MTH ran great!

[gregj410]

I just wanted to mention that in lieu of Halloween that all my MTH trains ran really well tonight. It could have been associated with evil spirits but I wanted to give credit where credit is due.

[G3750]

Actually, I'm not surprised. MTH locomotives do run well, conventionally.

DCS? Not such a sure thing.

George

[gregj410]

Actually, I'm not surprised. MTH locomotives do run well, conventionally.

DCS? Not such a sure thing.

George

Well…… I should have clarified. They ran well in DCS

[G3750]

Actually, I'm not surprised. MTH locomotives do run well, conventionally.

DCS? Not such a sure thing.

George

Well…… I should have clarified. They ran well in DCS

Awesome! Full moon?

[gregj410]

I’m posting this here as to not get it mixed up with all of our other MTH threads

My remote was acting up. You had to just about stand on the buttons to get them to respond, so I decided to open up the remote. I noticed all of the gold circuits(not sure what the proper term is) were discolored accept one that was really gold looking. In this case it was the labor button, one I never use.

I was pretty well ready to accept this remote may get trashed so I said what the hey! I scratched at the tabs with my fingernail and they begin to lighten and get more gold in color. Sure enough that oxidation was causing the buttons to not function properly, well that and Mike Wolfe

I saw a thread in NK where they were claiming the board would come unseated. That could be part of the problem but this seems to have worked in my case. Below you can clearly see which ones I scratched.

[J. S. Bach]

Hmmm, I would have tried a pencil eraser; easier on the fingernails!

[robert.]

Gold does not tarnish. Mth most have used an alloy.

[gregj410]

Gold does not tarnish. Mth most have used an alloy.

Come on? Mike only uses the best!

[Chris Webster]

Gold does not tarnish.

Printed Circuit Boards are made from copper, not gold.

[gregj410]

Gold does not tarnish.

Printed Circuit Boards are made from copper, not gold.

Printed circuit boards is the correct term. When I said gold I meant the color gold. Not literally gold.

[ScaleCraft]

I have a Mikey's Wonder 3-rail Big Boys on the bench.
DCS went to wherever bad DCS boards go.
Special gold-plated side cutters came out.
Dallee going in.

[Chris Webster]

When I said gold I meant the color gold. Not literally gold.

Good. I wasn't sure what you meant and and I'm sure there are buyers out there who really do think MTH used gold in their PCBs.

[gregj410]

When I said gold I meant the color gold. Not literally gold.

Good. I wasn't sure what you meant and and I'm sure there are buyers out there who really do think MTH used gold in their PCBs.

No doubt and they’re all over in NK

On the underside of the soft key pads there are black dots that make contact with the copper circuits on the PCB. Any idea what they are made of and if cleaning them would also make my DCS experience more pleasurable

[healey36]

I think they are small rubber bits; I've had to work on the DirecTV remote more than a few times, and I presume the MTH controller is similar. I have used isopropyl alcohol minimally to clean the underpinnings. Here's a video that might be helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-jic76hVPs

[Mitch]

The automotive industry uses gold contacts and some silver contacts depending on where they are used in a vehicle. A few years back before I retired, we had a recall on the Ram diesel pickups to cut off and replace the main Oxygen sensor connectors and rewire with gold contacts as they had found corrosion in the connectors with the steel to steel wiring terminals. (O)2 sensors are critical to clean emissions and engine performance, and therefore the EPA got involved. Gold contacts are used in high corrosive areas, such as along the frame rails where water and salt can get in.