I’ve never been burned purchasing from forum members and TIU’s do occasionally show up for sale here, usually at very reasonable prices.  

Tom

Thanks, maybe that will work for me!

tiu's can usually be repaired except for certain types  of problems ! If you don't get shorts and voltage spikes from your ac power coming in the house they'll usually last many years ! you also realize you can get  UPS power supplies ahead of your transformer and tiu and helps keep your electronics in pristine shape with no voltage spike and especially derailments which cause spikes from  track short circuits ! Alan

P.S. a lot of time the tiu's can be repaired !

@Alan Mancus posted:

you also realize you can get  UPS power supplies ahead of your transformer and tiu and helps keep your electronics in pristine shape with no voltage spike and especially derailments which cause spikes from  track short circuits !

I don't see any way that a UPS helps prevent damage from derailments, it's on the other side of the world before the transformer and the TIU!  Nothing you do in terms of power conditioning is going to change what happens with derailments, shorts, or power spikes at the track.

The UPS will protect you from power spikes, typically during thunderstorms. It may also help if you have a household wiring issue. I have an older house so I have a UPS on all my expensive electronics. I use a large battery backup, where the battery is dead, so it only protects me from voltage spikes, which is my intended goal.

If you want protection between the transformer and the TIU or track, you will need to insert fuses or fast acting circuit breakers of some type.

Correct Joe, the UPS is protecting you from the nastiness coming in from the power line, not what's happening several layers after it's output.

Somebody will come up with something for protosounds 2/3 operation, I think it's too big of a market to ignore. I hope Atlas wants to do something with DCS. However, if it comes down to it, all protosounds locos can be controlled 'conventionally'.

Just to be clear, even if you use the wifi system you will still need a TIU.

The issue is having a TIU that functions with a remote. MTH 50-1003 TIU which functions with a remote is no longer being manufactured. The alternative option being offered is 50-1039 which as I understand it is a TIU that ONLY functions with Wifi and will not work with a remote. Please correct me know if I’m wrong because if 50-1039 works with a remote that would address my concerns!

@U. John Biffoni posted:

The issue is having a TIU that functions with a remote. MTH 50-1003 TIU which functions with a remote is no longer being manufactured. The alternative option being offered is 50-1039 which as I understand it is a TIU that ONLY functions with Wifi and will not work with a remote. Please correct me know if I’m wrong because if 50-1039 works with a remote that would address my concerns!

You are not wrong, they dropped support for the 900mhz remote and only run with smart devices.

Next step is for someone to design a DCS remote that communicates via wifi. I'm using my old iphone and the DCS app and its OK, but its not the perfect solution. For me it falls short from a railroad aura aspect. Somehow some of the magic is missing for me.  Sort of like using keyboard cursor keys to control speed instead of a ZW handle.

Dale

Nothing is so easy as the job you imagine someone else doing!

@Pennsylover posted:

Next step is for someone to design a DCS remote that communicates via wifi. I'm using my old iphone and the DCS app and its OK, but its not the perfect solution. For me it falls short from a railroad aura aspect. Somehow some of the magic is missing for me.  Sort of like using keyboard cursor keys to control speed instead of a ZW handle.

Dale

How about something like this:

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

You are not wrong, they dropped support for the 900mhz remote and only run with smart devices.

John, didn't someone from MTH announce that you can tether a remote to the new TIU? I know for you big layout guys, this doesn't work, but for us small layout types, who don't walk around the layout but just sit in in front of our control panel while operating, it could be a nice alternative to the tablet. I know I would use it.

I didn't see that, but then I have no interest in having a cord to my remote, so maybe I just overlooked it.

H1000,

I was wondering how long it would take someone else, other than me, to make the connection.  Here are two more, similar concepts.  I've been looking at these for the last couple of years but haven't gotten around to trying one of them yet:

1.) Motorola Moto Z Gamepad Mod -- Nice but only works with this one cell phone (Moto Z); been on the market for at least three or four years.  I found it because I have this phone.

2.) Skyreat Mavic Air Pro Foldable -- Designed for piloting drones, but may work for locomotives as well.

See: https://www.amazon.com/Skyreat...9EPYCHKYV7H17GQMG1QQ

Mike

I'd love to hear how that solves the issue of one-handed operation as you can do with the DCS remote.

H1000, as I mentioned, I'm using my old iphone and the DCS app and its OK, but its not the perfect solution.    It's great for a first release, but I think it would not be too hard to come up with some enhancements.  Thinking briefly, how about a slider that's attached to a steam locomotive throttle lever, and of course a different arrangement for diesels?  These are all images on the phone screen; not actual physical parts.

Dale

Yellow Hudson Mike, you might be on to something too! 

Dale