Recent Posts

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1
General Discussion / Handheld 2 Frozen
« Last post by rsmproductions on May 10, 2026, 04:58:05 PM »
Yesterday while running trains I attempted to adjust the volume on the handheld.  Went to the adjustment windows and then tried to save only for it to tell me it couldn't because all sounds had to be off and the engine not running at all.  The funny thing was all sounds were off and the engine throttle was 0%.  Tried several times to no avail.  Then I lost all sounds altogether and to run silent.

Then to make matters worse the handheld page froze and I was unable to access any other page and couldn't even turn the thing off...funny thing though the throttle worked and was able stop the engine.  When I was done I just left the handheld alone and let the battery run down.  This morning the handheld was off and there was enough battery to turn the unit on...it was no longer frozen.  So now it is charging back up. 

Not sure if this typical issue because for as long as I've owned never had a problem

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions.
Richard
2
RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: RAILPRO WH-6 SPEAKER WIRING
« Last post by Tom on May 09, 2026, 10:00:46 AM »
Thanks Bill.
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RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: RAILPRO WH-6 SPEAKER WIRING
« Last post by William Brillinger on May 07, 2026, 06:35:27 AM »
I don't think polarity of the leads matters as long as all of the speakers are oriented the same way so they are in phase together.
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RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / RAILPRO WH-6 SPEAKER WIRING
« Last post by Tom on May 06, 2026, 08:59:55 AM »
Does anyone know which speaker lead in the WH-6 is positive, or how to figure it out?

Also, if dual speakers should be WH-6(+) to Speaker #1(+), from speaker #1(-) to  speaker #2(+), from speaker #2(-) to WH-6(-), what would happen if polarity connections were reversed?  That is: WH-6(-) to Speaker #1(+), from speaker #1(-) to  speaker #2(+), from speaker #2(-) to WH-6(+).
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Finished RailPro Installation Examples / Re: Atlas HO C420
« Last post by G8B4Life on May 06, 2026, 05:47:42 AM »
If only every model had that much free space to install modules in!

If I recall correctly, DigiTrax harnesses are the crimped wire type. This means instead of cutting / coiling unused wires you can lift the little tab the holds the socket into the JST plug and simply pull the wire and socket out; saving them for reinsertion later if need be...

Tim


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Finished RailPro Installation Examples / Atlas HO C420
« Last post by LVRR1856 on May 05, 2026, 11:38:13 PM »
This was a super simple install.

1- Atlas HO C420
1- Digitrax 1" 8 to 9 pin harness
1- LM3S - Sound Module
1- Sound Systems Speaker and Baffle
-little Capton tape, 3m 2 face for speaker,

Stock lights had resistors built in.
No cutting required, Plugged, taped, soldiered speaker wires - DONE
Easiest one yet. Maybe 20 minutes.

7
RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Anything New From Ring Lately ?
« Last post by LVRR1856 on May 04, 2026, 01:57:31 PM »
Just wondering if anybody knows of any new enhancements or new products on the Horizon ?
Just curious - things seem to be quiet on the home front as they say ...

Perhaps smaller modules ? Software updates ? Added sound files ? ........ Anything?

I know some were complaining about the repeaters not being so good on recent threads ...
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RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / RailPro conversion of Intermountain ES44AC
« Last post by Mrpicks on April 25, 2026, 11:55:59 AM »
Has anybody done a conversion of a Intermountain ES44AC that came with SoundTraxx sound /decoder. Our first intermountain loco that was new in the box and super inexpensive. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Looks to be a total gut, not a plug and play. At least it already has a speaker installed. Thank you all in advance. Dave
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RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: Who's Using Stay-Alive/Keep-Alive, PBM-2 Capacitor Modules?
« Last post by Espeelark on April 22, 2026, 03:08:05 PM »
Quote from: sieggs1 on April 21, 2026, 02:03:46 AM
What's amazing is not only how cheap and easily these can be made (I made two for less than $10 each), but how well they work. At 1/5th the cost of the PBM-2, they can run much longer. I was able to use five 3.0v 2F capacitors in series and fit them into my SW1500 in place of the PBM-2 and have room for a larger speaker. And the things never stall. You can also rearrange the capacitors to fit the space.

Rob S.

Sounds intriguing Rob!
Can you take some photos of the install in that SW1500 so we can see how it all fit?
It would also be interesting to see a photo of your home-brew keep alive all by itself so that we can get an idea of how big it is/isn't.
Thanks!
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RailPro Specific Help & Discussion / Re: Who's Using Stay-Alive/Keep-Alive, PBM-2 Capacitor Modules?
« Last post by sieggs1 on April 21, 2026, 02:03:46 AM »
Hey All,

Interesting feedback.

Maybe it's because I'm coming back to model railroading after a 35-year hiatus and DCC (or rather, RailPro), keep-alives and all this technology is new to me. Back then, as a kid, my locos never ran very well. Of course, I didn't really understand the importance of cleaning track or locos.

I knew I wanted to try a keep-alive with RailPro, so I bought the PBM-2 for about a half-dozen of my locos, since it was RailPro.

Well, needless to say, the costs add up. Pricing is up to $49.99 retail for the PBM-2, but they do work.

Then I saw some folks were using keep-alives other than the PBM-2 successfully.

I also saw Larry Puckett's YouTube videos on making your own capacitor modules. So I ordered the parts, all from Amazon, and built a few.
https://youtu.be/nm2b7MfQrFs?si=ctzjD-S-pv-0StN-
https://youtu.be/bhK4HuJb6Ws?si=tk9QRY0EXbfLDm3h

What's amazing is not only how cheap and easily these can be made (I made two for less than $10 each), but how well they work. At 1/5th the cost of the PBM-2, they can run much longer. I was able to use five 3.0v 2F capacitors in series and fit them into my SW1500 in place of the PBM-2 and have room for a larger speaker. And the things never stall. You can also rearrange the capacitors to fit the space.

I think I will be going this route in the future. It's just kind of a no-brainer. I was very surprised.

I get that if you power your frogs and keep your track clean, you should have minimal issues. However, I like the security of the homebrew keep-alive.

In addition, by using RailPro, we are in a unique situation in that the modules still respond when on capacitor power whereas folks with DCC lose control of their locos for the short time they operate on said power.

Maybe this is all old news but I think this will save me a lot of money.

Has anyone experimented with DIY Keep-Alives?

Rob S.



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