Hi. I’m based in the UK and have an interest in WiFi control of an OO layout. This is still at the planning stage and I didn’t want to take the DCC route for a number of reasons. I became aware of your 1st generation product some months ago (and in fact I’m on your mailing list) but I considered it too large for my needs. I want to accommodate all receiver electronics within OO gauge locomotives, both diesel and steam. However, I was very interested to understand and potentially test out the technology so I embarked on a DIY project. Using off the shelf components (principally an ESP8266 and H bridge motor driver) housed in the locomotive tender, I very quickly had a prototype up and running. It has no sound and no lights, but is nonetheless quite impressive in operation and with my own “stay alive” circuit is unperturbed by power breaks at turnouts. Also I found that generating the code for the processor using Arduino IDE both straightforward and rewarding. Although my prototype does not require an app on the handset (the onboard processor acts as a web server generating its own control interface), I’m pretty much sold on the technology and I note that your 2nd generation product is now much smaller. However, I have a few questions:-
1/ Have you, or anyone else you know of, installed LocoFi in an OO gauge locomotive (particularly steam, which are more challenging space wise)?
2/ Do you have a UK distributor? Whilst I’m sure that you can ship direct from the US, product support may be easier with a UK supplier.
3/ Do you have plans for providing UK locomotive sounds?
4/ On another forum, I have noted somewhat negative comments regarding the reliability of WiFi at shows/exhibitions where many people are trying to access the network. Obviously this would not be a problem in a home environment, but is this an issue that you have experienced and overcome?
Best regards
David
Certainly. While not imminent, we hope to showcase the LocoFi™ technology in Europe some day.
Best regards,
LocoFi™ Team