Any difference in MTH's existing 50-1034 DCS WIFI MODULE and the new WTIU coming soon?

If you have a good older TIU. I’m guessing you also have a good working remote. The new WTIU may have more capabilities. That I can’t answer.  But their newest Proto 3 engines seem to have no more features than the older ones. The big advantage to the older TIU. Is your remote still works with it and doesn’t require being tethered and it has the capability to also run with phone with the added on module.
I just prefer the remote. My fingers are to clumsy running a train.  I do have the WIFI module. I have run trains with it. What I do like. Is the ability to run an AIU off a tablet screen and just focus on running the trains with the remote.

Thanks for that info Dave, especially about the AIU.  I never have particularly liked the MTH remote however as it is difficult for me to see with 'old eyes'. The screen doesn't seem to be backlit at all and everything is so small.  Was at a friend's layout recently and my phone paired right up with his wifi unit and it was a real pleasure to use - everything was large and colorful, easy to see. I only had the opportunity for less than an hour so didn't experience much more than the basics but it caused me to desire one of these for more ease of control.

Can my 20 year old TIU still be updated on-line?  I am assisting a neighbor in developing his first time layout.  He decided to go with MTH products.  We are now in the throes of buying a TIU/controller.  Obviously, we can't buy new, so since I have not had any problem with my 20 yr old unit, I believe we can find a good used TIU on Ebay, Trainz, etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts on my logic?

To use WiFi module you need a rev L

I update my first run TIU until it finally died. It has the latest software and was working fine for many years but as of now is unreliable.

Bottom line is as long as the TIU is functioning it should update just fine.

Many thanks Marty!

@bluelinec4 posted:

To use WiFi module you need a rev L

No you don't, the WiFi will work with the serial connection and a USB to serial adapter to any hardware version of the TIU, it just needs to be updated to later software.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Now you don't, the WiFi will work with the serial connection and a USB to serial adapter to any hardware version of the TIU, it just needs to be updated to later software.

100% agree.  Mine is an original release TIU and as John said the correct software and serial adapter it works just fine.

@c.sam posted:

Thanks for that info Dave, especially about the AIU.  I never have particularly liked the MTH remote however as it is difficult for me to see with 'old eyes'. The screen doesn't seem to be backlit at all and everything is so small.  Was at a friend's layout recently and my phone paired right up with his wifi unit and it was a real pleasure to use - everything was large and colorful, easy to see. I only had the opportunity for less than an hour so didn't experience much more than the basics but it caused me to desire one of these for more ease of control.

The remote does have a backlight option. I believe it is labeled BL

Mine is an older TIU as well and am having no luck so far updating it. I have only Mac equipment (iMac, Macbook, iPad, iPhone) as do many of us out here 'in the boonies'.  A nice fella here on the forum sent me a link to hopefully download some software that would enable my laptop to function as a PC.  I tried twice to download it (90 minutes ea time) to no avail - it stalled with only a few minutes remaining and gave me an error message.

Then  took my TIU, remote, and wifi to a friend's home who has PCs. He was able to download the MTH update to his laptop with no issues but it wouldn't load into my TIU from what we could tell. We ran short of time and I had to leave.

Not sure what to do next...

@c.sam posted:

Then  took my TIU, remote, and wifi to a friend's home who has PCs. He was able to download the MTH update to his laptop with no issues but it wouldn't load into my TIU from what we could tell. We ran short of time and I had to leave.

Not sure what to do next...

Did you follow the instructions to the letter for the TIU update?  You have to put the little 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo cable in the two jacks before you power up the TIU for the update.  Take that cable out for the remote software update.

There are several videos regarding the update process - I found several with a Google search.  As GRJ noted above, they need to be followed precisely.

If you thought that the Protosound 1 reset was tricky...

Re the original question - if you prefer using the phone app to run trains, I'd buy the new WTIU and sell the old TIU.  There are plenty of folks who still want to use the remote.

Thank you, Mallard, for your response, that is the answer I was looking for!  Bob

If you think the TIU update is tricky, wait until you get to the remote!   Make sure you have created yourself an appropriate clamp for the power button on the remote, you can't imagine how tired your thumb will get after holding that pressed for ten minutes or more!  You'll also want to shut down the TIU completely right before you do the remote update, for some reason it doesn't like it to have already been on when you start.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

If you think the TIU update is tricky, wait until you get to the remote!   Make sure you have created yourself an appropriate clamp for the power button on the remote, you can't imagine how tired your thumb will get after holding that pressed for ten minutes or more!  You'll also want to shut down the TIU completely right before you do the remote update, for some reason it doesn't like it to have already been on when you start.

I thought cycling the power after the TIU update was part of the procedure.

I didn't use a clamp on the remote for years. I did get tired after a few bugs were released and I had to update them a few times. That's when I started using a clamp. A few minutes can feel like hours!

@Engineer-Joe posted:

I thought cycling the power after the TIU update was part of the procedure.

I didn't use a clamp on the remote for years. I did get tired after a few bugs were released and I had to update them a few times. That's when I started using a clamp. A few minutes can feel like hours!

I believe the power cycle is part of the process.  However, this is where reading comprehension comes in, many people don't do that with predictable results.

I only did the remote once without the clamp, and I lost my grip twice and had to start over.  That's when I realized that a clamp was mandatory!

Back to the original topic of this thread.  I have decided to skip the new WTIU since the handhelds will not remotely work with the new unit.  Will the prior WIFI work with the new phone application?  I realize that the older "L" TIUs requires a WIFI unit for each TIU but I could continue to use my handhelds and only use the WIFI app for those visitors who prefer a phone interface (grandson for one).

Thank you for your response!  I'm now happy to continue using my 20 year old TIU!  It still works great!  But, I recently lost my 20 year old MRC transformer.  Probably a result of sitting in summer heat in my garage (no basement) for the last 10 years.  So the next project is finding someone to repair it.  Always something!