Why has everything gone to having to use your cell phone for everything some people can't do anything without a phone .This is a hobby lets leave it that.LEAVE CELL PHONES OUT OF IT!
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douger posted:Why has everything gone to having to use your cell phone for everything some people can't do anything without a phone .This is a hobby lets leave it that.LEAVE CELL PHONES OUT OF IT!
Sorry..not in my world..smartphones accomplish so much and also will attract the younger crowd.
douger posted:Why has everything gone to having to use your cell phone for everything some people can't do anything without a phone .This is a hobby lets leave it that.LEAVE CELL PHONES OUT OF IT!
Ahh - no, the sooner they get this together the better - not really sure Bluetooth is the answer, maybe wi-fi...one or the other - as long as we're not wed to Apple devices.
Im a audio engineer - and I do all my gigs now with a tablet connected to my digital mixer...you couldn't pay me to go back to an analog console with 200 hundred knobs on it!!!
Trains need to get there too! Not sure we have enough tech geeks in this hobby!
So few 3rd party apps - I think LIONEL released their (Legacy?) protocol to programmers - but so far - only the Apple app...I predict they will regret using that OS as their offical app.
douger posted:Why has everything gone to having to use your cell phone for everything some people can't do anything without a phone .This is a hobby lets leave it that.LEAVE CELL PHONES OUT OF IT!
The recently cataloged Lionel trains that have Bluetooth listed have the option of using a smart phone app but they do not require it.
You can use the remote that comes with the locomotive or a smart phone app, or in the case of LionChief Plus conventional power also! I can certainly relate to not wanting to have your phone on you when running trains, but I think most people want more options with their trains.
The HO gauge Bachmann models that were recently released with Bluetooth can be run either with your phone or from track power only.
Hopefully MTH will also adopt bluetooth. Lets get rid of the sending the digital signal via the track. I also would like ERR to sell Bluetooth conversion boards. Just a phone talking directly to the engines is a great thing. No more Cab remotes, a TMCC base and TIU and WiFi units. Just power for the engines and a smartphone. Bring it on.
Running trains with your cell phone is simply brilliant.
One - because its one less thing I need to bring to the round robin get together to run some trains.
Two- I will not have to buy additional expensive remotes to have my son or my friends run trains at my house
My only beef is they did not release a android version! 
J Daddy posted:Running trains with your cell phone is simply brilliant.
One - because its one less thing I need to bring to the round robin get together to run some trains.
Two- I will not have to buy additional expensive remotes to have my son or my friends run trains at my house
My only beef is they did not release a android version!
Agree on the Andriod version - not sure why they want to go down the Apple road...
Why would you want to require a 500 dollar device, when a 50 dollar Andriod phone or tablet will work just as well? (especially for kids!)
In my audio engineering world - the best app out there is a 3rd party Android app - the developer is on the ball with updates and new features - by comparison, its been years since Behringer (the mixer manufacturer) has been able to offer an update to the iOS app - causing problems with a small, but vocal minority.
Once you stop thinking about it as a "phone" - you can start to see the beauty of this setup.
I have dedicated Android tablets and phones - just for my audio biz - they are never used as "phones"
Roving Sign posted:J Daddy posted:Running trains with your cell phone is simply brilliant.
One - because its one less thing I need to bring to the round robin get together to run some trains.
Two- I will not have to buy additional expensive remotes to have my son or my friends run trains at my house
My only beef is they did not release a android version!
Agree on the Andriod version - not sure why they want to go down the Apple road...
Why would you want to require a 500 dollar device, when a 50 dollar Andriod phone or tablet will work just as well? (especially for kids!)
In my audio engineering world - the best app out there is a 3rd party Android app - the developer is on the ball with updates and new features - by comparison, its been years since Behringer (the mixer manufacturer) has been able to offer an update to the iOS app - causing problems with a small, but vocal minority.
Once you stop thinking about is a "phone" - you can start to see the beauty of this setup.
I have dedicated Android tablets and phones - just for my audio biz - they are never used as "phones"
android or apple has nothing to do with updating an application. It is the developers choice which platform to make an app for and which platform to provide updates for. Has nothing to do with the platform itself.
Device cost can play a factor though of course. but there are some advantages - the apple eco system tends to be less fragmented and therefore easier to say which devices your program runs on.
Either way, it would be nice if they supported both eco-systems. I wonder if they will allow other developers to program to their bluetooth spec like they do for legacy/tmcc?
jrmertz posted:Roving Sign posted:J Daddy posted:Running trains with your cell phone is simply brilliant.
One - because its one less thing I need to bring to the round robin get together to run some trains.
Two- I will not have to buy additional expensive remotes to have my son or my friends run trains at my house
My only beef is they did not release a android version!
Agree on the Andriod version - not sure why they want to go down the Apple road...
Why would you want to require a 500 dollar device, when a 50 dollar Andriod phone or tablet will work just as well? (especially for kids!)
In my audio engineering world - the best app out there is a 3rd party Android app - the developer is on the ball with updates and new features - by comparison, its been years since Behringer (the mixer manufacturer) has been able to offer an update to the iOS app - causing problems with a small, but vocal minority.
Once you stop thinking about is a "phone" - you can start to see the beauty of this setup.
I have dedicated Android tablets and phones - just for my audio biz - they are never used as "phones"
android or apple has nothing to do with updating an application. It is the developers choice which platform to make an app for and which platform to provide updates for. Has nothing to do with the platform itself.
I think it does - when it comes to accommodating Apple's iOS updates - and fixing whatever breaks each time they update.
Roving Sign posted:jrmertz posted:Roving Sign posted:J Daddy posted:Running trains with your cell phone is simply brilliant.
One - because its one less thing I need to bring to the round robin get together to run some trains.
Two- I will not have to buy additional expensive remotes to have my son or my friends run trains at my house
My only beef is they did not release a android version!
Agree on the Andriod version - not sure why they want to go down the Apple road...
Why would you want to require a 500 dollar device, when a 50 dollar Andriod phone or tablet will work just as well? (especially for kids!)
In my audio engineering world - the best app out there is a 3rd party Android app - the developer is on the ball with updates and new features - by comparison, its been years since Behringer (the mixer manufacturer) has been able to offer an update to the iOS app - causing problems with a small, but vocal minority.
Once you stop thinking about is a "phone" - you can start to see the beauty of this setup.
I have dedicated Android tablets and phones - just for my audio biz - they are never used as "phones"
android or apple has nothing to do with updating an application. It is the developers choice which platform to make an app for and which platform to provide updates for. Has nothing to do with the platform itself.
I think it does - when it comes to accommodating Apple's iOS updates - and fixing whatever breaks each time they update.
Android does the same thing, release updates - and developers must compensate. This is where I mentioned fragmentation. Android devices historically can't all run the same versions of Android (although as hardware has gotten so much better I believe it is much much less of an issue). That hardware increase is the same reason so many older iOS devices can also run the latest versions of iOS.
There are options out there for a deverloper to write the app in one language and have it spit out an app for both platforms. I'm not sure how well these things work or what tweaks are needed in each app but they do exist. Maybe they work better for some types of apps than others and that is why they aren't used?
There is also still the big push for applications on the Web - think MS Office and such programs. These take out the platform problem and instead add in browser compatibility (and the need for internet). I'm not sure if a browser based app could run trains, if it could that would solve the platform issue...
"Agree on the Andriod version - not sure why they want to go down the Apple road..."
Developers sometimes say that it is faster and easier to develop the iOS app. Probably depends on the developer .
In any case, Lionel planned to have the Android LionChief/Bluetooth app available simultaneously with the iOS, but development has taken
longer, according to Ryan Kunkle (source: Notch 6 catalog podcast). You'll have your Android app sooner or later I'd guess.
Used my cab-1 and a Legacy loco and my LionChief universal remote and two LC+ locos together today. Works seamlessly and well.
Apparently the Bluetooth app has a number of features not available using the LC or LC+ remotes (individual control of sound volumes for one thing). So the Bluetooth locos will have some nice features more easily provided with a phone or tablet device than with a remote, at least for the present. The newer remotes (including the universal) with Bluetooth are firmware upgradable apparently.
On the original topic, No one is forcing anyone to use the new App. If you are happy with how your previous LionChief engines have operated, then nothing changes. The app only adds more features that some people might like.
As fo iOS and Android, I would expect that an Android version will come along sooner or later. For those that can't wait, and do not already have an Apple device, you can find used iPad2's and iPad Mini's for about a hundred bucks that will run the current app, or iPhone 4 and 4S's for $20-30. If you have time on your hands and a good amount of computer savvy, one could also use an iOS emulator running on PC, though from what I've read, getting BlueTooth to work with an emulator is not for the faint of heart.
JGL
Good question. The additional features offered by the Lionchief app as compared to the remote are:
- momentum settings
- dedicated coupler buttons (for locos with operating couplers)
- individual sound volume for whistle, bell, speech and background sounds
- custom pitch settings for bell and whistle
- speed limit setting
- smoke on/off
Cannot stop the march of progress in technology.
Phone, YES. The only people I know who are against using the phone in the hobby are the flip phone set. I have no problem if people want to stay with the old ways. I choose not to take that path.
douger posted:Why has everything gone to having to use your cell phone for everything some people can't do anything without a phone .This is a hobby lets leave it that.LEAVE CELL PHONES OUT OF IT!
Obviously written by someone who has never run trains with a smart phone. It is a unique and very enjoyable experience. Running DCS with a phone or tablet is light years ahead of using the rather clunky DCS remote. And it is the only way we're going to get young people interested in our hobby.
This is written by a 70-year old who really enjoys running trains with my iPhone.
Mike McCutcheon posted:Hopefully MTH will also adopt bluetooth. Lets get rid of the sending the digital signal via the track. I also would like ERR to sell Bluetooth conversion boards. Just a phone talking directly to the engines is a great thing. No more Cab remotes, a TMCC base and TIU and WiFi units. Just power for the engines and a smartphone. Bring it on.
I believe Pairing a Bluetooth engine to multiple smart phones will be a big problem. The Legacy Base and MTH TIU act as interpreters to allow many devices (Handheld remotes & smart devices with apps) talk to one engine (or multiple engines) at the same time. Once your LC+ Bluetooth engine is paired with one phone, all other phones & remotes are locked out from controlling that engine.
Kinda hard to run large layouts with multiple operators when only one phone can control everything.
H1000
Marty Fitzhenry posted:Phone, YES. The only people I know who are against using the phone in the hobby are the flip phone set. I have no problem if people want to stay with the old ways. I choose not to take that path.
Not really. I have a smart phone and I have absolutely no desire to run my trains with it.
Rusty
"Kinda hard to run large layouts with multiple operators when only one phone can control everything."
One can have multiple phones working multiple locos, but each loco can only be controlled by one assigned phone/tablet, is my understanding. Probably a good safety feature.
Shouldn't be a problem overall. Switching a loco from one phone to another phone/tablet also should be simply a matter of a few quick keystrokes and perhaps communication between the individuals holding those phones/tablets.
On the LionChief app, there is a dedicated button to disconnect from an engine and make it available to another operator or to put it back under the control of that engine's dedicated (or universal) remote.
