Announcing the Spring York 2016 Lionel Legacy Users Group Meeting. Our 17th Meeting!

I will be there and my question is when will see the next WiFi app upgrade giving more features of the remote. 

Hi! always enjoy!  See you at Alexanders!  Thanks for organizing!

Will be there as well.

Kevin 

Hi Marty. Thanks for setting this up again. See you there.

I will be there.  Thanks for your efforts as always.   

Hey Marty,  please sign up the west coast contingent. Matt Jackson and I will be there.

Jeff

I will be there.

Neal Jeter

Count me in.

Count me in too.

Bob Phillips

I'll be there.

Andy

I'll be attending.

I will be there, too.

Thank you (again) for setting it up. I look forward to being there and seeing you Marty.

Gerry

John S and I will be there. Thanks for doing this every York.

Jim D.

Scrapiron Scher will be there as well as EZMike Lauria

I'll be there. Thanks for organizing.

I will be there, and thanks for all your effort.

I will be there with the wife also, Great food. I better get my toast this time or it will be reflected in the tip.

I'd love to attend, let alone to be at York at all.  Have never been; don't know if or when it will ever happen.

However, I'd like to contribute a question, and, since Marty said "we do encourage Legacy product ideas," I'd like to ask the following:

Will Lionel produce the stand for holding an iPad when using the LCS iPad app that John Ricks showed in this Oct. 2012 video demonstrating the app: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5Qc9e_Ztu8

...and that appeared on page 140 of the 2013 Signature catalog: http://catalogs.lionel.com/13signature/

I realize that the idea of smart devices like the iPad is that they're mobile.  However, I don't find the LCS iPad app to be the most convenient thing to operate while walking or even just holding the tablet while standing or sitting.  Plus, the LCS iPad app is intended primarily for layout control.  In that sense, it's like a touchscreen layout control panel.  This is unlike the iCab app that's intended primarily for locomotive control and for using on a smart phone that you can tuck into your pocket as you walk around your layout.

I'd like the option of having a stand for the iPad that would keep the tablet stable and secure while I'm operating my layout from what would essentially be a stationary touchscreen layout control panel, while, at the same time, allowing me to insert and remove the tablet easily when I want to transition between stationary and mobile use.

I don't feel the available smart covers, smart cases, or docks are the answer. Especially with an app where I'm interacting with the touchscreen a lot, I don't feel their stands provide the kind of sturdiness that keeps me from worrying about the iPad slipping or falling over.

If a Lionel LCS iPad stand was also a charging station, that would be fine as long as that feature didn't "jolt" the price.  Otherwise, a non-charging stand to hold the iPad would be great.

Marty, I would be grateful if you would submit this question for the Legacy users group meeting.

Cheers!

Keith

not a lot of questions so I will ask some.

the legacy system is currently at 1.6 when will the next update of the legacy system be made and any idea what new icons we will see?

will lionel continue to warrant the legacy system?

any chance that in the future the legacy system will operate the lionchief plus engines?

Just an update on the arrangements with Alexanders...

They did say they are going to have more traditional dinning tables rather than the lounge tables from last year.  We are also looking at the possibility of a buffet rather than ordering off a menu.  This would allow folks to come in, get their food and sit down.  We will try this for this meeting.  If it doesn't work out we'll figure something else out.  The cost will be similar to the past maybe a buck more.

Thanks.

Marty,

That sounds better and might be more efficient simply because, no offense, we had folks order at the same time and food arrived at different times - almost a 45 minute split between the fist delivery and the final person. I like it. walk in get your food, sit down.

Outside the box thinking - good plan. 

See you at the user group meeting

That's the hope.  I understood the frustration at the last meeting. 

Bill_R posted:

Keith

there are all types of third party  stands for iPads and some double as chargers also.  I would suggest just Google it.  the hardest decision will be deciding which one to buy ! 

Thanks, Bill.

I wonder if you noticed this part of my post:

"I don't feel the available smart covers, smart cases, or docks are the answer. Especially with an app where I'm interacting with the touchscreen a lot, I don't feel their stands provide the kind of sturdiness that keeps me from worrying about the iPad slipping or falling over."

Also, did you take a look at Lionel's prototype stand (actually more like a base) shown in the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5Qc9e_Ztu8) and on page 140 of the 2013 Signature catalog (http://catalogs.lionel.com/13signature/)?  Is there a stand/base similar to this on the market?

Cheers!

Keith

Another question for the Legacy users group meeting.  This one came up because I enjoy occasionally perusing past catalogs from the various manufacturers as well as past OGR, CTT and train club magazines.

I recently noticed that in the summer 2013 issue of the Lionel Railroader Club Inside Track magazine, an overview of the LCS iPad app and the SensorTrack concluded as follows:

"To illustrate the power and flexibility of the LCS components, Jon Z. says you can deploy just the WiFi, iPad App and an LCS controller to operate a DCS or even a traditional throttle control layout [emphasis added].  Very powerful and flexible indeed."

What does that mean???

Keith

Bill please start your own thread on this. I asked everyone not to answer questions here. It only makes it difficult to go through the thread and get the questions for Lionel to answer. Also as I said, I owe it to the folks attending to let Lionel answer or consider there input. 

Folks

We're about a week away from when I want to turn in the questions.  If you submitted a question please do me a favor and just double check them for clarity.  I don't want to assume what you are asking and I want to pass along to Lionel the questions so that they can give the best most informative answer back.  I''l send them April 1st.

The buffet is a go with a better table setup. 

Question applies to the eTrain App which is part of the Lionel partnership program---The owner of the APP does not know the answer to the question. On the sensor track screen in the eTrain APP, there is a listing of engine data with values such as status, fuel level, odometer, burn rate, run time, etc. to name a few. Some of the measures are obvious others are not. Could you tell us what are the units of measure is for each piece of data? There is diagnostic data captured as well such as signal loss and drive motor stalls. The data is being captured when an engine passes over a sensor track.

Marty

I put an LCS suggestion down in the topics section of the chat room, sorry, I was in the wrong section, can you get the suggestion from that section?

Marty,

In many cases, multiple users at organizations are offered bulk purchase discounts on applications and hardware.

Question - For the application, will their be a group license available at a reduced rate for clubs that utilize the LCS WiFi Application?

PSU1980 posted:

Marty,

In many cases, multiple users at organizations are offered bulk purchase discounts on applications and hardware.

Question - For the application, will their be a group license available at a reduced rate for clubs that utilize the LCS WiFi Application?

Please clarify.  The LCS App is a free download.  The iCab perhaps?

A question for the meeting:

What are the plans, if any, in LCS to provide for the operation of automated cars that need an operating track to make them operate?

Tomorrow is the last day for questions.  Please get them in by then.  In the past I have let a few come in after the deadline but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to pass any along after tomorrow.  Again please keep them clear and to the point.  So far we've been good there.

Another question:

On the LCS APP, when you build a layout or section of a layout, could there be an option to color a section of track or switch? This could be used to indicate an elevated section of the layout, or for whatever you wanted to highlight a section of the layout for. A procedure like available for the switch direction designation or the color available for the label function.

I will be there but hate buffets!!!

I'll be there.  Missed the last 2 Yorks but really looking forward to it again.  

Thanks for all your work Marty.  

See you in 2 weeks.

Question:  Has it been determined if the STM2 will work correctly with Z-Stuff's Z-2500 switch machine when the Z-2500 is operating in command mode through the DZ-2001 Data Wire Driver?

Ron, a while back I asked Lionel through there web site about the Z-2500 and the Z-1000. There response was that the Z-2500 will not. work with the STM2. For the Z-1000 they said that they weren't sure BUT they added that if you connect the Z-1000 to the STM2 they have no responsibility if something was damaged.  

I often thought it would be nice to have the "time" show up on the hand held screen. Is it possible?

Tom