The end of the dcs hand held controller?

Yes at the York DCS meeting MTH Announced it will be going all wifi

Yeah but the DCS Remote will do more than the WiFi CrAap...such as play the soft keys. 

You might want to rethink that statement. The premium app does everything and more. Even runs Legacy.

Last run will be built in the fall

The soft keys are right on the app, plus all of the ones in the "more" list so you don't have to move the sounds/features around to get them onto the primary soft keys. Also the names are more descriptive than the three-letter acronyms. I haven't used my remote to operate trains at the club since the Premium app was released. We're looking at buying some cheap tablets to replace the club remotes, relegating the remotes to being tethered to the test/setup track.

They sure weren't there a few weeks ago when using the Premium CrAap version.

Right now I run three remotes off of one TIU.  If I go to WIFI tablet can I run three tablets off one TIU?

(My grandsons like to run trains; what boy doesn't at their young age?)  So those two each get a remote loaded with only their loco and I get one, too.   The loops are separate and everybody's happy.  Will we still be happy with WIFI?  Or will grandpa be cussin?

Casey Jones2 posted:

They sure weren't there a few weeks ago when using the Premium CrAap version.

 

Yes they were.

Waddy posted:

Right now I run three remotes off of one TIU.  If I go to WIFI tablet can I run three tablets off one TIU?

 

Yes....  I have both my iPhone and iPad setup.  I can use both at same time.  I have one TIU and one Wifi unit.   All works well.

Call me old fashion but i don't own a cell phone let alone an Ipad let alone an iphone nor do i intend to.  What was so bad about having a remote? My wife got some kind of pad for Christmas and neither one of us can get it to do anything.

The DCS remote was pretty awesome when it came out well before Apple made the first true smart phone.  Times have changes and many people requested an update to the DCS remote. Well here it is and the smart devices today are better than anything MTH could have produced in house.  Not to mention we as users now have more control over what kind of device we use and how big it is!

The DCS remote is expensive for MTH to produce and would be even more expensive to update with a newer version. Apps on smart devices are cheap to update and allow for a very robust & changeable user interface. 

While the DCS remote is good enough for many of the older operators, attracting a younger crowd with the "old school" remote is nearly impossible. It looks like MTH is going all in with Wi-Fi app control for everything and phasing out dedicate remote systems.  Let the user provide the remote of their choice to run their trains.

I suspect as we become more comfortable with the WiFi app, used remotes will become readily available.

Stop the train I got a call coming IN! Cell phones and other devices are the down fall of everything going on none. Kid can't even make change without a cell phone. They don't even lookup to see where they are going or where they have been.

I learned a long time ago not to fight progress.  When I was a kid we had a party line telephone and I can remember when we got our first TV; a little black and white job and we only had three channels available, which signed off at around 11PM.  So I'm willing to make the changeover to WIFI.  I just don't want to be in the group that has to work all the bugs out.   And the DCS Wifi has had some bugs.  So I will probably wait a few years before going whole hog on this new technology.  I'll let you gung ho guys fight the gremlins.

I have one good thumb wheel on my remote now and one new one as a spare. I guess once I break those two with my big fat thumb I'll be jumping on the wifi band wagon!    It shouldn't take long!   

My tablet doesn't get too many incoming calls, and most of these kids aren't even aware that their cell phone can be use to make a telephone call. It's all Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook (if you're old).

My nephew spends a lot time looking up from his phone when he is controlling a couple of trains on the layout. 

If we're going all WIFI why not make the system operable from a laptop?  Is that really more complicated technology than using a tablet?  Or does DCS Wifi already allow you to install it and run it on a laptop?  It just makes sense to me that if you are going to modernize the interface, really modernize it, and allow the trains to be run off a laptop or desktop computer.

Waddy posted:

If we're going all WIFI why not make the system operable from a laptop?  Is that really more complicated technology than using a tablet?  Or does DCS Wifi already allow you to install it and run it on a laptop?  It just makes sense to me that if you are going to modernize the interface, really modernize it, and allow the trains to be run off a laptop or desktop computer.

In a way this is a bit a of a step backwards as laptops and desktops are much less portable than a tablet or the original DCS remote. I suspect there is much less demand for PC control.

But ask and you shall receive!!! Check out this website: DCS Control from a PC

I also wonder why we're stuck with such an antiquated sound file system.  Why should I have to take the locomotive to my computer and hook everything up?  The locomotive already gets signals while it's sitting on the track.  If DCS Wifi could be run from a laptop then why not be able to switch out sound files while it's sitting there on the track.

And why couldn't MTH have a laptop trouble diagnosis program while they're at it?  One we could run to figure out what's wrong.  My car has such a system.

I think incorporating laptops (and desktops) into their system could make lots of improvements possible.