From my experience, Super TIU mode works well. We've had multiple TIU's in place on the club layout for more than a decade spanning several versions. A few key points:
- Make sure no one is using a 900Mhz cordless phone or other device. It will kill the radio signal from a nearby TIU or remote. This will no longer apply when the new WiFi software that supports Super TIU mode is released. We obtained one of the "other devices" when we bought an NCE DCC system for our On30 section. The wireless mode of the controller operates on 900Mhz and it knocked out two TIU zones near the On30 area. We use it tethered for now.
- Make sure there are NO center-rail (or buss "Hot") connections between the TIU zones. This will cause track signal cancellation problems. Also check to make sure that you don't have a TIU channel connected out of phase (check your plugs/connections) . Electrically, the track can be in phase, but a backward TIU will cause you some issues as the signal will be going out onto the common side (your Proto-3 engines will respond to that TIU if it's the only one running). Don't ask how I found this out.
- Always add/edit your engines and build your "Lash-Ups" (sorry Rich) to only one of the TIU's, preferably TIU #1. We actually put another TIU-1 on the workbench in the staging yard for this purpose and use a tether so as not to interfere with trains running on the layout. In testing, I've found that a "Super TIU" temporarily tethered to the remote will handle additions more efficiently as the remote will only talk to that TIU when tethered rather than polling the other TIU's.
- Make sure your RF board in your remote is securely seated. If it's loose, the radio signal gets weak. I put a piece of foam between mine and the remote case years ago and it has worked great for over 14 years. I haven't opened up a REV-L TIU, but I've had to re-seat the RF board on a TIU before (foam works here, too).
- Always perform a "Read" when you power up the layout to ensure the remote knows the TIU's are out there.
- Operate from a central position within the layout if your TIU's are located at a distance. In our case, the TIU's are somewhat spread out so the middle of the layout area is the "sweet spot" that hits all of the TIUs
One point on Lash-ups. In Super TIU mode, one quirk I've found is if there's an extended loss of power to the lash-up in a TIU zone other than the one where it was created, you may lose a locomotive in the lash-up. It's not consistent. The work-around is to select and start each member locomotive separately, then select and start the lash-up. If one of the member locomotives isn't found, you'll have to take them back to the zone where the lash-up was created and re-start it. I'm the only one at the club that runs DCS lash-ups.
