MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS

Each of these brief articles point outs and clarifies DCS features that will make your Proto-Sound 2.0 (and TMCC) locomotives more fun, more realistic, and more interesting to operate. If you haven?t yet tried DCS, we hope these articles will entice you to visit a DCS Demo Center, pickup up a handheld controller, and see what you?re missing!

Article #1 - Acceleration/Deceleration

Have you ever wanted to have your engines accelerate and decelerate in a way that reflects the type of load they?re pulling? An engine pulling a heavy load takes longer to get rolling and longer to brake to a stop. On the other hand, a switcher kicking a few cars around a yard can start and stop relatively quickly.

In addition, various engines are designed to provide different rates of acceleration depending on their intended service, such as smaller-drivered drag freight engines and high-stepping passenger locos that are fast out of the gate. If you operate MTH Proto-Sound 2.0 (PS2) engines in DCS command mode, you already have the ability to control how fast your engine accelerates when speed is increased and how quickly it slows when speed is decreased.

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Article #2 - Record & Playback

Record/Playback allows you to record an operating session on your layout and play it back any time you want. Your trains can run all by themselves, going through pre-scripted scenarios that you have designed. Why would you want to do that, instead of running your trains yourself? When you have visitors, you might want to use record/playback so you can talk with your guests while the layout runs itself. Or you might want one loop or part of your layout to run automatically while you run another part manually. For club layouts, record/playback is ideal for showing off the layout at open houses.

You can use a pre-scripted scenario to have passenger trains pull into stations, make announcements and pull out again. Freight trains can stop in the yard and go through maintenance routines before moving back onto the mainline. Your locomotives can automatically sound a whistle or horn at a railroad crossing, clang the bell to alert rail fans to get out of the way, or stop at a crossing track to let another train go by. Record/Playback scripts can activate switches to allow complex routes, and can include both Proto-Sound? 2.0 and Lionel? TrainMaster? Command Control (TMCC?) engines.

If you own a DCS TIU and handheld remote (and a TMCC Command Base and TIU connector cable if you?re running TMCC engines), you already have everything you need to record an operating session and play it back. If you want switches and accessories to operate automatically, you?ll also need an Accessory Interface Unit (AIU), the DCS component that controls switches and accessories.

Although the Record/Playback feature involves a number of steps, we think you?ll find it?s easy to do and a lot of fun. We hope you?ll print out this email, take it into your train room, and just play around.

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Article #3 - Tuning Engine Sounds

Much like an audio mixer, the DCS handheld allows you to adjust the relative volumes of various engine sounds. If an operating session gets too noisy, for example, you might want to lower the steam chuff or diesel roar but keep your bells, whistles, and horns at full volume. Or perhaps you like the crew conversation in a particular engine and would like to make it more prominent. All this is possible on an individual basis for each PS2 engine you?re running.

In addition, various auxiliary sounds such as squealing brakes and clickety-clack can be turned on or off, and you can change the chuff rate on steam engines. No other model engines offer nearly as many different sounds ? and the ability to customize them to your preference ? as PS2 locomotives under DCS control.

A partial list of sounds available in all PS2 engines includes: whistle or horn, bell, squealing brakes, coupler slack, coupler open, variable chuff rate, engine sounds (steam chuff, diesel prime mover, or electric engine cooling fans), cab chatter, clickety-clack, freight yard or passenger station sounds, and a variety of other accent sounds. All of these sounds can be activated or deactivated at will in any PS2 engine, from the least expensive RailKing or Rugged Rails model to top-of-the-line Premier locomotives. Both the overall volume for all engine sounds and the relative levels of many individual sounds can be adjusted remotely from the DCS handheld, without ever touching an engine.

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Article #4 - Smoke Level & Labor/Drift

M.T.H. locomotives ? One-gauge, O gauge, and now HO gauge ? are known for having the best smoke in model railroading. At times, however, the smoke has been known to overpower our layout rooms! With DCS, you now have the ability to customize the smoke output from your smoking PS2 engines and also to mimic the way real engines behave. The DCS handheld allows you to adjust the smoke volume in several ways.

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Article #5 - Creating Routes

While the DCS handheld allows you to be an engineer, it also lets you act as a switch tower operator. Have you ever wanted to throw several switch tracks at once? Maybe you needed to set a route out of a freight yard, or traverse several switches to move a passenger train from one mainline to another. Or perhaps you needed to throw two or more switches to route a train through a reversing loop. The Routes feature allows you to set up routes on your layout that you use frequently, and program multiple switches to change with a single command. Each Route can contain up to 250 turnouts, and each DCS handheld can store up to 15 routes.

In order to use Routes, you must first have your switches wired into an AIU (Accessory Interface Unit) connected to your TIU (Track Interface Unit). This allows individual control of each switch from your handheld. Wiring and setup instructions for switches are contained in the AIU manual, which can be found online at www.protosound2.com in the DCS Service section.

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Article #6 - Creating Scenes

The Scenes feature lets you set up several accessories to activate with a single command, rather than having to select them individually from the Accessory list. You might, for example, set up a number of scenes featuring operating accessories, operating cars, lighting effects, etc. along your main line and activate each one as a train rolls though the scene. As with switches, accessories, remote control tracks, or lights must first be connected to an AIU. Note that switches or accessories that are part of a route or scene can still be operated individually from the handheld.

In order to use Scenes, you must first have your accessories wired into an AIU (Accessory Interface Unit) connected to your TIU (Track Interface Unit). This allows individual control of each accessory from your handheld. Wiring and setup instructions for accessories are contained in the AIU manual, which can be found online at www.protosound2.com in the DCS Service section.

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Article #7 - ALL Engines

As you already know, DCS allows you to operate several locomotives independently at the same time. By using the ENG key on the handheld to switch between active engines, you can issue commands to any one engine without affecting other engines. In contrast, the ALL Engines feature makes all active PS2 engines run at the same speed and respond to the same commands ? speed changes, direction, bell, whistle, etc. ? at the same time.

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DCS ? simply the best way to run a railroad!