MTH Digital Command System Information

Just trains in Delaware has the best price for the dcs remote commander, he has it for about $59.00 new.
Eventually your will probably want the NEW WIFI/TIU which will be released soon that will give you all the things PS3 has.

Dave

I looked on Just Trains of Delaware website for the DCS Remote Commander, but didn't see it listed. That is a good price, if they are still available. It's late enough in the evening, that the store is closed, so I can't call them. How long ago did they have them?

When you invest in the new DCS WiFi Digital Command System 2 , you’ll be able to also operate all of your older conventional locomotives too. By setting the output channel of your choice from Fixed to Variable voltage, the DCS App on your smart phone or other WiFi capable device will vary the voltage to the track just like the handle of your ZW transformer.

All engines from Lionel, K-Line, Williams, Atlas O, Weaver and MTH ProtoSound 1 can be operated remotely.

I had purchased the MTH WiFi modules to connect to my TIU’s and didn’t get to set it up before we moved. But I did get to operate the system during a live demonstration of the WiFi system at JusTrains of Delaware when they were fist delivered. It worked great and was a lot of fun. I walked to the back corner of the store behind a display rack from the demo layout and was triggering the sounds from the engine. The MTH guys didn’t know where I was doing it from. LOL. 

You’re going to love it!!

Your ZW and phone will work with the DCS system. Through the app on your smartphone it will operate the same way as if you were adjusting the handle on the ZW. The Williams locomotives would perform the same as they would if you only used the ZW. The cool part is you’re not stuck standing in front of the ZW. You can walk around the room and/or your layout to operate the engines with your phone. 

Doubleheading the engines would perform the same way as with just the ZW since they are not command control equipped. Their operation would depend on the engine motors. 

But when you invest in more MTH, Atlas O, Lionel and any TMCC equipped locomotive is when you’ll have even more fun!!  I would suggest also to invest in Lionel Legacy system at some point. 

Thank you for the information. I will continue to check these systems out.

Just ordered a DCS Remote Commander from Pete at Just Trains a couple of hours ago. Thank you for the information. Pete is very informative!

Wow does your experience bring back recent memories to this relatively novice operator dipping his toe into DCS..

A similar scenario as you describe it occurred when I tried to install the Commander using an MTH Imperial PS3 Christmas diesel engine a few months ago. At the suggestion of a dealer I reversed the polarity from the Z 1000 brick to my Commander receiver  which did not fix the problem. I cannot honestly tell you what I finally did that got things right except I kept trying to reset the factory defaults using the remote and then it finally took for some unknown reason.

I would get lights and sound but no go.
But be careful, when the remote finally controlled the engine it took off like a shot and startled the heck out of me. I had obviously increased the speed during my failed attempts while the remote was not controlling and when the remote finally worked it was nearly a train wreck. But after that jack rabbit start, the remote failed to control the engine again. Drat!

For some reason I got the impression that switching back an forth between the Z1000 controller and the remote to verify operation did not help the situation.

One thing I do recall is that I finally turned everything off, unhooked the power from everything, unplugged everything, unloaded the batteries from the remote and walked away from it for awhile.

When I returned later I followed the install sequencing from the Commander instructions to the letter. I reset the factory defaults.

That is when things worked. But in retrospect, since the Commander gives no indication how much power you are applying to th track, I believe that during my filed attempts even though I was increasing the 'speed' quite a bit based upon the blinking receiver LED it was not actually sufficient to move the engine which may have accounted for the jack rabbit start that I mentioned earlier.

One more thing once you put power to the track be sure you allow the engine to go through its' start up sequencing before you try to use the remote.  If you are not familiar with the startup sequencing read the engine manual.  That may also be contributing to the problem.

I hope that helps a bit.