MTH PS1 troubleshooting and repair

Doug,

MTH Product Number?  We can't do much without knowing which you model you have, primarily what vintage.

Mike

Well, the boards will always be different in the two units, the slave has a slave board!  @GGG is the one to ask, he's really good with the PS/1 boards.

I don't have the MTH product number as it is a custom paint set.  I am guessing that it was made around 2000.  I am attaching a picture of the board. 

Can I email GGG directly?

Thanks,

@DougC,

The orange sticker on the sound chip says "Scale F-3 Reading".  This leads to a Product Number that appears to be 20-2198-1.   According to the MTH website it was released in 1999, and so is among the last Proto-1's made.

This means that the software should be quite robust, as opposed to locomotives made in 1994 or 1995 which have known software issues.

Because of this you likely have a hardware problem, and not an operator error or software bug or oddity, and so @GGG is a good person to contact for help.

Let us know when you find the specific problem.  It's always nice to learn how these kinds of things turn out.

Mike

More amazed, nobody said cleanup track, wheels, pickup rollers? Just saying, the easy obvious should do things first???

@Vernon Barry posted:

.., nobody said cleanup track, wheels, pickup rollers? Just saying, the easy obvious should do things first???

Vernon,

Agreed, and you're 100% correct, but ...

You do realize that you're telling us to point out things that you don't normally point out either?

To fix this oversight these obvious things should indeed be listed at the front of every initial response we make, before any other suggestion, immediately after the obligatory question "What's the Product Number?" when it isn't provided.

Mike

Yes clean wheels and pickups are first in order.  Use electronic cleaner between roller and pin on pickup.  After that might be a bottom board on lead engine.  That is the sound producer.  Also no pinched motor leads.  Though that would be more consistent issue.  G

Thank all of you for the responses.  I should have thought about cleaning the pickups and wheels.  That was the problem.  All is fine for now.

Doug,

It's nice to hear that the problem turned out to be something so simple.   Far less expensive than replacing electronics.

Thanks for reporting the final details.  These will help others with similar problem going forward.  And, thanks to @Vernon Barry for reminding us not to forget the need for cleanliness.

Mike