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MU locomotive to locomotive range issue with LM-3S-G ?

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JRad:
I may have discovered a range limitation when MUing large scale locomotives in split configurations.


Yesterday I set up a 16 car train with a lead locomotive, a mid train helper after car 8 and a pusher on the rear.  Once all coupled together MU set up went as planned and loco directions were confirmed. Attempting to move the train, the pusher was not responding and ended up being dragged. I checked my setup and tried again with the same result. Breaking up the link, uncoupling the trailing locomotive and serting up again with only two locomotives functioned as expected.  Moving the third locomotive to the mid-train position also worked as expected so I can rule out an MU response problem with locomotive #3.

My best guess as to what the problem was is that the trailing locomotive was not communicating with the lead locomotive due to distance which was  about 21 feet from the lead to the pusher.

I have other range issues that have me considering adding a repeater, even though I only use on-board battery power.  Would a repeater help with loco-to-loco communication or only handheld-to-loco ?  Just wish Ring would come out with a dedicated repeater module without the power supply.

Josephbw:
Make sure that all of your locos are set to go in the same direction. If the first 2 are going forward and the last one is in reverse, it will look like it is sliding, but it is trying to go backward.

Joe

JRad:
Thanks Joe, but if you read my post I checked that twice. All were running the correct direction.

William Brillinger:
Very interesting. I think you'd have to ask Ring to know if the repeater in a PWR-56 will help this issue.

Regarding asking for a dedicated repeater, The PWR-56 sells for a lot less than the cost of an LM-3SG and not much more than the AM-1 Assuming your suggestion of a stand alone repeater is based on an expected cost savings, I doubt there would be one. However, you might consider asking Ring (directly) to make a Repeater Program that could be loaded on an LM-3 which is the least expensive radio equipped part that Ring offers with any onboard processing. The CI-1 is cheaper, but requires a PC to drive it.

JRad:
Thanks William -

I guess I should be more clear of my want for a stand-alone repeater.  What I am after is a PWR-56 without the AC to DC supply. Like you say,  a true dedicated module would be nearly identical except without the wire terminals, so there would be no cost savings.

One day when I have time during office hours I'll give Tim a call about this. He would probably sell me just the PWR-56 module without the AC/DC supply.  I would be powering it with a 14.5VDC Lion battery.  I'll be powering with battery because where I need repeaters is a long way from AC power.

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