RB02 Radio Base Station Versions – Welcome to the NCE Information Station

Note: If you have a new or updated cab with wireless version 1.7x, the RB02 must be version 2.6. This differs from the Pro Cab keypad and display firmware, which is always 1.3.

You will find an RB02 version sticker on the bottom of the case, or “RB02” will be engraved on the housing (Aussies) unit. If it has not been upgraded, send your RB02 to NCE to be upgraded; for Aussies, send them to the Model Railroad Craftsman in Sydney.

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Only update something if you are trying to solve a problem.

Native two-way wireless for NCE DCC handheld controllers equipped wireless. Handles up to 48 wireless cabs simultaneously, including 16 Wireless Pro Cabs. All features of your Cabs are available without plugging in. Cabs automatically switch over to bus power when plugged in. No guarantees are made by NCE or authorized NCE dealers as to the suitability of this product for its intended use; as with all radio products, communication integrity in the presence of interference can not be guaranteed. The RB02 operates in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) radio band at 916.50 Megahertz (Mhz).

RADIO BASE STATION HARDWARE VERSIONS (Types)
There are two versions of the radio base station: RB01 and RB02. The RB01 was the original radio base station with no radio repeater support capability, while the RB02 is an RB01 with radio repeater support. You can tell the difference by looking at the unit's number of connections. An RB01 only has one jack, whereas the RB02 has three.

RADIO BASE STATION SOFTWARE VERSIONS

Radio Software Version	Base Station Type	Radio Description	Version Status
1.0	RB01	Original Radio Software Release	Obsolete
1.0	RB02	Support for Base Station Repeaters	Discontinued
2.0	RB02	Major Radio Bug Software Release. See section 5 for list	Supported
2.1	RB02	Same as V2.0 but includes a software bug fix for the CAB06	Supported
2.5	RB02	Same as v2.1 but updated for new parts, improved response times for wireless Cab06.	In Production

FIGURING OUT THE BASE STATION SOFTWARE VERSION
RB01: There was only one SW version released for RB01. Retired with no support or upgrade. RB02: Look at the bottom of the RB02 for a sticker. A) no sticker, it is V1.0 B) sticker, the sticker shows version number 2.0, 2.1, 2.5, or 2.6.

RADIO BASE STATION UPGRADE SUPPORT

There are no user software upgrade options for the radio system. NCE must do all upgrades. $30 per item

RADIO REPEATERS (RPT1)- Due to lack of sales, this is retired and discontinued
The radio system has limited radio transmission power per the FCC rules. This limited the range the radio-based station could cover. The problem would show up on large layouts. With the introduction of RB02, the RPT1 radio repeaters look exactly like radio base stations, but they are not. They all have a label on them that says they are a repeater. Connection-wise, they do not connect to the cab bus but to one of the two RB02 repeater jacks or a repeater jack of another repeater. An extensive array of repeaters can be connected to a single radio base station, allowing for mega-large radio coverage. However, in practice, there are diminishing performance returns in going past two repeaters.

HISTORIC RADIO BASE STATION (RB01/RB02) PROBLEMS
The RB01 and non-upgraded RB02 radio base station would start to show problems when the following conditions were met:
1) A lot of radio cabs were being used.
2) The combination of wired (plugged-in) and wireless (radio) cabs being used at the same time.
3) The radio cab addresses are being used.

4) Sudden complete loss of radio operation on power up from a previous operating session where the radio ran just fine. In other words, it is a very flaky radio operation under some conditions or loss of radio operation.

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Version 2.0 update of the RB02 FIXED bugs and timing issues related to:
1) Key presses to get dropped
2) Runaway trains
3) Several cab addresses (8, 18, and 49) would cause the system to do bad things.

4) Loss of correct radio ID in the base station.

FIXING RADIO BASE STATION RADIO ID PROBLEMS (OLD RB02 v1)

If your RB02 suddenly stopped working when you powered the layout up, but it worked just fine when you shut it down before, you may have suffered the loss of the Radio ID information. The Radio ID is an ATTEMPTED feature to ensure the correct radio cabs talk to the proper layout in a multi-layout setup, each running an NCE radio system simultaneously. But it did not work and further created radio operation problems. Plug a Pro Cab into the repeater Port A jack on the RB02, then disconnect and reconnect the cab bus to the RB02. When you reconnect the bus, the RB02 should wake up in setup mode on the Procab. Check the layout ID setting and set it back to 0. Unplug the Pro Cab and the RB02 from the cab bus to kill power. Reconnect the cab bus to the RB02 to start the RB02 up. It should now work correctly. If you have this problem, you have an old RB02 radio base station. There is a radio base station software upgrade available for the RB02 that will fix this bug by removing the radio ID function that does not work.

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