Light signals with mfx and DCC will been delivery Q1/2014.
I guess so...
Yours problem with light signals depends it´s fault sometimes from the factory Marklin.
That´s way they decides to change signals to better function.

Hi Charles, I have 28 of the new generation 76*** series signals and I think they're

great. I've never had a problem with them. I do not operate them under digital control.

They are all connected to analog control boxes and/or contact track sections. You might try to

re-install them? Sorry you're having all these problems with them. Peter

Hello Peter.

I have lost count how many times we have re-installed them and still no good. Even the tech guys at Marklin are at a loss on why they are so unstable. Can I ask you Peter how are you wiring the lights up and what analog boxes are you using.

Charles.

Hi,

Unfortunately you are far from the only one with problems with the 76*** signals. I was asked, by Marklin, to send just the boards back for upgrade via my dealer. The track current seems to interfere with the signal decoder part. In my opinion that is not the only problem. For some reason I have only got a few boards back (after more than a year). My dealer felt sorry for me and gave me two boards straight out of new boxes. One worked, the other not… I am using Train Controller so I don’t cut the power by the signals - except for the yard signals. By not connecting the two red track cables to the tracks a lot of them started working. One stopped working… A couple of 76394 have started to show undefined aspects (red and green at the same time). They could not be reprogrammed.

When signals stops working I can sometimes get them working again by making sure the aspect shown on my 60215 is the same as on the signal and then press STOP. When I press STOP again and get power they might start working. I can also try disconnecting the boosters (all tracks are on boosters, signals and turnouts are on the CS2). When I get power again (without the tracks) the signals usually works. When the boosters are reconnected some signals might stop working, but not necessarily the same ones as before. Frustrating!

Bjorn

I have decided over the weekend to us all my 76xxx signals in analogue mode. And as luck has it a guy was selling some of the 7272 boxes I need on e bay and the best bit is he is 30 miles up the road.

I have just found the signal book Petestra is talking about it was filed away in a safe place , I had bought it at one of the Treffs 6 years ago. All I have to do now is order some green cable as I have all the other colorers in stock. With as bit of luck my train friend will be over next week and we can wire up the 2 nearest signals and see what happens..

Charles.

I really do wish you guys lots of luck installing these great signals. I have 28 of them and had no

problems. I bought the book Charles did mention and followed the instructions to the letter for

conventional operation. As I recall if you don't have the book the instructions that come with each

signal do not help. Best of luck, Peter

I bought one of the 76 series signals to try out as well. Lots of problems where it just refused to respond to commands from my cs2. Randomly hitting stop a bunch of times usually got it going again.

There's clearly some sort of flaw for so many people to be experiencing similar problems.

One of my cats eventually got to it and chewed the head to the point of not being recognizable so the whole thing ended in the trash.

I'll probably try the mfx variation when they come our.

Hi Guys,
I am always distressed when a product makes it hard (or impossible) to implement the stated capabilities.
Without doubt there are examples of faulty products and designs, but there are also hard to understand setup instructions, and sometimes simply distinguishing the difference helps lower the frustration.

I applaud the detailed collection and documentation of ALL aspects of an issue in order to bisect the root cause.
Doing this also prevents others from reinventing the wheel by giving a wider perspective to problem determination

As it relates to the experiences in this thread, I see a couple of holes that I would like to think have been covered off in the dealings with marklin support , however they DO need to be mentioned here along with your issue descriptions, for completeness sake if nothing else.

Specifically.
a) (Contrary to statements above) There Is/Was a product issue with the 763xx signals (maybe not the only one). This surfaced with the CS(mfx interoperability) and was addressed by bringing out a "Version 2" (Red Dot). I would simply ask that those with problems state that they are indeed with the newer V2 products. While there is a reference to recent installations, I am always wary that the items themselves may have been older/second hand (and possibly v1) products. A reference to software versions has also been made, but not qualified - I taken nothing for granted, so please state the actual version in use at the time of problems.

b) The setup on the CS2 should be for the "Profi .." icons ("Scale Color Light Signal HP..." not "Color Light Signal HP.."). The difference being that the original will always send 2 commands in quick succession for a 3/4 aspect signal while the Profi.. behavior (along with these signals) only needs 1 command. So again I would ask that any description of the problem cover off that this is the state in which problems still occur.

c) I do note that examples given include single address/2 aspect signals, and for these I would ask what settings have been tried for the Switching delay. (I ask mainly because setting this to 1000mS has been a documented requirement for doing the initial address setup, but the latest documentation makes no comment about changing it back once the address setup is complete)

d) And just to close out a final niggle in the back of my mind, the latest documentation spells out the need to get the "B" and "0" wiring the correct way round. Failing to do so with the likes of a k83/k84 will be a succinct No-Go, however from my limited experimentation I know the 763xx signals will operate with incorrect polarity and I wonder if , while generally working, they may be more susceptible to random not working. This point is worth pursuing if you have simply swapped a CS1 for a CS2, as the polarity out of the plug is different - trains (except 6080) have long since given up caring but accessories do.

Any other activities by yourselves, or suggested by service that were aimed at bisecting the scope of the problem would be valuable for others, again , so they may distinguish between a fault v the complications of setup/operation.

Declaration: I am unable to weigh in with anywhere near the amount of experience described above in this thread as I only have a couple of items. Further to this, from day one I never liked the lights going out whenever the track went dead (short or emergency stop) and therefore use a separate controller (6021, which also means my v1 items are still usable). And I don't use the dead section feature of the signals themselves.
I am therefore also interested in the pending 764xx items which, in my opinion, should not rely on track power to stay lit and have a dead section able to be overidden for reverse direction single/branch line operation.

Edited by user 11 November 2013 05:04:46(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

You're a daredevil now! :)

I don't see too many complaints about Viessmann signals. I like to stay with Mother M, but in this case...perhaps worth a look.

-Brandon

Peter

Really appreciate your points regarding checking several items. I have a CS2 (for control, current software version) and a booster (3017 - number is likely incorrect, but it's the older model booster - 4 digits) to provide current to lights and signals. My 73691 signals are all V2. I checked how the signals are set up in the CS2 and found that I had used Color Light Signal. So, I changed to Scale Color Light Signal (using the CS2 instruction manual (placing the clip on the board, etc). The instruction are to set the delay at 1000mS but change back to 200ms when completed. In the past I have tried different mS settings and found no difference in results.

I still have this problem. The signal will not change if I hit stop. If I hit stop again, the signal works fine.

For now, I have simply changed my other signals to Scale (in the CS2 screen) but have not repeated the installation (with the clip). They work fine, as before.

One point you make regarding the B and O wiring is not clear. Exactly what do I look at to confirm the polarity is correct? Appreciate if you can expand on this.

Regards

Harvey

Sorry last post got lost .I am in able to see how I change the signal in the cs2. As far as I can see there is light signals or semifore ones. What am I doing wrong.

The other question I have if I rewire them analoge as the signal book/ instruction booklet that comes with the signal will a loco stop in front of the signal if it is on red. I know this might be a stupid question but I have had to remove 1 set of the red isolaters to get the loco to go past a red signal when the signals are stuck on red.

Charles

I have V 3.0 on the signals and now they work fine. It took about 6 weeks from the Netherlands to Germany and back again.

Steamer01

Hello Charles,

I got them back in something like 4 weeks.

Yes, you write that you are operating them with CS2 and that you have freezing problems. At Märklin they know exactly the problem.

V3.0 is not mfx.

rgds

Stephan

I forgot to ask how old were the signals that some of you sent back to Marklin. The problem I might have is the dealer I bought some of them from died 2 years ago.

Charles.

Charles

What do you mean by 'freezing'? Is this as simple as 'the signal does not change color and does not perform any function'. From my earlier post, it sounds like this is my problem. If the signal is red, it will not stop the loc (unless, I hit stop and thus somehow refresh something). I had not heard of a V3 (I have V2's - or definitely not V1).

Hope this works for you and I will discuss this with my hobby store and Jeff (Marklin US rep). I had never called Marklin (Germany) about this, thinking there was to be a CS2 upgrade. Sounds like it is more a decoder upgrade. Just odd, that the problem I have is any signal I place in one location (any is really just me trying two) and having this issue. Even sounds odd that only some V2's have this problem. But, it also sounds like it worth trying to get fixed.

Regards

Harvey

Hi.

I think I will give Marklin a call tomorrow and talk to the service dept and see what they have to say and get some idea how long the update will take.

Charles.

A simple question...
Do you have any digital locomotivs still in function,like lighting when you program color signals?
If yours CS2 still send data information to the digital locomotivs,there will been disturb by program color signals.
Hopefully this may help...

In the manual page.7 it stands that no locomotivs may not running or use with programming under the procedure.

I hope to have all the signals on there way back to Marklin by this time next week. There service depts phone has been out of action today so I put a call into the insider club. The lady was very helpfull and has taken all the details and the service dept will call me on Wednesday.

Charles

Hi.

As promised the lady from the service dept called me I explained about all the problems I have been having with the signals. I also explained that the dealer I bought them from in the UK has died so she suggested I box them up and send them in. I asked how long would they be and doing the update and she told me by the end on Jan 2014 at the latest. So tuesday they will be removed from track and boxed up for wednesday pick up for over night to marklin.

Charles.

Hi!

This thread is a bit confusing.

The new mfx signals haven't been shipped yet.

The signals discussed here (requiring the V3 update) are non-mfx signals.

On some packagings there is a sticker v2.0 in red (see attachment)

I am still running v1 signals.. I feed them through a 6017 booster so there is no mFx or DCC communication to the signals.. They seem to work fine. Unfortunately they are not cat proof and I have managed to lose two signals this way..

Hello Joebel,

Thank you for the Picture, I do understand that the box has a V2.0 on it, I was actually asking about the firmware upgrade to V3.0.


Is there a way to tell if the firmware on the platine is V3.0?

Thank you,