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 So I don't do well under pressure anymore. Our grandson is here and he wants to run. Last night my upgraded PS3 Allegheny started acting up. The playable horn would work and then not work? I thought it might be the smoke unit causing an issue again as it did last year. So I turned it off. The engine continued to run and we used the regular whistle. All of a sudden it slid to an abrupt stop. It was dead. No sound or control. Well it sounded like the smoke unit was running with a funny sound and no control. I tried it on conventional with the smoke actually unplugged and still fully dead.

 This morning he wants to run again. So I put some reliable diesels on the rails and started running. All went well until he complained the sound was cutting out. I noticed that on one part of the layout the 2 diesels in consist would both lose sound only? I could control speed and with a horn blast the ditch lights would flash, but no sound. Each time this happened around the loop the sounds would restore itself on both engines on various points of the loop within that same block and the same TIU channel.

 My mind is spent from failures yesterday, and this sound cutting out has me baffled. So what's causing it?

Signal is perfect ten on this outer loop (both blocks, both TIU channels). The same TIU is powering the inside and outside loops and all are working. Power is good and strong. No problem on the inside loop.

 I will try more engines but I'm a little afraid of what might have taken out the Allegheny previously. Unless the Allegheny took out the TIU channel so that it works intermittently? and why only sounds ??? Urggg.

Last edited by Engineer-Joe
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did  u try testing on a separate circle of the track to eliminate  your possible track causing the  problems and did you also try a factory reset on said engines . if that does not  show anything I would try another TIU so you'll know it's not the tiu but engines seems odd that so many engines are having the same problem! I would think either a track problem or dcs remote or tiu issue. you need to confirm what's causing it and then go from there! your getting 10 tens all throughout the lay?

alan

Last edited by Alan Mancus

Can a single TIU channel be controlled by software separately?

In other words, could the TIU channel still be stuck, trying to play the playable whistle sounds?

I will troubleshoot this thoroughly as I always have to do to wring out the issue. That very well could be the issue here as I recently started ballasting this area. It is ballasted far after where the Allegheny quit but still could have been an issue for it as well. I can't rule out anything yet.

 I have the Allegheny apart on the bench. It's dead. Bricked out, no response. Shell is off and smoke unit unplugged. All mechanical parts seem in order. Flywheel spins very easily and fully around. I have to test further for motor condition and shorts. I was in the process of doing that when the layout started acting up here.

 I would think the rail condition wasn't the issue as the lights remain steady and I have full control. But hey! I am open to anything with these things. I will clean the rails and retest when I am prepared for more failures. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe some new ballast is shorting the blocks together or some other weird occurrence that I wasn't looking at yet.

 That's what I get for starting scenery on my plywood.

well I can tell u this if your ballast has capacitance it will effect DCS signal that's why a 220 uh choke coil is used when you install a MTH engine kit   whether steam or diesel  , if you don't install the 220uh choke coil inside your steam engine dcs will not work at all! all ask me how I know! and it has be put in the right place inside your engine ! does your ballast contact 2 rails together center rail and outside rail that would may cause some capacitance which may interfere! I still would also try a different TIU like I suggested earlier!

p.s. if you would like I would test your boards in my test set to confirm there ok, and at that point you would know it is an engine issue or harness or pinched wire or anything not the boards!!

Last edited by Alan Mancus

I hate it when I can't think clearly. I cleaned the section of the layout where the sound was cutting out but did not believe that was the issue. I still had good control and response from the engines there. I took my own advice from another post about this issue.

I ran the consist again today. This time as I was running it, I accelerated to 45 MPH after stretching the train out at about 10MPH. As soon as the engines reached full speed, the sound cut out. So I knew what it was now. It wasn't that spot on the layout. This was an old consist (lash-up) already in the remote. As soon as I turned the clickity clack off, all sounds worked just as they should.

 I want to guess that the clickity clack is coming on by default again? or maybe it's from an older version of DCS biting me here?

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-3-sound-cutting-out

from what I remember clickity clack does not come on by default, I have always had to turn it on if I wanted to use it but glad you figured it out Joe .hope everything else is working again. I know for sure that clickety clack takes about a minute to engage ounce you turn it on and start train running, while clickity clack it on it cuts out any out sounds effects from your engine  when you slow the speed below 25 the clickety clack turns off and normal engine sounds return again!

Alan

Last edited by Alan Mancus

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