But that's what, pins / connectors wise, the 60145 terminal box is, no?. The fact that Märklin does not say anywhere that it works it does not mean that it wouldn't...? This question is bugging me too, I also find it extremely coincidental that I came here with this question (sort of) after 8 years of break from the forum, and right in the middle of it being the hot topic. And since all of you that need a lot of power run CS-es anyhow, the user base that needs boosters on a non-CS system is small enough not to find anyone to try it out I guess.

It's not a question of what I can connect to the 60145, but what I connect 60145 to! The documents say a central station. What if I connect it to a track box instead?

Hooking my own CAN devices to any of this is not a problem, and if RocRail can sort the CAN network initialization for me I am all set. But will that be enough for everything to function?

I was writing about the terminal 60125/60145 - nothing else. Of course you have to built your own CAN bus connection to get a track box into the CAN bus. In theInternet I saw plenty of solutions. But a CS is easier to establish a CAN bus. See also my post before.

Probably :( On the other hand, the marketing assumption is that people that need lots of power means they build large layouts, means they accumulated truck loads of equipment, means they are rich, means they will buy a CS or already have one. What's the point telling them they can use the booster with a track box and non-Märklin / non-profitable software like RocRail?

The particulars of how to connect RocRail or anything else to the Märklin CAN-bus is not my concern, I know it is doable (but thanks for the links anyhow). Today I made an experiment with RocRail and one of my Linux SocketCAN interfaces I use for my car stuff to see that I can make RocRail talk Märklin-CAN through that interface (even though I have no trains / tracks / track boxes or anything train related). No Banana PIs necessary (though I also have a device of an equivalent functionality that I also use for my car projects).

What I need to know if all / any of these non-CS solutions will be able to deal with a native Märklin booster connected to a track box instead of a CS. Nothing more, nothing less. And it's not really included in any of those links, or is it?

Well, my point is, I have a CS 3+ and no need to built a connection for a track box attaching it into a CAN bus. This you have to do and test by yourself. Theoratically it should function. Why do you not assemble and try it?

Even I found a manual for assembling your own booster.

https://www.stayathome.ch/booster.htm

http://luessi.ch/pdf/Booster%20BMD%20V5%20e.pdf

On Stefan Krauß's homepage

http://www.skrauss.de/modellbahn/gbox.html

he wrote as follows:

"In contrast to the Mobile Station 1, the new Mobile Station 2 from Märklin no longer contains the generation and amplification of the rail signal itself, but has outsourced it to the separately available track box (item no. 60112/60113). The MS2 communicates with it via the CAN interface. The Central Station 2 has a similar internal structure. Here, too, the part responsible for rail signal generation (track signal processor, GFP) is independent and is controlled by the main processor via CAN.

For hobbyists, this opens up a completely new and inexpensive possibility: The track box can be used as a mini-center via CAN. It has no intelligence to manage locomotives, points, signals and tracks. However, it independently generates the rail signals not only for the Märklin Motorola format, but also for mfx and DCC. The CAN commands are simple and even documented by Märklin, the track box individually available for about 60 euros. Handyman, what more do you want?"

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

Why should a booster not function in this CAN bus?

The boosters you've found can not be connected to a CAN-bus............

Per.

Exactly, although the Terminal manual says you can connect a Mobile station and a Booster to the Terminal device it is in the context of connecting that to a Central Station.

Nowhere does it state or imply that a Mobile Station can communicate with a Booster via the Terminal.

And if they could, some sort of strict hierarchy would be needed, to prevent MS2 <--> booster communication if a CS also was connected.

Otherwise it would be chaos, with boosters on different parts of the layout sending out different signals....

Per.

It is crossed out because You have always all locos in the list below. There is no need for this function. I just don't know, why they didn't remove it,

You have now 2 MS 2. Did you back up your 60653 from your new 60657 and your track box 60113 as well? Then you can use your old 60653 again and set it as you want it.

At mine 60653 (SW vers. 3.55) I realized that I can place the loco at any place I want. If I start with slot 2 than slot 1 is shown empty. Next slot I use is e.g. slot 5, so slot 3 and 4 are shown empty, and so on. But for me it is always tedious to count the places where to set the locos. I fill all slots from #1 onwards and select the locos very easily by its identification of number and picture on the screen. Märklin does the loco differentiation very well by its mfx decoder.

The right button with the small white loco on it, you select the locos very quick and easy to the right. With the button "shift (in red) + red knob" twisting to the left, you select the locos to the left. So you must not press the button up to max. 40 times to go through the total row of listed locos. Even with the "shift + red knob" you directly jump from slot 1 to slot 40.

Do you know the reason? Mine was dead too. 2 pins in the jack were broken. I renewed the cable (spare part # E146781) and it is working perfectly again.



Do you put the loco onto the track and then you register it? First, only a mfx locos are allowed to stand not alone on the track. All others don't do that. I would recommend a seperate programming track to assure they are alone on the track. At this situation the loco always choose the first free position at your MS 2. If position one is not taken, it always will take it. Then do the next loco on position 2 and delete the one on position 1. But it only will be free till you register the next loco. If you register or entering directly from the track, it always chooses the first free position at your screen.

What I am doing? Ah yes, I register all locos into the internal database (or transfer them from the CS 3 into the MS 2 database). Delete them from the positions on the screen. Then I reentering the loco out of the database (see page 8 of the NEW manual 60657 for vers. 3.55) onto the position I have selected before at the screen. I think this shall function.

Now make you a bit jealous. My CS 3 has an own menue for selecting all registered locos in various positions. One possibility is to select only all steamer or Diesel or E-locos first and then by Name and others.

I asked Maerklin how to change the cable of a MS 2. Here their answer:

"To open the case [of a MS 2 - remark of mine] you have to remove the rubber strips at the bottom and the knob. Then you will find 5 Torx screws (4 on the bottom and 1 under the knob) to loosen. Then the top shell can be separated from the floor. The cable itself is only plugged into the unit. The strain relief must first be loosened."

I only have to add: a Torx T8 screw driver is needed. Costs about 5 €. Job was done in 10 minutes.





Rick Sinclair is correct. The point is the mfx format. The data for such locos you have not to store somewhere outside of a mfx loco, e.g. in a MS 2, because all the data is always stored into the loco decoder and so always available when you need the data from the loco.

[Hello @RayF -yes- sorry from me to you. You were rigth and I was wrong - a long time ago]

I even could not disable the mfx format in a MS 2. In a CS 3 no problem, just a tickmark in a submenu.

What may be possible, changing locos (who understand the DCC format as well) to DCC and try to get them stored as DCC locos into the database. I really do not know it, if it is working. I do not use DCC in any case. Even my new ESU Diesel with its M4 decoder registered under the mfx format very quickly on my layout. The mfx format makes my life really much easier as anything else.

After all my testing I came to the conclusion, there is no way to sort the database of active locos in a MS 2 in a way a user wants it. Again, it never was and is of my interest to do this at a MS 2. I can all do this very easily with my CS 3. Sorry, and with my MS 2 I always have fully access to the data stored in the CS 3. Have to note, my decision buying a CS 3 was an excellent decision and a CS 3 is always worth its money. But please do not misunderstand me, a MS 2 is an excellent controller too, but limited in its capabilities. I am happy to have got them both.

So if I understand this and can attempt to summarized:
To update the firmware in a Mobile Station 2, from a Mobile Station 2 the process is:

Given a CS, and 3 mobile stations MS2#1, MS2#2, MS2#3:

CS gets the update -> CS Updates the MS2#1 -> This MS2#1 can update MS2#2 -> This MS2#1 can update MS2#3
MS2 #2 -> gets update from MS2#1 -> This MS2#2 CANNOT update MS2#3

I really do not understand your questions. This thread is about the software update of a MS 2 and for this you need minimum one CS 2 or CS 3. As well @minok has in his post (see #78) answered your questions about elaboration already. Thanks Minok.

I only can add the recommendation for those, who get the update at a dealer, to make sure the dealer is using a CS for the update and never a MS 2.

No, Minok summarized what you wrote, to make sure we all understood

I would also like to know where you found this strange information, that even my good friend Google don't know about

Per.

Thats a good guess. The issue description from MS2 to MS2 not being safe did strongly suggest that the MS2->MS2 process may not provide the MS2 being updated with all of the necessary files, where a CS would provide the necessary files. Your saying that so long as the MS2 update is made from a very current (4.2.1+) CS2 or CS3 software (whatever version the CS3 would be), then the MS2 would get all of the necessary files and can thus pass those fills on to other MS2s that it updates.

I'll be sending in my MS2 for an update later this year, and I'd certainly like to know if that MS2 will come back with all of the files it needs to update my trackbox.

How do you check this?

I did my first MS 2 update via my CS 3. The second MS 2 I updated from the other, freshly updated MS 2. Unfortunately I did not mark them and I do not have a 3rd MS 2 for testing, if the 3rd MS 2 would really get a light update only.

In this specific case a link would be really helpful

Not to a PDF showing Märklin wire colors etc.

Per.

Maerklin issued an information (in 8 languages!), how to update a MS 2 to version 3.55.

https://www.maerklin.de/...rmationen/update_ms2.pdf

Thank you for the tip!

What??? Teewolf gave us a tip. 👌

My comment to TEEWolf was not joke.
I did thanked to him for a good tip information about MS2.

Time to lock this topic - not sure that much good is coming out of it right now.