MTHTrains 20-5608-1 User manual

Compatibility
This engine will operate on any
traditional O-72 Gauge track system,
including M.T.H.’s RealTrax® or
ScaleTrax™ or traditional tubular track.
It is also compatible with most standard
AC transformers. (See page 21 for a
complete list of compatible transformers
and wiring instructions.)
PLEASE READ BEFORE USE AND SAVE
Premier Bi Polar
Electric Engine
OPERATOR’S MANUAL (3V PS-2)

Table of Contents
Set Up 3
Basic Operation 3
Transformer Controls 3
Throttle 3
Volume Control 4
Proto-Sound 2.0 Operation 5
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features 5
Passenger Station Announcements (PSA) 6
Tips on Using PSA 7
Proto-Coupler® Operation 8
Speed Control 8
Lock into a Direction State 9
Reset to Factory Defaults 9
Automatic Sounds 9
Maintenance 10
Lubrication and Greasing Instructions 10
Locomotive Traction Tire Replacement 12
Locomotive Light Bulb Replacement 13
Self-Charging Battery Back-Up 14
ProtoSmoke® 15
Troubleshooting 17
Transformer Compatibility Chart 20
Additional Features with DCS Remote Control System 21
Service and Warranty Information 22
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:When using electrical products, basic safety precautions should be observed, including the following:
Read this manual thoroughly before using this device.
lM.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
properly repaired.
lDo not operate your layout unattended. Obstructed accessories or stalled trains may overheat, resulting in damage to your layout.
lThis train set is intended for indoor use. Do not use if water is present. Serious injury or fatality may result.
lDo not operate the hobby transformer with damaged cord, plug, switches, buttons or case.
This product may be protected by one or more of the following patents:
6,019,289; 6,280,278; 6,281,606; 6,291,263; 6,457,681; 6,491,263; 6,604,641;
6,619,594; 6,624,537; 6,655,640.
©2007, M.T.H. Electric Trains, Columbia, MD 21046

Set Up Checklist
Although the engine was lubricated at the factory, it is important that you lubricate
the chassis before operation. Lightly grease the outside idler and drive gears
(marked “G” in Fig. 4 on page 11) to prevent them from squeaking. Use light
household oil and follow the lubrication points marked “L” in Fig. 2 on pg. 10. Do
not over-oil. Use only a drop or two on each pivot point.
At this point, you are ready to put your engine on the track and begin running it.
Throttle – Throttle up the power to your track. Give about 10-14 volts or enough
power so that the engine’s headlight shines brightly. Then put the engine into
motion by either firmly pressing the Direction button on your transformer or
remote once or dropping and advancing the throttle to put the engine in forward.
Operation Buttons
Use the operation buttons on your transformer or remote as described below.
Horn/Whistle - To sound the horn, firmly press the Horn/Whistle button. The
horn will sound for as long as you continue to depress the button. It will stop
when you release the button. The horn has four different endings, depending on
whether you hold the button for less than three seconds, three seconds, four
seconds, or five seconds or longer.
Grade Crossing Signal – DCS Mode Only - Customers that operate this engine in
DCS mode will find a new feature added to the engine sound set. Now there is a
soft key (SXS) that sounds the correct 2 longs, a short and another long whistle
blast to announce that the train is approaching a grade crossing. To sound the grade
crossing signal, locate the soft keys at the top of the DCS Remote. Scroll to the left
until SXS acronym is showing. A single push and release of the SXS soft key will
produce the correct 2 longs, a short and another long whistle blast of the Grade
Crossing Signal.
Anytime you want to sound the Grade crossing Signal just press and release the
SXS soft key.
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 you turn it on until you press and release the button again to turn it off.
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Direction – Your train is programmed to start in neutral. The first direction after
neutral upon start-up is forward. Firmly press and release the Direction button to
allow the engine to move forward. Just as you must stop your automobile 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 for 25
seconds or more.
Volume Control – To adjust the volume of all sounds made by this engine,
turn the master volume control knob located under the engine clockwise to
increase the volume and counter-clockwise to decrease the volume (see Fig. 1).
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Figure 1. Proto-Sound 2.0 Volume Adjustment Knob
Proto-Sound 2.0
Volume Adjustment Knob

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/Whistle 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/ whistle 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.
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Feature to Be Activated Button Code:
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)
Timing Chart
Total Time Lapse: 1 Seconds½
Press
Whistle
Short &
Firm
½ Sec.
Pause
½ Sec.
Pause
Press
Bell
Short &
Firm
Press
Bell
Short &
Firm

Passenger Station Announcements (PSA):
Your engine is equipped with a sound package of passenger station
announcements that you can play when you pull into a passenger 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 sufficient time to run through each sequence.
1. To cue the sound system to play the PSA, quickly but firmly press the Bell
button once followed by 2 quick but firm presses of the Whistle button while the
engine is moving. As soon as you have keyed in this code, you will hear the
announcement for the upcoming stop and the bell will begin to ring.
2. Press the Direction button or drop and advance the throttle once to stop the
engine. This will trigger the first sequence of PSA. 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 Whistle
and Bell buttons until the full PSA sequence is complete.
3. After waiting about 30 seconds for that sequence to run, press the Direction
button again to trigger the second sequence of PSA.
4. After about 30 seconds, press the Direction button again to trigger the third
PSA sequence.
5. 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 sequence. You
will know it is the final sequence when you hear the “All Aboard!” call. The bell
will begin to chime and within a few seconds, the engine 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 whistle buttons and can ring the bell or blow the whistle
as usual.
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Tips on Using PSA
• You can terminate PSA at anytime by turning off power to the track for 15
seconds.
• You do not have to be in Forward to use PSA. 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 even if you are double-heading with another engine. If
the second engine is not equipped with PSA at all, you must remember not to
leave the throttle at a high voltage level once you have stopped the engine to
run the PSA. Otherwise, the engine without PSA will begin vibrating on the
track as its motors strain to move the train, since they cannot be automatically
disabled during the PSA cycle. If the second engine is an original Proto-
Sound engine equipped with PSA, you may choose to disable it when used in
double-heading operations, so you will not experience competing PSA
sounds. To disable PSA in an original Proto-Sound engine, see the operating
instructions for that engine.
• PSA can be triggered from Neutral. It will operate the same as if triggered
while in motion except that, at the conclusion of the PSA, the engine will
depart in the next direction of travel, as opposed to the direction it was
traveling before entering Neutral.
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Proto-Coupler® Operation
This locomotive is equipped with two coil-wound Proto-Couplers for remote
uncoupling action. Because the Proto-Coupler is controlled through the Proto-
Sound 2.0 microprocessor, it does not require an uncoupling track section or
modification to your layout to function. You can fire the coupler(s) from neutral
or while in motion. Use the codes shown below (and in the chart on pg. 5) to
fire the coupler(s).
Rear Coupler:
To fire the rear coupler, press the Bell button once followed immediately by
three pushes of the Whistle button. The sound of the liftbar and air line
depletion will play, and the knuckle will be released.
Front Coupler:
To fire the front coupler, press the Bell button once followed immediately by
four pushes of the Whistle button. The sound of the liftbar and air line
depletion will play, and the knuckle will be released.
Speed Control: 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. To maintain a constant speed
when speed control is turned off, you need to adjust track voltage yourself.
When speed control is off, the volume will drop to allow for better low voltage
operation. Full volume is restored upon reactivation of speed control.
To turn speed control on and off, put the engine in neutral, then press the
transformer’s Whistle button one time then immediately press the Bell button
two times. Two horn blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change.
Repeat the 1 whistle, 2 bells code to return it to the other state. 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.
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Lock into a Directional State:
You can lock your engine into a directional state (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 press your remote’s Horn
button once followed immediately by three presses of the Bell button. 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 state, even if the engine is kept without
power for extended periods of time.
Reset to Factory Defaults:
To override the settings you currently have assigned to the engine and reset it to its
factory defaults, while in Neutral press the Whistle button once, followed
immediately by five quick pushes of the Bell button. Two horn blasts will indicate
that the engine has made the change.
Automatic Sounds:
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.

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Lubrication and Greasing Instructions
The engine should be well oiled and greased in order to run properly.
You should regularly lubricate the engine to prevent it from squeaking. Use light
household oil and follow the lubrication points marked “L” in Fig. 2. Do not over-
oil. Use only a drop or two on each pivot point.
The locomotive’s internal gearing was greased at the factory and should not need
additional grease until after 50 hours of operation or one year, whichever comes
first. Follow the greasing instructions below. Note that in some tightly packed
engines you may need to move internal components temporarily in order to access
the gears.
1. To access the gear box, remove the cab from the chassis by unscrewing the
chassis screws as seen in Figure 6 and lifting the cab from the chassis.
2. Once the cab is removed, remove the screws that hold the motor mounting
plates to the chassis. You will need a long, skinny screw driver to reach the screws.
There are 2 sets of screws on each motor (see figure 3 on pg. 11)
3. Once the motor mount screw has been removed, pull the motor away from the
truck block and lightly coat the motor worm gear and bronze drive gear (in the
truck block) with grease.
4. Reassemble the truck and motor, being careful not to pinch any wires between
the truck block and motor mount.
5. After repeating the procedure for the other motor, reassmble the chassis and
body, being careful that the wire harnesses are not caught between the chassis and
body and reinstall the chassis screws.
Lubricate Pick Up Rollers (L)
Lubricate Wheel Axles (L)
Figure 2. Lubrication Points on the Locomotive