuals, they can be downloaded from the Lenz website. If you decide to upgrade to V3.6 on the LH90, it has to be sent in to be done (the LH100 however, can be done by the user). Every device that uses the "Xpressnet" has to have a discrete address (eg. Atlas throttle address #1, LH90 address #2, etc.). Again, as stated earlier a command station with V3.6 is compatible with a throttle V3.1. Gerry S.   

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Saturday, April 23, 2011 4:27 PM

Plug the LH90 directly into the base station and you should be able to change the address according to the manual.  While the upgrade may give you some added functionality, I very much doubt that you need the upgrade just to get it working.

If you tried changing the address before when it wasn't working, it probably didn't take.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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  • From: Rochester, New York
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Posted by cxsroch07 on Saturday, April 30, 2011 11:01 AM

ok everyone i tried everything ya say n still nothing dont get it nothing work know ..... :( i think ill just try an get new one

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Saturday, April 30, 2011 12:46 PM

When you changed the address on the LH90, what did you change it to?

Did you wire up the xpress-net bus yourself?  Did you install the resistor at the end of the bus, on the final jack?  On my system, the resistor is the difference between "working" and "not working."

If you first unplug the Atlas unit and then plug the LH90 into the xpress-net bus, does that work?  If the LH90 works when plugged directly into the base station, there is nothing wrong with it, and "getting a new one" will not help.  If the LH90 works on the bus without the Atlas, then there is still an address problem.  If it doesn't work on the bus, then there is an issue with the bus itself.

Have you tried a total reset of your base station?

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
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  • From: Rochester, New York
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Posted by cxsroch07 on Friday, May 6, 2011 2:47 PM

 

thats what it does when i try to turn it on but that dont happen it doent want to turn on it does nothing but what you see ...... :(

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Posted by locoi1sa on Friday, May 6, 2011 3:35 PM

Unscrew the layout wires from the LZV100 and leave the power supply and LH90 throttle hooked up. Power up the system and press the bulls eye key about 25 times. When the LED on the LZV100 flashes once stop pressing the button and press the check mark key and this will reset the system and the LH90. Then power down and repower the system and it should work correctly from there. Before you hook the express net back up you must change the throttle address of the LH90. The only valid addresses are 2 to 31. Just make sure the Atlas throttles are not the same address.

   Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

  • Member since
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  • From: Rochester, New York
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Posted by cxsroch07 on Friday, May 6, 2011 6:47 PM

ok Pete i did an it didnt work but in the manual it said to press the F4 25 times i did an it did the power interuption for a few seconds then i disconnected it from the power waited a few minutes connected everything back an STILL NOTHING  what am i doing wrong geez this is driving my insane already

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Posted by locoi1sa on Friday, May 6, 2011 8:12 PM

You are not doing anything wrong. Can you see what the LED on the LZV100 is doing when you have the LH90 hooked up to it?  If the Atlas throttles are working correctly on the LZV100 then you may have to send the LH90 in for repair. Our club has had to get 2 command stations repaired this year. One was an LZV100 used for the modular group and the other was in the clubs layout. Both had given no indication of impending failure until it happened. As far a incompatibility between versions we have club members with throttles still using old versions with upgraded systems and have no issues. Our programing section is a stand alone version 3 LZ100 and LV100 booster and gets used with version 3.6 throttles all the time. Like all electronic devices, If its broken its really broken. Repairing your LH90 should not cost much at all. Both our command stations were repaired and upgraded for $40 each. That is a heck of a lot cheaper then a new one.

 Is your power supply capable of putting out 16volts and five amps minimum?

     Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

  • Member since
    July 2008
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Posted by chpthrls on Friday, May 6, 2011 8:18 PM

Not that the other responders don't know how to repair your throttle, but have you considered joining the Lenz Yahoo group? There are some pretty knowledgeable folks that are willing to answer questions regarding all Lenz products. The other thing that has me curious is why you are using the Atlas device anyway? If I'm correct, even Lenz has stopped supporting the Atlas control system. It's still my opinion (like Pete's) that the problem is that the address issue is (at the least) part of the problem. It's unlikely that the LH90 is faulty (Lenz stuff is built like a tank!). I would agree that maybe you should try to disconnect the ExpressNet buss (the Atlas device) and plug the LH90 into the command station and see if that will run trains. I would try that, and join the Yahoo group, and if all else fails, I believe that Tony's Trains are the "go-to" guys for Lenz in North America. Gerry S.

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Posted by cxsroch07 on Sunday, May 22, 2011 8:10 AM

everyone thanks for the help but i did it simple i just bought new handheld lh100 it hase the 3.6 upgrade in it so im ok for know lol im still going to send the lh90 to fix but were n how much would that go for thanks again ........ :)

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Posted by locoi1sa on Sunday, May 22, 2011 9:37 AM

Glad to hear your system is up and running. The LH100 is a top of the line throttle. This will give you easier programing and set up of switch machine decoders. The LH90 can be repaired. Give AHD a call and set up a repair order. Our club just had a command station repaired and upgraded for $40. One of our club members had a problem with his LH90 and it turned out to be the cord. It cost him $10. Lenz repair costs are very reasonable.

     Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: Rochester, New York
  • 94 posts
Posted by cxsroch07 on Sunday, May 22, 2011 9:21 PM

thanks locoi1sa but do you have website or number for AHD so i can give them a call thanks again :)

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Posted by locoi1sa on Monday, May 23, 2011 4:35 PM

  Sorry I should have put it in my post. They took over the North American Lenz distributorship when Debbie Aimes retired last fall. http://www.amhobby.com/index.html  It is a subsidiary of Tony's trains exchange. http://www.tonystrains.com/

    We are fortunate in our area that Train Tech LLC also repairs and upgrades lenz products. You can call them if AHD is too busy to do it right away.  http://www.traintekllc.com/   A member of our club works there as a decoder installer.Ask for Gary or Duke.

   If you do not have it, here is the Lenz web site. http://www.lenzusa.com/  These are good web sites to bookmark and keep handy.

      Pete

 I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!

 I started with nothing and still have most of it left!

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