Clang
New Member
My plan is to build a street scene with a street car on a shelf (I don’t have room for a railroad setup). I’m new to the hobby and I’ve found a lot of information on this forum. The scope of my project is to run a streetcar 10-12 feet back & forth with some stops and streetcar sounds, plus street and building lighting.
I decided to go O-scale. I found a Rail King PCC streetcar with the Twin Cities colors (a real one still runs between two lakes in Minneapolis). The streetcar is DCS/DSS compatible and has Proto-Sound 3. I figured it allowed me options for a control system.
I had to decide if I wanted to go DCS or DSS. I downloaded manuals for several controllers (when possible) to review them – I figure a good manual would be the most significant support I can rely on (I’m a technical writer). I read MTH was ending production but I choose the MTH DCS system because it has very good documentation available and offers an integrated system with a track interface controller (TIU), an accessory interface unit (AIU), and WIFI module; it should be good for my limited application.
I wanted the hand-held remote because I think hardware will-last longer than an app. A TIU with the hand-held remote/TIU combo is only available on Ebay, used prices on Ebay exceeded the newer WIFI/TIU price. I eventually found one for about list price, once I got that piece, I looked for the rest. The MTH site has a Find It Locally button, it lists all of the hobby shops around the USA that had the items I wanted. I bought the rest of my components from small hobby shops.
I got the hand-held remote, TIU module, AIU module, WIFI module, power supply, and Graves track. I also bought the $5 version of the app and the DCS Companion manuals (versions 1 and 2, for the remote and WIFI versions), the manuals are 240 pages with detailed information which is a big help.
It was time to see if the components worked together. I connected everything and powered it up; the remote and app found the engine ID I couldn’t figure out how to run it. Time to read the manuals; I’m happy I bought the optional manuals.
It took some time but I got the street car moving with both the remote and the WIFI app. I discovered while playing with the remote, that the streetcar has a sound file installed and it announces local stops for actual streets in Minneapolis – I blown away to hear the street names I know. I wasn’t expecting the sound file to be installed, I thought I’d have to install one.
There is a lot more to learn.
Bench testing the electronic components:
I decided to go O-scale. I found a Rail King PCC streetcar with the Twin Cities colors (a real one still runs between two lakes in Minneapolis). The streetcar is DCS/DSS compatible and has Proto-Sound 3. I figured it allowed me options for a control system.
I had to decide if I wanted to go DCS or DSS. I downloaded manuals for several controllers (when possible) to review them – I figure a good manual would be the most significant support I can rely on (I’m a technical writer). I read MTH was ending production but I choose the MTH DCS system because it has very good documentation available and offers an integrated system with a track interface controller (TIU), an accessory interface unit (AIU), and WIFI module; it should be good for my limited application.
I wanted the hand-held remote because I think hardware will-last longer than an app. A TIU with the hand-held remote/TIU combo is only available on Ebay, used prices on Ebay exceeded the newer WIFI/TIU price. I eventually found one for about list price, once I got that piece, I looked for the rest. The MTH site has a Find It Locally button, it lists all of the hobby shops around the USA that had the items I wanted. I bought the rest of my components from small hobby shops.
I got the hand-held remote, TIU module, AIU module, WIFI module, power supply, and Graves track. I also bought the $5 version of the app and the DCS Companion manuals (versions 1 and 2, for the remote and WIFI versions), the manuals are 240 pages with detailed information which is a big help.
It was time to see if the components worked together. I connected everything and powered it up; the remote and app found the engine ID I couldn’t figure out how to run it. Time to read the manuals; I’m happy I bought the optional manuals.
It took some time but I got the street car moving with both the remote and the WIFI app. I discovered while playing with the remote, that the streetcar has a sound file installed and it announces local stops for actual streets in Minneapolis – I blown away to hear the street names I know. I wasn’t expecting the sound file to be installed, I thought I’d have to install one.
There is a lot more to learn.
Bench testing the electronic components: