Original Cab 1 and TMCC base vs Cab 1L and Base-1L

I do have the cab1L base 1L combo (been about a year and a half to two years) after using the original TMCC set up. Ive been happy with it but am currently trying  to figure out if there is a way to use the old power masters and TMCC stuff with it.  I have  the reissue of the ZW with bricks and hadn't needed to reuse the TMCC power masters before but now have expanded the layout.

You may be able to use the old PowerMasters with the Legacy #996 PowerMaster Bridge.  I can't find anything that states the bridge works with the BASE1L as well as the Legacy Command base, but the serial data should be the same.  The Western Depot has them for $60.

https://www.westerndepot.com/p...hp/products_id/39723

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You may be able to use the old PowerMasters with the Legacy #996 PowerMaster Bridge.  I can't find anything that states the bridge works with the BASE1L as well as the Legacy Command base, but the serial data should be the same.  The Western Depot has them for $60.

https://www.westerndepot.com/p...hp/products_id/39723

In that vain, will a TPC400 work with Cab1L/Base-1L? And while I have you, do you have any info or suggestions about my OP?

Yes Rick, it works just fine.  You'll likely have the same issue as the Legacy command base in that the serial data doesn't have the massive drive capability of the old BASE1, so you may need a serial port buffer if you have too many devices on the serial line.  The #990 and the BASE1L use a standard RS-232 driver chip that doesn't offer the OOMPH as the old BASE1 serial output did.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Yes Rick, it works just fine.  You'll likely have the same issue as the Legacy command base in that the serial data doesn't have the massive drive capability of the old BASE1, so you may need a serial port buffer if you have too many devices on the serial line.  The #990 and the BASE1L use a standard RS-232 driver chip that doesn't offer the OOMPH as the old BASE1 serial output did.

So it sounds like you're saying the Base1 gives out more serial data and has more oomph (or power, or signal) than the newer Base1L? And what about the speed control? Are they the same or is the Cab1L better somehow?

The general concensus has been (and it was part of Lionel's design) that performance of TMCC-equipped engines is improved with the use of Legacy, including better speed control. That has been my experience as well.

@breezinup posted:

The general concensus has been (and it was part of Lionel's design) that performance of TMCC-equipped engines is improved with the use of Legacy, including better speed control. That has been my experience as well.

Thank you. That’s the answer I was looking for. Now I have to decide if I want to spring for the bucks!

The Cab1 speed control logic presumes the original TMCC 32 speed steps.  The Legacy Cab2 can configure an engine profile for ERR's 100 speed steps.  I don't know if the Cab1L has that feature.  With K-Line's 125 speed steps, I could never use the red knob to get speeds beyond slow.  The boost button gets the speed up and I could trim with the red knob.  In any case, I have observed poor and erratic engine response from bases that were outputting a bad TMCC signal.  Replacing the base was the solution.

Once upon a time, Serial I/O voltages were up to +/- 15v and a lot of devices could be powered on a multi-drop line.  My work in the 80's had up to 32 devices on a line.  Then newer serial chips came out that used an operating voltage of 5v and +/- 5v for signalling.   Motherboards no longer had to provide 12v to the SIO chips.   Multi-drop SIO became tenuous.  A project I was doing using TI's one wire serial interface was abandoned because new notebooks (the host controllers) used the low power chips and couldn't drive the interface.

Lionel's solution today is the LCI SER2 device.  Since multiple SER2s can be on the PDI buss, weak signal on multi-dropped devices can be solved by spitting the devices between two SER2s.

@Tracker John posted:

The Cab1 speed control logic presumes the original TMCC 32 speed steps.  The Legacy Cab2 can configure an engine profile for ERR's 100 speed steps.  I don't know if the Cab1L has that feature.  With K-Line's 125 speed steps, I could never use the red knob to get speeds beyond slow.  The boost button gets the speed up and I could trim with the red knob.  In any case, I have observed poor and erratic engine response from bases that were outputting a bad TMCC signal.  Replacing the base was the solution.

Once upon a time, Serial I/O voltages were up to +/- 15v and a lot of devices could be powered on a multi-drop line.  My work in the 80's had up to 32 devices on a line.  Then newer serial chips came out that used an operating voltage of 5v and +/- 5v for signalling.   Motherboards no longer had to provide 12v to the SIO chips.   Multi-drop SIO became tenuous.  A project I was doing using TI's one wire serial interface was abandoned because new notebooks (the host controllers) used the low power chips and couldn't drive the interface.

Lionel's solution today is the LCI SER2 device.  Since multiple SER2s can be on the PDI buss, weak signal on multi-dropped devices can be solved by spitting the devices between two SER2s.

 

Thank you for that reply. I've always had a feeling with a new base I could get better performance out of all my TMCC locos. I have a small but nice TMCC collection and I'd like to run them more often.