Everytime I try to use my remote, it shuts off. If I select a function on a certain train it shuts down. Basically it won't do much. Other than battery replacement is anything else going on with this thing? Thanks to any responding, Jake
sounds like typical MTH stuff Sorry couldn't resist was to open of an opportunity but seriously probably your best help would be Don Baker or Bob Nelson
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Does the display on the remote stay lit? Will the backlight light? If not make sure the batteries are fresh, and they are fully seated. (They will sometimes come a little loose.)
You may want to do a "Read", that will make sure it is in contact with the TIU. You should get -- "Found TIU 1, Found TIU 2, etc..
Found Engine "xxxxx" or No DCS Engine Found.
Check back later.
Don
No, it just turns itself off all together. I'm going to replace the batteries and see what that does.
New batteries seem to help some, but something is still funky. The other question I have is should I upgrade the hand held with the new download? I have it downloaded to the desk top, how hard is it to connect to the computer and to the handheld? Would it make a big difference? Also, the climax engine now stalls on all my Atlas switches, something it never did before. ?????? Ghosts? Jake
Thanks RT, very helpful....... do you have DCS?
The problem is that the back of the battery holder is not tight enough and the batteries work loose and lose contact. Put a small piece of foam in that remote and it will solve the problem. MTH does know about the connection.
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
jonadel Thanks RT, very helpful....... do you have DCS? Do you think? not The problem is that the back of the battery holder is not tight enough and the batteries work loose and lose contact. Put a small piece of foam in that remote and it will solve the problem. MTH does know about the connection.
Thanks RT, very helpful....... do you have DCS? Do you think? not
But i did say I couldn't resist and who I knew would be a help was not aware you had dcs or would have mentioned you also as we all know all the brands have there problem . To me its basically probably all good just different pieces has different tweaks that need to be address. Sorry if you took offense
Have you done any of the download updates? With a newer download you could also reset the "Timeout" mechanism, we had trouble on the club layout with the handhelds going to sleep far to quickly unless you didn't press a function key every minute or two, whistle/horn/bell.
As Jon indicated we also had big time problems with the battery cover staying securely closed, even had to use tape at times.
Apologies for the large font, hit the wrong key.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
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Jake,
Before you do a download, you can check on the handheld to see what the current revsion is. I doubt that the download is your problem.
If the handheld comes on and stays on, then do a "Read" to make sure it is talking to the TIU. Also, you should see a red light at the TIU, you should be able to see it through the front cover. The other problems your talking about may be due to a weak signal, and/or wiring related issues.
How long have you had the system. And, has it worked well previously?
RT, I like your humor. If you can't razz guys a bit about their stuff, well, that's just not much fun. I own a timber company here but still work in the woods. I do all the cutting and I use a Stihl 660. The guys all razz me because Stihls are a bit tough to start. They are all Husky fans.
The unit has worked just fine until today. Not real sure what's going on with all that but I'll dig in to it a bit deeper tomorrow. There is a piece of foam on the back of my battery cover already.
Does anyone know how exactly the download is executed? What plugs into what? Thanks, Jake
The download instructions are very good. Just go to MTH's website, then got to the PS2 icon at the bottom of the page. Instructions are all there.
You need the computer to TIU cable (9 pin RS-232) and you need a telephone handset cord. Not the silver satin wire from the phone to the wall, the piece of wire (usually coiled) that goes from the hand set/receiver (part you talk into) back to the part that sits on the desk/wall. This goes back to when there weren't cordless phones
I wouldn't try the update until you've ruled out everything else. The last thing you want to do is have the remote behave oddly during an upload.
Where would a person find the 9 pin RS 232 cable? Is that a radio shack deal? Is the TIU involved in this mess somehow? Thanks again, Jake
Yes, the TIU is definitely involved. You hook the computer to the TIU via the serial cable and then connect the remote to the TIU using the telephone handset cord.
The nine pin cable is sort of standardized and you might be able to get one at Radio Shack. The problem is knowing which type of cable to get.
Unfortunatley their are two types of RS-232 cables (more if you throw in 25 pin style connnectors). The cables are classified as through cables or "crossover" cables. The original use for RS-232 was to allow a terminal (DTE, data terminal equipment) to talk to a modem (DCE, data communications equipment). The cable used for this was usually straight through since the the terminal "talks" on pin two and "receives" on pin three. The modem does the opposite. At some point someone got the bright idea of connecting other devices via RS-232 but these devices weren't modems or terminals (e.g. scanners, printers, ...) The wiring became more complicated and the cables to connect the devices needed to be wired in odd fashions like pin 2 on one side goes to pin 3 on the other side and so on.
I made up a cable for the local shop using a break out box to figure out what each side (computer and TIU) needed. I didn't write down the cable pin outs so that doesn't help much. You could get one of each and then you are covered. Some one on the forum might know the part number and that would be even better.
Also note that the comm port on your computer needs to be able to run at 57 kilobaud. Some PC's cheaped out on the serial interface and used low end UART chips that can't go over 9600 baud (fine for a printer or mouse). I had to add a higher performance serial card to get the shops computer to talk to the TIU for download/upload of sound files.
Wow, I can see right now I should have stuck with Post War Lionel! Thanks for the reply Chuck on what I need but I think that's all a bit over my head. If I can't get this thing to work it's off to Ebay land with the whole mess. Jake
Remote worked flawlessly this morning! Maybe the new batteries did the trick. I have a switch that stalls my Blue Comet and I did have a bent pickup roller on the Cliimax that was an easy fix. Now to find the correct cables for the download. Jake
It's not that bad. Get the cables (Radio Shack) and download software (MTH Web site) and then do a test upload from an engine to make sure everything is working. If that goes well then you can do the system software upgrade. BTW, you might have had one bad battery in the previous set and that may have been enough to cause the symptoms you were seeing. If you have volt meter you can check them out. One may have been reading just below the threshold and the remote would work/not work.
I have the download from MTH on my desk top. I'm not sure my computer has a pin port however, as my GPS cable will not work that plugs into my GPS hand held unit and then to the computer. I think this new computer does not have the pin port. It's an HP A6030n. I'll have to do some more checking. Thanks, Jake
Since these cells can retain up to 85% of their charge over a year, they are ideal for Command System remotes. Here is some info:
http://www.eneloopusa.com/products.html?gclid=COTCyc-Lk5cCFQudnAodX1I9_Q
http://www.eneloopusa.com/eneloop.html
You probably need to get a USB to serial adapter, something like this:
http://www.provantage.com/belkin-f5u409ttcu~7BEL91F2.htm
check around some are as low as $15.
Fred Bear RT, I like your humor. If you can't razz guys a bit about their stuff, well, that's just not much fun. I own a timber company here but still work in the woods. I do all the cutting and I use a Stihl 660. The guys all razz me because Stihls are a bit tough to start. They are all Husky fans.
Nothing wrong with a stihl when I lived in VA and worked a farm thats all the other guy and I would use Wish I still had that saw I bought it as I have a defibrillator and can't get close to spark plug and theres is under the plastic so it made it great for me.
Thanks, JIM.
laz57
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