I just wired in a used system and have no power out of the TIS. I suspect it needs to be reset and started over. Help! Thanks again.
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Do you have power going into Fixed 1 ?
Are you using an auxiliary power supply ?
Are you getting a blink out of the TIU ? Showing that it’s TIU 1.
If you do a read. Does the remote find your TIU ?
@Dave_C posted:Do you have power going into Fixed 1 ?
Are you using an auxiliary power supply ?
Are you getting a blink out of the TIU ? Showing that it’s TIU 1.
If you do a read. Does the remote find your TIU ?
... and have you read the instructions? 
Was on variable 1,switched to fixed 1. Ditch lights light on engine . I believe I deleted all of the engines on the remote. Won't find the engine on the remote. Remote says CHECK TRACK, I have a drop on this section and cleaned it before placing engine on track
Do you have a separate piece of track you can attach the outputs from Fixed 1 to. You could use this as a quick programming track. This should get your engine up and running and will check out the TIU. You should have a 10 in your signal test. If it works. You will then have to deal with the layout and perhaps some wiring issues.
Re reading your post. The engines were in the remote. You mentioned deleting them. How did you get them in there? Is the layout new to DCS ?
Are you Just adding another TIU and remote and are now running in Super mode ?
You haven't answered the basic questions in the first two replies. You need to figure out if the TIU is on correctly.
What I have is a used system that had a lot of engines in the dcs.The engine I'm using was part of the collection. I have power thru tis, red light lit. Test light shows power, ditch lights on. Actually got it to move from remote but no sound or smoke,could also move it from the transformer both F&B. Tried a different engine that would not be in this system, nothing at all. Read finds the tis and 2 ais. Add sequence shows >24 in the sys. could have been it's #. Transformer,track,switches are different for this. Be nice if there was a way to wipe everything back to original settings and go from the manual.
When you got the engine to move with the remote. After you selected the engine to run from the menu. Did you hit the Start up Button. MTH engines will run in what’s called stealth mode. No sounds. But will move forward and back. See if you can get the engine moving again. Once it’s moving it will stay moving. You may not have good control of it as far as throttle or response to button pressures. Scroll through your soft keys and find Track Signal. Select it and see report back as to what you have for a number. It’s liable to be all over the place.
It still would be in your best interest to set up a temporary programming track. Just to take your layout out of the equation. Your only dealing with the DCS and the engine. If the engine sees a poor track signal on your layout. You can hit startup and move the throttle all day long and the engine won’t respond.
Will do
@Jim Van Every posted:...Be nice if there was a way to wipe everything back to original settings and go from the manual.
So if you read the DCS manual that comes with these systems (or online link provided above) You'd learn that it's simple to clear out the info inside.
There are commands to reset the DCS remote, and the DCS TIU to clear all info out. You would then have to add any engines back into the system.
I just have a feeling that you don't know how to use the system. If I'm wrong, so be it. If I'm right, we'd have a lot of explaining to do......
there are plenty of ways to learn about using the DCS system. You could watch a video if you prefer like these from Ray M.
or similar ones on utube.
Thanks,I found it on page 70. Thought it would be in setup or quick setup.
Wiped it clean set up a test track and programed both engines. Got no response on the regular track. Have to wait to clean regular track. Thank you
@Jim Van Every posted:Wiped it clean set up a test track and programed both engines. Got no response on the regular track. Have to wait to clean regular track. Thank you
Yes, clean it for sure. Also, you need to break a loop of track in at least one spot so that the signal doesn't double back on itself.
You also should remove any powered piece of equipment and test the track signal strength with the layout hooked up. You may have offending pieces of equipment pulling down the signal. Your track joints, wiring, etc. need to be solid to carry the signal. I would recommend using #14 stranded wire to power the track.
If it's an older model TIU, you may need to add filters to the track blocks.
Look on the bottom of the TIU and tell us what model revision you have.
Just how much track are you connecting?
@Engineer-Joe posted:
.................Also, you need to break a loop of track in at least one spot so that the signal doesn't double back on itself.
A sidenote Joe.
DCS , TIU ( REV L / 6.1 ) DCS remote............ inside loop over and under figure 8................outside loop double track over and under . All on 16'×5' layout.
Do I need to cut positive and ground connections at one juncture ? I never did this before. What symptoms sometime occur if this is not done ?
Not sure about the " sour mash " Joe but I can handle the Manischewitz BlackBerry at $ 15.89 per gallon . 🙃🍷
Let's assume you have your transformer feeding power into the TIU and your TIU has 4 power drops per loop and your loops are electrically connected. That means when you send a signal from your remote, the engine is receiving the same signal from 4-8 different locations at the same time and that can result in signal overload and spotty performance issues with DCS.
Not all layouts experience this problem, so if you're not having an issue then you don't need to cut the layout into track blocks.
If you are, it is only the center rail that is cut. If you think in simplest terms of one large loop, say 30' X 5', you would cut the track into 4 equal sections - half-way down each straight and in the center of each curve. That would divide the layout into 4 quadrants. You would then run a power drop to the approximate center of each quadrant. That way, when the engine is physically in each section, it is only receiving the signal from the power drop in that quadrant and, thus, no confusion and no control issues.
Simply apply the above principle to your layout if needed.
I could use a glass of that Manischevitz about now.
I was thinking over your reply and I did concur with Barry on a point. It seems more reliable to connect each block at one end (and then add a filter with older TIUs at the other). I had a block with a center connection and experienced weird results when certain engines were run nearby. It solved the issue when I moved the track connection to the end of that block. So I have to say that it might be better to connect at the ends. The nice thing about that way is when you run wires, you run a pair to each half of an oval. You connect one wire to each end running apart. That can be better for running shorter wire lengths and may be easier.
I was able to put both engines into dcs. I'm thinking that I have masking tape on quite a bit as we are balasting. I hope the glue is dry. Then i'm going to use a sanding pad especially on the center. Then alcohol (for the track) and hope. I have 18 drops on somewhere around 240' ft of track Thanks again
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