RAILKING E-8 AA SET OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS Thank you for purchasing the RailKing® E-8 AA Set. The engine’s durable ABS body and die-cast trucks are traditionally sized for operation on most O-31 Gauge track. The engine should operate for years with most compatible AC transformers (see the chart on page 30 for a list of compatible transformers) and is completely compatible with most 3-rail locomotives, rolling stock and accessories.
Table Of Contents QUICK START - BASIC OPERATION PROTO-SOUND® OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS Proto-Sound® DCRU® Reverse Unit Operation(All 3-Rail Models) Horn Operation Bell Operation Cab Chatter Sounds Squeaking Brake Sounds Tips On Using Squeaking Brakes Self-Charging Battery Backup System Replacing the Battery Passenger Station Announcements-Quick Overview Activating Passenger Station Announcements (PFA) Tips On Using The Passenger Station Announcements SPECIAL REVERSE UNIT OPTIONS Locking The Engine Into Forward
QUICK START - BASIC OPERATION The RailKing E-8 AA Set contains state-of-the art electronics with several built-in automatic features for incredibly realistic operation. Despite these advanced features, the E-8 AA Set is easy to operate with any compatible standard AC transformer (see the compatibility chart on page 32). All models are controlled by a Proto-Sound® DCRU® electronic reverse unit.
PROTO-SOUND® OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS The MTH Proto-Sound® digital sound and train control system provides the operator with unprecedented realistic operation on your model railroad. In addition to actual diesel engine, CD-equivalent 16-bit digital sounds, you get the following features: 1.
order for Proto-Sound® to properly initiate the system check, do not advance the transformer throttle past 10 volts when you first enter RESET, wait for the diesel startup sounds to begin and then slowly turn the transformer throttle to the off position and then back on again to enter the forward phase. Interrupting the power too quickly may cause the system to re-enter RESET (signaled by two dings of the bell). Should this happen, wait longer before interrupting the power to enter the Forward phase.
is in NEUTRAL. The bell will never ring continuously in RESET (Remember NEUTRAL is the state between Forward and Reverse). Once the bell is turned on, it will continue to ring when the engine is cycled into forward or reverse until you press the bell button or re-enter NEUTRAL and turn the bell off with the whistle button. To turn the bell on using the transformer’s whistle button, turn on power to the track and cycle the engine into NEUTRAL.
SQUEAKING BRAKE SOUNDS Proto-Sound® equipped engines feature the ability to play the sound of squeaking brakes whenever your engine slows in speed. There are two settings for activating the squeaking brake sounds. The default setting allows the brake sounds to play while the engine is in forward or reverse and the transformer throttle is lowered from a high setting to a low setting (14 volts to 8 volts Listen For The or less).
SELF-CHARGING BATTERY BACKUP SYSTEM Proto-Sound® state-of-the-art design includes a self-charging battery backup system for improved performance at any speed. The battery ensures that power to the sound system will remain on during directional changes, while setting RESET options or when traveling over spots of dirty track and switches. The self-recharging battery backup system is automatically turned on or off whenever track power is turned on or off.
Operating Proto-Sound® Passenger Station Sound Effects Passenger Station Announcements (PFA) Proto-Sound® is equipped with operator controlled Passenger Station Sounds, referred to as PFA. The PFA sequence is designed to simulate the arrival, disembarking, embarking and departure of a passenger train in a Passenger Station. This easy-to-use feature allows you to play digitally recorded sounds of Passenger Station sounds while your engine is parked in the Neutral State.
Bell d OR Horn Whistle Direction To Play PFA, Stop Train Direction. This Can Be Done by Pressing the DIRECTION Button or Cycling the Transformer Handle. At This Time the Train Will Stop in Neutral. In a Few Seconds, An Arrival Message Plays, Followed by a Background Noise. STOP Bell d OR Horn Whistle Direction Bell d OR Horn Whistle Direction Change/Press Direction- The Train Will Remain In Neutral. It Will Continue to Play More Background Noises.
Activating Passenger Sounds (PFA)- Detailed PFA Instructions Arming The Passenger Sounds Feature Before the Passenger Station sounds can be heard, the feature must be activated. The feature can be activated in one of two ways. ARMING THE PASSENGER SOUNDS FEATURE Before the passenger station sounds can be heard, Proto-Sound must activate the feature so that the next time the engine enters the neutral position, the sounds can play, The feature can be activated one of two ways.
volts or less and press and hold the whistle button for at least three seconds. You will hear the bell turn on and, after three seconds, you should hear a short horn blast or air release. Once the horn blast or air release is heard, the whistle button can be released. The bell will continue to chime, so if you want to turn off the bell ringing, simply press and release the whistle button. Interrupt the transformer throttle to enter the next directional state (either forward or reverse).
and whistling for a taxi. Additionally, several conductor highlights will be heard in the foreground. Event 2: Interrupt the transformer throttle again to cycle the engine from neutral into Interrupt Throttle To Listen For The Conductor to Say.. Enter The Next Phase reverse. In order to have the engine leave the yard in the same direction it entered Proto-Sound® disables the motors in this reverse state to prevent the engine from running backwards.
TIPS ON USING PFA FEATURES PFA is a unique feature of Proto-Sound® that is completely controlled by the operator. You decide how, when or if you want to utilize the feature. By reviewing the following tips, you should find solutions or suggestions to the various operating scenarios you might encounter when using PFA. Tip #1: You can escape the PFA sequence by interrupting the transformer throttle before the man’s whistle plays in Event 1 (neutral).
Special Reverse Unit Options Reverse Unit Lockout Operation For operators who wish to lock their engine into a single direction, Proto-Sound’s® unique design eliminates the need for a lock-out switch on the locomotive. This will allow users to run the engine on layouts equipped with block signals or stop stations that would normally cycle the engine back into neutral. Note: The feature must be first turned on by accessing RESET Feature 40 (See page 20).
MANUALLY ADJUSTING THE PROTO-SOUND® VOLUME Your Proto-Sound® system has two types of volume adjustment. A manual turn knob on the bottom of the chassis (See Fig. 3 below) allows you to control all the sounds in the system and a remote control “RESET" option (Option # 6), allows you to control the volume level of the engine sounds remotely from the transformer.
USING RESET TO PROGRAM PROTO-SOUND® Proto-Sound® is equipped with several programmable features which are accessed in the RESET state by moving the transformer throttle up and down between full voltage and low voltage (8 volts) without shutting the transformer off completely. Each time this is done you advance, one feature at a time, through the available options. An air-release sound is heard each time the throttle is advanced and returned.
Remotely Adjusting The Engine Volume - Reset Feature 6 – (1 Clank, 1 Clink) Reset Feature 6 allows you to change the volume setting of the chuff sounds without affecting the volume of other sounds, such as whistle, bell, enhanced neutral sounds, etc. To use, cycle to Reset 6 and press the Whistle button. A single bell will play, and the chuff will begin at the current volume. Each time the Horn/Whistle button is pressed, a bell will sound and the volume setting will cycle down to the next level.
Programming For Horn In Neutral Operation- Reset Feature 25 -(5 Clanks) Reset Feature 25 allows you In RESET Mode to operate the Horn while the Move The Throttle Push The Whistle Button Up & Down From Until You Hear 2 Bell Dings High Voltage To Low engine is in the Neutral state.
Programming PFA Operation - Reset Feature 28-(5 Clanks, 3 Clinks) Reset Feature 28 allows you to turn the operation of the In RESET Mode Move The Throttle Push The Whistle Button Up & Down From Until You Hear PFA sequence on or off. 2 Bell Dings High Voltage To Low 28 Times When OFF, the PFA will not activate. To use, cycle H to Reset 28 and press the Interrupt The Throttle Listen For 5 Clank To “Lock-In” Horn/Whistle button. The And 3 Clink Sounds The FYS Setting engine will play a series of bells.
Resetting All Proto-Sound® Options To Factory Defaults Reset 18-(3 Clanks, 3 Clinks) In RESET Mode The Throttle Push The Whistle Button Reset 18 is the most powerful Move Up & Down From Until You Hear A Warbled Bell Ding High Voltage To Low of the Reset features 18 Times available. Using Reset 18 H allows you to override all Interrupt The Throttle Listen For 3 Clank changes in programming and To “Lock-In” And 3 Clink Sounds The Default Setting return all Resets to the original, out of the box settings.
OIL & LUBRICATION INSTRUCTIONS In order for the engine to perform correctly and quietly, it is important that the chassis be lubricated before operation. Lubrication should include all truck block bushings and pickup rollers to prevent them from squeaking. Use light household oil and follow the lubrication points marked “L" in Fig. 4 below.
Next, remove the truck blocks from the chassis by unscrewing the large Phillips motor mount screw on the bottom of each truck block (See Fig. 5). 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. Reassemble the truck and motor, being careful not to pinch the pickup and ground wires between the truck block and motor mount.
over the wheel. If a twist occurs, the tire will have to be removed and reinstalled or a noticeable wobble in your engine will occur when operating the locomotive. In addition, it is important to make sure that the tire is fully seated inside the groove. Any portion of the tire extending out of the groove can cause the engine to wobble. A razor blade can be used to trim away any excess tire that doesn’t seat itself inside the groove properly.
TROUBLE SHOOTING PROTO-SOUND® PROBLEMS Although Proto-Sound® has been designed and engineered for ease of use, some questions may arise during initial operation. The following table should answer most questions. If you find that your problem can’t be resolved with this manual, contact MTH Proto-Sound® Electronics (7020 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046, 410-381-2580) for additional assistance. HORN PROBLEMS REMEDY The horn seems distorted at low voltages.
COUPLER PROBLEMS REMEDY The ProtoCoupler won’t let the engine uncouple on the “Fly”. The power required to fire the coupler open when the engine is on the “Fly” may be greater than the Proto-Sound system is capable of providing. As a result, you may experience times when the coupler won’t fire open. Unfortunately, the only solution is to stop the engine and fire the coupler in Neutral.
BATTERY PROBLEMS REMEDY I get no sounds when the engine shifts between the direction states. The battery may be dead or needs charging. See the Battery Backup section for more information. After I turn off my transformer, my engine continues to make sounds before quitting with a ding of its bell. Proto-Sound continues to sound for approximately 10 seconds after power to the track has been shut off. The sounds distort at low voltages. The battery is insufficiently charged or dead.
PFA PROBLEMS REMEDY The PFA feature does not begin even after stopping the engine and hearing the brake sounds. The power was not turned back on once the engine enter the neutral state thus disabling PFA.The transformer throttle was interrupted too quickly in neutral thus disabling PFA. Leave the throttle on in neutral until after the PFA arrival message plays. The PFA sound effects occasionally repeat themselves.
PROTO-SOUND RESET FEATURE CHART The following chart lists the available features found in your Proto-Sound® equipped locomotive. The default settings for each feature as well as the operation sequence of the feature are listed in separate columns. You can reset all features to their original factory settings by accessing Feature 18 in RESET and press and hold the transformer whistle button until you hear a soft, warbled bell sound.
TRANSFORMER WIRING CHART Proto-Sound® is designed to work with any standard AC transformer that uses a “Pure Sine-Wave" format. The chart below lists the many Lionel® compatible transformers, such as the Lionel KW or ZW models. In addition, the chart details how the terminals on these compatible transformers should be attached to your layout. The Trainmaster system from Lionel® (marked with an asterisk below) will not function correctly with Proto-Sound® without disrupting the sound effects.
E8 A Unit (lead) P a r t s Name and Number 1.) SHELL ( R.I., # 643 ) 1.) SHELL ( U.P., # 925 ) 1.) SHELL ( Sea Board, # 3056 ) 2.) Diaphram 3.) Portal lens 4.) Air horns 5.) Headlight lens 6.) Mars light lens ( S.P. only ) 7.) Windows 8.) Socket 9.) Screw ( M2.5 x 3.0mm, Roundhead ) 10.)Bulb 11.)Screw ( 4/40 x 4.0mm, Roundhead ) 12.)Volume pot 13.)Bracket ( volume pot ) 14.)Washer ( 7.0 x 12.0 x 0.5mm ) 15.) Nut ( 6.0 x 10.0 x 2.0mm, for volume pot ) 16.)Screw ( M3 x 10.0mm, Flathead ) 17.
1 3 2 4 36 35 5 24 34 33 23 32 22 21 6 20 31 26 11 7 27 28 10 30 29 25 19 9 37 11 38 18 39 12 8 13 17 40 14 46 15 16 45 45 44 47 51 41 42 49 48 43 52 50 38 53 60 54 44 55 38 61 50 63 62 45 49 56 57 58 45 64 32 RailKing E-8 AA Set Operating Manual 59
E8 A U n i t ( t r a i l i n g ) P a r t s Name and Number Part # 1.) SHELL ( R.I., # 645 ) FC-2200169 1.) SHELL ( U.P., # 926 ) FC-2200170 1.) SHELL ( Sea Board, # 3054 ) FC-2200171 2.) Diaphram FI-0000017 3.) Portal lens FA-2260001 4.) Air horns FC-2200061 5.) Headlight lens FA-2230009 6.) Mars light lens ( S.P. only ) FA-2230014 7.) Windows FA-2230008 8.) Screw IA-0000022 ( M2.5 x 3.0mm, Roundhead ) 9.) Socket CH-0000005 10.) Bulb CG-0000002 11.) Washer ID-0000057 ( 6.5 x 16.0 x 1.0mm ) 12.
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O-31 OPERATION While the RailKing E-8 AA Set diesel is more than capable of operating on O-31 curves and switches, you may find that certain light cars are prone to derailing when being pulled or pushed by the RailKing E-8 AA Set through O-31 switches. Should this occur, we suggest adding weight to the cars making them heavier and less likely to derail.
SERVICE & WARRANTY INFORMATION HOW TO GET SERVICE UNDER THE TERMS OF THE LIMITED ONE YEAR WARRANTY For warranty repair, do not return your product to the place of purchase unless it was purchased from Mike’s Train House in Columbia, MD. Instead, follow the instructions below to obtain warranty service as our dealer network is not prepared to service the product under the terms of this warranty. 1.
