I tried on other forum but so far the gurus are quite.
I reloaded v1.0 to cab-2 with no better results than with v1.2
background information, I have trouble with communication at far end of layout if I stay inside train table isle it works as long as I don’t put myself between the cab-2 and base.
I have a hawking antenna as the rest advised me to get to cure this.
with legacy base on train table with hawking antenna connected directly no improvement at far end if I go outside of train table.
hooked a 7’ cable so antenna could go 5’ above base turned it to every possible angle still no improvement.
hooked on a 50’; cable so could mount antenna on the wall vertically and 7’ above layout still no improvement.
so is there something else going on here with my paticular signal problem?
we have a cell tower 1/8 mile away I have put tinfoil on windows to see if RF interfernce from neighbor next door no help.
I disconnected all wireless phones and shut down wireless network for computers and that didn’t negate thiss issue so do any of you more electronic folks have any ideas as to what to try next, as I’m out of things to try myself. thanks ahead of time for any help on this. [%-)]
In one of your previous posts you indicated that things got worse with the tin foil. This would indicate that the interference is in the house. Are there any wireless toys being used in the area? How close is your neighbors house?
BTW, to determine if the problem is with your command base or cab-2 did you try plugging the set in other places in the house to make sure that the set is working properly. If there is no interference elsewhere in the house then there is an issue with the location where the layout is set up.
my neighbors home is10-12’ away from train room. other than the computers and 5.8 wireless phone nothing else in house.
I hadn’t thought of moving base to other parts of home, I assume all I need is the cab-2 base and its wal wart plugged in would that be a correct assumption?
okay took cab-2 and base and plugged base into kitchen outlet only on other side of wall from train room same results face the base its fine get to far away or another wall betwwen it and the red light is on.
so went into living room about 20’ away from train room same results .
went into back washroom about 30’ away and same results as first test.
so apparently my home is where all legacy signals come to die!
and yet the old cab-1 and base can be run from anywhere in my home.
any other thoughts? I only had cab-2 and base no direct connection to train layout wiring wise I assume this test was done correctly or does the command base have to be wired to the layout for an accurate test? thanks for your help so far.
You only need the command base, CAB-2 and a properly gounded three prong outlet to test the signal.
The CAB-1 original base were using the 27 Mhz frequency band for communications. Legacy operates in 2.4 Ghz band, aka they have very different behaviors. 2.4 ghz can be stopped/distorted by wire mesh in the chicken wire range or smaller (aka hardware cloth or mesh screening). There also isn’t much operating in 27 mhz at this point in time while 2.4 ghz is pretty crowed.
The noise may very well be coming from your neighbors house given the proximty. There could be issues with your own home’s construction (aka wire mesh used for plaster lathing, metal studs, etc. You could just have a bad base unit or CAB-2.
BTW, if this is a noise issue, making the antenna more sensitive will actually make the problem worse.
I’m not an electronics guru able to do simple hot and ground wires. that said is there any hope on this issue being fixed? my home is of block construction on original foot print but the 2 rooms that house the trains are of 2x4 and wood sheathing with aluminum vinyl siding around entire home.
as to noise and antenna only thing I can tell you is it makes no difference if antenna is the original stubby or the high gain hawking the results vary not.
as my brother says about cell phone signals at his home that is where they come to die. thats true as we visited him last july inside his home you can’t get a cell signal go outside 15’ from his home and boom talk as long as you want go figure. thanks for the advice on noise. if I play a loud rock n roll album think the noise would intimidate the other.
I’m not sure where you are posting from but weather permitting, I’d take the base and CAB-2 outside and try them out in literally clear air or over to a friend/neighbors house and run the same tests. Use a 50 foot three prong extenson cord to make sure you get the earth ground. If you are still getting abnormally short range, the problem may be with your unit. I can wander around my house with my CAB-2 and not have any problems. If there is a local train shop that carries the stuff, you could try binding a second CAB-2 to your base to see if the issue is in the remote or the Command Base itself.
My Hawking made the best difference since Legacy was upgraded. I do have ground planes in all the train rooms [trains run from one room to another and back].
good morning Chuck, I live in metro phoenix,az area wide open spaces country. I will try taking the unit outside today seeing it will be another nice sunny warm day and will post results latter today. thanks for all the ideas.
I took my base and remote outside as you advised. sorry to say it’s no better outside 15’ max and the red light is on stay within 8’ it’s okay but don’t get between remote or base as the red light comes on. so guess will have to wait and see if lionel steps up to the plate and revamps the unit and goes back to the tmcc frequency range that works for the majotrity of us. I thank you for the ideas and hope yours keeps doing well.
By what your saying and chuck is saying it sounds like it may be your unit maybe you need to call lionel tech support ( note: use a phone that has free long distance as you will be on it for about an hour befor you get thru or you can email them but I have yet to get an answer thru email with them )
Either your base or your CAB-2 has a problem. I was able to trigger horn/bell functions from anywhere in my house (25-30 foot max distance and that included testing between floor). The only time the comm light came on was at the extreme edges of the house relative to where the command base was located. I could still trigger functions even when the light was blinking. When you talk to the tech support people tell them what tests you ran. Good luck and I’m sorry we weren’t able to get this resolved.