# will mth DCS Remote Commander power lionel engine



## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

i have a mix of lionel and mth (proto /prot 2.0) engines 
as well as a williams 


the mth remote commander intrigues me and id like a system to remote control my engines that's not stupid expensive (under 100$)


will this system 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/311593175693?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2661&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
at least power and run all my engines 

i dont really care if it wont run the sound on the lionel and Williams engines as long as it powers and controls fwd and reverse


i like the idea of the mth commander because my mth engines have more sounds than the lionel ones 


if this will not work anyone have any other recommendations


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## emmetd (Aug 1, 2012)

the remote commander puts dc to the track. the lionel type whistle will always be blowing.

i ment to edit and did two posts. how do i delete one:dunno:


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## emmetd (Aug 1, 2012)

the remote commander puts dc to track. lionel type whistle will always be blowing. i tried
one. no longer use it. up for sale.


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## wsboyette (Jan 25, 2014)

I'm afraid that in order to do what you want to do, you will have to get over your fear of spending money and come off the hip for digital control equipment. If you just want to run Lionel and Williams locos in conventional mode, and MTH PS-2 or 3 locos in digital command mode, then you will need only the MTH DCS, which goes for just under $300. If you want to run Lionels in digital command mode also, you will need the Lionel Legacy system, which goes for around $200. Both systems can be used concurrently, and with both you can run anything made since 1900 via remote.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

The DCS Remote Commander has no power capability at all. It requires a separate transformer to operate. It's ONLY purpose in life is to allow command control of ONE PS/2 or PS/3 locomotive using it's IR remote. It won't cause the horn to continually blow as the only thing it's doing is sending a low level 3.27mhz control signal down the rails, non-MTH locomotives will not know it's there.


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## wsboyette (Jan 25, 2014)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> The DCS Remote Commander has no power capability at all. It requires a separate transformer to operate. It's ONLY purpose in life is to allow command control of ONE PS/2 or PS/3 locomotive using it's IR remote. It won't cause the horn to continually blow as the only thing it's doing is sending a low level 3.27mhz control signal down the rails, non-MTH locomotives will not know it's there.


Are we talking about the same DCS here, John ? The one I have and was referring to has a handheld remote and a track interface unit, and will run multiple PS-2/3 locos in digital command mode, or a single conventional loco in conventional mode. It also may be interfaced via serial ports with a Lionel Command base, so that the DCS remote will operate digital TMCC/Legacy) Lionels as well.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

I think you are talking about the DCS commander or the full dcs system. The OP is asking about the remote commander which can only command 1 engine independently.


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## wsboyette (Jan 25, 2014)

L0stS0ul said:


> I think you are talking about the DCS commander or the full dcs system. The OP is asking about the remote commander which can only command 1 engine independently.


Oh, I see, John ! I was not even aware of that particular controller, I do have the full DCS system, and I'm sure the DCS Commander costs a lot less....


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

L0stS0ul said:


> I think you are talking about the DCS commander or the full dcs system. The OP is asking about the remote commander which can only command 1 engine independently.


yup that's the unit im talking about 

i have a very basic layout 
and dont need to run multiple engines at one time 

but i do want a wireless remote option 
(getting tired holding my 1 yr old up to the xformer for hours lol)
my 1 yr old loves the lion chief controllers 
so the above mentioned controller looks to be an ideal solution 

so back to my original ? would it suffice to run all my engines *without sound* without any problems. I.E run forward and reverse and idle. and then when running one of my mth proto 2.0 engines i can run sound 


guess at 50$ i can always just throw a toggle switch on my lockons and run either the wireless dcs remote or my lionel 80 transformer depending on what engine is on the track 


as you can see by my layout i have absolutely no need for a crazy 50 button master controller just a basic wireless remote

really just somthing that does exactly what my lionel 80 transformer is doing just wireless


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## josef (Jun 20, 2015)

I have the Legacy system, my train buddy has TMCC and DSC. I was thinking of adding DSC to my layout and wanted to try TMCC engines out using his DSC. So in past couple weeks been bringing different engines over and putting them into his handheld. (when he comes he only brings his TMCC engines). One reason I was considering adding DSC was so he and maybe others could also bring their DSC engines over to un, and I was seriously considering the new MT 44 Tonner.
I was disappointed in the startup speed of all the TMCC engines I have brought over so far and tried DSC. Seems the first setting of the thumbwheel to get engines, handheld shows 1, starting down the tracks were fast, and had to turn thumbwheel down to 0, and sometimes turn down more to get the crawl speed. 
You might want to try your TMCC engines on a DSC system before buying. 
Or as some have answered me run TMCC on TMCC controllers and DSC engines with the DSC controllers. Something I wanted to get away from, having 2 or 3 controllers in my hands.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

First off, if you have TMCC engines that have poor low speed control, my guess is they do not have cruise control. This is a fairly easy add-on for most modular TMCC locomotives, and will totally change the way you look at them.

As far as the DCS Remote Commander, before you run a DCS locomotive on it, it MUST be reset to factory defaults. That can only be done with a full DCS system. Only the very latest PS/3 locomotives have a provision to be reset by the DCS-RC, anything older than in 2014 need a full DCS system to reset them.


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## wsboyette (Jan 25, 2014)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> First off, if you have TMCC engines that have poor low speed control, my guess is they do not have cruise control. This is a fairly easy add-on for most modular TMCC locomotives, and will totally change the way you look at them.
> 
> As far as the DCS Remote Commander, before you run a DCS locomotive on it, it MUST be reset to factory defaults. That can only be done with a full DCS system. Only the very latest PS/3 locomotives have a provision to be reset by the DCS-RC, anything older than in 2014 need a full DCS system to reset them.


Now ain't that just like MTH ? They have the oddest quirks with their electronics. Like the old PS-1 DCRUs getting scrambled memory and not working properly until a descrambling EPROM is inserted and the unit powered up. I had a Big Boy that would only run in reverse until its DCRU memory was descrambled. Just crazy, Man ! And Man, are they hard to get electronic parts out of - they want to try to force you to send your loco to one of their service centers. I am so glad I found an MTH service guy who will work with me and sell me the boards I need on an exchange basis.... I like to do my own work. If I upgrade my older MTH PS-1 locos to digital, I'm going to install TMCC decoders (Lionel type) from the Electric RR Company in them !


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## TJSmith (Nov 16, 2015)

dicgolfer72 said:


> yup that's the unit im talking about
> 
> i have a very basic layout
> and dont need to run multiple engines at one time
> ...



Looks like to me you either have a Lionel Lioncheif engine or Lionchief+. If so he can use the remote to run that engine.


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

thanks for all the info everyone 

i just went ahead and answered my own ?

picked up a rtr railking santa fe set on the cheap that included the wireless ir remote setup

works like a champ runs no different than using my Lionel 80 xformer 
runs every engine i have (that's not lion chief) and runs all the sounds 
Lionel/mth/Williams 
the only real difference is you cant cram the throttle up and down real fast 
but that's a good thing when a 1 yr old is manning the controls 

i picked up the set because i liked the look of the santafe engine included (wanted to try the remote to lol).
engine looks as good as i expected, but wow the sounds are poo


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That IR remote is different than the DCS Remote Commander, that one is designed to actually control the track power. I predict that an MTH repair person will be hearing from you at some point, those had a tendency to eat their driver triacs.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

I believe those also usually came with locosound engines. The sounds are very poo like


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