@gunrunnerjohn posted:Which is exactly why all my Bluetooth equipped locomotives also have standard Legacy or TMCC command control, and that's the way they get run. My layout is fully wired for Legacy/TMCC and DCS, so no need for the stinkin' unreliable Bluetooth link. It would be nice if it were more reliable, I can see situations where it would be handy to have. However, I've adjusted to the fact that the current Lionel Bluetooth is simply not ready for prime time.
IMO, in order to be reasonably useful, the Bluetooth link should have a reliable range of at least 25 feet or more. Oddly, the older LC and LC+ stuff that wasn't using Bluetooth had a much better range using their dedicated remotes or the Universal Remote. I never looked into exactly what radio technology they were using, but when they shifted to Bluetooth, they should have at least tried to match that range and reliability!
Following this thread and something just came to mind. I have a thermoWorks bluetooth probe monitor on my smoker, works ok if I set the receiver on the kitchen island, line of sight through the window out to the deck/smoker. They have another little device, smoke gateway, that connects the probe monitor to the house wifi, 2.5 but that's fine everything else in the house is 5 or ethernet gig. Bottom line is when the gateway is connected to the bluetooth probe and I'm connected to my network I can be anywhere and on any on my devices and see what the smoker is doing and approximately when I will be enjoying my latest creation. This gateway seems to be quite reliable, easy to setup, and I have never had a security issue with it. So why couldn't the same be added to the Lionel bluetooth as an add on, put it in/on the train somewhere.
