DCS EXPLORER, red light ?

You shouldn't be connected to the internet - using the MTH network.

Red light is normal I think - put a loco on, give it second to talk - and it should turn purple - and go.

Threw me, too - I think the whole boot up and communication with engine takes a minute or two.

red light stays on, no communication  between phone and app.  dcs app saying no explorers found. my galaxy phone showing strong wifi signal  between phone and explorer. but saying no internet. i don't get it,nothing has changed since i ran train last night everything was working great. all i did was unplug unit until this this evening. I'm at a loss no clue what i need to do ,down loaded dcs/explorer manual about worthless for the explorer.   i did do a hard reset, which did not help. thanks for help hope your evening is going better than mine.

You are connecting your phone to the MTH network first?

(re-reading your post - sounds like you are)

yes,should be switch is set on mth, that's how i set it up,yesterday. mth not home. tomorrow i might uninstall app and reinstall,as if new setup. to try to test unit i got on my laptop thru wifi it recognize the unit(explorer)  right away and made connection, i couldn't go any further dcs app wont install on a laptop. hope this makes since to you.    im done until tomorrow, its giving me a headache.   too much fun i guess. lol    take care,have a good night.

Did you get it to work yet?

The power comes onto the track if

--you are connected to Wifi (I use the MTH setting)

-- a train is on the track.

Open the app, chose an engine, and as others have said it turns purple and you're good to go.

I was fooled by it too. Finally figured it out.

Working again,good deal. took 5 uninstalls.  for what ever reason, there was a problem with handshake between phone and dcs explorer unit. i notice there's no power to track on first power up of explorer,red light is on. after that power to track stays on(purple light) until you unplug explorer.  would be nice if there was a way to power down track without unplugging explorer. maybe i'm missing something. also would would be nice to have more features for those of us that have smaller layouts. not complaining just saying.....any way sure beats small hand held.      oh one more thing don't have excess to cab chatter its turned on?. i had it with remote commander .    

cshaf posted:

Working again,good deal. took 5 uninstalls.  for what ever reason, there was a problem with handshake between phone and dcs explorer unit. i notice there's no power to track on first power up of explorer,red light is on. after that power to track stays on(purple light) until you unplug explorer.  would be nice if there was a way to power down track without unplugging explorer. maybe i'm missing something. also would would be nice to have more features for those of us that have smaller layouts. not complaining just saying.....any way sure beats small hand held.      oh one more thing don't have excess to cab chatter its turned on?. i had it with remote commander .    

Agree with you there - the red light is confusing.

I'd like to be able to kill track power when railing the loco - rather than using the loco to short the track and get the red light - which is easy to do.

If you pull the loco off when purple - it will stay purple I think - but if you don't do this very cleanly, its easy to short to red.

ROVING SIGN, good to know. there's also a kill power setting, didn't want to put on main screen to easy to accidentally touch/activate , i guess would work too.

I agree--power down feature would be nice.

Also agree on more features--I'd gladly pay for a Explorer premium app that unlocks more of the basics.

Feel the same here. first  introduction to newer trains, was csx imperial train set. very nice and decent price. have since purchased 2 premier engines, fairly high price shouldn't  need full price mth system ($300+) to use features i already payed for. just my opinion.

We initially decided to leave track power off when the Explorer is powered up since new users may not understand the watchdog issue and setting an engine on the track with power would start the engine in conventional.  The idea is that whenever a command is sent to the Explorer, power is applied to the track and the LED turns purple.

Also, track LED behavior initially was just off.  Not red.  Then, when an over current or short condition exists, the LED would turn red.  We decided it might be clearer to leave the LED red whenever track power is off.  Maybe that wasn't the right choice.

As far as a track power control, I agree with you guys.  I turn the e-stop button on by going into More => Advanced Features => System Settings => Hide E-Stop Button.  With that feature turned off, the e-stop button appears on the main engine control screen.  I use e-stop to shut off track power when I'm putting engines on or off the track.  Then, any command turns it back on.  I have added a "power on/off" button on the potential upgrades to the app.  After using it for a while, this seems like it's needed.

Hang in there and keep the feedback coming.  It may not seem like it but, there are dozens of user interface and user experience (UI and UX) decisions that we have to make and when you consider DCS capabilities, the issues can get challenging.  The good news is, with the app and modern TIUs (WIU/Explorer) we can update things as we move forward.

sounds good, thanks for taking time to address our concerns . thanks for reply. im sure the more we use these systems things will become clearer.  thanks again.

MTH RD posted:

We initially decided to leave track power off when the Explorer is powered up since new users may not understand the watchdog issue and setting an engine on the track with power would start the engine in conventional.  The idea is that whenever a command is sent to the Explorer, power is applied to the track and the LED turns purple.

Also, track LED behavior initially was just off.  Not red.  Then, when an over current or short condition exists, the LED would turn red.  We decided it might be clearer to leave the LED red whenever track power is off.  Maybe that wasn't the right choice.

As far as a track power control, I agree with you guys.  I turn the e-stop button on by going into More => Advanced Features => System Settings => Hide E-Stop Button.  With that feature turned off, the e-stop button appears on the main engine control screen.  I use e-stop to shut off track power when I'm putting engines on or off the track.  Then, any command turns it back on.  I have added a "power on/off" button on the potential upgrades to the app.  After using it for a while, this seems like it's needed.

Hang in there and keep the feedback coming.  It may not seem like it but, there are dozens of user interface and user experience (UI and UX) decisions that we have to make and when you consider DCS capabilities, the issues can get challenging.  The good news is, with the app and modern TIUs (WIU/Explorer) we can update things as we move forward.

 

For sure - I'd prefer the LED light be OFF at start up - that makes sense.

And use red for short - red has the effect of "Stop" "Alert"

While those are both the same "track power off" condition - at least with Red you know "hey something happened" - with some indication of what to check.

Also - why not have the E-stop activated by default? - why wait to crash to discover that feature? Same with max speed - have it set to something safe by default...let the user discover that feature because their loco is "slow" - not because it shot off the track like a rocket!

I had a heck of time last night - put a loco on ok - once I started railing rolling stock - I had a hard time with everything. Explorer not found...No Engines Found...clearing app data and cache seemed to help - but sets you back to scratch. (not a big deal with one loco). Just seems like if you do anything on the track with a loco running - you're asking for trouble. Maybe that's true for DCS in general - and not unique to this device?

Would get this message also - this is a new one.

" I use e-stop to shut off track power when I'm putting engines on or off the track.  Then, any command turns it back on."

Interesting difference between app & remote.  Wasn't aware that the app can "reset" power on a TIU after E-stop.

Roving Sign posted:

MTH RD posted:

We initially decided to leave track power off when the Explorer is powered up since new users may not understand the watchdog issue and setting an engine on the track with power would start the engine in conventional.  The idea is that whenever a command is sent to the Explorer, power is applied to the track and the LED turns purple.

Also, track LED behavior initially was just off.  Not red.  Then, when an over current or short condition exists, the LED would turn red.  We decided it might be clearer to leave the LED red whenever track power is off.  Maybe that wasn't the right choice.

As far as a track power control, I agree with you guys.  I turn the e-stop button on by going into More => Advanced Features => System Settings => Hide E-Stop Button.  With that feature turned off, the e-stop button appears on the main engine control screen.  I use e-stop to shut off track power when I'm putting engines on or off the track.  Then, any command turns it back on.  I have added a "power on/off" button on the potential upgrades to the app.  After using it for a while, this seems like it's needed.

Hang in there and keep the feedback coming.  It may not seem like it but, there are dozens of user interface and user experience (UI and UX) decisions that we have to make and when you consider DCS capabilities, the issues can get challenging.  The good news is, with the app and modern TIUs (WIU/Explorer) we can update things as we move forward.

 

For sure - I'd prefer the LED light be OFF at start up - that makes sense.

And use red for short - red has the effect of "Stop" "Alert"

While those are both the same "track power off" condition - at least with Red you know "hey something happened" - with some indication of what to check.

Also - why not have the E-stop activated by default? - why wait to crash to discover that feature? Same with max speed - have it set to something safe by default...let the user discover that feature because their loco is "slow" - not because it shot off the track like a rocket!

I had a heck of time last night - put a loco on ok - once I started railing rolling stock - I had a hard time with everything. Explorer not found...No Engines Found...clearing app data and cache seemed to help - but sets you back to scratch. (not a big deal with one loco). Just seems like if you do anything on the track with a loco running - you're asking for trouble. Maybe that's true for DCS in general - and not unique to this device?

Would get this message also - this is a new one.

 

Thanks for the feedback with your preferences.  I'll review the track LED behavior and think about how we may improve it.

When the app was initially released, the default for e-stop was on or, not hidden.  The market overwhelmingly told us that was a mistake and so, we set the default to hidden and provided a way for users to turn it on.  This is a divided issue.  Maybe we set it to default on in the Explorer app and leave it off in the full DCS app.  Again, I'll give this consideration.

Any issues with request failed, Explorer not found, etc., are generally communications errors.  This happens a lot when your devices default connection is something other than the Explorer.  If you're not , try running in MTH network mode and anytime you get an error, check to make sure your device is connected to the Explorer.  The behavior you're seeing is definitely not normal for any DCS device.  If you're having those issues, something is wrong.  Oh, and make sure you're running the latest version of the app (v3.0.2).  

I've been using the Forward button to stop the train so far...if the train is moving - the forward button will cut throttle and slow to a stop.

Assuming E-Stop is bit more abrupt! But good to know there is a way to kill track power when changing locos.

Another thing that might be slightly confusing - putting the Max Speed and E-Stop under "Advanced Features" - what is more advanced about those features compared to others?

And since Explorer users are using the Free Version - "Advanced" sounds like something that is for the Pay versions - so I might not even try that dialog...assuming it will lead to an upgrade prompt.

 Didn't realise forward button would gently stop train,good to know. yes found e button to be very abrupt, kills power to track. so far have not put it on main screen concerned Ill hit it not meaning to. on and or just off feature would be nice . but can live with out it. 

On the other hand, when operator error has 2 trains heading for a cornfield meet, an abrupt halt is most welcome.