DCS has been officially updated

[johnandjulie13]

For those who run DCS, 4.0 is now available.

www.mthtrains.com

Regards,

John

[Jumijo]

 

Wow! That's awesome! Oh wait...I don't own any MTH locos...

Still, it's good news for those that do.

Jim 

[ChiefEagles]

 

Wow! That's awesome! Oh wait...I don't own any MTH locos...

Still, it's good news for those that do.

Jim 

Strange, must have sold the two I gave you!!!!!!!

[RockIsland52]

 

Wow! That's awesome! Oh wait...I don't own any MTH locos...

Still, it's good news for those that do.

Jim 

Strange, must have sold the two I gave you!!!!!!!

Welcome ChiefEagles to the Toy Train Operating and Collecting Forum.  You will find the members most helpful with your trains questions. 

Jack  

[DMUinCT]

  It's nice to have a Control System that can be brought upto date with a FREE download on your computer.  Nothing to buy to have the latest.  First Version #1, then #2.X, then #3.1, now version #4.0

[Anonymous]

I have a solid feeling this is what will be done with Legacy as well. Since it now has an USB port the sky is the limit. The old 9-pin connector simply wasn't designed for this type of use.

[Anonymous]

Brent,

          Does your C&O hudson have that new Proto Whistle feature?  I downloaded 4.0, and the Coors Light set doesn't have it. 

[Anonymous]

Jim,
No it doesn't even have PS1, just smoke and whistle...

[Anonymous]

Brent,

         I thought you had the PS2 version from last year.

[dwiemer]

Chief, you are too generous!

Brent, I agree.  Read the article in OGR with "Dr. ZW" from Lionel.  Seems like they would go through Electric R.R., who Lionel now owns, to do upgrades.  I would like to have "Legacy" upgrades available for both prior TMCC engines and also for non-command engines that could be converted.  I have several and now this leaves me with a dilemma:  Do I upgrade now, or do I wait to upgrade?  We shall see.

Dennis

 

[Anonymous]

Jim,
No I think MartyE has one though... Mine is going to get an ERR upgrade in the next month or two.

[phillyreading]

MTH site says I need to download Winzip version 11.1 to get the download from MTH.  Went to Winzip website and it is a $29.95 download. 

2:15pm update, I can not get the download to work for me.

Just thought that I would share this info!!

Lee F.

[MartyE]

The C&O does not have the quilling whistle.  I believe these features are currently only available in a few HO models.

[Bob Keller]

Now if they only offered a version for Mac users ...

[phillyreading]

Just installed the evaluation version and all seems fine with the winzip program, now to see if my computor has the downloads available to transfer to my DCS TIU unit.

Lee F.

[johnandjulie13]

Now if they only offered a version for Mac users ...

Hello Bob:

My Mac friends love to chide me by proclaiming how Windows works better on their Macs than it does on my pc.  If that's the case, why would it be an issue to load the DCS upgrade from a Mac?

Regards,

John

[Bob Keller]

Somebody has to pay for Windows software for the Macs and it ain't gonna be me ... so we have an old junker Dell we use for RR Track and the occasional DCS update!

[johnandjulie13]

Somebody has to pay for Windows software for the Macs and it ain't gonna be me ... so we have an old junker Dell we use for RR Track and the occasional DCS update!

Well, I wouldn't mind having that clunker right now.  Micro Center wants to charge me $45.00 for a RS-232 pcmcia card.  So much for the free upgrades.

Regards,

John

[willpick]

I kept my "old" laptop(it's only 6 years old) because it has the serial port. It works well for upgrades.  I did buy a SIIG CyberSerial expresscard to serial adapter for my "new"(2 year old) laptop, as the old one is starting to die a slow death. It was expensive, but it's worth it.

[phillyreading]

Went to the MTH website and looked at what all it takes for the DCS update and tried to download it to my TIU but the program didn't come through as I didn't download the Winzip program. Having a real time downloading stuff just for the free update, also bought a new mini cable at Radio Shack to go in my TIU unit to jump it off.

Looks like free updates are a !!!!!

Lee F.

[CB&Q]

 

 

   are you saying you have to purchase something in order to use the download of the latest software release for dcs? the other forum has no indications that you have to purchase anything to get the download only need the original v157 and the latest v183  theres something that 157 has that 183 needs to work. I'm no computer guru so if I push buttons and it works then thats good other wise I'm in big trouble. 

[johnandjulie13]

Since the TIU has a serial input, in order to perform the update, your computer needs to have a serial (rs-232) output.   Most laptops have not had serial outputs included in their design for several years.  As a result, if you have a newer laptop, you may need to purchase an adapter card that has a serial output.

All newer computers have USB outputs and it is possible to purchase a USB to Serial converter.  However, these apparently do not work with the TIU because the TIU cannot handle the data throughput. This issue has been discussed at length on the OGR boards.

Regards,

John

[willpick]

CB&Q, there are some USB to Serial adapters that won't work with theTIU, and there are at least two that are known to work: the one sold at Radio Shack, and the Belkin unit. As I posted, I didn't want to fool around with the USB/Serial stuff. So I went with the ExpressCard adapter, which gives me a true serial port.  I'm going to download the DCS 4.0 files tomorrow and see how it works--

[johnandjulie13]

MTH site says I need to download Winzip version 11.1 to get the download from MTH.  Went to Winzip website and it is a $29.95 download. 

2:15pm update, I can not get the download to work for me.

Just thought that I would share this info!!

Lee F.

Your p.c./Windows should have a utility that will allow it to decompress files.  You should not have to purchase the utility.  When you say it will not work, what is happening?

Regards,

John

[MartyE]

If you have a REV G, the first TIUs, you may want to hold off on the upgrade.  Some folks myself included are reporting loss of Variable 1 signal after going to 4.0.  Just FYI.  It seems you can take the TIU back to 3.11 or 3.10 and leave the remote at 4.0 and all is well.

I suspect MTH will be resolving this as they get more data.  The other outputs seem un affected.

[johnandjulie13]

If you have a REV G, the first TIUs, you may want to hold off on the upgrade.  Some folks myself included are reporting loss of Variable 1 signal after going to 4.0.  Just FYI.  It seems you can take the TIU back to 3.11 or 3.10 and leave the remote at 4.0 and all is well.

I suspect MTH will be resolving this as they get more data.  The other outputs seem un affected.

Hello Marty:

Thanks for the info.  I have been following this on the OGR boards.  I do not believe I will have this issue, as my TIU is less than two years old.

I ventured out today to get an expresscard serial adapter for my laptop.  Of course, they didn't have one available.  They told me they have four, but they are currently organizing the current shipment from the warehouse.   I will try again tomorrow.

Regards,

John

[phillyreading]

Personally I wish that MTH would issue an update disk that you could buy and run it on your computor and download it that way. So far I have spent about $100.00 to get the download version of DCS 4.0 and have nothing to show for all the money I put out.  Have the computor cable, serial to busbar, have the one/eigth inch male adadpter cable for the TIU, hooked up the wireless remote with the handset cord. Was all ready for the download but can't get anything from the MTH website!  So far for me it has a been a scam!!

Winzip won't open or work for me and then I can't download anything from the MTH site without the Winzip file.

If anybody knows how to solve my DCS download problem please email me with help!!!!

Lee F.

[johnandjulie13]

Hello Lee:

I can empathize with your frustration.  First, you don't need anything to download the files from the MTH website.  Once they are downloaded, however, you will need to be able to decompress them.  Let me walk you through it, and if you have a different result, let me know and we can see if we can resolve the problem.

1.  Go to http://www.mthtrains.com/

2.  Click on the picture (as seen below)

3.  You will be taken to a screen that describes DCS 4.0.  The protosound 2 website is highlighted, click on it.

4.  You are now at the Proto Sound 2 website.  About half way down you will see the following heading: DCS Software Updates.  The third one down is the 4.0 upgrade.  Click on the link that says Download Now!

5.  You will be taken to another screen that says "DCS Version 4.0 Software"  Click "Add to Cart"

6.  Completely fill out the Check out section and click to submit order 

7. After that you will be taken to another screen that will have the following link:  "DCS Version 4.0 Software" Click on the link.

8. You will now get to download the files, when you see the pop-up screen, choose save and save the file in a location easily found (I use the desktop).

You should now have the files.  If you can get to this point, you are well on your way.  If you cannot get the files downloaded, let me know.  Also, you will need a couple of additional files  from MTH to manage the upgrade process.  But first, let's see if you can get the 4.0 files to your computer.

Regards,

John

[Moozuki]

Follow this link to the files:

https://extranet.mth-railking.com/storest/thums.asp?sid=dcsdownloads&cart=722090

[37fleetwood]

peazip is a free zip program that works very well with all archives I've ever come across, and I come across a lot! here's the link:

http://peazip.sourceforge.net/

Scott