any body know how to covert mth engines to tmcc or conventional? have dcs system but will not work.
MTH PS2.0 engines run just fine in conventional. No conversion needed.
Is it the DSC (track controller and remote) that gives problems or is it the boards in your engines. Are your engines PS2.0 or Protosounds/ Protosounds 1.0.
The only problem I have ever had with PS2.0 is it takes a while (up to 45 minutes) to charge the engines after extended storage. Especially in conventional mode with a discharged battery you might not be able to get out of neutral or get into reverse. Usually a brief charging time later they are as good as new. Is it possible your batteries need replacing in the engines?
There is an upgrade from PS1 to PS2.0 from MTH but I have not needed it.
Jim H
I have installed electromechanical e-units in several MTH locomotives, in place of the computers that were there. It’s pretty simple. You just put a bridge rectifier upstream of the motor and e-unit, with a capacitor (about 5000 microfarads–not critical) across the rectifier’s output to get rid of the worst of the ripple. Then the e-unit, making sure that its frame doesn’t touch the locomotive’s frame. Connect the e-unit’s green (field) wire to its frame and the yellow and blue (armature) wires to the DC can motor(s).
If the locomotive starts at too low a track voltage, you can add rectifier diodes in series with the green wire to increase the starting voltage.
What engine(s) do you have.
???
I have 9 MTH/DCS locomotives and 3 of other brands converted to DCS, all run great. Have you followed the DCS Manual page by page? Do you have a fixed voltage (15 to 20 volts) on the track? Is the locomotive marked ProtoSound II ??? Did you go through the “Add Engine” first. If this is 2 rail or DC, polarity comes into play.
DCS can also run TMCC in Command Mode with the proper TMCC interface parts.
Dealers, fellow operators, and people at MTH that will walk you through the setup.
I too have a MTH engine that I will be converting. IT is Proto 1, and I am sure needs a new battery, but regardless, I plan on installing TMCC in it. From what I hear, the sounds are still good, so it is just a matter of the control boards. I have never done this, but this may be a first for me.
Dennis
MTH engines already run conventionally and run very well. If it’s a simple matter of a dead Proto 1 even they can be brought back to life with a reset chip. If you are interested in converting earlier Proto 1’s to TMCC. www.trainamericastudios.com has everything you will need. If you presently own Proto 2’s with DCS. I agree with the previous post. Tell us what your system is doing or not doing. Most problems are easily solved. Seems a lot simpler to get DCS working than converting engines that run well already in DCS mode.