So I have a Mobile Station 2 (gray) from 2016 running S/W ver 2.5, that I originally got with a Branch Line Digital Starter Set 29247. I can't remember if I purchased a second mfx locomotive at the same time or within 2 weeks. Either way I've been using it with the steam locomotive it came with and a Diesel I purchased pretty much since the start without any issue as far as I can recall.

At some point later on I wanted to add another locomotive so I could split my freight car collection into two consists. I wanted a DRB Class 52, found the Soviet TE SDZ livery was the cheapest, so I picked one up. Only problem was I bought the Märklin Delta version instead of the Märklin Digital version. Which is compatible with the Mobile Station, but using it felt like using old Bachman HO or analogue Lionel in conjunction with fancy new digital. That coupled with some other issues led me to stop using it, but it should be known that the track box and Mobile Station have been in contact with a Märklin Delta locomotive. Oh and I guess for that matter both of the mfx locomotive decoders have also been in contact with a Märklin Delta locomotive in their lifetime.

The only other relative backstory to this Mobile Station, is that over the pandemic I added a Märklin Gauge 1 track box to our LGB garden layout and put Zimo DCC decoders in the locomotives. The plan was to get that layout it's own Mobile Station at some point (as well as finish an Arduino proxy mobile station), but that never happened. The same Mobile Station I use for my Märklin H0 set, I also use for our LGB set. This means in/on the Mobile Station, the first 2 locomotives are Märklin mfx for the H0 set and the second 2 locomotives are DCC for the LGB set.

So it's Juletide again. An excuse for me to set up the H0 set, since there unfortunately isn't enough free space to set up very often. (Man I wish Z gauge mfx was more a thing) And my nephew is finally old enough to respect the train set and not destroy it. It's been dormant since probably Jule 2019. Set it all up, realise I own less track than I remember, but everything works, forgot how much nicer this is than our garden train. Then the thought crosses my mind to use the smoke generator. So I stop the steam engine, put a drop of fluid in the stack, and turn on the function. Wait for it to warm up, and viola smoke. Increase throttle, annnnnd nothing. Change any parameters about that locomotive, and nothing. Notice the smoke generator had self shut off too. Switch to the second locomotive, change anything, responds like normal. Switch back to the first, still no response, frozen in the previous state. Even powering down the transformer for 30 seconds and re-energizing leaves the locomotive frozen in it's last state. The only way to reset it, is to make sure that locomotive is the most off it can be at the Mobile Station and then to physically break connection with the track for a period of time.

Which doesn't entirely make sense to me. Powering down the transformer for a period and then re-energizing it should achieve the same thing as pulling it from the track for a period. The only explanations I have for that is either the track box holds enough capacitive load to under-volt power the mfx decoder long enough to continue logic but not power anything, or the bit where I turned all the functions off and set the throttle to 0 was forgotten when I "tried unplugging it and plugging it back in again." Anyway with some more experimentation, after "resetting" the locomotive it will respond and function normally outside of the smoke generator function. After activating the smoke generator, it will respond for a brief period, then the smoke generator will shut off and the locomotive will continue whatever it was last doing indefinitely with no response to control changes. Interestingly you can hit the E-Stop for 30-60 seconds, reset it, and the locomotive will return to whatever it was last doing indefinitely still with no response to control changes. It even follows it's acceleration curve to whatever speed it thinks it's still set to.

There is a communication error of sorts occurring here somewhere. At first I thought I might be encountering some old 2016 era Mobile Station 2 bug. However unless it's related to now having the 2 DCC locomotives programmed in, I don't think a bug that didn't exist before would suddenly start existing. At least I can't really remember anything weird happening with it years ago (2016-2019), outside of maybe needing to power cycle it for communication errors once or twice. Dno. I definitely plan to take it somewhere to be software updated. The other thought is something is up with the mfx decoder. Outside of the obvious, go get your Mobile Station updated to the latest version, any thoughts or wisdom on this mater? Is there a software changelog somewhere? I couldn't find one. Are there any known weird smoke generator quirks I'm unaware of?

I had an issue with my MS2 a while back and did a factory reset. Of course, I had to re-enter the locomotives again, but that wasn’t too difficult. I never used it to operate my Delta-equipped locomotives, opting instead to upgrade them with ESU Lok Pilot or LokSound decoders.

(BTW: after growing tired of having to “toggle” between locomotives using the MS2 I recently purchased a CS3… with no regrets.)