WTIU

@Scott In Texas posted:

According to the Train World / MTH live webcast this evening, the WTIU is going into production in June and expected to ship to dealers prior to the end of the year.  Fingers crossed…

Sounds like it's a race between the MTH WTIU and the Lionel BASE3.

@Scott In Texas posted:

According to the Train World / MTH live webcast this evening, the WTIU is going into production in June and expected to ship to dealers prior to the end of the year.  Fingers crossed…

At this point, I'll believe it when I see it.  Same goes for Lionel Base 3.

Picking up a couple spare TIU's and remotes a couple years ago is looking like a better and better idea all the time!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Sounds like it's a race between the MTH WTIU and the Lionel BASE3.

I feel fortunate that I'm not in need of either.  I do feel badly for those that entered the hobby during the pandemic and have been craving a full command system.

@superwarp1 posted:

Do what the DCC guys do.  Have phone jacks placed in several spots on your layout table so you can plug in.

The newer DCC systems have wireless remotes.

@MichRR714 posted:

I feel fortunate that I'm not in need of either.  I do feel badly for those that entered the hobby during the pandemic and have been craving a full command system.

That would be me.  The decision to come over from HO in December 2019 has just been a terrible one.  It just makes no sense because by and large there has been little disruption in getting NCE or Digitrax equipment.  Small delays here and there, but by and large you could get almost anything for HO in the way of command.  That is why I maintain there is more here than just "parts shortages".

"That is why I maintain there is more here than just "parts shortages"."

You're in all likelihood correct. Lionel is designing a completely new system, for one thing. MTH has downsized significantly and is redesigning their system. DCC is basically the same system, unchanged for decades.

The Base 3 was announced in Jan 2022 and planned for late 2022, so it's "only" four months late.  The WTIU was announced in Jan 2020 and is about 1.5-2.0 years delayed. 1.5 years into that initial period, Mike Wolf considered closing MTH entirely.   Stuff happens.

My guess is no more than 2-3 people are working on the Base 3 and 1-2 on the WTIU.  I suspect NCE and Digitrax each have significantly more staff than that, given the size of the markets in HO and N, not even considering S, G and Z, which are much smaller but also tend to use DCC. NCE and Digitrax also do nothing but DCC, whereas Lionel is more like Marklin or LGB, with a full line of products.

Question, who's going to support this when it's released?  Who do I call if I have a issue, what if it's defective from day one, six months, a year?  Where can I get it fixed if needed? (Yes, yes I know we all have the forum but) 

Asking for a friend.

@superwarp1 posted:

Question, who's going to support this when it's released?  Who do I call if I have a issue, what if it's defective from day one, six months, a year?  Where can I get it fixed if needed? (Yes, yes I know we all have the forum but)

Asking for a friend.

Given the recent issues with the MTH warranty on locomotives, that's probably a good question.  Since they have no factory repair depot, and it's very unlikely they'll release any technical information on the box, it's hard to say how it'll get repaired.

Isn't time for the current iteration of MTH to publish on their website or this Forum some type of honest statement about why this is taking so much longer than originally advertised?  Certainly COVID caused an initial disruption in the supply of the necessary parts, and also overseas production, but other industries that rely on chips and semiconductors have recovered as the pandemic has waned.   Why is it taking MTH so long?  Are there design flaws that are still being corrected?  A little forthrightness would be reassuring to those of us who have been loyal MTH customers for decades, not to mention the 37 dealers listed on the MTH website (as of this morning) who have the product on order.

PRK

@PRKTRAINS posted:

Isn't time for the current iteration of MTH to publish on their website or this Forum some type of honest statement about why this is taking so much longer than originally advertised?

Did you watch the Trainworld TV Youtube event last night? They did touch on that and gave an update on the status.

@H1000 posted:

Did you watch the Trainworld TV Youtube event last night? They did touch on that and gave an update on the status.

IMO, that's not an answer.  You should have to wade through an hour and a half of video to find out information that one or two sentences would convey!  Not everyone wants to sit through a lengthy video for one simple piece of information.

@PRKTRAINS posted:

Isn't time for the current iteration of MTH to publish on their website or this Forum some type of honest statement about why this is taking so much longer than originally advertised?  Certainly COVID caused an initial disruption in the supply of the necessary parts, and also overseas production, but other industries that rely on chips and semiconductors have recovered as the pandemic has waned.   Why is it taking MTH so long?  Are there design flaws that are still being corrected?  A little forthrightness would be reassuring to those of us who have been loyal MTH customers for decades, not to mention the 37 dealers listed on the MTH website (as of this morning) who have the product on order.

PRK

There's still a ton of issues in the electronics supply chain and manufacturing space.  I begrudgingly just took delivery on a nearly $100K vehicle for my business that is missing a lot of bells and whistles until the dealer installs boards that are unavailable.  They hope to have it within the year.  You also have to factor in the production runs for these things are comparably super small.  I can't imagine they would produce more than a few thousand or so at a time.           

I have difficulty with them producing a few thousand in the first run!  That's a significant risk to take with a brand new product that has lots of potential for teething issues when it gets to the field!  I'd think a run of a few hundred to a thousand would be more realistic for something this different than anything before it.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

IMO, that's not an answer.  You should have to wade through an hour and a half of video to find out information that one or two sentences would convey!  Not everyone wants to sit through a lengthy video for one simple piece of information.

John, they only mentioned “shortage of components” as the reason for delay.  I have to think it is a combination of that, component cost and a reliable/consistent supply to be able to deliver a finished product.  

For those who wish to watch it, the DCS portion of the video is at 14:45 - 25:20.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have difficulty with them producing a few thousand in the first run!  That's a significant risk to take with a brand new product that has lots of potential for teething issues when it gets to the field!  I'd think a run of a few hundred to a thousand would be more realistic for something this different than anything before it.

John, they did mention beta testing is in progress now.  Not sure how much change might be expected based on beta testing for the June production run.  Hopefully the long development window results in better than average software and hardware.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have difficulty with them producing a few thousand in the first run!  That's a significant risk to take with a brand new product that has lots of potential for teething issues when it gets to the field!  I'd think a run of a few hundred to a thousand would be more realistic for something this different than anything before it.

With the first TIU before release there were beta testers.  Any this time around?   Even with beta testers there was still a ton of bugs that needed fixing on the first TIU both software and hardware.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

IMO, that's not an answer.  You should have to wade through an hour and a half of video to find out information that one or two sentences would convey!  Not everyone wants to sit through a lengthy video for one simple piece of information.

It was addressed in the first 20 minutes. MTH knew it was a hot-button issue. The poster said he is a loyal MTH customer, why wouldn't you want to tune in to get live information directly from the manufacturer in real-time?

@superwarp1 posted:

With the first TIU before release there were beta testers.  Any this time around?   Even with beta testers there was still a ton of bugs that needed fixing on the first TIU both software and hardware.

Hey Gary,  See my reply above. They mentioned Beta testing is currently in progress.