Cab-1L George Brown, tell us the rest of the story

I'm holding out for this Legacy Lite, but not sure why they made it?  If your going to spend $300 for half the features, you may as well spend another 50 for all features?  Unless I'm missing something?

I'm looking forward to the new "Legacy Light" because I simply want a smaller handheld to work with.  I played around with an early prototype for a short while and really liked the simplicity and the feel of it.  It's on my "must get" list.

Not sure where you got your figures but Charlie Ro has the complete remote and base listed for $189.99 and the remote alone at $114.99.

My guess is that after the initial rush to buy that the price of the remote will drift down a little.

On thing to think about is maybe this will prompt MTH to make a DCS lite with more features than the Remote Commander. Ya never know.

I ordered a CAB1L so my grand kids can have a controller that does not have a glass screen to break if they drop it. 

our club uses CAB1's and they are old and need replacing.  these CAB1L's will fit the bill.  if you have the Legacy system you can find the hand held for $114.95

The idea is interesting and I can see it for an extra Legacy remote for running with a friend or with the kids and at the $114 price point it would be worth it. If you already have Legacy remote and base you don't need to buy another base unit. Lionel also doesn't offer the cab 2 for separate sale.

Jim. In the third paragraph of my review, I wrote the following, which states it all:

"As with the Lionel ZW-L, the “L” in CAB-1L and Base-1L stands for Legacy, but that’s not to infer they will command all functions of a Legacy locomotive. They won’t! The CAB-1L and Base-1L have all the familiar TMCC CAB-1 functionality plus the Legacy function of the quilling whistle. Also, train numbers are expanded from the TMCC maximum of 9 to the Legacy maximum of 99. However, I emphasize that the Legacy functions only work when controlling Legacy locomotives."

    gb

Duh!

You didn't answer the question at all George. Very simply, what is the "They won't" part?

As in, if I were going to try to decide between a Cab-1L & a Legacy, what actual features will I miss by buying the Cab-1L?

Besides the "street' price point we discussed in this thread, George's takeaway in his revue is key. 

George states that he is using the Cab 1L for most of his operating because it is so easy and intuitive to use. I had a few minutes to handle a Cab 1L,( nowhere near the run time he has had with it),  and I think George Brown is right on the money with his assessment of the Cab 1L. It can do most of what a Cab 2 can do and is easier to use for the everyday actions of running your trains in Legacy.  It is up to the individual operator to decide whether that is enough functionality to satisfy him or her as a compliment to operation with a Cab 2.

Good revue and good information, now if my Cab 1L will just get here!

Ed Boyle

my grandchildren and other visitors will have 1L's to use.  with a CAB-2 you have all those buttons.  kids will push them all.

Maybe another way to get an answer that George or Ed can respond to is to ask them directly if a particular feature (important to you) is supported:

In a second/third remote I need:

Halt

Direction

Speed

Whistle/Bell

Max Speed Setting

Engine Selection

These are my wants in a second remote for club/home running with people that I don't want to access the other options.

Charlie

First ask yourself, "Can I do it with a CAB-1", if the answer is "Yes" then you can do it with a CAB-1L. Then look at all the Legacy features, if the feature isn't Quillable Whistle and Train Numbers beyond 9 then the answer is "NO"

Example:

Can I blow the whistle, adjust speed and direction? Referring to above, the answer is Yes
Can I have TR above 9? Referring to above, the answer is Yes

Do I get Train brake? Referring to above, the answer is no

Do I get Train Link ? Referring to above, the answer is no

Can I use the Orange Modules? Referring to above, the answer is no

Do I get an LCD readout and speed graph?  Anyone want to guess an answer?

Can I scroll through my engines?  Beuhler?.. anyone?

Think of it as a Cab1 with 3 extra features. Everything else that makes the CAB2 awesome is not included

Halt - Basic TMCC Feature, so yes

Direction - Basic TMCC Feature, so yes

Speed - Basic TMCC Feature, so yes (More than 32 steps also)

Whistle/Bell Basic TMCC Feature, so yes and if enabled you get quilling on Legacy engines

Max Speed Setting Basic TMCC Feature, so yes

Engine Selection Basic TMCC Feature, so yes (You have to key it in just like you do on the CAB1)

Really? I thought the best thing about the CAB2 was no longer having to remember what I numbered my engines or what Keystroke combination changes lights or things such as smoke output. Intuitive is looking at an icon and know that button is Towercomm, not trying to remember what the number is for Towercomm

Good answer Chris, and I believe one other Cab2 feature has something to do with absolute and relative speed steps.  The Cab1L will have less capabiltyin this area than the Cab2.

I have heard that as well, but I have never been real clear on those and couldn't really explain them.

Not 100% on this but I believe it's still 32 speed steps.

I've had my Cab1L on order ever since it first appeared in a Lionel catalog.   i already have the Legacy base and hand held, but my TMCC base and two Cab1's are not working correctly and parts are no longer available for them.  So, I'm trying to run everything off of that one Legacy controller, and that's not handy and also there's no controller for visitors. 

Anyone really know just how soon the Cab1L will really be here?

Paul Fischer

Maybe this is a dumb question and I missed the answer in the review or this thread.  I have a Cab1 and base that I use to run conventional control.  Can I replace these with the Cab1L and it's base?  Are there any issues or do I need to purchase any additional components.

Thanks.

That Charles Ro price is pretty good.  SideTrack currently has the CAB-1L Commend Set for $219 and the CAB-2 Command Set for $339, although they have matched prices for me in the past.  They are hoping to get them in soon.

Ron

 I am pretty sure the CAB1L will not talk to Powermasters. So if you are using TPC's to control the power you are probably good to go just replacing the Cab1 and Base with the CAB1L setup.

I think a lot of you are missing one important thing:

The OLD CAB1 and Command Base are no longer made, the CAB1-L and Command Base-L are the newest version AND AVAILABLE SOON.

For those folks who do not have Legacy nor the old TMCC system, this is good news for them because now they can get it at a fair price.

Another thing is, no antenna to worry about.

More engines can be addressed than before.

Quillable whistle feature is available.

Parts SHOULD be readily available, not so anymore for the old system, although I suspect "hardware" parts will be interchangeable (Red Knob, etc, not electronics) with the old system if a part like that is needed (say your CAB1 case is cracked and need a new one).

You might take a look at the sidebar at the end of the CAB-1L/Base-1L review in OGR Run 266.  It's a short treatise on relative and absolute speed steps as they relate to the Lionel control systems and may answer some of your questions. 

Also, as I understand the production and shipping schedule for the CAB-1L and Base-1L, they will be on dealers shelves not too long after Labor Day.

To my knowledge, the CAB-1L will control a PowerMaster and both sizes of the Track Power Controller.  But using a CAB-1L to control only these devices buys you nothing over the original CAB-1; that is, unless your old CAB-1 has gotten as problematical and undependable as my CAB-1s that are now retired.  If so, then the CAB-1L could be the answer for you.

I was especially pleased with the CAB-1L because it works, it's dependable for now, and if it starts giving problems, I can either replace it or get parts to repair it.  

As to the CAB-1L being intuitive, that's a matter of personal perception plus I never said it was intuitive.  For those who haven't seen or read our review of the CAB-1L and Base-1L in Run 266, my close of the article is as follows:

"At the End of the Run

"I’ll use a single term from the social network to rate the CAB-1L and its operating partner, the Base-1L—Like! Actually that rating falls awfully short because…well…I like them a lot.

"For the O gauge railroader who is new to command control, the simpler and smaller CAB-1L is easier to learn and use than the larger, more complex, and more sophisticated CAB-2. And as I mentioned earlier, the complete set with the CAB-1L and Base-1L is considerably less expensive than the full-featured Legacy command system.

"As an experienced TMCC operator, I instantly discovered that the CAB-1L functioned as a familiar old friend with a few new and neat capabilities. Mainly, it’s dependable and always there. And now that I can use the small remote to play with Legacy’s quilling whistle, the CAB-1L has essentially put my CAB-2 into relief pitcher status. I’ll likely bring the “Big-2” off the bench to pitch commands to whatever Legacy locomotive is at bat for review, just to test the engine’s Legacy-specific features. Other than that, for me it’s the CAB-1L all the way."

          gb

Question - what is the intent or purpose for having the Lionel TMCC and Legacy Forum?

I was hoping that the CAB1L manual gets out soon, hopefully it will ceolar up some questions

Why I was unsure about the CAB1L and the Powermasters is that it was my understanding the CAB1 talks directly to the Powermaster hence the needs for the Powermaster bridge with the CAB2. Since the CAB1L can talk directly to the Legacy base I would think it would be using a different frequency and the old Powermaster would never see it. Since the TPC's get the commands from the Base they should work fine

And George the "Intuitive" come from Ed's post,

George states that he is using the Cab 1L for most of his operating because it is so easy and intuitive to use.

But I maintain that if you give a rookie the Cab1L and the CaB2 then told them to use towercomm or change the smoke output or raise and lower the volume. that they will figure it out on a CAB2 a lot quicker than with a CAB1. Also I cannot see the CAB2 ever being a relief pitcher, I seldom if ever run my trains and not cross into the Legacy command set, But to each their own

Well its great to have it there when the OP starts the thread there, hopefully someone at OGR moves this there there where it belongs. But that doesn't mean we are not going to respond to the thread until they do

Your wish is my command.  

That was my understanding as well.  The original 1995 vintage Powermasters received commands directly from CAB-1 via RF(I believe the PMs were actually released about a year before the command base was).

I thought (but may be mistaken) that I remembered a question being asked a while back (might have been here, LUG breakfast, or maybe a presentation) whether the PowerMaster Bridge (previously released to allow CAB-2 and Legacy Base talk to old PMs) could be used with Base1-L.  I have this feeling like the answer might have been no (is there the DB-9 on Base-1L?)

Hopefully the new Legacy PowerMasters (which I don't think are out yet, are they?) would be compatible with Cab-1L  and Base1-L.

-Dave

Old powermaster will still need the bridge, new Legacy power master will not.

The P/N for the Legacy PowerMaster is 6-37146, I didn't see one specifically for the CAB1-L/BASE1-L system, I believe the Legacy PM is the one needed.

Thank you answering my question.

In some instances it can be tricky figuring out the correct FORUM to post.

I think some members might visit particular forums and valuable help or input might be lost to them.

Still waiting for an answer to my question.

Its much easier to say what features it will operate, basically just the quillable whistle.

The cab1L lacks the screen,controls, and icons for all of the features that are unique to the legacy system. I think its fairly obvious.

 However,if you don't know what all of the Legacy features are as they pertain to running via the cab 2 then you won't know what your missing anyway.

 IMO Big Jim, if your seriously considering Legacy I would get the Cab2, then add just the cab1L remote later as an extra

The cab1L remote will work with the cab 2 base, but the cab2 will not work with the 1L base.

Pardon my confusion; The cab1L is basically a CAB 1 that operates on the higher frequency and has a few more features?  This is my conclusion from reading this thread.  Thanks; Don

In case you missed it the first time around, thanks to those who provided an answer to my question.

Here's the link to the CAB-1L manual:

http://www.lionel.com/media/se...91737155250CAB1L.pdf

and the link to the whole system:

http://www.lionel.com/media/se...7250CABandBASE1L.pdf