Is the Lionel 990 a boat anchor?

Options I can think of.

- purchase a used Lionel Base1 and Cab1.

- purchase a used Lionel Base1L and Cab1L.

- put an order in Base3 and wait, and hope it works.

- switch to conventional.

- switch to MTH DCS, and get a Base1 and that cable for any Lionel engines you want to keep as TMCC/Legacy.

- take every engine and rip out the electronics and use BlueRail.

- take every engine and rip out the electronics and use DCC.

- take every engine that has a DC can  motor, rip out the electronics and make them run on DC, and run DC, with only one engine on the track at a time.

Or some combo of the above.

I am currently using a Base1, just listed a Base1L somewhere on the internet but I don't want to incur the wrath of the powers that be, and have a pre-order for the Base3. You can find Base3 pricing for less than MSRP.

Edit:

- Missed  you could by a used Base2 or whatever its called.

From what i understand, the 990's and 993's cabs will work with the upcoming Base3.  If it really ships in August, you won't have much of a wait.  Can you get by running in *gasp* CONVENTIONAL for a couple months?

one for sale on the forum

The CAB 2 works just fine with the Base 3. Save your money and don't buy a used Legacy Base at this time

I would get with your LHS and pre order a Base 3

It was all because I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I wanted to update the 990 but I didn’t want to buy a new rs232 to usb connector, after all the new base 3 will be here any day, this was months ago. So I ordered a LSC to use for internet update in the meantime. I got the LSC but it did not come with the proper cable so after trying many train stores I finally found one left at HENNING’S. I hooked it all up but couldn’t connect to internet. I did use the LSU for a while then I bought a sensor track cause that also would be cool. Then the nextday no 990. If I had just left it all alone when it was all working duh. base 3 on order. Running conventional for what may be quite a while. Moral - leave well enough alone

It could be something simple within the base.

Before we throw in the towel, the only symptom I've seen so far is that the remote can't find the base.  Some troubleshooting might be in order?

- Does the base light up when plugged in?

- If not, are we sure it's getting power?

Since you say you were messing with it to plug in the cable and such, could the channel button on the bottom of the base have inadvertently gotten pressed?

I do have lights, the side lights haven’t worked in a long while tho I had no problem. The yellow light continues to flash quickly with the green light

My troubleshooting

1-unplug and plug back in base not found

2-scan for channels, try again base not found

3- reloaded the chip and reset remote

4- tried to reload the base but the lights just keep flashing never resets

5- went to a different outlet and reworked the steps

6- removed the batteries from remote and reinstalled

7- stood one one foot while plugging in the unit

8- put Tin foil hat on to deflect space rays

Any other ideas appreciated

tia

gene