JohnGaltLine posted:graz posted:LC, LC+, now BT and non-BT. The continued splintering and factions of product levels is frustrating for the current user and confusing for the newbie.
I'm surprised that Lionel couldn't have had the foresight to build BT into the LC+ line from the beginning. That wasn't all that long ago.
They currently seem to operate in a bit of a "just for today" sort of mode with a lack of regard for the eco system that already exists and where it's going in the future.
I think I covered this one pretty well earlier in the thread, but the bottom line is that reasonably low cost BLE modules only just started to come to market in 2014 (the year LC+ was introduced), and it wasn't until about a year ago that the super-low cost type with built-in microprocessors capable of replacing most of the electronics in a LionChief engine came around. If I had to guess I would say that some time about a year or so ago, some engineer at Big L realized that it costs less now to use a single BLE module in LionChief than to use a radio module and separate microprocessor, and they could add more functionality while they were at it.
As for the 'just for today' mode, nothing has changed by adding bluetooth, if you liked LC/LC+ just the way they were. The bluetooth models still work exactly the same with the remote. I find it quite refreshing to see a product line that keeps up with current developments in technology, rather than clinging to technology that was obsolete (but inexpensive and reasonably reliable for the time) before the first Cab1 or TIU ever came to market.
One plus side of switching to BlueTooth, is actually backwards compatibility for the foreseeable future. By using the world-wide industry standard for wireless communication, Lionel has insured that radios capable of using this system will be on the market for countless decades. Thus whatever system they may switch to in the future, adding a bluetooth radio module for a couple extra pennies will always be an option, keeping these engines working under any new control technology that comes along.
JGL
Thanks John,
I did indeed miss your earlier post. Good points well taken.
Mike
