M.T.H. Premier Climax User manual

Compatibility
This engine will operate on any traditional
O-42 Gauge track system. It is also compatible
with most standard AC transformers.
(See page 17 for a complete list of compatible
transformers and wiring instructions.)
Premier Climax
Steam Engine
OPERATOR’S MANUAL
PLEASE READ BEFORE USE AND SAVE
Freight Yard Sound
July 2005

Table of Contents
Set Up Checklist 2
Lubrication and Greasing 2
Priming The Smoke Unit 2
Placing the Engine on the Track 3
Checking The Battery 3
Basic Operation 4
Throttle 4
Operating Buttons 4
Manual Volume Control 4
Proto-Sound 2.0 Operating Instructions 5
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features 5
PSA/FYS 6
Proto-Coupler® Operation 7
Speed Control 8
Locking Locomotive Into ADirection 8
Reset To Factory Default 9
Automatic Sound Effects 9
Maintenance 9
Lubrication and Greasing Instructions 10
Cleaning the Wheels, Tires and Track 11
Locomotive Traction Tire Replacement 11
ProtoSmoke® Unit Operation 12
Locomotive Light Bulb Replacement 13
Self-Charging Battery Back-Up 14
Troubleshooting 15
Transformer Compatibility Chart 17
Additional Features with DCS Remote Control System 18
Service and Warranty Information 19
Authorized Service Centers 20
CAUTION: ELECTRICALLY OPERATED PRODUCT:
Not recommended for children under 10 years of age. M.T.H. recommends adult supervision with children ages 10 - 16.
As with all electric products, precautions should be observed during handling and use to reduce the risk of electric shock.
WARNING:Whenusingelectricalproducts,basicsafetyprecautionsshouldbeobserved,includingthefollowing:
Readthismanualthoroughlybeforeusingthisdevice.
M.T.H. recommends that all users and persons supervising use examine the hobby transformer and other electronic equipment
periodically for conditions that may result in the risk of fire, electric shock, or injury to persons, such as damage to the primary
cord, plug blades, housing, output jacks or other parts. In the event such conditions exist, the train set should not be used until
properlyrepaired.
Donotoperateyourlayoutunattended. Obstructedaccessoriesorstalledtrainsmayoverheat,resultingindamagetoyourlayout.
Thistrainsetisintendedforindooruse. Donotuseifwaterispresent. Seriousinjuryorfatalitymayresult.
Donotoperatethehobbytransformerwithdamagedcord,plug,switches,buttonsorcase.
•
•
•
•

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•Lubricate the locomotive
•Prime the smoke unit
•Check to see whether the battery needs to be charged for full sound effects
•Apply power to run as described in the Basic Operating Section of this manual
Set Up Checklist
Lubrication
You should lubricate the engine to prevent it from squeaking. Use light
household oil and follow the lubrication points marked “L” in Fig. 7. Do
not over-oil. Use only a drop or two on each pivot point.
Lubricate Wheel Axles (L)
Lubricate Wheel Axles (L)
Figure 1: Lubrication Points on the Locomotive
Priming the Smoke Unit
When preparing to run this engine, add
10 drops of smoke fluid through the
smokestack. We recommend M.T.H.
ProtoSmoke, Seuthe, LGB, or LVTS
fluids. Do not overfill the unit or the
fluid may leak out and coat the interior
engine components.
If you choose not to add the fluid (or
have already added the fluid but choose
to run smoke-free), turn off the smoke
unit switch located on top of the tender
(see Fig. 8). Failure either to add fluid
to the unit or to turn it off may
damage the smoke unit heating
element and/or wicking material.
Figure 2: Smoke Unit Switch Location
(Inside Tender Hatches)
Smoke Switch
Lubricate Pick Up Rollers (L)

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The engine and tender are semi-permanently connected by a drawbar. The engine and
tender must be lifted and handled together.
Use caution. Do not bend the drawbar.
Place the locomotive on the track make sure the reverse unit plug that extends out of
the engine coal bunker is securely plugged into the receptacle in the water tender.
WARNING: DO NOT CONNECT THIS ENGINE TOTENDER FROM
ANOTHER ENGINE; IT MAY CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE.
At this point, you are ready to begin running your engine.
Placing The Engine On The Track
Figure 3
Insert reverse unit
into the front of the tender.
Checking the Battery
You may find, if your locomotive was built several months before you set it up, that the
rechargeable battery has run down and needs to be charged before operating. If you
notice that the sounds are garbled, test and charge the engine as described in the "Self-
Charging Battery Back-Up" on page 14.

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Basic Operation
Throttle
Throttle up the power to your track. Give enough power so that the engine’s headlight
shines brightly. Then put the engine in to motion by either firmly pressing the
Direction button on your transformer or remote once or dropping and advancing to
throttle to put the engine in forward.
Operating Buttons
Use the operation buttons on your transformer as described below.
Horn/Whistle - To sound the whistle, firmly press the Horn/Whistle button. The
whistle will sound for as long as you continue to depress the button. It will stop when
you release the button. the whistle has four different endings, depending on whether
you hold the button for less than three seconds, three seconds, four seconds, five
seconds or longer.
Bell - To sound the bell, firmly press and release the Bell button.To turn the bell off,
press and release the Bell button again. The bell will continue to ring from the time
your turn it on until you press the release the button again to turn it off.
Direction - Your train is programmed to start in neutral. To put the engine into forward
and then to change the direction of the train or to put it into neutral, firmly press and
release the Direction button on your transformer. Just as you must stop your car
between forward and reverse, this engine will not go directly from forward to reverse;
it goes into neutral between directions. If the train has been moving forward, the first
press of the Direction button will put the train from forward into neutral, the second
press into reverse, the third press back into neutral, and the fourth back into forward.
To prevent accidental high-speed start-ups, this engine is programmed to restart in
neutral each time the track voltage is turned off or 10 seconds or more.
Manual Volume Control
To adjust the volume of all sounds
made by this engine, turn the master
volume control knob located under the
water hatch on the tender deck
clockwise to increase the volume and
counter-clockwise to decrease the
volume.
Proto-Sound 2.0 Volume Adjustment Knob
Figure 4

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Proto-Sound 2.0 Operating Instructions
This manual contains the operating instructions for Proto-Sound 2.0 in conventional
mode only. Instructions for accessing DCS command mode features accompany the
DCS Remote Control System equipment.
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features
Proto-Sound 2.0 features are activated by sequences of Bell and Horn button pushes
described below. Please read the full descriptions of each feature before using it. To
use these buttons to activate features rather than to blow the horn or ring the bell, you
should tap the buttons very quickly with a ½-second pause between button presses.
You may need to practice your timing to make this work smoothly.
Timing Chart
Total Time Lapse: 1 Seconds½
Press
Horn
Short &
Firm
½ Sec.
Pause ½ Sec. Pause
Press
Bell
Short &
Firm
Press
Bell
Short &
Firm
Feature to Be Activated Button Code:
Freight Yard or Passenger Station Sounds
Fire the Rear Coupler
Fire the Front Coupler
Speed Control On/Off
Lock into a Direction
Reset to Factory Defaults
1 Bell, 2 Horn/Whistles
1 Bell, 3 Horn/Whistles
1 Bell, 4 Horn/Whistles
1 Horn/Whistle, 2 Bells (from Neutral only)
1 Horn/Whistle, 3 Bells
1 Horn/Whistle, 5 Bells (from Neutral only)

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Your engine is equipped with a sound package of passenger station announcements that
you can play when you pull into a station. Each sequence described below will play as
long as it is left on, randomly generating sounds, but be sure to allow approximately 30
seconds between the button pushes described below to allow the PSA/FYS sufficient
time to run through each sequence.
•To cue the sound system to play the PSA/FYS, quickly but firmly tap the Bell
button once followed by 2 quick taps of the Horn button while the engine is
moving. Tap the buttons quickly but allow approximately ½ second between
each press.
• Press the Direction button once to stop the engine. This will trigger the first
sequence of PSA/FYS. The reverse unit is temporarily disabled so that the train
will not move as you use the Direction button to trigger the sounds, and Proto-
Sound 2.0 has disabled operator control over the Horn and Bell buttons until
the full PSA/FYS. sequence is complete.
•After waiting about 30 seconds for that sequence to run, press the Direction
button again to trigger the second sequence of PSA/FYS.
•After about 30 seconds, press the Direction button again to trigger the third
PSA/FYS sequence.
•Again, after allowing about 30 seconds for that sequence to run, press the
Direction button one more time to trigger the fourth and final PSA/FYS
sequence. The PSA/FYS will continue, and within a few seconds, the engine
and bell will start and move out on its own at the current throttle setting, in the
same direction it was traveling when you began the sequence. Once the bell
turns off, the operator regains control of the transformer's bell and Horn
buttons and can ring the bell or blow the Horn as usual.
Passenger StationAnnouncements (PSA)/
Freight Yard Sounds (FYS)
+
Sound System Cued to Play
Freight Yard or Passenger
Station Sounds (FYS)/(PSA)
Horn/
Whistle
Bell
Direction
1st
Sequence
FYS/PSA
+
Direction
2nd
Sequence
FYS/PSA
+
Direction
3rd
Sequence
FYS/PSA
+
Direction
4th
Sequence
FYS/PSA
=Operator
Controls
When Bell
Turns Off
Horn/
Whistle
Horn/
Whistle

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Tips on Using PSA/FYS
•You can terminate PSA/FYS at any time by turning off power to the track for 15
seconds.
•You do not have to be in Forward to use PSA/FYS.At the conclusion of the full
sequence, the train will pull away from the station in whatever direction you were
going when you activated the feature.
•You can use PSA/FYS even if you are double-heading with another engine. If the
second engine is not equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0, you must remember not to leave
the throttle at a high voltage level once you have stopped the engine to run the
PSA/FYS. Otherwise, the engine without PSA/FYS will begin vibrating on the track
as its motors strain to move the train, since they cannot be automatically disabled
during the PSA cycle (or if an original Proto-Sound engine, PSA/FYS are triggered
differently and that engine's motor-disable feature will not be active when you run
PSA/FYS in Proto-Sound 2.0).
•PSA/FYS can be triggered from Neutral. It will operate the same as if triggered while
in motion except that, at the conclusion of the PSA/FYS, the engine will depart in the
next direction of travel, as opposed to the direction it was traveling before entering
Neutral.
Proto-Coupler® Operation
This locomotive is equipped with one or more coil-wound Proto-Couplers for remote
uncoupling action. Because Proto-Couplers are controlled through the Proto-Sound 2.0
microprocessor, they do not require an uncoupling track section or modification to your
layout to function. You can fire a coupler from neutral or while in motion. Use the
code shown below (and in the chart on p. 7) to fire the coupler(s).
Rear Coupler:
To fire the rear coupler, quickly tap the Bell button once followed by three quick taps of
the Horn button, allowing approximately ½ second to lapse between each quick button
press. The sound of the liftbar and air line depletion will play, and the knuckle will be
released.
Front Coupler:
To fire the front coupler (if your engine has one), quickly tap the Bell button once
followed by four quick taps of the Horn button, allowing approximately ½ second to
lapse between each quick button press. The sound of the liftbar and air line depletion
will play, and the knuckle will be released.
Horn Horn
Fire
Rear
Coupler
=
Horn
Bell
Horn Horn
Fire
Front
Coupler
=
Horn Horn
Bell

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M.T.H. engines equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0 have speed control capabilities that
allow the engine to maintain a constant speed up and down grades and around curves,
much like an automobile cruise control. You can add or drop cars on the run, and the
engine will maintain the speed you set.
While the engine is programmed to start with the speed control feature activated, you
can opt to turn it off. This means the engine's speed will fall as it labors up a hill and
increase as it travels downward. It is also affected by the addition or releasing of cars
while on the run. Because the engine will run more slowly at a given throttle voltage
when speed control is on than when it is off, you should adjust the throttle to a lower
power level for operation with speed control off to avoid high-speed derailments.
When speed control is off, the volume will drop to allow for better low voltage
operation.
To turn speed control on and off, put the engine in neutral, then quickly tap the
transformer's Horn button one time then quickly tap the Bell button two times,
allowing approximately ½ second to lapse between each quick button press. Two horn
blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change. Repeat the 1 horn, 2 bells
code to return it to the other condition. You will want to do this during the initial
neutral upon start-up if you ever couple this engine to another engine that is not
equipped with speed control to avoid damaging the motors in either engine. Each time
you shut down the engine completely, it will automatically turn speed control on.
Speed Control
Horn
Place
Engine into
Neutral
Bell Bell
=
Speed Control
Two Horn Blasts
(indicates change is made)
Repeat to Return
to Normal Condition
Locking Locomotive Into ADirection
You can lock your engine into a direction (forward, neutral, or reverse) so that it will not change
directions. To do this, put the engine into the direction you want (or into neutral to lock it into
neutral), run it at a very slow crawl (as slowly as it will move without halting), and quickly but
firmly tap the Horn button once followed by three quick taps of the Bell button, allowing
approximately ½ second to lapse between each quick button press. Two horn blasts will indicate
that the engine has made the change. The engine will not change direction (including going into
neutral) until you repeat the 1 horn, 3 bells code to return the engine to its normal condition, even
if the engine is kept without power for extended periods of time.
Horn
Place
Engine into
Desired
Direction
Horn
Bell Bell Bell
=
Direction Lock
Two Horn Blasts
(indicates change is made)
Repeat to Return
to Normal Condition

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Automatic Sound Effects
Certain Proto-Sound 2.0 sound effects automatically play in programmed conventional
mode conditions:
Squealing Brakes: Play any time the engine's speed decreases rapidly.
Cab Chatter: Plays at random intervals when the engine idles in neutral.
Engine Start-up and Shut-down: Sounds play when the engine is initially
powered on or is powered off for five seconds or more.
Reset to Factory Default
To override the settings you currently have assigned to the engine and reset it to its
factory defaults, while in Neutral tap the Horn button quickly once, followed by five
quick taps of the Bell button, allowing approximately ½ second to lapse between each
quick button press. Two horn blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change.
Reset
Two Horn Blasts
(indicates change is made)
Repeat to Return
to Normal Condition
Horn
Place
Engine in
Neutral =
BellBellBellBellBell
Maintenance
To remove the boiler shell, remove the three screws indicated in figure 11a. Then
carefully separate the telescoping drive shaft sections while separating the boiler and
the chassis.
To remove the tender shell remove the four screws shown in figure 11b.