MTH PS1 Train - Removing PS1?

You would have to use a bridge rectifier and would have forward only. A Williams reverse unit would also work. There is also a chance that a reset chip would bring it back with a new battery.

Wow...ok, caveat emptor.  At least I got 6 passenger cars out of it.   So just taking out all PS1 components won't let the engine just run

conventionally on track power?  Is converting to TMCC a possibility? 

Thanks

You have options. First I would NOT power it up without installing a new green MTH battery. If it works it will still be conventional "PS-1 is not command control" but you'll have sound. If the board turns out to be dead completely your cheapest option would be to buy a Dallee reverse board for about $44 dollars.   Next you could go with ERR boards to make it full TMCC with sounds,cruse ect.   Last you could convert it to DCS and have all of it's functions.

I have converted several of my MTH PS1 engines to TMCC/RS with ERR components.  I have changed both steam and diesel engines to TMCC control, and it really is not that difficult to do.  ERR provides very concise instructions and the end result is exactly what I want as I do not run any DCS, only TMCC.  My remaining PS/MTH engines not converted are some turbines, and I and still looking for a way to change over to TMCC but retain the original turbine QSI sounds.  And with the use of John's (Gunrunner John)  YLB installation, the problem of a low power battery being eliminated makes it all the better.

Jesse   TCA  12-68275

Wow, thank you everyone, this is very helpful!!

And I am sorry, one last question...who is ERR?

Thanks

If the chip got scrambled by a dead battery, resetting the chip is not expensive.  The guy to communicate with goes by the forum name of GGG.  He is the top electronics fixer and is reasonably priced.  Email him for advice.

Your engine can easily be repaired to run on PS-1.  You also have the ability to upgrade to ERR TMCC or MTH PS-3.  All depends on how you run your trains. G

That loco is really a nice item, whether Premier or Railking. If you put it on the forum "as-as" you should have no problem selling it. If you want it fixed, it will be repairable with Protosounds boards, they are available on the secondary market, and I recall MTH still has some in stock. If it needs a new PS chip, get the Railking version, as the Premier version calls the train the "Argonaut" The RailKing version calls the train "Coast Daylight". 

Luke-

Thanks...yes, I was hooked when I saw it even though it doesn't run.  They told  me that hooking up a 9V would "get it to wake up". I do plan to keep and if needed, fix myself (this will be a learning experience). It seems the best first step is just to see if replacing the battery gives me PS1 functionality.  The reason I was thinking about converting is that I have a Lionel conventional layout with a CW-80 transformer and also a TMCC command set someone gave me (command control and CAB-1).   I looked at Lionel GS-2 and GS-4 on ebay, but noticed they needed O-54 curves...where as this needs just 31.

I assume I can run with my CW-80 in conventional mode once I (successfully) replace the battery?  Again, thanks everyone.

Mike

Mmmm, I just read that using the Lionel CW-80 transformer with MTH trains is not a good idea.  I wonder if the Lionel 135 Watt with the PH-1Power  Supply would work.  Other forums recommend the MTH Z-1000 when running MTH.

ERR is the initials of the Electric Railroad Co.

The recommendation to use an alkaline battery is to see if the board will operate with a known good battery. Since the ProtoSound 1 (PS1) board assumes there is a NiCd battery connected, it will constantly charge it (which will wear out an alkaline battery, and thus isn't recommended for extended use).

Running PS1 locomotives with a CW-80 is a hit-or-miss proposition. Protosound 1 circuit boards like to see track power as a pure AC sine wave like that produced by a postwar transformer. Modern transformers often electronically chop off parts of the AC wave to vary the voltage, producing power that on an oscilloscope looks like a series of shark fins (example video).

The earliest PS1 boards were programmed to not come out of their initial power-up state if they saw anything like a shark-fin wave. Later PS1 boards are less fussy, but overall, you'd at least want to have some sort of postwar-style transformer on hand to test the loco just in case you do resurrect it (say with a reset chip or a new battery), but it turns its nose up at the CW80's power.

---PCJ

Give it to someone who has worked on these and see where you are at first.   Like Chris stated, start with a fully charged green MTH battery.

CSURam posted:

Luke-

Thanks...yes, I was hooked when I saw it even though it doesn't run.  They told  me that hooking up a 9V would "get it to wake up". I do plan to keep and if needed, fix myself (this will be a learning experience). It seems the best first step is just to see if replacing the battery gives me PS1 functionality.  The reason I was thinking about converting is that I have a Lionel conventional layout with a CW-80 transformer and also a TMCC command set someone gave me (command control and CAB-1).   I looked at Lionel GS-2 and GS-4 on ebay, but noticed they needed O-54 curves...where as this needs just 31.

I assume I can run with my CW-80 in conventional mode once I (successfully) replace the battery?  Again, thanks everyone.

 

Mike

You want to use a PW pure AC transformer to get this going before you try to see if it will work with a CW-80. The Power House is OK, but the Power Master still chops signal.  You really need something like a Z-1000 with bell and whistle to get this going.  Other wise you may be chasing your tail.  G

OK, thanks.  I think I too have accepted I need to shop for a Z-1000.  It sounds like it wouldn't be bad to have one anyway.

Mike

Convert it to DCS or sell it and buy the Legacy GS-4.  I recently purchased the same set up with the GS-4 and all 8 cars complete.  My engine is New and runs.  I will have it available at York.  

CSURam posted:

OK, thanks.  I think I too have accepted I need to shop for a Z-1000.  It sounds like it wouldn't be bad to have one anyway.

Mike

The Z1000 controller is also a chopped waveform controller, so that's not a real solution.  If you want a real sine wave transformer, pickup and old post-war transformer for this kind of testing.  Note the last picture, that's the brick with no controller, that's the pure sine wave we're talking about.

MTH Z1000 controller at half throttle with 8 ohm load.

MTH Z1000 controller at full throttle with 8 ohm load.

MTH Z1000 brick direct output with 8 ohm load.

John-

Thanks.  I do have a 135 W Lionel brick.  Does that give a better pure sine wave than the CW-80?

Yes, running directly from the PH135 or PH180 bricks gives you the same waveform as the bare Z1000 brick, a plain old unadulterated sine wave.

The electronic controls stuck after the bricks or transformer cores is what chops up the sine wave.  The lone exception is the Z4000, they synthesize a sine wave and do a decent job, certainly well enough for any locomotive I've run across.  Here's the Z4000 at 12V with a 2 ohm resistive load, pulling about 5.5 amps.