MTH 10-3011-1 is described as "contemporary".
Tinplate O Gauge Hiawatha Freight Set
It's from 2001. It's PS2 but I can't find anything describing it as "command equipped". Are early PS2 engines Command Control? Thanks.
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If it has PS2, it should be command (DCS) equipped.
John
That's what I'm wondering. Are all PS2 engines DCS?
It seems like MTH would have been bragging about that as soon as they released it as a feature. But the website doesn't say anything and more importantly, neither does the box!
The manual says PS2 on the cover.
yamawho posted:The manual says PS2 on the cover.
Right. I think maybe you guys are assuming a certain level of knowledge that I don't have. It is my understanding that PS1 engines are not command control. Because this Hiawatha is PS2, does that mean with 100% certainty, that is command equipped? I'm new here so I really don't know.
beachhead2 posted:yamawho posted:The manual says PS2 on the cover.
Right. I think maybe you guys are assuming a certain level of knowledge that I don't have. It is my understanding that PS1 engines are not command control. Because this Hiawatha is PS2, does that mean with 100% certainty, that is command equipped? I'm new here so I really don't know.
Yes all MTH engines categorized as PS2 or ProtoSound 2 are DCS command.
Thanks, Marty! And thanks everyone.
"Contemporary" means it has a open frame motor(duplicate of original) not a can motor. If it says PS2 that will be command control also.
Frank
This engine appears to have command control. If you look at the support section of the locomotive’s page it has the sound file for it. This locomotive has PS2. I believe all PS2 locomotives have command in them. I am 99.9% sure that this locomotive can be controlled via command as DCS was first released in 2000, and this locomotive was released almost two years later in December of 2001.
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It's 100% that PS/2 locomotives have command control, it's the reason for PS/2 existing! 
gunrunnerjohn posted:It's 100% that PS/2 locomotives have command control, it's the reason for PS/2 existing!
I thought that PS2 locos were all capable of command but did not want to say something that wasn’t true.
franktrain posted:"Contemporary" means it has a open frame motor(duplicate of original) not a can motor. If it says PS2 that will be command control also.
Frank
I think you are getting Contemporary and Classic or conventional confused. The PS2 engines all use can motors, not open frame motors. The electronics are not designed to handle the amps required to drive an open frame motor.
Here's an example of a 408e Contemporary MTH Tinplate Traditions engine. The manual clearly shows a diagram of the motor truck with a can motor.
https://mthtrains.com/sites/de...ction/10dl12768i.pdf
Page 14 of the Hiawatha manual also shows a can motor.
George
beachhead2 posted:It seems like MTH would have been bragging about that as soon as they released it as a feature. But the website doesn't say anything and more importantly, neither does the box!
Pull out your year 2000 MTH catalog they did plenty of bragging ! j
JohnActon posted:beachhead2 posted:It seems like MTH would have been bragging about that as soon as they released it as a feature. But the website doesn't say anything and more importantly, neither does the box!
Pull out your year 2000 MTH catalog they did plenty of bragging ! j
I'm missing that one (and all of them).
beachhead2 posted:JohnActon posted:beachhead2 posted:It seems like MTH would have been bragging about that as soon as they released it as a feature. But the website doesn't say anything and more importantly, neither does the box!
Pull out your year 2000 MTH catalog they did plenty of bragging ! j
I'm missing that one (and all of them).
Here you go!
https://mthtrains.com/sites/de...files/2000v3gold.pdf
Tinplate items started on page 50, but ProtoSound 2 was right up-front.
George
Thanks, George. That shows how little I know. I didn't even know tinplate was featured in the regular MTH catalog back then.
I had to go look for it a while back. I kept seeing MTH tinplate made before 2004, but the first dedicated catalog was in 2004. So, I started searching around and found it in the consolidated catalogs. I suspect that is where we will find it in the future after this last catalog.
George
Beachhead2, is this your first DCS-equipped loco? If so, and you decide to add DCS to your layout, be prepared to get hooked. PS2 and PS3 locos run very well in conventional mode, but once you hook up the TIU and run your Hiawatha with a remote, I'll be surprised if you're not hooked almost instantly. What kind of transformer are you using?
John
Beachhead2, you better do some research ... early PS2 engines had 5V boards and are problematic.
They have a round charging port underside or none at all - this is how you spot them ...
BlueComet400 posted:Beachhead2, is this your first DCS-equipped loco? If so, and you decide to add DCS to your layout, be prepared to get hooked. PS2 and PS3 locos run very well in conventional mode, but once you hook up the TIU and run your Hiawatha with a remote, I'll be surprised if you're not hooked almost instantly. What kind of transformer are you using?
No, I have ten PS2/3 tinplate engines now. Seven of them are standard gauge. I have two STD gauge loops, a DCS explorer hooked up to a PH180 brick, and that's it. I just wanted the ability to adjust the volume and smoke without taking the engines off the track. The Explorer seems to be doing the trick. I assumed full blast DCS was overkill for a tinplate layout. However, the DCS Explorer is my only experience with DCS so maybe I'm missing out. 
I've never used the Explorer setup, so I don't know the difference. All I can tell you is with DCS you can control virtually everything from the remote, including volume and smoke. I still have the training wheels on but am learning a little at a time, owning just 2 DCS-equipped locos (for now). There's a lot to learn with it, but as Marty Fitzhenry said to me a few months ago, "It's worth the price of admission."
I'm running mostly tinplate prewar (O and Std.) and plan to set up my DCS so I can run all my conventional prewar locos with the remote. That was the feature that sold me on DCS in the first place: the ability to run conventional trains with a wireless remote control. It's a great marriage of old trains and new control technology.
John
BlueComet400 posted:I've never used the Explorer setup, so I don't know the difference. All I can tell you is with DCS you can control virtually everything from the remote, including volume and smoke. I still have the training wheels on but am learning a little at a time, owning just 2 DCS-equipped locos (for now). There's a lot to learn with it, but as Marty Fitzhenry said to me a few months ago, "It's worth the price of admission."
I'm running mostly tinplate prewar (O and Std.) and plan to set up my DCS so I can run all my conventional prewar locos with the remote. That was the feature that sold me on DCS in the first place: the ability to run conventional trains with a wireless remote control. It's a great marriage of old trains and new control technology.
John
Yeah, that would be pretty cool. I don't own anything conventional (hence the original post/question) but if I did, that would be a nice feature. DCS is way too complicated for my taste. There are entire books written about it! That says it all for me. I want the simplicity of conventional without being tethered to the transformer. Aside from tinplate I'm also into modern O Gauge. I won't even consider MTH engines for modern O because I'm going all Bluetooth. So in the future, I may get forced to buy full DCS for my tinplate but I'll be b_____ing about it!
I resisted command control for a long time. I used to say I'd never own a train with anything more sophisticated than an E-Unit. Then, I decided to convert my Premier Blue Comet from PS1 to PS3 (Thanks Marty Fitzhenry for the awesome conversion). From the minute Marty handed me the remote control, I was hooked. I'm still working my way through the DCS Companion and have a lot to learn, but so far so good. There have been a few glitches early on, but I was determined to stick with it and make it work. I'm glad I did. For around $300.00 you can get the kit with TIU and remote, and give it a try; relatively short money when you consider what it does. I figured if I didn't like it I could always sell it and at least get some of my $$ back, but for $300.00 I figured it was worth a shot. Prewar tinplate will always be my first love, but I have to admit DCS is great stuff.
John
I agree that DCS is short money when you consider how much I already have invested in this deal. However, to be clear, I'm not resisting command control. I'm insisting on it! DCS Explorer for tinplate. Bluetooth for everything else. But I'm only a few months into this hobby. I'm not one of these guys who's doing realistic operations so I'm not really demanding of my remote control system. I just want to drop a train on the tracks and let her rip, blast the horn, smoke, etc. 
In 2000 MTH switched from Protosounds to Protosounds 2. In about 2002 the command control system (DCS) was released. Your engine is PS-2 because I have it. The SKU number ends -1. The box will say PS-2.
Read the instructions carefully. Running in Conventional you will still have cruise control which you may or may not like. If using a lighter command control. The engine needs to be set at engine 1. If not set at 1 it will not work. The full DCS system is needed to set a engine 1.
