JD2035RR posted:I really enjoyed the accessory and switch control video. It is amazing what you have been able to do with the app interface limited to the engine control buttons and slider. I think you’re on the brink of opening up a very useful expansion of the Bluetooth app.
I’ve often thought that lionchief app control of accessories and switches would be great - such as a lionchief Bluetooth gantry crane controlled by the LC app. Updated app interface pages for accessory control would be a plus too, similar to the LCS interface for command control accessories.
I’m not sure if each accessory should have Bluetooth receiver or if there should be a central gateway module that switches electric current on/off to each accessory. I like the idea of only needing power wires to the accessory for simplicity and easy set up, and it’s my understanding that Bluetooth receivers are relatively cheap. The flip side would be the central gateway module with wired control to each accessory which would work with 120 years worth of accessories.
All of this is similar to the current TMCC accessories controlled through the LCS WiFi app and conventional accessories controlled via an ASC2. Bluetooth control has a big advantage though - fewer wires, less hardware, more flexibility through software and the app, cheaper and easier implementation.
I hope you do email them and you can work out some type of development agreement. Even if they don’t now, if you continue to develop your ideas and become a pesky competitor in layout control, they may want to partner or buy out down the road.
Thanks I am glad to hear you like it, this is first project that I am doing like this and it has been a great and fun experience so far. Community feedback like yours is great, I just got started and I was not aware of any limitations on the existing control systems. Besides hearing people say you can't do anything fancy with LionChief (a fact that I am clearly changing here and now). I am glad my efforts are impressing anyone at all.
Getting a postwar Gantry Crane has been on my list of accessories to buy, as soon as I have one I can add Bluetooth to it for a demonstration. Maybe I will program a loading and unloading routine using it's electromagnet and my LC Gateway to trigger the routine. In fact I think I'll save the routines to a micro sd card for editing on a computer(as an option). A main goal of mine is to avoid using a full power desktop computer in any of this. Everything should be able to run off a few very low-cost modules.
I lean towards plug and play with a hundred and twenty years of accessories lol. Keep in mind the central method will definitely be way cheaper from a control hardware perspective. In many accessories you only adding one extra wire to the mix. I can still develop an accessory Bluetooth upgrade board. The crane would make sense to add a module to for the sake of not adding too many extra wires.
One of the next features on my list is saved macros that you can program and run from the LionChief remote.
I definitely will end up contacting them, fingers crossed on the outcome. Still need to prepare my boards further first. I like the way you think there lol. I have developed Android apps before and this would not be very much of a challenge to make a custom app for. For now I will keep hoping for endorsement at least of my integration with the LC system. For me, Legacy was too big of a leap for me to blindly make when I started with trains a few months ago. I couldn't know for sure if I was going to love the hobby as much as I do now. I feel like the current isolation of the two systems especially hurts the new guys like me. That's what really got me going with this gateway project in the first place. I want to add room to grow within LionChief. Also thanks to the introduction of LC+2.0 I really do have a path towards a full legacy system. I just have no plans on leaving my first train behind in the process. Wish me luck and thanks for your support.
