Hi Fellow Garden Railers,

[TimGDB]

I believe I was on this site when I first purchased LGB digital 12-13 years ago and went on a mad buying spree and have too much stock and subsequently bought some Accucraft and one Cheddar live steam but have not really done anything for 3-4 years. My eldest grandson is now 8 and interested, specially in the sound locos, and I have just reopened a basic circuit with passing loops and spurs to a shed and the start of going to the rest of the garden which is on steep slopes so not ideal and requiring height reducing curves. I am coming to terms with what I’ve forgotten about LGB digital,!! but making some progress but would appreciate some HELP.
Current principal problem is my LGB wireless controller and transmitter both numbered 55055p but my instructions book is marked 55015p. I have fitted new batteries and red light - not flashing -on OK and red light showing on aerial when connected to the Bus. However, having followed all instructions though the selecting F2 successfully I cannot do anything further, ie trying to select a loco the 0 remains and I cannot programme through the usual - - option. During storage the 4 wire lead from the aerial to the Bus socket of the controller was cut and I’ve reconnected with screw connection joiners, could this be the problem even though the power is clearly connected, perhaps the joiners do not allow transmission of the digital signals?

 

[JimmyB]

Tim, welcome to the forum, if you have visited before you will know its a bit of a madhouse.

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi Tim, welcome to the forum.
55015 is a Universal Remote. This should have Buttons for the Speed that than a twirdly Knob yes?
55055 is the RC receiver a small box about 40-50 Mm in size. This receives the Radio Signal from your handset.

However the handset can have 2 devices. One with an Aerial which is for RC. The other with a Wire that will connect your Handset direct. Suggest that you try this route I.E no Radio to see that the Controller is working OK. Google 55015 and you should see a pic of what I am referring to, it is a smallish red Case with long wire that should plug into the top of your Hand Controller once you have removed the Aerial.

From what you are saying this should prove your system and possibly indicate that the Wire that was cut may have caused damage inside the RC Reciever, these things can be a little fickle especially if the cut was done when there was some power around, possibly latent power inside any of the units.

As an aside I also found that after a long time out of use my LGB Radio System was little short of useless. Not sure why.

 

[PhilP]

I would try the above first..

If you have not stripped the cables too well, before putting them in the 'choc-block', you may not have all the connections..

I would strip the wires, twist them together (like-for-like) with a good 12mm of bare twisted wire.
I would then feed these twisted ends into the choc-block (from one side only) and tighten both screws onto the wire. - This should give a good connection, and protect / insulate your joints.

 

[PhilP]

Oh! Welcome back!

 

[dunnyrail]

I would try the above first..

If you have not stripped the cables too well, before putting them in the 'choc-block', you may not have all the connections..

I would strip the wires, twist them together (like-for-like) with a good 12mm of bare twisted wire.
I would then feed these twisted ends into the choc-block (from one side only) and tighten both screws onto the wire. - This should give a good connection, and protect / insulate your joints.

I also suspect that the Cable will be that thin wispy stuff that is very difficult to strip without trashing a few of the strands. Always worthwhile to Solder the ends as well if you can, helps to stop the screw trashing the wires when putting into the block.

 

[TimGDB]

Hi Tim, welcome to the forum.
55015 is a Universal Remote. This should have Buttons for the Speed that than a twirdly Knob yes?
55055 is the RC receiver a small box about 40-50 Mm in size. This receives the Radio Signal from your handset.

However the handset can have 2 devices. One with an Aerial which is for RC. The other with a Wire that will connect your Handset direct. Suggest that you try this route I.E no Radio to see that the Controller is working OK. Google 55015 and you should see a pic of what I am referring to, it is a smallish red Case with long wire that should plug into the top of your Hand Controller once you have removed the Aerial.

From what you are saying this should prove your system and possibly indicate that the Wire that was cut may have caused damage inside the RC Reciever, these things can be a little fickle especially if the cut was done when there was some power around, possibly latent power inside any of the units.

As an aside I also found that after a long time out of use my LGB Radio System was little short of useless. Not sure why.

 

[tac foley]

Go for battery powered r/c and forget all that DCC stuff. A degree in electrical engineering is not necessary, they say, but it sure do help.

 

[TimGDB]

Thanks Jon,
A real Homer Simpson Doohh moment, your guidance made me check the identification no’s. and I had clipped the 55050p aerial section into the 55015 direct handset rather than the 55015p and it worked, so I’m now live for wireless operation, great , but.......now inserting the detachable top section numbered 55015/16 into my direct to Bus 55015 handset the only display I get is 5/S - - 0 and no response to F2 to select a loco so back to square one, ie only one functioning handset ? The implication of this is that the shell/ circuit board part of my 55015 is faulty. Additional info is this has a white capital P on a black circle at the very bottom of the reverse side and when I first connect the red reset button at the top flashes but it resets on one push and doesn’t short again.??
Pics attached. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Tim

 

[TimGDB]

I would try the above first..

If you have not stripped the cables too well, before putting them in the 'choc-block', you may not have all the connections..

I would strip the wires, twist them together (like-for-like) with a good 12mm of bare twisted wire.
I would then feed these twisted ends into the choc-block (from one side only) and tighten both screws onto the wire. - This should give a good connection, and protect / insulate your joints.

 

[tac foley]

 

[dunnyrail]

Ideally all of the kit should have a P this is the Paralell LGB equipment. Prior to the P all was Analogue. Though both should work together they can be some issues if compatibility. A Handset with a P and a plug in without can certainly be a compatibility issue if Inremember right. To be in full understanding have you got something working trains?

 

[Zerogee]

Ideally all of the kit should have a P this is the Paralell LGB equipment. Prior to the P all was Analogue. ......

Not nitpicking, JonD, but just for the sake of clarity for those following this thread this I think you meant to say that prior to the "P", everything was SERIAL....?

Jon.

 

[dunnyrail]

Not nitpicking, JonD, but just for the sake of clarity for those following this thread this I think you meant to say that prior to the "P", everything was SERIAL....?

Jon.

Right and sorry for the lapse of memory!

 

[TimGDB]

Ideally all of the kit should have a P this is the Paralell LGB equipment. Prior to the P all was Analogue. Though both should work together they can be some issues if compatibility. A Handset with a P and a plug in without can certainly be a compatibility issue if Inremember right. To be in full understanding have you got something working trains?

Hi Jon,
Yes, either the wireless or the direct to Bus plug-ins work the trains perfectly connected to the 55015p handset but the 55015 I attached the picture of just shows the S - - 2 message and green light above the F key and yellow at the top. When I select F2 it sometimes quickly tries to get up the two - - ready for the loco address but athey disappear immediately before any input possible so obviously some partial recognition but not enough to make it operational

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi Jon,
Yes, either the wireless or the direct to Bus plug-ins work the trains perfectly connected to the 55015p handset but the 55015 I attached the picture of just shows the S - - 2 message and green light above the F key and yellow at the top. When I select F2 it sometimes quickly tries to get up the two - - ready for the loco address but athey disappear immediately before any input possible so obviously some partial recognition but not enough to make it operational

Sounds like the 55015 is not a P = Paralell Handset, as this it is partially but not completely incompatible. When my friend started with LGB MTS his System was the Serial System and I believe we had incompatibility issue with any P gear that we tried to connect. He eventually got a Massoth System that with a special Reciever worked the P kit quite well, but not that good so he got Massoth Handsets as well, part trading in his old Serial Kit for some of them. Not an option these days as the LGB MTS Kit you have is now considered ‘Old Hat”. Sorry about that but things do move on. Plus side is that with newer kit most of the Chips appear to work OK. That is providing you get your Speed Steps right on Massoth.

 

[TimGDB]

Hi Jon,
as i have about 15 LGB locos of which 11 have LGB decoders, 6 with sound, and my 55015p works perfectly well with the transformer and central station what i need is another, preferably wireless, handset to allow two operators. I accept LGB is now 'old hat' but cannot afford £1,000+ for a brand new system, what i have already cost enough, and i was in work rather than retired when i had my initial splurge then, and - as my lady friend often reminds me, 'don't waste any more money on trains you never use!' But.....my grandson is now 8 and we had a good session last week.

Given that LGB's original MTS system came out in conjunction with Massoth i presume a new or pre-owned MassothHandset will do the job. Browsing some websites I saw a Massoth DiMAX Navigator Cab 8134001 advertised by DCC Supplies of Worcester for £150 but currently out of stock. It states it is compatible with LGB so is this OK or could you advise on others? If it easier to talk by phone than all this 2 fingered typing and you feel able, please feel free to call me on 01792 215294 or 07804 826024, I used to be in a G scale society group for the Swansea/west Wales area but that is now defunct and there's not even one in South Wales based in Cardiff. I subsequently joined the 16mm Society but it is very live steam - and i do have 3 hardly ever used live steam locos- and 32mm gauge orientated and had no groups or members near me so I'm somewhat isolated.

I note you are a Hartzbahn fan and I'm a great lover of European and former Yugoslavian 'Bosnian' narrow gauge. I was lucky enough to go on several Austrian lines- including the Zillertal and Zell am See - Kaprun when 13years old in the mid 60's on a family holiday and have all the appropriate LGB models of locos and coaches that ran on both systems. In my later teens, my brother and i went on the Dubrovnik to Capljina section of the Bosnian system under Tito's 'not so Communist as the rest' Yugoslavia and though the train staff hadn't objected to us taking pictures at the many stops en route the police at Capljina - junction with the standard gauge mainline to Mostar - took our camera and confiscated the cartridge from our Instamatic camera :-( !! Tragedy. I recently bought a newly published colour photo book from Mainline and Maritime entitled 'DDR steam 40 years ago' which has some great Hartzbahn photos and of the delightful Saxon Meyers, of which I have a sound version and is my favourite LGB, on the Wolkenstein - Johstadt line which is featured on the cover.
best wishes,
Tim

-

 

[Zerogee]

Hi Jon,
as i have about 15 LGB locos of which 11 have LGB decoders, 6 with sound, and my 55015p works perfectly well with the transformer and central station what i need is another, preferably wireless, handset to allow two operators. I accept LGB is now 'old hat' but cannot afford £1,000+ for a brand new system, what i have already cost enough, and i was in work rather than retired when i had my initial splurge then, and - as my lady friend often reminds me, 'don't waste any more money on trains you never use!' But.....my grandson is now 8 and we had a good session last week.

Given that LGB's original MTS system came out in conjunction with Massoth i presume a new or pre-owned MassothHandset will do the job. Browsing some websites I saw a Massoth DiMAX Navigator Cab 8134001 advertised by DCC Supplies of Worcester for £150 but currently out of stock. It states it is compatible with LGB so is this OK or could you advise on others? ........

-

Tim, the Massoth Navigator will only work with an MTS III central station, if yours is an MTS II then you can only use the LGB handsets.
I couldn't find any mention in the posts above about which version of central station you have, apologies if I missed it somewhere.....

A Massoth Navvy for £150 will almost certainly be a cabled one - a wireless version will be around £70 or so more. To use a wireless Navvy with an MTSIII station you will also need a Massoth receiver unit, the MTS one won't work with it (though I believe you can still have both the MTS and Massoth receivers plugged into the central station at the same time).

Jon.

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi Tim will ring you later today all being well. Best to use Conversation (G Central Mail System) for Private stuff like Phone Numbers.

 

[Gizzy]

Welcome to the forum Tim.

Although I now have a Massoth system, I have kept my MTS II for a portable layout I run.

Your handset display appears to be in point setting mode, hence the S (for switch) 0, which is set by the F key followed by 1. If you push the F key followed by 2, you should get the loco address mode.

Hope this helps....