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Only with ONE of the three Lionel Universal Remotes do I experience some random Horn triggers, and sometimes an engine would just stop momentarily, like it lost the RF signal from the remote .  I don't experience this using my Legacy or CAB1, just the Universal Remotes.  Of course, the Legacy and the old TrainMaster is a different technology altogether.    Is it possible some structures on my layout itself are affecting the Bluetooth radio wave??  Maybe some of the taller metal structures? The two engines are a Legacy 4-6-0  Camel Back and the Amtrak Genesis 40.   Strange why I don't experience this with my 2 other Universal Remotes programmed with two  LC+2.0  ET44AC Diesels, a Legacy Cotton Belt GP7 , an A5 0-4-0 Switcher , the little Granite 0-6-0T Switcher ??  I'm think perhaps it's the profile height of the engines, or where the internal antenna is???  BUT, if that was the case, the tiny Granite 0-6-0T Switcher would also be problematic.  Totally STUMPED by this.

Or, of course, it could just be that ONE UNIVERSAL REMOTE???  Just wondering if anyone else has experienced a "flaky" Universal Remote??  Can it be that some engine's boards are just more sensitive to the Bluetooth signal, and some are not? Here are the two engines that don't "play nice" on the same Universal Remote, but programmed SEPARATELY on TWO DIFFERENT Universal remotes, are just fine- again- STUMPED.

One more "quirk"- If I raise the VOLUME of both engines FULLY (pressing and holding the "Shift" button while turning the knob), I can eliminate the random horns and engine stalls.  I'm certainly no electrical engineer, but it's almost like turning the volume down somehow is decreasing the signal strength, which may be causing these random "dropouts" ????? Anyone experience this??

And, finally, here's my totally overcrowded 5x8 Layout- a work that's been "in progress" FOREVER.........



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Last edited by jpepe3691
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Couple of things

1 I have seen legacy locomotives blow their whistle/horn when a Bluetooth device disconnects (app or UR) so long story short that remote just doesn’t stay connected.

I’ll have to look for it but there was was a thread a while back on different models of the UR. If you look at some of the identifying numbers on the back of the remote like FCC ID you may find that they are different indicating a different Bluetooth or RF module was used.

I've abandoned the Universal remote and BT in general for my operations.  My TMCC/Legacy/DCS systems work perfectly for all my locomotives everywhere on the layout, so I see no reason to subject myself to the vagaries of BT operation and the frustrations that come with it.

My layout, including the yard extension it about a total of 38 feet long, and there's nowhere I can stand and get reliable running with a BT locomotive over the entire layout.  The only way to use BT here is to follow the engine around and keep within 10-12 feet of it.  That's not "remote control", that's silly.

I have a Universal remote for testing and for any repairs that come in without a remote, but it lays dormant near the workbench 99.9% of the time.

Thanks, John. I just knew I could always depend on an honest, and straightforward answer from you. I had a hunch that I was "beating a dead horse" with these orange Universal remotes. It wasn't making any sense no matter how I juggled the remotes and engines around. Some combinations worked, and some didn't. And, like you said- as long as we get consistent and reliable performance from the CAB1 or CAB2 remotes, why bother?  I'll admit that sometimes I'm just too lazy to turn the Legacy on, and punch in the engine number/s of whatever engines I want to run.   I stuck P-touch labels with the engine names on the orange UR's, and it was a lot easier to just turn them on, press 1,2, or 3, and turn the wheel. Of course without all the Legacy features. Easier, but NOT RELIABLE.

Thanks for verifying my hunch, and saving my sanity!! (or whatever is left)

I got rid of any of the LC or LC+ stuff I had, I will only consider LC+ 2.0 from this day forward.  That way it's unimportant if it runs with BT, because I don't use it.  FWIW, the Legacy locomotives I have with BT have the same issues, so it's a universal issue with the current generation of BT.  However all of these engines run great with Legacy/TMCC.

Now, the fanboys are going to sprout up and offer up the fact that Lionel is upgrading the BT on current engines and their upcoming BASE3.  That may be true, but that doesn't solve the problem of all the existing engines that have the crappy short range board in them.

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