Lee, I thought about a ZW but with the now 2 MTH units that would've been the wrong move for me for lack of CV control. Trying to set any MTH CVs with a standard controller{clinks/clanks} is a really P.I.T.A.. I'll start searching around for an MTH full controller. This is somewhat expected for me...no shock the train companies want proprietary controllers for their engines...they wouldn't want you going and buying a Lionel controller for your MTH engine or backwards from that...no extra company revenue that way. Built it brand loyalty for the most part...

Quote from: phillyreading on December 17, 2012, 02:08:53 PM
Burl,
Get your MTH 0-8-0 engine off the CW-80 as of yesterday! MTH and the CW-80 don't mix in any way shape or form, especially if it is PS-2 by MTH.
Use an MTH Z-1000 or an Atlas or Williams 80 watt transformer with it, or use the ZW by Lionel.
Done..and thank you for the heads up!

-with O scale or O gauge we don't have NMRA standards as yet and everything is more of a hit & miss venture for the buyer unless he is well informed about what he has bought and how to use the product.
...That's why I'm here...for the knowledge!
Lee F.

AFT, here's some of my recent bargins for my and my son's train layout.
Ebay -
- Bachmann Dynamis controller= $87 plus $16 s/h{seller- thefavoritespot}
-slightly ran On30 Bachmann 2-6-6-6 w/sound= $150 plus $10.80 s/h{seller- desotoair1k}
-new On30 Bachmann railbus and trailer= $53 plus $14 s/h{seller- thefavoritespot}
-new On30 Bachmann 2 bay steel hoppers= 1pr @ $38 and the other pair @$41
-new On30 Bachmann brown oxide caboose= $32...combines s/h on this and the above{seller- thefavoritespot}
-new MTH O scale rotary snowplow= $29 plus $9 s/h{seller- bggameboy}
-new MTH O scale 0-8-0 switcher= $86 plus $18 s/h{seller-rtsam}
Mind you this has been slowly adding up for the last 6-8 weeks, but as you can see, ebay is not a bad option for aquisitions...I really like "thefavoritespot" guy.
...of course, I have a far larger "didn't win" list...but that's nothing new to me since I'm such a cheapskate.  

Quote from: Doneldon on December 15, 2012, 08:50:09 PM
...moldy cheese...

Uhm, isn't cheese made by the process of....nevermind!

Quote from: M1FredQ on December 15, 2012, 02:19:49 PM
....my Dad's 1951 Hudson

Why do I have a feeling your talking trains and not actual cars there...coming from a 40 plymouth sedan owner.

I have the EZ controller at the moment and have a dynamis coming...from what I've heard one can set the start up voltage or steps to speed up or slow down certain engines so they match speed on the dynamis controller. The EZ can't do that. Maybe some more playing will be required.
Speaking of speed, just how fast are you wanting the engines to go...scale wise....just asking since the prototypical speed would be on the slow side and usually{and yeah, I said usually} folks like a slow engine that can creep. Just for sake of reference, what engine are you playing with at the moment...some are geared higher or lower than others depending on the manufacturer.

I just checked out the EZ box and though it does state that it can be used for N, HO, and On30...you know that the On30 engines and cars will be heavier and draw more from the controller and if said controller doesn't have much to give out, speed/power will suffer. I'm all to used to this from way back when I got into G scale...talk about power hogs! I do beilieve there's a booster unit for either the EZ or even the dynamis..can anyone confirm that...I haven't done any research on "that" yet, but with me running On30, I may be doing some research soon.

Don, the 0-8-0 is a weird set up, sound wise. Creep her and the chuff seems fine, but as soon as you kick up the throttle is gets out of whack...add revesed bell and whistle when using the lionel controller. This is why I'll need the proper controller for that engine, so I can try to reprogram it. The same controller could be used for my mth zephyr so it'd be a win/win...maybe I could find a slightly used one...I seem to be lucky lately!

I looked for S scale diesel bodies and came up short and that FM O scale body was only $11 so I'm not out much at present.....a whimiscal diesel is a sure thing so far. I'm not a rivet counter...for my day job the ACE and Impax units count the rivets I make...I just buy/build, kitbash, or scratch what I like.

The K-line 4-6-2 never had a spring, but that doesn't mean I can't find one..or your weight idea...she needs something!

Soon I'll have the dynamis so we can quiet things down while running..."mute" just isn't the answer....and with a 7 and 10yr old, "quiet" is all too rare a thing around these parts...

AFT, I'll toss my 2 cents in FWIW...when looking for a starter set, consider cost and size. I started with G scale long ago, and while the bang for the buck engine/car cost is more impressive for G scale...you pay for that in shear size! Any future G scale layout will be big. I'd suggest either HO scale or O scale...remember that "HO" stands for "half O scale" and G scale is nearly double O scale though G has a few different scales per manufacturers{Aristocraft/Bachmann/LGB/Delton/USAtrains....}- O and HO are at least set in scale sizes. On30 scale is a narrow gauge scale with the use of O scale equipment on HO scale track...scale 30" rail width.
My 7yr old son loves sounds and action, which lends O scale to his needs/wants...ok, I like those too! There's alot of action and sound pieces in O scale that will make you both happy...there's some but not nearly as much of that in HO scale to be had.
"Costs"- that seems to be the hot question...where on earth do I/we find reasonably cheap sound engines/cars and the controllers to get all those sounds out of the engines. Pick a scale and search under the web or even ebay. I/we just got the On30 bachmann 2-6-6-2 w/sound and the railbus and trailer{no sound-darn}...and love the steam engine sounds- were using the EZ command right now but I recently purchased the bachmann Dynamis system to fully control those sounds where the EZ can't do that as well or I should say in depth as the dynamis can. Sounds cost money, no way around it...if you can live w/o that your costs will be cheaper.
Set your budget and go hunting for bargins and get them as they come to you...don't be in a rush. Tiss the season for deals, but that can carry on thru out the rest of the year too!

Update- Today I tried the MTH 0-8-0 switcher out, was bought as "never ran"{clean wheels/pick ups and only $86!), and put a 9v battery in for quick playing. Not happy with the results using the Lionel CW80....whistle and bell were reversed and the chuff rate was way off after roughly 1/2 throttle...almost sounded like the unit was confused signal wise. OK, so I know a far better controller is in order so we can run this and my MTH zephyr. I tried...
For the last 2 weeks we've been running our lionel GP 9 bangor and aroostook intermittantly...she's a real buzzer- sound wise...so much so that I pulled it to take a look at the relay as I suspect it may have an issue since it's sooo loud. Maybe it's just me...since it "looks" fine{how to test correctly?} The darn K-line 2-6-4 steamer keeps derailing the front truck on our loop right where the tree cord goes under the track...could use more tension!{yeah, or a smoother transistion I suppose-hehehe}

I pulled the trigger on a Dynamis system...it's enroute as we speak. This way I can better control the 2-6-6-2 sounds better...the wife is getting a tad ticked that the boy and I are frequently setting up and loop on the kitchen floor to "play"...the sound is rather loud for she and the daughter in the living room I guess.....doesn't bug us?!

Lastly, I bought a weaver FM trainmaster body in O gauge...the intent is to shorten it as needed after finding a dcc HO running chassis for under it. The boy and I are wanting a narrow gauge diesel for our On30 rails...and "no", I'm not a rivet counter or prototype nut...there's nothing "modern" out there yet for On30 so we'll make our own. My son and I are agreed that we like the tweener years where steam and diesel ran together before steam was phased out. -Helps that my grandfather worked for the CB&Q/BN roundhouse here in town...I'm an anything pre BN kind of guy...though cascade green in "Burlington"{no Northern}, C&S and FW&D works fine too. To each our own....

Quote from: Doneldon on December 04, 2012, 12:10:24 AM
Burl-

If your outside corner causes reception problems you can get a centralized receiver or put a couple of small mirrors in the room to spread the IR around. It tends to bounce around naturally so you might not need any remediation but there is help if you need it.

                                                                                                                                                                                -- D

Now that's a neat idea!{Mirrors}  I planned on the controller shelf being in the front corner of the layout so we could swing either way.

Going by the last post...I'd only need two controllers.....the Lionel and K-Line engines are the standard style -no DCC or anything, it's only the On30 Bachmann and the MTH proto 2 Zephyr that have special needs for full sounds and functions.

Lee, I have one of the origonal PS2 MTH zephyrs, and while I love the old girl, I may be asking too much to try and control both that and the bachmann On30 we have...As I've read so far the MTH DCS controllers work well with MTH but not with bachmann . My son loves my...oops, our, bachmann 2-6-6-2 and the rail bus...the steamer has the oem railsounds and I need to add something to the bus someday soon since that adds to the fun. We both like action, steam and diesels so that's why the 3 rail for the lionel/k-line action cars and the diesels...unless I can kitbash a large diesel to run on On30 to keep him happy.
If it was all my call, I'd do the whole layout in On30, but I have to keep my son happy too if I want him to stay with it....no guarantees there either way I guess but I'm trying this the shared way for now.

While the simple choice of a dynamis would be the easier choice for us for the bachmann stuff, the idea of the IR leaves me a tad concerned with our outside corner L layout, but at $117ish new that's pretty cheap to access all the CVs for the 2-6-6-2 and whatever we'd do for the railbus.
It's a shame all the manufactures can't play well together, but I guess that'd make for less sales on someone's part if they did.

- Rich, thanks for the link, I'll check it out....as much as I want sound from my bachmann stuff - I want the sound from my mth zephyr too!
-Don, 5' is the most I'd go for depth for the very reason you stated...luckily I have a long reach which will help. My other idea was to make the "L" layout on rollers...why?....so I could roll it out away from the wall for any needed access. I love the idea of a shelf layout...just don't know if I could/would dedicate that kind of space...but your right, it would be neat and alot kinder on grades due to the length. Add that my son{OK- me too} loves tunnels and bridges and he wants a turntable in the worst way and we all know what kind of realistate that takes up even in scale.

Pops, while I don't get this mag...and maybe I should!...can you try the "print preview" option when asking to print it? You can see how the pages will come out and how many...also, is your printer file set up for "fit to page" sometimes that will correct the problem.

Jeff, thanks for that...I didn't know - and your right, it does make the choice easier now.