DCS WIFI App and WIU quick review and thoughts

Pretty much my observation too. Easy to setup and I was off and running. 

matt

thanks for the update; my TWO WIUs should arrive whenever Nassau Hobby gets them in and ships.

This eliminated my biggest issue, the unreliable radios int he remotes

It can be frustrating when a system does not work. A common fix for the remote doing that is to tether it to the TIU and see if the problem goes away. If that fixes the issues than the remote's board probably has come loose. With this a known issue, I just can't figure out why MTH has not added something inside to keep the board stable? It is an easy aftermarket fix though.

 I'm glad that these manufacturers have moved forward with current technology. I feel this opens the door for more new people coming into the hobby. Kids are attached to their phones so this seems to me to be a great thing.

Thanks for the update. Was looking into using my old cell phone and cheap, throw-away 7" tablets. Looking forward to getting my grubby hands on the hardware.

You guys will like it. I love it. Tonight m going to put 8 locos on the tracks n see how it adds them all

Sounds great Matt, just waiting for the WIU. My third gen. iPad should run everything great. All set up just need the WIU. 

I was thinking an old iPod touch would work great

I have been thinking about the itouch as well. I don't have a smart phone (not sure I want or need one, flip phone works fine and is seldom used) and the itouch is a lot less $$$. My WIU is on order.

Ok, it's now Thanksgiving.  Does anyone have the inside scoop if these WIU hit MTH's dock yet?

Matt,

We received a unit at our shop also.  My experience has been very similar to yours.  I came across one bug (I think). Could you try this out if you have not already.  When I try a "feature reset", it performs a "factory reset".  The "factory reset" performs as it is supposed to.

I will try it. I've got it set up on my test loop

But im so full right now I cant move

Matt,

Thank you for the great review!  I am glad to read it works so well.  I think I'm going to get one.

So I pulled 7 locos off the shelf and put them on the test loop and the app polled the TIU and added first 5 then I added engines again and it found the 6th loco. tow of them must have the same address.

Mrmacher, it does appear to factory reset but it keeps its same address when you re-add it so I am not sure. Needs more investigation that Im not going to do right now.

Thanks for looking.

I agree with Matt, very easy to use and set up!

I think people are really going to like this.  My only side note is that I find myself looking at the screen a little too much being that there are no physical buttons to operate the trains.  Maybe when I develop a little more muscle memory, I will not look at it so much.

I am excited about the premium app and being able to control the AIU functions.

Dave

And TMCC engines and a outside chance of Legacy engines!

The lack of actual buttons and tactile response didnt bother me so much as the screen sliding

So I had trouble getting the 7th loco to add last night and I was able to determine that it had a duplicate address as one of the other locos. Mind you that these engines have not been on the layout and added to the layouts remotes recently and Ive had software updates and remote resets. So, it looks like trying to trip it hard with 7 random locos didn't trip it up at all. Though it may not be able to change the address on the engine during the "ADD LOCO" option.More experimentation in necessary.

I am now curious to see how the app will move between layouts. I would be nice to save a remote or layout profile so when I go to the club and run there or at shows I dont have to re-add everything

Im still ecstatic for no no more RF remote related issues.

Matt,

That's the bug. It adds the first one but not the second.

If you7 try again to add the second one, it reorts no engine to add.

I received my WIU today and agree the setup adding to home network was a piece of cake!

I upgraded to the $4.99 version as well on one device.

I did find a odd issue where when entering the additional sounds worked initially and then the next time I went into the menu the listing was empty.  I shut down the app by turning off the App from Android running apps section but when I restarted the MTH app again still no additional sound settings.

Next I tried the reset APP selection to see if that would help but to no avail.  Finally I rebooted the Android device and the next time I ran the additional sound selections worked.

So far seems like a nice product.

Jim

Thanks for all the valuable info here!!

Do you have to connect it to your home wifi or what 

No you don't have to, it can be its own network but it easier to connect it to your network so you don't have to change networks to run trains

Do you have to connect it to your home wifi or what 

It will work either as a stand-alone device (in MTH Mode) or connected to your home network (in Home Mode).

There are are several advantages to using Home Mode.

This and a whole lot more is all in MTH’s “The DCS Companion 3rd Edition", available for purchase from many fine OGR advertisers and forum sponsors, or as an eBook or a printed book at MTH's web store!

I have 2 separate layouts that are never run together. Can I easily move the Wi-Fi unit from one TIU to another?

Can I also use my remote with the Wi-Fi attached?

Yes to both.  Just keep your engine IDs unique.

I encountered a 'No TIUs Found' error last night when the TIU lights were on.  After pulling the screen down the TUIs were found but all of my engines were put into the inactive list.

A little frustrating.

Wait, are these in stock anywhere or not?  I'm going to need 2 of them for the club layout.

Where can I buy the $4.99 version?

All I can find is the free version.

Thanks

Thanks Matt.

When you purchase the upgrade, are the additional features automatically enabled or do you have to run an installation? Just purchased but didn't see any changes in the program (of course, I don't have the hardware to verify it yet).