ACTIVE ENGINE ISSUE WITH DCS WIFI PREMIUM

You did a great job explaining what happened. However we don't know much about your layout here.

 Do a track signal strength test where you park your engines. I would guess that you have a power problem with too many engines drawing power. You may have enough power, maybe not. Usually it's the wiring or track connections failing to handle the amp draw and the signal suffers.

 Your layout may have worked fine and then something like oxidation creeps in and changes things. Engines that aren't fully charged or even having dirty wheels can change things. Did you service your engines lately? Oil the rollers and axles?

All I can do is guess as your exact problem is only hinted at by the actions of the app. Maybe the device has a problem? Maybe poor signal strength? etc. etc.

BTW, are your newer added accessories on separate power source?

Greeting Joe, good to hear from you again.

To answer your last question first.  The signs are just balsa wood and pictures, no electronic attachments.

As for the layout, I re-tooled it back in November to upgrade the power output.  I changed to 12 gauge main wire with 16 gauge feeders running to 18 different locations.  I use Fastrack because it has those easy to use hookup locations under the belly of the track.  Problem is, the prongs are so small you can only use a certain size electrical connector when making the attachment.  18 gauge is what they are truly designed to use, but I have a knack for making things work.  16 isn't heavy but 14 seemed to be pushing it.  Anyway, the trunk line running all through the layout is 12 gauge wire and the feeders coming off the trunk are 16 gauge short runs, and I stress short.  From the TIU to the screw board, my terminology not the manufacturers, is 12 gauge wire as well.  I did a voltage test around the room on the outer track as well as used a volt meter to test as I went, and got an average of 19 volts pretty much everywhere on the track, main lines and staging tracks alike.  The signal test seemed to 10 mostly with a 9 and 8 thrown in for good measure.

As for the power output, all three trains ran fine and responded immediately to commands, and I've had four trains going at once, using the ALL ENGINES feature, and up to last night, I've never had any residual issues after the fact.  The problem seemed to start when I wanted to activate the inactive engines.  I activated one without issue, then the other three kept sending me into "buffer mode?"  As I mentioned, it went into perpetual read mode, as if to tell me it was looking for that engine, but it wasn't out there.  What jumping from one screen to another did for it is still a mystery, but obviously as we are aware now, the fact the engine was suddenly on the active list, was not telling the whole story.

I'm going to try this again Sunday after my grandson leaves and I'll see what happens then.  It may have been a weird anomaly that I am forced to suffer in life that never returns.  The other day my transmission belt on my lawnmower slipped off the front pulley and based on the bar fight you have to go through to get it back on, even the guy who fixed it for me can't figure out how in the heck it came off to begin with.  I've run three and four engines in the past, deactivating the unused engines for obvious reasons, and this poltergeist never appeared.  But, I have a lengthy irritating fix for it if it happens again.

I'll run a signal test and see what I get a chance.

Thanks for the information, gives me something to go on

John 

Why intentionally move engines to the inactive list? 

Voltage readings on the track are meaningless unless you have a train operating, preferably with lighted cars.

I'll address the second part first.

Didn't know that, do now.  Again, learn as you go.  I'll try that.  Thanks.  As for lighted cars, all I have are some caboose that light up.

As for the first question.  I hope I'm not discovering that my version of DCS works different from everyone elses version.  Since my days with the hand held remote, it has been my experience that if you use the ALL ENGINES feature, the word ALL is the operative word in that command structure.  I admit my love affair with owners manuals and guide books is more of a one night stand than a relationship, but I do seem to remember that ALL meant ALL active engines respond to the limited stable of commands you can attempt while under its spell.

That being the case, if you put yourself in the ALL ENGINES wheelhouse, horns, bells, speed, and most important, starting and running in accordance with speed settings happens to any and all active engines when a command is generated.  In the past, when I have changed from individual to ALL, and forgot, I would do something as simple as change the speed from a safe 15 SMPH to say, 30, and suddenly I would go from two trains moving around my two main tracks increasing speed from 15 to 30, to two trains increasing speed while five others suddenly started up and made mad dashes from 0 to 30 off their staging tracks and onto the one shared yard track each has to take to get to the switch sets they need to exit the yard onto a main running oval.

Shocked and panicked and in a frantic haste to stop all of them before a major catastrophe happened, E stop became my best friend.  After jumping my own case and cussing myself out for making such a dumb mistake, I would gather myself, get the layout powered up again, take my time, move all the trains back to their staging tracks one by one, then with my proper thoughts in hand, I would move the trains I didn't want responding to my commands to the inactive list, leaving the two I did want to respond on the active list.  Once I had done this, when I changed over to ALL ENGINES and changed the speed, only the two engines running on main tracks were affected.  The other five just sat quietly as an off engine should.

By you asking me that, I take it on good authority that I have missed something in translation, or, I have a signal issue I was unaware of that deactivating the other engines fixed.  Again, it's been a while since I boned up on my owners manual knowledge.  I promise, even though it may seem like it, I'm not being a smart butt nor am I being condescending. I just didn't know how else to answer that question without explaining why I deactivate the other engines.  If I am doing this wrong, please tell me because I gladly relish any information that makes using this system easier.  Do I need to deactivate the other engines?  If not, then why is it every time I don't, the others respond to my commands even though they aren't started and running?

I'll let you know how the voltage check goes when I get the chance to test it.

Thanks

John

Understood.  Not being an All user, iI have no need to inaactive locos.

I can only suggest a few things and you have to troubleshoot. I can't pin it down so far.

 When you have a session and are not using extra engines, make sure they aren't on powered track. Hopefully that will lesson the power draw and keep good signal. Same with anything else drawing power from the mainline supply.

 I've had issues like you describe when the track signal was weak for various reasons. So that's where I'm leaning towards. I've removed the offending equipment and the app then worked perfectly. It can even be a single lit car or engine causing poor signal. They may just need a choke.

When the app doesn't work correctly, It won't tell you what the problem actually is. You use the symptoms to guide where you look for the cause.

RJR

Thank goodness.  At least I know for once I'm actually doing it right.  Again sorry for the seemingly jerkified response, but I was certain with your knowledge and experience that question was more of "why are you doing that, when you don't have too", versus what you were asking, "why do you have to deactivate the engines, just curious?"  Thanks for asking because again I have learned something I needed to know.

Joe

I'll have to keep you posted, but I am going to attempt to duplicate the problem.  If I do, I will use the advice you just gave me about removing the engines not used from the track.  I have no unpowered tracks.  I'm also going to use RJR's advice when I run them this afternoon and do a voltage test with meter while one is actually running.  Never thought of that.  Signal wise, I'm getting a reading of 10/10 sitting still on the staging track.  I'm hoping this was a WIFI issue since it never happened while I was using the remote.  On this subject I do want to mention one thing that all WIFI users and remote for that matter need to know if they don't already know it.  Just being helpful.

Setting the situation first.  Two trains running at once.  Switch to ALL ENGINES.  All Engines appears in purple title bar to let yo you know you are in All Engines mode.  Both trains are currently running 25.  Just picked it out of a hat.  I move the dial up to 35.  Both trains speed up to 35.  We're good.

Then comes the issue.  I switch from ALL to individual engine number 1.  I slow it down to 20.  I then switch over to individual engine number 2.  The speed dial is set at 20, it's still circling at 35.  The change I made selectively to engine 1 has changed the speed dial system wide on the speedometer.  So even thought 2 is now individually selected, changing 1 to 20 SMPH has changed the speedometer WIFI wide.  Why am I telling you this?  Just thought you might want to know in case you had never seen it before.  What should be happening is what happens when you run trains individually to begin with.  You change from 1 to 2, 1 is moving at 25, 2 is moving at 45, when you change from 1 to 2 or back the other way, the ECS screen depicts what is happening with that engine, not both engines.  ALL ENGINES mode, yes, individual mode, no.  Once you switch from ALL to individual, all bets are off.  Changing 1 to 20 miles per hour should have had no affect on 2's speedometer.  But, it appears, since you are leaving ALL and going back to Individual, the programming isn't coded to see that, and even though you changed the speed of 1 engine, individually, it affects 2's speedometer, but not speed.

Confused, tune in next week for "what drunk techie created the Engine Name Change feature".

Thanks. I also don't use the "all engines" feature so I'm not sure about this. It just seems like a signal dropping issue.

I run my consists regularly and I address them with both the remote and the app.