MS-2 better than MS-1?

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obxbill		#1 Posted : 31 December 2012 03:25:20(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,300 Location: manteo, nc		I'm currently using the mobile station1 for my layout and recently it completely fried. I've had it pretty much since they came out.. '07 I think? Anyway, I turned it on the other week and all the icons lit up and then every lok ran at once.... not unlike an Addams Family layout! LOL So I managed to find a replacement on ebay, but I'm considering upgrading to the MS-2. Is it that much better and reliable? I'd like some input before I make a purchase. Don't care to upgrade if it's not a real improvement. Thanks! Bill
		Marklin HO and Z also Hornby 00 and US 2-rail


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elfangor103		#2 Posted : 31 December 2012 03:32:35(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 28/02/2012(UTC) Posts: 288 Location: New York		A great improvement indeed. Signal operations switch operations up to 11 loks backlit screen and 16 train functions available too. Daniel
		Newly Started Analog Z Layout
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tulit		#3 Posted : 31 December 2012 03:38:16(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/05/2012(UTC) Posts: 400		Originally Posted by: obxbill I'm currently using the mobile station1 for my layout and recently it completely fried. I've had it pretty much since they came out.. '07 I think? Anyway, I turned it on the other week and all the icons lit up and then every lok ran at once.... not unlike an Addams Family layout! LOL So I managed to find a replacement on ebay, but I'm considering upgrading to the MS-2. Is it that much better and reliable? I'd like some input before I make a purchase. Don't care to upgrade if it's not a real improvement. Thanks! Bill Theres a pretty big improvement. For me these are the major advantages : 1) support for 16 F functions versus only 8 2) DCC support which also allows programming of decoder CVs 3) backlit screen 4) accessory control (turnouts and signals) Keep in mind if you go with ms2 you need to get the new track connector box as well. The feeder track you use with your ms1 is not compatible.

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obxbill		#4 Posted : 31 December 2012 03:45:38(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,300 Location: manteo, nc		Thanks for the info! I knew that I'd have to also buy a new conector box as well, which is why I'm debating the costly upgrade. Can I expect it to live longer than my MS-1?
		Marklin HO and Z also Hornby 00 and US 2-rail


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elfangor103		#5 Posted : 31 December 2012 04:15:46(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 28/02/2012(UTC) Posts: 288 Location: New York		Hi Bill, The ms1 is not compatible with the ms2. Only if you get the cs2. The connector box only supports 2 ms2's. Ive had my ms2 since it was first released and have had no problems.i have used every function it has.(switchs,signals etc) Daniel
		Newly Started Analog Z Layout
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H0		#6 Posted : 31 December 2012 09:18:55(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,452 Location: DE-NW		Hi! Originally Posted by: tulit 1) support for 16 F functions versus only 8 To be fair one must say that there are 9 functions on the MS1. Accessory control looks good on the feature list, but it's not really useful with 8+ accessories (MS2 shows 2 per page). No special symbols for threeway turnouts or signals with more than 2 states. Did anyone mention that you can have 40 locos with MS2 vs. 10 with MS1? Needs software 1.64 or newer on the MS2 (version 1.81 is the latest). Can be upgraded from a CS2. If you cannot reach a CS2, make sure you buy MS2s with current software. Reliability: I sent one MS1 to Göppingen (shortly before end of warranty) and one MS2 (shortly after arrival). So I cannot complain about neither of them (all problems within warranty so far; since I have more MS1s the MS1 failure rate is lower though). Both MS1 and MS2 work better when used with switching mode power supplies. So yes, MS2 is much better than MS1.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS

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mbarreto		#7 Posted : 31 December 2012 11:05:06(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 18/02/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,334		By all said before in this thread MS2 is far better. I had problems with MS1s, but the ones I had were earliest versions and so I believe later versions were better. The problems I had with MS1 were with the speed knob, it got damaged in 2 MS1s. With MS2 I had no problem, but only have one.
		Best regards, Miguel Mostly Märklin H0.

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obxbill		#8 Posted : 31 December 2012 13:33:27(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,300 Location: manteo, nc		Interesting, Miguel. The throttle on my MS-1 acted up from the day I got it as well. I just got used to it. And Tom, thanks for that upgrade info! I will make sure to check on that before I buy. How does the upgrade allow so many to be controlled over the normal 11? Bill
		Marklin HO and Z also Hornby 00 and US 2-rail


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H0		#9 Posted : 31 December 2012 14:12:32(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,452 Location: DE-NW		With the new software, the Master MS2 keeps a list of 40 locos. Both Master and Slave can select their active 10+1 locos from the list.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS

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obxbill		#10 Posted : 31 December 2012 14:43:17(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,300 Location: manteo, nc		so then you can use the list to change the active 10+1?
		Marklin HO and Z also Hornby 00 and US 2-rail


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H0		#11 Posted : 31 December 2012 14:53:14(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,452 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: obxbill so then you can use the list to change the active 10+1? For any of these 10+1 slots, you can select a new loco from the full list. In an ideal world these 11 locos are the most-recently used ones of up to 40 locos. Trains your brain to remember which loco is on which position. I think you hardly ever need more than five active locos - but it's nice that you can have more than 10 in the list.
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS

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mbarreto		#12 Posted : 31 December 2012 15:38:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 18/02/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,334		Originally Posted by: H0 Originally Posted by: obxbill so then you can use the list to change the active 10+1? For any of these 10+1 slots, you can select a new loco from the full list. In an ideal world these 11 locos are the most-recently used ones of up to 40 locos. Trains your brain to remember which loco is on which position. I think you hardly ever need more than five active locos - but it's nice that you can have more than 10 in the list. As Tom said, you rarely need more than 5, but a benefit of having the 40 is that, if you have more than 10+1 you don't need to be deleting locos and later adding them again. Although for mfx locos this is not very important, for MM or DCC locos it is very practical, otherwise you needed to add manually the DCC or MM locos you have deleted (unless you had their information saved in a card). Relative to the problem of the MS1 knob, there are enconder switches that you can buy to replace the MS1. They are much more robust and don't damage so easily. There is information about that in several sites. For example Panasonic has an encoder EVEQDBRL416B that you can buy on pollin.de. Problem is that it can't be soldered directly to the flex pcb cable and needs thin wires to be soldered. There is information in stummi forum about this, but is in german. You can also see text in german here: http://www.stayathome.ch/reparaturen.htm (I used google chrome translator to try to understand)
		Best regards, Miguel Mostly Märklin H0.


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obxbill		#13 Posted : 31 December 2012 16:03:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,300 Location: manteo, nc		Wow! Thanks for all the useful info, guys! I guess an upgrade is coming soon. I gotta say, it's good to be back conversing with fellow Markiln enthusiasts. I believe I'm probably the only one in my entire area, and there are very few train enthusiasts around here as it is. It's good to be home! Bill
		Marklin HO and Z also Hornby 00 and US 2-rail


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clapcott		#14 Posted : 31 December 2012 22:29:07(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 12/12/2005(UTC) Posts: 2,448 Location: Wellington, New_Zealand		Originally Posted by: tulit Theres a pretty big improvement. For me these are the major advantages : 1) support for 16 F functions versus only 8 1) support for 16 F functions versus only 9 Originally Posted by: obxbill so then you can use the list to change the active 10+1? Not mentioned in this thread is the LocoCard. Each to his own , but I find this more and more attractive (and prototypically akin to a tablet) The +1 refers to an 11th position that will be automatically overwritten by a LocoCard if all the other slots are allocated (no need to go through a "free up" step
		Peter

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NZMarklinist		#15 Posted : 01 January 2013 13:23:38(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,757 Location: Auckland NZ		Hi All, My first MS1 that I got with a Large Starter Set in 2004, I originally found to be a troublesome thing, particularly with the free wheeling vagueness of the throttle knob. However after an update with my first CS1 it became a lot better as far as the throttle behaviour is concerned. meantime I'd aquired a 6021 thinking it was "the state of the art" thing for Marklin Digital, and certainly no probs with recognition, throttle, etc, altho the throttle started being vague on speed reduction after being used by others or perhaps my own use as well during long Module running sesions, still have the 6021 for emergencys However I notice CS1's are becoming much cheaper on ebay these days, and if you can get a good one, and the ESU update packet, you've got a controller you'll never find wanting, and an attached MS1 or three gives you extra throttles. We use a CS1 with MS1s for the modules these days I did aquire an MS2 last year for Carpet bahn use but haven't used it as yet.
		Glen Auckland NZ " Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok ! CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider

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kskato		#16 Posted : 01 January 2013 19:39:05(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 11/09/2004(UTC) Posts: 56 Location: Wichita Ks		Originally Posted by: obxbill Wow! Thanks for all the useful info, guys! I guess an upgrade is coming soon. I gotta say, it's good to be back conversing with fellow Markiln enthusiasts. I believe I'm probably the only one in my entire area, and there are very few train enthusiasts around here as it is. It's good to be home! Bill And with the 60113 & 60653 running around $200. , the alternative of a starter set at $400-600 is there now in the U.S. (if a set has a Loco & cars that you'd be interested in) There is like 5 sets on the shelves to choose from . When I got my MS2 there was only 2 sets with MS2 to choose from. Howard

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RayF		#17 Posted : 01 January 2013 19:59:12(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/03/2005(UTC) Posts: 15,871 Location: Gibraltar, Europe		There are plenty of ebay sellers who will sell you the MS2 seperated from starter sets. This is how I got mine. I got the MS2, PSU and connection box for less than 100€
		Ray Mostly Marklin.Selection of different eras and European railways Small C track layout, control by MS2, 100+ trains but run 4-5 at a time.

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obxbill		#18 Posted : 01 January 2013 21:05:16(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 20/12/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,300 Location: manteo, nc		Yes, I have found some on ebay for $150 or less. But I may opt to go with new just for the peace of mind. Thanks and I'll keep ya posted on what happens. :) Bill
		Marklin HO and Z also Hornby 00 and US 2-rail


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elfangor103		#19 Posted : 01 January 2013 21:17:19(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 28/02/2012(UTC) Posts: 288 Location: New York		Or wait till you see a CS1 on ebay and buy it for $140. Saw one a couple days ago go for $137 located in the US. Daniel
		Newly Started Analog Z Layout
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RayF		#20 Posted : 01 January 2013 22:06:49(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/03/2005(UTC) Posts: 15,871 Location: Gibraltar, Europe		CS1 is a bit of an overkill as a replacement for a MS1, but anyway it's now old technology. The MS2 is definitely the way to go. If a full featured Central is desired I would rather go for a CS2, or alternatively the ECOS, rather than get a second hand CS1 and reload it.
		Ray Mostly Marklin.Selection of different eras and European railways Small C track layout, control by MS2, 100+ trains but run 4-5 at a time.


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RayF		#21 Posted : 01 January 2013 22:10:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/03/2005(UTC) Posts: 15,871 Location: Gibraltar, Europe		Originally Posted by: obxbill Yes, I have found some on ebay for $150 or less. But I may opt to go with new just for the peace of mind. Thanks and I'll keep ya posted on what happens. :) Bill Hi Bill, The ones I've found on ebay split from sets are brand new. Mine was in it's original plastic bag, still unopened.
		Ray Mostly Marklin.Selection of different eras and European railways Small C track layout, control by MS2, 100+ trains but run 4-5 at a time.

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H0		#22 Posted : 01 January 2013 23:17:20(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC) Posts: 15,452 Location: DE-NW		Originally Posted by: RayF If a full featured Central is desired I would rather go for a CS2, or alternatively the ECOS, rather than get a second hand CS1 and reload it. CS1 is an ECoS 50000 (with few minor differences) and different speed knobs. But the "Reloaded" package does not come free. So an MS2 set from a split starter set should be cheaper by far. When bought from Europe, a suitable PSU will be needed (but that should be no problem).
		Regards Tom --- "In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS


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