Hi Richard,
So glad I was able to help.
Awhile back I was experiencing a number of layout issues. I have multiple remotes & TIU's, but only have one TIU hooked up at a time, I never paid much attention to the versions of the TIU & Remote matching. I ran my trains regularly without to many problems, frequently using 2 remotes with a single TIU successfully, not all the same version. I had an engine that my Grandson wanted to run but for some reason I was not able to run it in DCS. Every time I tried to add it, I'd get the "out of RF range", no engine to add, etc. messages. It would run conventionally only, which was not what I wanted. I did a factory reset conventionally & was convinced that if it ran ok that way, I had some other issue.
Forum members recommended upgrading everything to DCS version 6.1, which I did. Still having problems, I decided to set up an isolated test track. Finally I was able to locate the engine in DCS and add it into my remote. It has been running fine ever since.
The whole point of the story is, as I mentioned, I have multiple TIU's, one for my main layout, one for my Xmas layout & 2 others as backup. So what made sense was to number the TIU's 1, 2, 3, 4. That went smooth enough until I started adding engines into TIU's 2-4, getting those pesky messages. Ironically, if I waited long enough, the engine would finally add. I received many suggestions how to rectify this. Things were getting too complicated for my enjoyment. Since I only use one TIU at a time anyway, I just named them all TIU 1. I can now add engines without problems an run them.
One other thing of note is, as your roster grows or you start creating lash-ups, keep track of the ID number that each is & never duplicate that number in another remote. When you first start adding engines, DCS assigns the next open number in the remote. As you delete engines that leaves a gap in the sequence. The next time you add an engine, DCS will choose that open spot which will create a conflict if using another remote with that number assigned to another engine. The good news is, DCS allows you to rename an engine or address, so you could have 2 of the exact same engines by just renaming them. I use a note pad trying to keep track as I go along.
I hope I didn't confuse you. I had many problems in the beginning when DCS first came out. The very first TIU & remote I purchased was defective & I spent many hours struggling before that became apparent. Thankfully my local dealer exchanged the unit & first try it worked! I still have a hick-up now & then & I attribute that to rushing to get trains running & my early wiring mistakes which I refuse to hunt down. The next layout I'll be more methodical, testing as I go along.
Enjoy,
Joe
