Is the rumor of the DCS handheld discontinuance substantiated?

Dave45681 posted:

Hopefully you are right and the controller people want to diverge into supporting model train systems as well.

They sell millions of video games, huge opportunity for return on investment.  No so much for any effort expounded in the realm of model trains.

-Dave

The controller people don't need to diverge into support model train systems. MTH needs to tell their app developer to include an API (application programming interface) to allow the use of external controllers within their app. The API won't cost much if anything to include and boom all of those gaming controllers can now be used with the app and the buttons on those controllers can be mapped to your liking. now you have a fully customizable DCS remote vs the one size fits all we had before.

I tried the wifi with my phone and a tablet.  It works fine, but I am like others who like the feel of real buttons, especially when trying to watch the train.  I just ordered a second remote through my LHS CT McCormick Hardware in Zelienople, PA under this new part number.  How long will they make them?  Who knows??

https://mthtrains.com/50-1038

It is DCS Remote Control Handheld (Version 6.10) 

• New internal components caused MTH to give this item a new product number
• Replaces 50-1002

Mark, I stock piled a number of them finding and buying them when the price was right. I am not keen on using my phone to control the trains plus I am a dinosaur when it comes to tech stuff.  I like the hand held remotes..................Paul 2

Interesting thread. I personally think the phone or pad is a two hand affair and you have to look at it to see where to put your finger, etc. Don't disagree...there is no tactile feedback on a phone or pad. I like to watch the train and the layout...that's why I'm doing this anyway, and I run the remote with one hand for the most part.

I wonder when all the tv, cable, and dish companies will abandon the remote. It seems to me it would be a lot easier to transition for them than the interactive running of a model train. Especially when there are 5 of us running 5 engines on a 12 by 14 layout with switches changing and timing when to slow, let a train go thru a switch, and then run past the block it was on. Getting really close is more fun, but I think there might be a little too much latency with a phone.

MartyE posted:

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Yes, it might cost more if the manufacturer has to come up with a new version of the remote, and yes, we will likely have to pay it if we still want to stick with a physical remote.  Not everything is suited for running on a phone.  By it's nature, running with the phone is a two-handed affair, that doesn't leave a hand free for the beer!

Some guys don't want to pay for a $5 bottle of smoke fluid and you think they'll pay more for a remote?  LOL!  Good one John.

The same guys spend $1500 on an engine. It's not about the cost with smoke fluid, it's about the thrill of the hunt for the cheapest no shipping find.

H1000 posted:

Dave45681 posted:

Hopefully you are right and the controller people want to diverge into supporting model train systems as well.

They sell millions of video games, huge opportunity for return on investment.  No so much for any effort expounded in the realm of model trains.

-Dave

The controller people don't need to diverge into support model train systems. MTH needs to tell their app developer to include an API (application programming interface) to allow the use of external controllers within their app. The API won't cost much if anything to include and boom all of those gaming controllers can now be used with the app and the buttons on those controllers can be mapped to your liking. now you have a fully customizable DCS remote vs the one size fits all we had before.

Oh! DING!DING!DING! We have winner!  

Really. Quick, cheap, simple, using repurposed readily available (did I say cheap!) hardware.

The 2020 MTH Volume 1 catalog announced on p. 9 the release of an upgraded handheld #50-1038. It will be available this month at a ton of dealers. Looks like the demise of the handheld is not occurring anytime soon.

Pat

If you watch the Oct 2019 MTH presentation at the TCA Open House (it’s on you tube) and listen to the Notch 6 podcast for the MTH catolag 2020 Vol 1(48 min in), it seems that they have found a replacement processor chip and will continue to produce the remote. It it’s also stated that there is a new product number for it.

Or am I misunderstanding?

Mark W.

https://mthtrains.com/50-1038

It is DCS Remote Control Handheld (Version 6.10) 

• New internal components caused MTH to give this item a new product number
• Replaces 50-1002

I agree with Marty above.  Running trains requires keeping an eye on trains, not watching a game screen.

As I noted in another thread,it would be interesting to see how many advocates of the wifi have complex operations on a layout, involving many locos running simultaneously on intersecting routes. 

For those of you that know me, I tend to vote with my wallet. On the issue of the DCS remote:

• I already bought a spare (TIU and remote), and....
• I purchased a refurbished iPad and...
• I upgraded my DCS WiFI APP and...
• Now have a WIU up and running on my layout

REGARDLESS of the business decision MTH may or may not make, I WILL keep trains running on my layout. FWIW, I also have a TMCC remote AND the cable connecting the TMCC command base to my TIU. I have options.

If you have the slightest concern, act now while there are still options. Wait, and you get zero sympathy from Gilly.

I have laid in a supply of DCS remotes.   

Nonetheless, I suspect there may be more to this than just whether to keep manufacturing remotes.  The question may be whether manufacturers see the handwriting on the wall with the future of model train control going to direct communication (Bluetooth or otherwise) between the controller and the locomotive/car as in Bluerail or the various Lionchief/Flyerchief products.  In other words, will any system that requires an intermediate "relay" (such as the TIU or Legacy/TMCC base that put some kind of signal into the track based on input from the remote) become obsolete?  

PGentieu posted:

Nonetheless, I suspect there may be more to this than just whether to keep manufacturing remotes.  The question may be whether manufacturers see the handwriting on the wall with the future of model train control going to direct communication (Bluetooth or otherwise) 

The latest batch of Lionel Legacy engines run Bluetooth with a free app. IMHO, Lionel has taken a giant step in the correct direction.  Hopefully, there is nothing patent-able about this.

Bluetooth sucks one engine at a time

Jason gartner posted:

It’s technology and it isn’t going anywhere, I remember when tmcc first came out and dcs, everyone complaining about how they can’t use it and so so ..... now everyone is using them and took the time to use it and figure it out, you have to spend time with it . They make lanyards and ways to hold these devices and mounts so it’s easy. I guess being in my mid 30’s puts me at both ends of this but I love the app on an iPad. My 5 and 3 year old run them with app and can scroll through do everything and like it much more than remote. People want they’re engine to have whistle smoke and wipe their rear end but can’t adapt to a new device.

No Jason.  The fact is you are not comprehending the fact that many of us run our trains differently from you.   For us, a flat screen device without tactile controls is impractical to use and would lead to mishaps.  You have a free invite to come to a NJ Hirailers open house as my guest and I will be glad to demonstrate this to you in person.   My email is in my profile. There are tasks I perform when running trains for which I cannot stop to look at a screen to complete the operation realistically - I need to be able to operate a remote without looking.  Many others are in the same boat. 

-Greg

Jason gartner posted:

Bluetooth sucks one engine at a time

That is not an accurate statement.  You can operate more than one engine at a time via Bluetooth - and yes, I assume you mean with only one controller.

-Greg

Jason, but will it run more than one engine at a time?

Greg H:  You are absolutely correct!

I’ve sold hundreds of dcs systems to customers when my uncle owned his train store, then the WiFi unit. Problem is the new people coming into this hobby choose the app. My kids are 5 and 3 run multiple trains on a 10x30 ft layout, they rather run the app! Not saying it’s the best but after using the app vs remote, the remote is better for making things happen faster maybe while you hsve your nose touching the train but the app is faster for whistle steam, switches, and playback etc or moving from train to train, I have pods on all sides of my layout to hold iPads. 

Bluetooth is crap, on the app is terrible only one engine. At time . Doesn’t work very far away. 

Jason gartner posted:

I’ve sold hundreds of dcs systems to customers when my uncle owned his train store, then the WiFi unit. Problem is the new people coming into this hobby choose the app. My kids are 5 and 3 run multiple trains on a 10x30 ft layout, they rather run the app! Not saying it’s the best but after using the app vs remote, the remote is better for making things happen faster maybe while you hsve your nose touching the train but the app is faster for whistle steam, switches, and playback etc or moving from train to train, I have pods on all sides of my layout to hold iPads. 

Jason,

where’s your store? I’d definitely stop in if my travels take me nearby. Why can’t both the app and the handheld exist? Has the demand for the handheld died, or is it truly a parts issue? If it’s parts, then make a handheld using today’s parts. The hardware that much more complicated than a tv remote. We don’t need a wheel (it’s the weakest point anyway). The channel up down buttons could do that function.