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MTH AEM-7 Operating Manual

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
ProtoSound 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.  If that
doesn’t resolve the problem, try lubricating the coupler
knuckle and rivet as explained in the ProtoCoupler
Operation section.

I can’t get the coupler to arm or fire open when I press
the whistle button.

You may be pressing the whistle button too quickly.
See the third remedy in the horn section above.
Another possibility is that ProtoSounds has been
programmed to turn the coupler function off.  See the
section entitled “Using RESET to Program
ProtoSounds”

Only one coupler will function when I press the whistle
button.

Only one coupler can operate at any one time.  Use
the coupler selection switch on the bottom of the
chassis to choose which coupler you want active.

DIESEL START/CAB CHATTER 

REMEDY

Sometimes the diesel start sounds don’t occur when I
first turn power on.

Occasionally the diesel engine start up sounds may
not occur when power is turned back on within 5
seconds of being shut off.  Wait 10 -- 15 seconds
before repowering.

Sometimes the Cab Chatter sounds don’t play.

The Cab Chatter sounds only play in neutral and
ProtoSounds may be programmed to turn the sounds
off.  See the section entitled “Using RESET to
Program ProtoSounds”

LOCKOUT PROBLEMS

REMEDY

I can’t get the engine to run after I power up the
transformer.  It sits still with the diesel compressor
sounds running.

The engine is locked out into the Neutral position.
Follow the unlocking procedures in the Lockout
Section.

The engine won’t lock out into Forward, Neutral or
Reverse even after the short horn blast sounds.

You are waiting too long to turn the throttle back on
after the short horn blast sounds.  The power must be
turned back on immediately after the short horn blast
sounds or the engine will go back into RESET.  See
the lockout procedure in the Lockout Section.

VOLUME PROBLEMS

REMEDY

 When I try to run the engine, the diesel volume is OFF 
or very low.

The diesel volume has been programmed at a reduced 
volume or to be silent.  Go to RESET Feature 6 and
adjust the volume.  See the section entitled “Using
RESET to Program ProtoSounds” for more
information.

When I try to set the diesel volume, it resets itself to
the original volume after I selected the new volume.

You are trying to set the volume with a poorly charged
or dead backup battery.  See the section on Battery
Backup for more information.

When I try to set the Diesel Volume to O Volume, I still 
hear the cab chatter sounds.

When the diesel volume is set to O, you will hear the
Cab Chatter sounds because setting the diesel volume 
only controls the sound of the diesel engine itself.  All
other sounds, including Cab Chatter, the horn and bell
will continue to play at the volume level set by the
manual volume control knob located on the bottom of
the chassis.  See the section entitled “ProtoSound
Volume Adjustment” for more information.

The sounds seem distorted, especially when the
whistle or bell is activated.

The overall ProtoSound volume has been set to high
creating the distorted sounds.  Try turning the volume
control knob located on the bottom of the chassis
counter clockwise to reduce the overall volume level.

Summary of Contents for AEM-7

Page 1: ...transformer see the chart on page 33 for a complete list of compatible transformers and wiring instructions and is completely compatible with most other 3 rail locomotives rolling stock and accessorie...

Page 2: ...24 Locking The Engine Into Forward or Reverse 24 Unlocking The Engine 24 Locking The Engine Into Neutral 24 OIL LUBRICATION INSTRUCTIONS 26 TRACTION TIRE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS 28 LIGHT BULB REMOVAL...

Page 3: ...pped The reverse unit is designed to ignore dirty track dead spots on switches or minor short circuits without disrupting the engine operation even at slow prototypical speeds Once the engine is place...

Page 4: ...ward neutral reverse states found on most reverse units However as described earlier when power is first applied to the track the reverse unit begins in RESET or what seems like a neutral state Power...

Page 5: ...le bell chime will be heard each time the whistle button is pressed If you don t want to configure or change your locomotive using any of these programmable features simply leave RESET and wait 2 2 se...

Page 6: ...s the whistle button The bell should begin chiming To turn the bell off press the whistle button again If you want to keep the bell on while running the engine simply interrupt the power with the tran...

Page 7: ...ive NEUTRAL ACTIVATED CAB CHATTER SOUNDS Your engine is equipped with four dispatcher to engineer Cab Chatter radio transmissions that occur every 2 to 30 seconds Each sequence will play at random int...

Page 8: ...station side track or switch yard As mentioned above you will find that initially your engine may continue to play the brake sounds once your engine comes to a stop or that the sounds stop prematurely...

Page 9: ...batteries are a dry battery and should not leak or cause any damage to your locomotive and will last up to five years or longer If you notice that the sounds seem distorted or garbled at low voltages...

Page 10: ...d departure messages passenger disembarking and embarking sounds conductor voices and general train station ambient sounds Each is described in more detail in the following sections ACTIVATING PASSENG...

Page 11: ...whistle button To activate the feature turn on the transformer throttle and get your engine into the neutral position not RESET Once in neutral set the transformer throttle at 8 volts or less and pres...

Page 12: ...rection it arrived The following operator controlled events control PFA s actions and sounds Event 1 Forward While the locomotive is running in forward or reverse PFA is activated by the operator push...

Page 13: ...everse The operator now interrupts the transformer throttle again to enter the next reverse unit phase reverse In an effort to enhance realism PFA has disabled the reverse phase so that it doesn t pow...

Page 14: ...ely after playing all aboard the sound of the doors closing is heard Within two seconds of the doors closing the locomotive sounds two or three horn blasts depending on departing direction the bell be...

Page 15: ...pped with ProtoSounds or PFA If the engine isn t equipped with PFA the only thing to remember is that you not turn up the transformer throttle very high when entering the reverse state found in Event...

Page 16: ...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 Turning the volume adjustment knob cl...

Page 17: ...air release sound is heard each time the throttle is advanced In addition there are special sounds to tell you what RESET position you are in For example if you want to select Feature 2 you put the e...

Page 18: ...pushing it a fourth time will give you no engine sound The microprocessor will immediately play the sound level each time the whistle button is pushed so that you can decide if it is acceptable You ca...

Page 19: ...ings signifying that the module has been programmed for a bell button Simply turn the throttle off and then on again to Lock In the new setting To reset the computer to its original factory default se...

Page 20: ...N NEUTRAL OPERATION If you are operating your engine with a separate bell button and want to blow your horn when your engine is in neutral you will need to program ProtoSounds to do so as the factory...

Page 21: ...the ProtoCoupler function off enter RESET and go to Feature 10 See the section on Using RESET To Program ProtoSounds on page 17 Once in Feature 10 press the transformer whistle button and wait for Pro...

Page 22: ...To activate the Remote Lockout Control setting go to RESET Feature 40 See the section entitled Using RESET To Program ProtoSounds on page 17 Once in Feature 40 press the transformer whistle button an...

Page 23: ...ive and boring messages While the sounds are selected to play randomly by the unit s computer there is no guarantee that you won t hear the same message repeated twice or more times If you don t want...

Page 24: ...TURN THE THROTTLE OFF AND THEN LET GO OF THE WHISTLE BUTTON After about one second you will hear a short horn blast QUICKLY TURN THE THROTTLE BACK ON AGAIN Your engine is now locked into Forward or R...

Page 25: ...r firing depending on the transformer throttle voltage settings prior to the user s attempt to lock out the engine Remember the horn doesn t blow in NEUTRAL unless you programmed it to do so using Fea...

Page 26: ...ry and shouldn t need additional grease until after 50 hours of operation or one year whichever comes first Grease cannot be added to the internal gearing until the body is removed from the chassis wh...

Page 27: ...am shown in Fig 8 above as a guide and add grease to the points marked with a G Periodically check the locomotive wheels and pickups for dirt buildup as this can significantly affect the engine s abil...

Page 28: ...e 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 i...

Page 29: ...essed fully the ProtoSound circuit may not recognize the signal Try pressing the whistle button slower taking approximately 1 second to fully depress the button BELL PROBLEMS REMEDY When I press the w...

Page 30: ...ransformer It sits still with the diesel compressor sounds running The engine is locked out into the Neutral position Follow the unlocking procedures in the Lockout Section The engine won t lock out i...

Page 31: ...pleted This will guarantee that the system check will have been completed since the startup sounds take longer than 2 2 seconds to play If the problem persists we recommend that you operate the thrott...

Page 32: ...ing the whistle and bell buttons has no affect Because PFA must control various effects in each PFA event the bell and whistle functions are disabled until either the PFA events have been completed or...

Page 33: ...90 Watt Standard Lionel 1043 U A 5 16v 90 Watt Standard Lionel 1043M U A 5 16v 90 Watt Standard Lionel 1044 U A 5 16v 90 Watt Standard Lionel 1053 U A 8 17v 60 Watt Standard Lionel 1063 U A 8 17v 60...

Page 34: ...ollowed including the following Read this and all related manuals transformer power supply locomotive etc thoroughly before using this device This device is not recommended for children under eight ye...

Page 35: ...35 MTH AEM 7 Operating Manual...

Page 36: ...ame address daytime phone number Return Authorization number a copy of your sales receipt and a full description of the problem must be included to facilitate the repairs Please include the descriptio...

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