# USA trains GP-9 w/DCS



## Guest (Nov 23, 2008)

i just received back, my 2nd GP-9 that i sent to Ray Manley for MTH DCS conversion.this thing is great, sounds and control and smoke are awsome, and as usual Rays work is outstanding, his prices are great and workmanship is 2nd to none. thanks again Ray great job, thanks for getting it done so quick now i can use it with the other one to head up my passenger train for the xmas display..








Nick


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## Truthman (Dec 13, 2008)

Nick,

Does MTH DCS allow battery operation? Are the trains in this video track or battery powered?

Nate


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## fildowns (May 17, 2008)

Posted By Truthman on 12/16/2008 10:44 AM
Nick,

Does MTH DCS allow battery operation? Are the trains in this video track or battery powered?

Nate



Not without some work Nate. There are only a select few mad enough to try it









see http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/35/postid/60134/view/topic/Default.aspx

The DCS receiver unit is a vey big board, almost twice that of an Aristo Train Engineer RX.

We live in hope MTH will one day entertain battery with plugs on their locos and a smaller RX to fit in tenders.









I'm pretty sure Nick is a track power only - but he's still an ok guy!


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## Truthman (Dec 13, 2008)

Thanks for the info. I've always been intrigued by the MTH one guage offerings but have never seen one in person to be able to see details. How are MTH (1:32) loco's and stock on detail? Comparable to Aristo? Finer detailed like USA? I would like to see some closeups of MTh stuff, I hear they are loaded with features and Protosound 2 is supposed to be top notch but I just can't seem to see one in person. 

Nate


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## fildowns (May 17, 2008)

Check out Raymond Manley's website for plenty of pics of his MTH locos
http://www.rayman4449.dynip.com/


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## Rayman4449 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Nate,

Forgot to subscribe to this thread or I would have noticed your reply sooner.

If you are wanting to get an overview of the DCS system I have a set of hastily done videos that steps through the functionality and demos it with an engine. As Phil said DCS can run under battery operation. To get it to work you will need to get a TIU installed in a box car as the link Phil provided shows. There are three main components of the MTH DCS protosound system, the wireless remote, the TIU (Track Interface Unit) and the Protosound Sound and control board in each engine. The TIU goes between the power supply and track and the remote communicates with the TIU and the TIU adds the commands to the track. (The engine also sends confirmation responses back to the TIU which sends those back to the remote to confirm you have proper communication with your engine)

MTH products have great detail. In the steam area, they are somwhere in-between Aristo and USA Trains(USAT being the ultimate in a steam model). As Phil said I have a pretty good collection of photos of the MTH stuff that I've bought that attempt to provide up close detail photos so you can see exactly what they look like. (I do that with all my stuff) MTH models are plastic with a lot of brass detail parts (except like the MTH Big Boy which has an all die cast metal frame). If you are comparing the Aristo Mikado/pacific which are older models and dont have that that much detail then the MTH line does have much better detail. If you compare the Aristo Mallet (which I think is well done) from a looks perspective the Mallet and MTH steamers compare more closely although Aristo doesn't paint it's drivers so the Aristo steamers don't have quite the finished look. But when you look at price points, you get what you pay for, you don't pay as much for the aristo engines and you might get a few less things(Aristo Mallet ~$500, MTH you pay more but get more (built in sound and control)(MTH Big Boy ~$1000), USA Trains is pretty expensive but you get a model that looks like a replica of the real thing(USAT Big Boy ~$3500). Take a look at my website for photos of both the Mallet and MTH steamers. I own 3 Mallets, 3 MTH Big Boys and one USAT Big Boy and like them all and glad I purchased them.

As far as the sound and control, well I'm a big proponent of DCS having lucked out in first getting their Challenger when I first got in the hobby and was completely hooked. The remote is very advanced and for $250 for the remote and TIU the cost is very low in comparison to other comparable digital control systems. Sound quality is just stellar in my opinion. The user interface with the remote and menus is very intuitive. The included features are unmatched by any other system on the market. Check out my overview video to see what I mean.

The only real issue with the MTH DCS system is it requires a striped flywheel in order to function, so to retrofit non-MTH engines it makes install in those engines a bit more work. Some already have flywheels some do not and require some work to get flywheels installed. See my DCS installs page to see the list of engines I've converted to date. 

If you have any questions or anything feel free to email me or reply here and I'd be glad to help.


Raymond


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