Due to several projects, I have not run my railroad for many months. Having tired of these various projects, I decided I wanted to run my trains for a while. I have a large basement layout with the Lenz LH100 DCC system. I use CVP's ALR900 wireless receiver, two T5000 and one 1300 throttles, all wireless. The T5000s use two AAA batteries while the 1300 requires four AAA batteries.
I expected my track would be quite dirty (it was) so I have been doing a lot of cleaning. The problem that I didn't anticipate was my wireless throttles were not performing. The first thing I notices is that one of the feeder wires connection the ALR900 to the Lenz system had broken. That was an easy fix. The status lights on the ALR900 indicated it was connected. The problem was that none of my wireless throttles seemed to be communicating with the ALR900 receiver. When it is communicating, a green light comes on. I use mainly rechargeable batteries so I figured they probably needed recharging (they did). In the meantime a had a pack of non-rechargeable alkaline batteries which I put to use. I was able to get the throttles to communicate with the receiver but only when the throttles were very close, within a couple feet, of the receiver. When the rechargeable batteries were ready I swapped them in but the result was the same. As soon as I moved a yard or more away from the receiver, I lost communication. The non-rechargeable batteries were still in the package but had been sitting in the drawer for a very long time so I'm wondering if they may have become weak. I'm also wondering if the rechargeable batteries are not fully charging. I can think of no other reason why my throttles are not communicating properly.
To make matters worse, I have misplaced the manuals for my T5000 throttles. I was going to contact the people at CVP as they have been very helpful in the past but their website tells me their office is closed until February 8.
At this point the only idea I have is to buy fresh batteries. I'm thinking I should get lithium batteries. I have used both alkaline and lithium in the past. If fresh batteries don't do the trick, I'm wondering if there is anything else I should be looking at. I'd like to get my trains running before February 8.
Manuals for all the components are right on their web site
http://www.cvpusa.com/othersys_lenz_wireless_throttles.php
It's possible some configuration setting was lost and perhaps they are not all talking on the same channel. But try known good batteries first.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker Manuals for all the components are right on their web site http://www.cvpusa.com/othersys_lenz_wireless_throttles.php It's possible some configuration setting was lost and perhaps they are not all talking on the same channel. But try known good batteries first. --Randy
Thank you. I had found the ALR900 manual online but I couldn't find the T5000 manual. I overlooked the link for it when I was on their website. I just checked that manual and it showed me where the battery life indicator was. I thought it had one but I couldn't remember where it was. I thought I had to scroll to a different screen to find it but it's on the main screen. That should tell me a lot about the condition of the batteries. If none of the batteries I have show they are plenty of juice, I'll be making a quick trip to get replacements. Hopefully the nearby Dollar General stocks rechargeable lithiums. Otherwise it will be a longer trip to get them.
Doubt Dollar General will have rechargeable lithiums. Maybe the one time use ones. Nore sure I'd trues rechargeables from there, unless they absolutel are a name drand. But even alkalines should give a decent amount of life and at least allow you several hours of run time to prove the system is still working.
I have a couple of CVP throttles and I've always used ordinary alkaline batteries. Just remember to shut them off when not in use.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
rrinker Doubt Dollar General will have rechargeable lithiums. Maybe the one time use ones. Nore sure I'd trues rechargeables from there, unless they absolutel are a name drand. But even alkalines should give a decent amount of life and at least allow you several hours of run time to prove the system is still working. --Randy
They did carry Everyready but no rechargeables. The had a few rechargeable lithium AAs. I got a 4 pack of AAA alkalines for $2.75. I figured that would do until I have other business in Mt. Vernon rather than make a special 25 mile round trip to get the rechargeables.
Locating the battery indicator told me the non-rechargeables I have on hand are fully juiced. The rechargeables were another story. I have ten of them and the best was down to half power even after charging them. I now have 8 full powered non-rechargeable batteries which is enough for all three throttles and will allow me to proceed until I can get the rechargeable lithiums.
I read through the manual and the only thing that seems like it might be an issue is if the throttle IDs need to be reset. The other thing I hadn't thought of but seems like the most likely culprit now that I have good batteries is the receiver antenna. I remember that got knocked loose when the receiver accidentally fell to the floor. I'll need to open up the box to check it out. I can think of no other reason why it's not picking up the throttles when they are any distance from the receiver.
MisterBeasley I have a couple of CVP throttles and I've always used ordinary alkaline batteries. Just remember to shut them off when not in use.
The T5000 has an automatic shutoff feature and allows you to set the shutoff time but even then non-rechargeables are going to go dead sooner or later. I'm a big believer in rechargeable batteries. In the long run they more than pay for themselves. The 1300 throttle doesn't have the auto shutoff and I've wiped out plenty of batteries by forgetting to shut it off at the end of a session. It's not a question of if but when I will do that.
Sams Club had no regular AA batteries after Christmas, but a big supply of rechargeable batteries of all sizes.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Looks like I'll have to wait until the CVP folks get back into the office in a week. I'm pretty sure the problem is in the ALR900 wireless receiver and might very well be the repaired antenna. That had been broken off when it fell to the floor. I soldered it back into place and at the time it seemed to work but I wonder after a long period of no use that soldered joint decayed/rusted. That would seem to explain why all the wireless throttles need to be within a few few of it in order to connect. I was going to open up the receiver to take a closer look at the soldered joint but the two small screws which hold the two halves of the case together simply wouldn't budge. I wonder if they might have used a thread lock. Whatever, I can't get into the case so it's likely I'll be repairing or replacing the receiver. In the mean time I still have the tethered throttle which is in the middle of my main classification yard. Looks like for the next few weeks my basement empire is going to be reduced to a large switching layout.
John,
Sounds like the problem could be your antenna repair. Other possibles to try while waiting to talk to CVP are checking throttle ids and frequencies - that is a long shot as usually two throttles on the same frequency don't have problems being read by the command station.
Note to RF1300 users with the old four battery version: CVP recommends removing two batteries and running the throttle on a pair of batteries. They last longer that way. Also recommended to remove batteries if the throttles are not in use to avoid leakage damage.
Good luck with throttles,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
trainnut1250 John, Sounds like the problem could be your antenna repair. Other possibles to try while waiting to talk to CVP are checking throttle ids and frequencies - that is a long shot as usually two throttles on the same frequency don't have problems being read by the command station. Note to RF1300 users with the old four battery version: CVP recommends removing two batteries and running the throttle on a pair of batteries. They last longer that way. Also recommended to remove batteries if the throttles are not in use to avoid leakage damage. Good luck with throttles, Guy
Already checked the frequencies. The receiver has a nice feature that allows displaying the ID number of each throttle. No duplication. I have also run each throttle by itself with the other two turned off. Same problem exists. I'm about 90% certain the problem is with the antenna repair. What is frustrating is I can't open the box to see what's inside. The box has a hole in the top that the antenna sticks out of and I made the solder through that hole. The curious thing is it seemed to work right after I did it but now the throttles need to be right next to the receiver to work.
That's interesting about the RF1300 only requiring two batteries. I just got done putting fresh batteries in mine and when I did, one of the battery clips broke off. I had to resolder it. Sounds like I didn't need to bother.
When you soldered through the hole in the top of the case, you didn;t get any solder linking the antenna to the case or any large PCB pad near the attachment point of the antenna, did you? This would short the antenna right to ground and make it completely ineffective.
Kind of surprised the case doesn;t open up - maybe the screws are hidden under feet on the bottom? Or it's just snap together if it's plastic. The back of a hobby knife can help there.
rrinker When you soldered through the hole in the top of the case, you didn;t get any solder linking the antenna to the case or any large PCB pad near the attachment point of the antenna, did you? This would short the antenna right to ground and make it completely ineffective. Kind of surprised the case doesn;t open up - maybe the screws are hidden under feet on the bottom? Or it's just snap together if it's plastic. The back of a hobby knife can help there. --Randy
There are just two small Phillips screws holding the two halves of the box together. The problems is they just won't budge. Don't know it if it's corrosion or they put some kind of thread lock paste on it at the factory but I've tried every Phillips head screwdriver that will fit and they are frozen in place. Don't know what else to do short of breaking the case open.
UPDATE:
The folks at CVP are back in their office today after a business trip last week. I emailed them explaining the broken antenna and quickly got a reply from them. They suggested two solutions short of buying a new wireless receiver. One was to solder a short piece of 18 gauge wire into the hole where the metal rod antenna screwed in before I broke it. They also told me my version of the ALR900 is obsolete and I could return it and replace the radio component with a newer version that uses a flexible antenna. This would cost half of what a new unit would have. I decided to try the first option due to the fact it wouldn't cost me a dime and I wouldn't have to wait for the turnaround time. I had no problem getting the wire soldered into place and immediately my throttles were able to communicate with the ALR900. I still need to run some tests to make sure I can communicate from the distant locations on the layout and determine the optimum location for the receiver but everything so far has worked well.
Kudos to the good people at CVP Products. They have always been very helpful in resolving any problems I've had.