Welcome Jeff and congratulations on your retirement. I use the CS 3 so the first thing I would do is connect your CS 2 to the Internet and install the updates. There may be several since you haven't done it in a long time. The red dot in the system status menu will be there until the updates are done. Afterwards,a green dot will be there. YouTube has plenty of tutorials for Marklin. Just search for CS 2 setup and programming. Even the CS 3 to online manual is vague. I bought the big book.

Thank you, thats exactly what I needed. Appreciate it.

Scenery and detail are the best parts of a layout to me too Jeff. As the CS2 has less memory than a CS3, you may notice slower performance as you fill the memory up.

Not sure what "CS2 appareil principal" does. But your solution would be to buy a Cs3+ as it definitely has lots of tutorials on "events". The + allows you to use the CS2 as a slave. I quite like the shuttle feature of it which seems much easier than the "shuttle" on the CS3. However you can probably look at the "event" tutorials for the CS3 and figure out how to do the same on the CS2.

You can record an"event" but it works on time so editing is pretty difficult. Best is to get it down right on the recording or start over. Creating an event is actually easier once you figure it out. That can be edited.

Hi


CS2 Appareil Principal Since you may have multiple central stations (CS2s CS3s) on each of which you may connect with S88s or a Link88 or both, then you must specify where the contacts for the shuttle operation are connected to

CS3 future purchase CS3 or CS3+
For convenience, a CS3+ has all the options (can connect directly am88 AC (60881) directly and without another power supply to feed the Link 88. The CS3+ can also be a slave to another CS

A CS3, on the other hand is for larger layouts as it connect to a Link88 with three buses for m88 and S88 but requires a power supply for it (60360 or equivalent)
A CS3 is significantly cheaper than a CS3 so the difference absorbs the cost of a Link 88 and its PSU.

So in your case, to have the CS3 master and the CS2 as a slave can be done with either a CS3 or CS3 plus.

There are two things that are not directly transposable from a CS3 to a CS2: the layout (you must redesign TWICE the layout (one for the CS3 and one for the CS2. Events on the CS3 serve the same purpose as the MEMORY on the CS2 but in a vry different way. I am not sure that you may call a MEMORY string of commands on the csé from the CS3 (and vice versa)

To be honest no big deal because the events are not very easy to use and cannot be compared with what you may have on a train control software like Rocrail. The way to control trains from the CS3 is prehistoric: because neither the CS3 nor the CS2 know where each loco is, the only way they have is to interrupt the power (insulated stop section controlled by a signal or a relay.
With Rocrail or its equivalents, it knows in real time where each loco is so it can send a stop or slow down order in digital to the loco. So much less wiring and much more possibilities.

Cheers
Jean

Here is a recent video with a CS3 and Rocrail

It is possible that Marklin's U.S.technical experts covered event programming with the CS2 back in 2016. In their newsletters they covered "Memory Scripting Events" twice. I downloaded all of their newsletters but apparently most of the images of the CS2 screens in those articles did not copy. However they possibly would be willing to send you original copies of them. You can email them at: marklindudes@gmail.com. The articles were in issues 28-1 and 28-2. If not you can provide me your email address and I will try to send you what i have.

Im not looking to run a layout, I just want to run a short shuttle with lights and nosies but it's proving imposable.
I might just make dioramas instead and give the trains away.

An "Event' is a series of things that you program a train or other digitized electronic device to perform. The CS3 allows you to "record", a little like creating a video, an "Event" and then play it back. Or you can also, with a CS3, and I say that because I am not familiar enough with the capabilities of the CS2, create a program which does the same. For example you could with either described above method create a program which had a train at a station perform a variety of functions, then start out, operate switches and other functions en route, pull into a station, stop, perform other functions, and then return to the first station. And this could be repeated as many times as you want and initiated whenever you want. The "Event" would only be limited by the digital functions available. For example I have one railcar which has conductor announcements. I can have those announcements made in the stations and en-route.

Watch the Marklin USA digital club webinars on YouTube by Curtis Jeng, and Rick Sinclair.