DCS Explorer

I spoke to Dave from MTH about the new DCS Explorer at York.  This unit is the intended replacement for the DCS Remote Commander.  The Explorer doesn't have many of the limitations of the Remote Commander, such as the engine will not have to be in factory reset condition to be recognized, greater range and flexibility moving around the layout since you don't have be in line of sight of an IR sensor.  You can also place more than one Explorer on the layout to address isolated blocks or loops as the app communicates directly with the engine.  It's a win for guys like me that only want the ability to run a few MTH engines on their layouts.

Did MTH have an example at York? From the picture from the catalog it looks like there are only two electrical connections, certainly there would need to be two inputs coming from the transformer and two outputs going to the track? I am curious if it could control more than 3 trains with the premium app? Or have the ability to control conventional trains by varying the AC voltage? I suppose at that point someone would have already decided to use full DCS.

SGP posted:

Did MTH have an example at York? From the picture from the catalog it looks like there are only two electrical connections, certainly there would need to be two inputs coming from the transformer and two outputs going to the track? I am curious if it could control more than 3 trains with the premium app? Or have the ability to control conventional trains by varying the AC voltage? I suppose at that point someone would have already decided to use full DCS.

My impression is this combines the track power and control in one unit.

I think there is a separate power supply for the DCS Explorer that may be the defacto transformer.

Im making my pre-order for the DCS Explorer at Legacy Station.

I see there is a wall-wart power supply listed in the MTH pre-order page - as a separate item

Is that needed for the DCS Explorer? Or does it come with a power supply?

Unclear looking at each items description.

Going through the catalog makes me think the DCS Explorer will not include a power supply when buying the DSC Explorer outside of a set. 

That said, I'm thinking about placing a pre-order with Legacy station also.

Additionally, does anyone know if the Explorer will operate conventional transformer-controlled locos?

If its anything like the simple DCS Commander (which it is directly replacing in all RTR sets) it will not be able to since it sends full voltage to the track all the time.

Going through the catalog makes me think the DCS Explorer will not include a power supply. 

When included in a RTR set, it will include a power supply.

If I'm using a Lionel 180W power supply, would that be too much power for the DCS Explorer?

With no real information on this unit, this is all speculation.  With that said, I believe that the DC Explorer will be similar to the DCS Remote Commander in regard to power supplies, I think it'll run passively with a standard supply directly on the tracks or feeding the power through the DCS Explorer.

John,

I think it'll run passively with a standard supply directly on the tracks or feeding the power through the DCS Explorer.

That's correct.

Would that mean TMCC could be also run on the same track with the TMCC remote or is it too soon to know?

Would that mean TMCC could be also run on the same track with the TMCC remote

Yes, that would be correct.

Barry, have you been able to confirm that the DCS Explorer will run passively with Dave K?  I got some mixed information on this from MTH.

Thank you for contacting MTH Electric Trains.  We appreciate your interest in our products. No, I am afraid the DCS Explorer will not have a passive mode.  Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything else I can help you with.

Thank you,         

Kirstin Martinez

MTH Electric Trains

Charlei,

My information is that the DCS Explorer will work in passive mode. However, at this stage in its life, nothing can be taken as gospel and everything is subject to change.

Most of this thread is based on rumor, supposition and what people have heard (yours truly included). There's little or no real information regarding this product. AFAIK, a prototype has yet to be built.

However, now that I think about it, what makes the explorer different from a TIU or a DCS Remote Commander is that the explorer needs to have its WiFi radio constantly powered. If it wasn't, it would be a real problem to have to reconnect to the app or the home network every time track power was turned off.

Requiring the power to go through the DCS Explorer will put a crimp in some folks operations I suspect.   From the look of the publicity mock-up pictures, it will have the anemic barrel jack to power the track like the DCS Remote Commander, so I sure hope they didn't preclude passive mode operation.

I like the idea of the mth explorer. I currently use lionel lion chief and it's easy to run two trains. But if I were to use this dcs explorer will I have any problems with the signal hooking this up to my track? I'm using a 180 w power supply now and the signal is good. I run two trains for now, maybe three trains at the most for my 5' x 16' layout.

The more I think about it, since there's only one pair of power wires on the explorer, it must connect to the track in "passive" mode, with a separate power supply for itself to keep its WiFi radio on all the time.

" But if I were to use this dcs explorer will I have any problems with the signal hooking this up to my track? "

Shouldn't be a problem, although as everyone says, this is still a proposal, not a product .  LionChief and LionChief+ operate directly between the handheld remote (or smartphone/tablet if using Bluetooth) and the loco.  As long as there is at least 6-8 volts on the track, the loco and command control from a remote device should work.  LionChief and LionChief+ do not interfere with nor are there any reports of their being  interfered with in current use when using DCS, so there's no reason the situation should be any different with the Explorer, at least as far as I can imagine.