Plarail Advance Issues

[Super]

Thanks Plarnold

Don't get the motorman! Go for the ACS control unit.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Plarail-Ad...46355494ff

Alastair

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkUIbwiLhs0

Could you please elaborate? It looks to me that disadvantage of the Motorman may be the short running times as the rechargeable battery-receiver unit is supposed to run only 60 min. I am not sure, but looking at the pictures in the eBay adds, it may well be that the charger can handle only one battery at a time. On the plus side Motorman uses radio and, can control up to four trains, has sounds and, maybe, more realistic driving.

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Another piece of advice: Running Plarail Advance and standard Plarail together looks awkward and is a little bit difficult to manage. If you are the type that likes everything to look in order and you already have lots of standard Plarail, stay away from Plarail Advance as it will only cost you a lot of money in the future to re-purchase almost everything besides the simplest tracks. It is also quite a hassle to make sure that the tracks you are using are suitable for Plarail Advance train sets as discussed in this thread. Furthermore, standard Plarail seems to be getting much more support and is also cheaper in the long-run. Plarail Advance items are far more expensive than the standard Plarail items.

-plarnold

I have started Plarail Advance a couple of months ago after my kids asked for a "realistic" train, meaning no Chuggington or Thomas stuff. I considered the standard Plarail and a proper N scale set. I went for the Advance as a good compromise. Kids can play independently, we can set up go-round "spaghetti" railway or a very sophisticated operation, and it is way way cheaper than N scale. Compared to Plarail, Advance is a bit finicky but IMHO the trains look a lot cooler. The Advance trains are maybe a bit under-powered and too light. They would need more powerful batteries to solve these issues.

Overall, I am quite satisfied anyway.

I have both the 'Motorman' ans 'ACS' systems. The Motorman requires you to modify the bodies (cutting bits out) to enable the fitting of the battery and receiver. You also have fragile wires between two of the carriages. The operation takes time to learn and isn't great. Seems like an after thought and is a lot of messing around.
The ACS on the other hand is much cleaner, no exposed wires, a simpler and more robust design. The operation is much better too with more graduations in speed and more stable running. I've not tested it but I assume it's a digital system where each receiver is tied to each transmitter so the more controllers you have the more trains can be controlled. If this is not the case it may be possible to make up a longer train using more ACS units which will take commands from one controller.

Like I said, there is only A and B. No matter how many ACS units you have, there are only two possible set of signals - A or B. Having many controllers does not help. You still only have A or B. Having many of anything does not help. It's still A or B.

I think this "A or B" limitation is the only problem with the ACS system.

-plarnold

Thanks plarnold and Warts. I'll stay away from the Motorman. I may just get a train with the ACS already installed in the future.

Recently I bought the following two items from Plarail Advance:

* PLARAIL Advance ACS-01 IR Control Unit
* Hokuriku Shinkansen Series W7 Kagayaki IR Control Set

While the second one works perfectly, the first one suffers from quite a few issues. The most annoying one is the erratic behavior of the remote control.

When I press the speed button forward a few times, the train increases its speed, as expected. But, then at some point when I press the speed button forward again, the train just stops. This makes the train quite unusable. Also, some other times, I have noticed that some commands from the remote control are "lost." For instance, when the train is running and I press the emergency stop button, nothing happens. Sometimes I need to press the button like 3-4 times until the train stops.

I have ruled out a problem in the remote control, as the remote control works perfectly with the other train (the W7).

Has anyone experienced similar issues?

I bought the trains while I visited Japan last winter. Does anyone know whether there is any way to contact Tomy? I tried the support link in the webpage (http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/support/privacypolicy.html) but the page does not load when I click the button at the bottom.

[Super]

Hopefully one of our Members that have experience with the Plarail Advance line can help you Victor. I would if I could but don't have any idea other than making sure the receiver portion of the train is cleaned so there is no interference with the infrared signal. With other type IR's I have had good results with putting some alcohol on a cloth and cleaning it or a little on a cotton swab. This works very well on things like TV remotes and trains just don't use too much alcohol so it doesn't run into the electronics.

BTW: Welcome to BluePlasticTracks.

Also, some other times, I have noticed that some commands from the remote control are "lost." For instance, when the train is running and I press the emergency stop button, nothing happens. Sometimes I need to press the button like 3-4 times until the train stops.

A railroad's nightmare, unresponsive controls. Did you put in new batteries into the first set?

One of the common problems with the individual ACS units.

You will have to get it replaced or live with it unfortunately .

-plarnold

A railroad's nightmare, unresponsive controls. Did you put in new batteries into the first set?

Yes, I did. But nothing changed

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Hopefully one of our Members that have experience with the Plarail Advance line can help you Victor. I would if I could but don't have any idea other than making sure the receiver portion of the train is cleaned so there is no interference with the infrared signal. With other type IR's I have had good results with putting some alcohol on a cloth and cleaning it or a little on a cotton swab. This works very well on things like TV remotes and trains just don't use too much alcohol so it doesn't run into the electronics.

BTW: Welcome to BluePlasticTracks.

Thanks! I tried that, but the problems persisted