I have the following hardware and software on my layout

CS2 60215 running v 3.0.1(1) and hardware version 4.33
60830 K83 decoders (16 K83s installed) for turnout control.

Railroad&Co TrainController Gold version 8.0B5

My layout is under construction and the layout completed so far is defined in both RR&Co and in the CS2 "Layout" component. All of the microswitches in the turnout motors have been shorted out so that they are not operational.

Manual running of trains and throwing turnouts can be done from either the CS2 "Keyboard", "Layout" definition and "Memory" and operates correctly with updates to the other systems being correctly processed. Requesting individual turnouts to be thrown from the RR&Co TC Switchboard also functions correctly with updates also being correctly processed on all displays and the physical turnout being thrown.

The issue I have is that when I run a schedule from RR&Co TC I have random turnouts not being thrown during the reservation of a route. I have stopped the trains and identified that the CS2 "Keyboard" reflects the RR&Co TC requested state of the turnout but the physical turnout is not being thrown. When running a "Refresh" of the layout from RR&Co TC after running a schedule there are always 1 or more turnouts that change their state confirming that turnouts are not changing when requested. It appears that the CS2 is reflecting the change on its "Keyboard" but the instruction to the K83 is being lost or is not being correctly processed. The problem with the turnouts is random with different turnouts giving problems on an apparent random basis. It takes approximately 3 to 5 minutes after starting a schedule for the first misdirected train to become apparent.

Since I identified the problem I have installed a separate bus for all K83 devices and am using a separate booster for this bus. This has not overcome the problem. I have also increased the interval between turnout instructions from RR&Co TC to the CS2 from the default 300 to 700 milliseconds without overcoming the problem.

Has anyone had a similar experience? and if so how has the problem been resolved.

Thanks

Thanks Peter for your response. The following are my pulse settings on the 2 devices:

RR&Co TC 100ms pulse length
300ms timing delay between turnout pulses
CS2 200ms pulse length (the shortest possible on the CS2)

I am using C track and the standard motors - a mix of the old and new. I assumed that I should keep the TC pulse length short and let the CS2 override with a longer pulse. This may however be confusing the CS2. Do you think I should change all TC pulse lengths to 250 or 300ms, leaving the CS2 at 200ms?

I notice that when I switch a CS2 route from its memory it has a very short time delay between throwing the turnouts - probably about 100ms. I left the default setting of 300ms in TC but will try longer settings to see if there is a problem with the CD recharging.

I will also do a more detailed study to try and identify any pattern of the turnouts not throwing including previous turnouts thrown in establishing the route.

Thanks Lasse. I have followed your advice and done a similar posting on the RR&Co forum.

Hi all,
More junk turnout 'motors'?

D

Thanks D. I assume you are referring to the microswitch problem mentioned in a number of threads. These have been shorted so that this problem should be eliminated.

Hi Craig

Thanks for mentioning your experience. I have also tried Lasse's advice and set turnout pulse duration to 250ms on both CS2 and TC. While this has reduced the incidence of turnouts not being thrown, the problem persists.

It seems to be fairly erratic but is mostly the last turnout in a route. The turnout works fine from the TC switchboard and when I activate the turnout as part of the sequence of the defined route. I have also loaded this route into Memory of the CS2 and it works flawlessly.

I have checked my transformer supplying my K83 bus and the voltage drops by about 0,15 volt during the route activation from the CS2 memory. This is less than the 0.6v measured when using a Marklin transformer.

Will you please advise what setting you have in the CS2 set up on TC for the interval between turnout instructions. Mine is currently 1000ms.

Thanks

Mike

Mike,
In digital system setup for TC for the CS, I have set a turnout interval of 250 ms. For the turnouts that gave me persistent problems, I put, in TC, a switch time of 250ms. I did not change from the default times in the CS itself.

Craig

Thanks Andreas. The thread you referred to in 2010 seems to be the same problem I am encountering. I presume that this problem has since been corrected by Marklin on the CS2 as there is no further mention of this issue on more recent CS2 software versions.

After discussion with an electronics expert in our club I have decided to upgrade my computer as there is a slight delay between my actions on the computer and the physical events on my layout. My computer is currently an old Pentium P4 running Vista and has been giving me some blue screens. System software updates also cause problems and automatic update has been switched off. The new computer arrives tomorrow so I will spend the weekend upgrading and converting to Windows 7. I will keep the thread advised of progress.