I have no experience with MTH what so ever, only old Lionel and Marx. I’m planning on getting back to 3 rail in the near future, a month or so. How do you tell if the battery is low or getting low in the locomotive I assume from conversations here about MTH starter sets??? Thanks, Ken
Hi Ken,
Some say that it is just a Proto Sound 1(PS-1) thing, others have said that they have had issues with Proto Sound 2(PS-2) My own issues that I believe are battery related were with PS-1 Locomotives, although some of my PS-2 Locomotives have had issues that likely weren’t battery related. I don’t know of any to check a battery before running the train, and the PS-1 issue seems to occur after trying to run a Locomotive with a weak battery. The best bet is to leave the Locomotive in neutral with the throttle turned up for 30 seconds to a minute before running, if it hasn’t been used for a while ( what is a while?, I don’t know a hard and fast answer to) 3 rail guy claims that the battery issue does not affect PS-2 Locomotives, and that there is a list of PS-1 Locomotives that are susceptible to this issue, but he does not have the list, and he is the first to tell me of one, NOT that I am doubting Him, it is just news to me.
To cover myself, NOT ALL MTH LOCOMOTIVES HAVE WEAK BATTERY ISSUES, and PS-2 LOCOMOTIVES REPORTEDLY DO NOT HAVE THIS ISSUE. I have probably 5-6 times as many Lionel Locomotives as I do MTH, but far and away the bulk of my problems have been with MTH Locomotives. I have pretty much given up on buying any more MTH Locomotives personally, which is unfortunate because they do make some that I would like to have, but I just am not going to gamble on them anymore.
Also as I have stated in the other thread, when I started in the 3 rail segment of the hobby, I came into it without any preconceived prejudices for or against any brand in the hobby, MY OPINIONS and BRAND LOYALTY, have been formed by MY EXPERIENCES with each brands products. I have been a Model Railroader for close to 40 years, mostly HO (currently O-3 Rail and HO) with some Scale American Flyer when I was a Kid, and some #1-Gauge (commonly referred to as G Scale, which is just one of roughly half a dozen that run on #1-Gauge track) as well as some N-Scale wh
A PS-2 engine with a weak battery will start up, but not get out of neutral, and its sound effects may sound garbled. Listen to the engine shutdown sounds–if they last for six seconds or more after power is shut off, battery is ok.
My late model PS-2 was in its factory sealed box for more than six months when I purchased it, and it was good to go when I ran it. Battery also charges in use, even in neutral, at 10 or more volts input. Batteries are said to last approx. five years. MtH sells a battery charger for $11.95 list. If engine is out of service for a month or more, an overnight charge wouldn’t hurt.
Thanks for the info here. I had Lionel back in the days of my youth 40’s & 50’s. I joined the Navy in 1960, spent four tours in Nam. When I became a civilian again in 1970, I returned home to find all my stuff had been given away or thrown out. I do plan on Lionel and tubular track. I want trains to play with again, with all the flashing lights and milk cans that fly. [(-D][(-D] Thanks, Ken
Ken,
It sounds like you have been away from the hobby for awhile, so don’t forget all the wondrous things that make 3 Rail Special. Many don’t know the REASON that Joshua Lionel Cowen originally went to 3 Rail track to begin with so many years ago. With 3 Rail track a kid could take a pile of track and DO NO WRONG electrically, reverse loops, Wye’s and other such track configuration, while creating a short circuit in 2 Rail track, are not an issue with 3 Rail track. Also the use of an insulated outer rail to activate accessories such as grade crossing and track signals is a cinch, compared to buying and installing detection circuits.
Again WELCOME back to the Hobby, I Hope that You Enjoy it as much as I do, and watch out for those flying milk cans.
Doug
And Ken, since you are just getting back into the hobby, you may not be aware of a recently enacted law: “All 3 railers must have at least one Lionel Dockside Switcher” ('cause they’re so much fun!) [;)] [:D]
Ken,
It may not be a “LAW” about the Lionel 0-6-0 Docksider, But it is very good advice. Those things pull like a twenty mule team, Look GREAT and run even BETTER, with an MSRP of $109.99, and often found cheaper, I think that they are a GREAT investment. Mine has pulled a twenty one car train, which had the caboose coupled to the front of the Locomotive, lost a little top speed, but no wheel slip, and did not seem to be straining excessively. I would be surprised if you were disappointed in them.
Doug
good evening eriediamond
i recently had a problem with my mth switcher,the battery went dead and wouldnt take a charge and the loco locked up.i sent the loco to j&w electronics e-mail [jandwelectronics@yahoo.com](mailto:jandwelectronics@yahoo.com) (717)-417-2820 to have a bcr installed its a capaciter that takes the place of the battery you wont ever have to worry about the battery going dead on you.give them a call they can explain it a lot better than i can.if you are handy you can install it yourself and save a few bucks.
dutchman
Thanks all, for your response here. Ya’ll are a great!!! Ken
QSI Sound, aka ProtoSound I, used a chargeable battery to retain memory of what the sound and operation should be. If the battery is keep charged, no problems. QSI even had a booth at TCA York to fix and work out the bugs. If a locomotive sits long enough to have battery go dead, then its not just the battery but a reset chip to get it going again.
MTH ProtoSound II with DCS is an onboard, programable, computer system that operates in Command or Conventional Control and incorporates a Sound System. The onboard battery (3 volt) holds up the sound level only and can always be recharged. Like any modern PC computer, the memory is held in flash ram and is not dependent on the battery. If you run DCS Control, and don’t like the sound of your locomotive, use your PC to download and install a new sound file from MTH, for free.
You just had to drag me out of another thread into this. What I meant is a dead battery will not harm a PS-2 engine like it does a number of PS-1 engines. A PS-2 engine won’t run with a dead battery just like my Lionel cab 1 won’t work with a dead battery. You bring the PS-1 issue into the story and tell people stuff like “MTH has battery problems, you’ll be sorry, remember we told you so” is painting MTH with a broad brush. I don’t care if it’s Atlas, Lionel, or MTH. Everything has its quirks and needs fixing at one point or another. As far as PS-1 engines are concerned, $30 for a board descrambler is getting off easy. Especially if you get a PS-1 engine for half price.
John,
I was not trying to “drag You out of another thread into this” someone (Erie Diamond) started this thread asking specifically about the MTH battery issue. I gave the the information that YOU gave ME and cited my source. This is another example of you claiming my statements are ALL INCLUSIVE, when they are clearly NOT, I was not/am not trying to cause any problems, so why are you? I gave information that YOU had given on another thread, and quoted you as the source of the information. I clearly stated th
If you want to avoid the battery problems get an MTH battery charger for about $20.00 at your local hobby shop and keep the battery charged about once a month for five to six hours when you don’t use the locomotive. This way will charge the battery better than the track method and don’t tie up a track on your layout either.
Lee F.