George S posted:I'll trust you on the bridge. Maybe it is that easy...
But isn't the BLE module just a communications chip, which sends and receives signals? The command control processing is really happening on the board in the engine that is receiving commands.
I understand on the remote, they did commit to making the older engines work with it eventually. At least you have more hope of getting those to work with the remote than I do of getting the remote or app to control my 259e.
I won't say a bridge is exactly easy, but the needed hardware already exists in the universal remote. The actual programing to make it work is likely going to take some folk that know what they are doing some time and thought.
As for the BLE module, no, it is much more than just a radio in this case. Not having a new generation of LC engine to dismantle and confirm this I can't say for sure this is the route being taken, but can guess it is based on the design of the universal remote. In previous LC/+ engines there is a processor on the main board that handles sending and receiving data to/from the radio as well as handling motor speed triggering sounds and such. Over all acting as the brains of the operation. The radios used in LC/+ up to this point are really simple devices that can easily be controlled by a rather slow processor.
BlueTooth/BLE, however requires a much stronger processor to encode data properly for the protocol. Because of this the BLE modules on the market today include a processor that is up to the task right on the radio module. Now one can still use these radios as devices controlled by another processor, but often the onboard processor has more than enough extra power remaining to control a simple device. The module used in the universal remote, for example has several GPIO pins, half a dozen PWM capable outputs and another half dozen Analog input pins. In essence the module by it's self can replace the processor on future LC products, and likely allow for more functions to be added, as well as 'over the air' software updates to the engine.
As a side note, it is theoretically possible to use the guts from a low-end LC engine and put them into your older conventional engines. I would use something similar to the set-up I used for the LC Cruise project, where the original LC board sends information to a second motor driver, and that board is designed to control the motor. It's a bit convoluted, but could be made to work if someone really wanted it.
breezinup posted:I guess that eliminates one of the major issues some folks had with LC+. Good news to have the option of running them without being tied to the controllers.
It would be nice if Lionel would offer a mod for pre-2017 LC+ engines to enable them to run with the Bluetooth app, but that may not be feasible.
Because of the way mobil devices are set up, they can not easily (or at all, most likely) be used by an App to directly control their radios, and are instead limited to 'talking' only to Wifi or BlueTooth enabled devices. Because of this you would need an intermediate device to send information back and forth between the 2016 and before generation of LC/LC+ products. Fortunately the LionChief Universal remote could be programed as such a device, if Big L wants to do so. I'm unsure if it is on the slate for them to do so, but it could be done with the remote as it currently stands with a software update. As for actually modifying the engines, it could theoretically be done, but I think it would be more trouble than it's worth, as it would involve trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Possible, but unlikely to be worth the trouble for the limited number of folks that would prefer this option over having a bridge device that provides the same functionality without having to open up and modify their engines.
For what it's worth, heres the insides of the universal remote. you can note the lack of any processor on the main board, as it instead uses the BLE module's processor to run everything.
JGL
