QSI QS-2plus! User manual

QS-2plus!
Sound and Control
for 3Rail
Reference Manual

Table of Contents
CONGRATULATIONS!................................................................................6
1. SETTING UP .............................................................................................7
EQUIPMENT LIST...........................................................................................7
HOW TO WIRE YOUR TRANSFORMER .............................................................8
MORE: QSI PowerTrak....................................................................................9
CONNECTING A LIONEL BELL BUTTON ........................................................10
MORE: Lionel Horn and Bell Buttons............................................................11
MORE: QSI SideKick II.................................................................................11
THE BACK-UP BATTERY...............................................................................12
2. STARTING UP ........................................................................................13
TRANSFORMER IDENTIFICATION...................................................................13
CHANGING ENGINE DIRECTION....................................................................14
The Horn Button Has Many Uses .......................................................................14
MORE: Multiple-Heading..............................................................................15
3. SOUND.....................................................................................................16
HORN OR WHISTLE......................................................................................16
BELL ..........................................................................................................17
COUPLER ....................................................................................................18
MORE: QSI Coil Coupler...............................................................................20
PFA (PASSENGER/FREIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT)..............................................21
MORE: QS-2+ Sounds...................................................................................22
4. RESET FEATURES.................................................................................26
WHAT IS RESET.........................................................................................26
Special QS-2+ Commands Are Available In RESET............................................26
HOW TO SELECT THE RESET FEATURE YOU WANT......................................27
How to Locate RESET Positions.........................................................................28
Step by Step Description of Moving through RESET Features.............................29
MORE: Selecting with the Direction Button on Your Transformer..................30
HOW TO OPERATE RESET FEATURE CHOICES ..............................................30
MORE: Transformer Horn Buttons.................................................................30
MORE: How to Find out which RESET Feature Choice is Set........................31
5. ASSIGNING AND USING ID NUMBERS..............................................32
RUNNING 1 TO 10 ENGINES WITH TEMPORARY ID NUMBERS.........................32
MORE: Making up and Breaking up Trains....................................................33
ENGINE PLUS: AN EASY WAY TO MAKE UP AND BREAK UP TRAINS ...................34
USING ROAD AND ENGINE ID NUMBERS ON LARGE LAYOUTS........................36
USING ROAD, ENGINE AND TEMPORARY ID NUMBERS TOGETHER .....................38

6. RESET FEATURE GUIDE..................................................................... 40
#0: TEMPORARY/ ROAD ID SELECT, ALL SELECT ........................................ 42
MORE: How to Run Multiple-Headed Trains.................................................44
#1: ENGINE SELECT.................................................................................... 45
#2: TEMPORARY ID SET.............................................................................. 47
#3: TEMPORARY ID CLEAR......................................................................... 48
#4: SLAVE ENGINE...................................................................................... 49
#5: START-UP DIRECTION ........................................................................... 51
#6: DIESEL MOTOR/STEAM CHUFF/ELECTRIC FAN/ TURBINE VOLUME......... 53
#8: ENGINE LIGHTS .................................................................................... 54
#10: COUPLER ENABLE.............................................................................. 55
What Is a Trailing Coupler and How Is It Used?................................................56
#11: AUTOMATIC OPERATION .................................................................... 58
#15: ROAD ID SET...................................................................................... 60
#16: ENGINE ID SET................................................................................... 62
#17: ROAD AND ENGINE ID CLEAR............................................................. 63
#18: OPERATIONAL CLEAR.......................................................................... 64
#19: TRANSFORMER TYPE........................................................................... 65
More: About Auto Select................................................................................66
#20: SYSTEM TYPE..................................................................................... 67
#23: DIESEL/ELECTRIC/GAS TURBINE CAB CHATTER OR STEAM NEUTRAL
SOUNDS ..................................................................................................... 68
#25: DIESEL HORN OR STEAM WHISTLE IN NEUTRAL ................................... 69
#27: STEAM CHUFF THRESHOLD AND CHUFF RATE OR DIESEL MOTOR
THRESHOLD ............................................................................................... 70
MORE: QS-2+ Eliminates Cams ....................................................................70
#28: PASSENGER OR FREIGHT ANNOUNCEMENT (PFA) OR QSI STATION
MASTER (QSM) ENABLE ............................................................................ 76
#30: WARNING LIGHT OPTIONS................................................................... 78
#32: FEEDBACK IN RESET.......................................................................... 79
#35: FACTORY TEST................................................................................... 80
#37: "I THINK I CAN" FOR SMALL STEAM ENGINES....................................... 81
#40: LOCK-OUT ENABLE............................................................................. 82
#44: ALL DE-SELECT.................................................................................. 84
#45: SQUEALING BRAKES ENABLE............................................................... 86
#46: FLANGE SOUNDS ENABLE.................................................................... 88
APPENDIX I: TROUBLESHOOTING...................................................... 90
QUICK EXIT GUIDE ..................................................................................... 90
Hard RESET (or QS-2+ Computer Restart)............................................ 90
All Select ............................................................................................... 90
Engine Unlock....................................................................................... 91
Operational Clear.................................................................................. 91
TROUBLES IN DIRECTION STATES................................................................ 92

TROUBLES IN RESET..................................................................................92
TROUBLES IN FORWARD AND/OR REVERSE...................................................95
TROUBLES IN NEUTRAL ...............................................................................98
TROUBLES WITH SOUND............................................................................101
TROUBLES WITH OLDER TRANSFORMERS....................................................105
TROUBLES WITH NEW TRANSFORMERS.......................................................106
APPENDIX II: CONNECTING TRANSFORMER & HORN/BELL
CONTROLLERS TO YOUR TRACK .....................................................108
CONNECTING THE TRANSFORMER TO YOUR TRACK ....................................108
CONNECTING THE LIONEL BELL BUTTON TO USE IN PLACE OF THE
TRANSFORMER HORN BUTTON...................................................................111
ADDINGPOWERTRAK TOYOUR LAYOUT .........................................................112
ADDINGSIDEKICK II TOYOUR LAYOUT...........................................................112
APPENDIXIII: QUICK REFERENCE CARD............................................113
APPENDIX IV: SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & HARDWARE
ADJUSTMENTS........................................................................................115
AC VERSUS DC MOTOR OPERATION .........................................................116
ADJUSTING THE VOLUME...........................................................................117
CONNECTING THE SPEAKER WIRES, THE COIL COUPLER & THE DIESEL
WARNING LIGHT.......................................................................................118
USING CABLES TO CONNECT POWERED DIESELS ........................................119
REPLACING THE BATTERY .........................................................................119
RECHARGING THE BATTERY.......................................................................120
APPENDIXV: OPERATING WITHOUT A BATTERY............................121
APPENDIX VI: USING THE LIONEL CAB-1/POWERMASTER WITH
QS-2+..........................................................................................................122
APPENDIX VII: GLOSSARY...................................................................124
WARRANTY .............................................................................................129
INDEX........................................................................................................130

6
ongratulations!
You are the proud owner of a QS-2+ the most sophisticated on-
board digital sound and train control system available. Add QS-2+ to your
locomotive and you have incredibly realistic sound, the hottest train features on
the market, and complete control of your engine, all from your standard or
electronic transformer. With QS-2+ you have compatibility with all popular
three-rail transformers. In the future you will be able to easily upgrade QS-2+
to add new sounds and train running features.
QSI is a pioneer in the area of on-board electronic sound and control and we
are committed to bringing you the best that technology has to offer.
This manual shows you how to enjoy all the QS-2+ sounds and train control
features. You'll find everything from basic wiring advice, to full descriptions of
QS-2+ sounds, to the nuts and bolts of using ID numbers to run your engines. A
large section of the manual fully describes the unique QS-2+ train control
features, with step-by-step directions. At the end of the manual are the
Appendixes, with a troubleshooting guide, glossary, and information about
special uses of QS-2+.
Use this manual with your engine on the track in front of you. You'll learn and
understand the sounds and control features much faster by using them as you
read the manual. Sooner than you think, you'll be a master at running the
extraordinary QS-2+!
C

7
Setting Up
This section describes the equipment you need for faultless operation of
QS-2+.
The MORE sections throughout this manual explain how to get even better
performance from your QS-2+. It is not required that you read these sections, but we
thought many of you would appreciate the additional information.
Equipment List
You will need—
•• A layout or a long length of straight track in front of you
•• An engine with the QS-2+ system installed
•• A transformer with a Horn or Whistle Button
•• A Bell Button is necessary for Passenger/Freight Announce-
ment, Engine Plus, turning the diesel warning light on and
off, and some Brake and Flange sound operations.
Note: If you are familiar with running QS-1, QS-2or MTH®
ProtoSound, you can operate your QS-2+™ equipped engine as you would
these other systems. If you are not familiar with QSI products, please read on
before starting your engine.
1

uSection 1 Setting Up8
How To Wire Your Transformer
Note: If you already operate LionelRail Sounds, or MTH® ProtoSounds®,
and the bell and horn button work properly, you can skip this section on wiring
and go directly to the next section.
For your horn button (or whistle button) to work correctly, wire your
transformer to the track as shown. This illustration shows the wiring for a ZW
transformer. You can connect the wire from the center rail to either the A or D
terminal, depending on which side of the transformer you like to use.
If you are not using a ZW, check Appendix II for wiring information for other
transformers.
Note: In this manual, the words "horn button" stand for either the horn or
whistle button on your transformer.
Wiring the Lionel ZW Transformer
to a CTC Lock-On Chip
Common
U
U
U
U
ABC D
1
2
To outside rail or
ground terminal

Section 1 Setting Up u9
MORE: QSI PowerTrak
PowerTrak is designed by QSI to do two things:
First, PowerTrak monitors the voltage on your layout. The brightness of the two bulbs shows the
amount of voltage. When you press the horn or bell button on your transformer, one light will become
brighter than the other, showing you the horn or bell signal strength. This is very useful information with
any transformer. And PowerTrak is much easier to use than a volt meter, since the lights are visible from
anywhere in a room.
Second, PowerTrak helps solve compatibility problems between MTH ProtoSound or Weaver
ProtoSound engines and Lionel's Cab-1 walk-around throttle and PowerMaster. ProtoSound engines and
the Lionel system are incompatible in two ways. First there are software problems, which are solved
when you convert your ProtoSound engines to QS-2+. This conversion can be done through QSI (call
for details). Second, there are hardware problems, which are solved when you add PowerTrak to your
layout. A switch on PowerTrak puts a resistive load on the output of your Lionel PowerMaster. This
load produces a waveform that QS-2+ converted ProtoSound engines can understand. Also, since the
Cab-1 walk-around throttle does not have stops or voltage marks on the red throttle knob, PowerTrak
helps you find the high/ low voltage settings you need to run QS-2+.
PowerTrak is also useful with older transformers that have weak horn signals. These weak signals often
can't be understood by QS-2+. The extra resistive load PowerTrak puts on the track makes the horn
signal stronger, often solving the problem. If PowerTrak doesn't solve your horn button problems, it's
time to have the transformer repaired.

uSection 1 Setting Up10
Connecting A Lionel Bell Button
A bell button is necessary for activating many QS-2+ train control commands.
You can also use the bell button to turn the bell on or off in any direction
except RESET.
If you do not have a bell button, attach a QSI SideKick II to your transformer.
SideKick II includes bell and horn buttons designed specifically for QS-2+. See
the next page for more information on SideKick II.
To connect the Lionel bell button, also called a Sound Activation Button, follow
the instructions shown below. (Your Lionel bell button instructions show the
same wiring.)
Note: If your transformer does not have a horn button, or the horn button is not
operating correctly, you can wire a Lionel bell button to blow the horn or
whistle by reversing the connections. You can also add two Lionel bell buttons,
one to run the horn and one to run the bell. See Appendix II.
Note: If you are using an electronic transformer (for example, an All-Trol, or a
Lionel MW or RS-1), the Lionel accessory bell button does not work reliably. If
you need a separate bell or horn button, connect a QSI SideKick II controller to
your transformer.
Red Wire
Common
U
U
U
U
A
B
CD
1
2
Black Wire
Wiring the Lionel Bell Button to a ZW
Transformer