Cab-1L remote, should I preorder one?

You can run Legacy locomotives quite well with the CAB1L remote.  There are functions that you can only use with the CAB2 or the upcoming CAB3 application, but for normal running the CAB1L will do fine.  I'm predicting over time that Lionel will do things with the CAB3 and new locomotives to try to push people to their new application based system anyway...

Yes, and just keep your eye out for a Lionel 990 Cab 2 set, they pop up once in awhile at a fair price, and Lionel can still do repairs on them as long as they have parts. The Cab 1L works fine. Good luck. Happy Railroading Everyone

Personally, as much as it pains me to say this, I would recommend pre-ordering a CAB-1L. I know everyone thinks the future is with smartphone apps, but I think putting all your eggs in that basket is risky. Imagine it was 2007 again and you had a BlackBerry or a phone with "Windows Mobile" and the Lionel or MTH app had been written for one of those. You'd be waiting a while for them to port over a version to the "new" platforms of the time - iPhone and Android.

It's conceivably much easier to port software to a new platform/hardware than it is to design a new remote with updated, modern parts. However, I've seen enough software projects get shelved over the years do to changes in the industry to know better. If you (a company) doesn't control the platform on which your software rides, you are at the mercy of what that bigger and typically much shrewder company that does own the platform, decides to do.

With a hardware based physical remote, you will likely enjoy 20+ years of operation if you are a careful person that takes care of the things you own. I've not looked inside a CAB-1L but I'd venture to say they are more repairable than most other electronic gadgets too.

Maybe we're past the point of software obsolescence, but it's not a bet I'd be willing to make.

I’d concur go ahead and get a cab-1L. I avoided them for a while but happened to get one at a good price. They aren’t a Cab-2 but they run legacy and TMCC locomotives very well and you kinda still get LEGACY’s quilling whistle. As far as the Cab-3 app I’m trying to keep an open mind but I don’t see it as a permanent solution (or so I hope)

personally I have found no value in connecting the TIU to a LEGACY base. Run DCS locomotives with their system and Lionel locomotives with theirs.

it would be beneficial if you could say through switches from the DCS handheld or app via a Lionel device so that you only have to wire those once and can activate them with whatever remote is in your hand. But as far as I know that’s not possible

I love the Cab-1L. It makes up for an easily quillable whistle by working every time without fail. It's comfy to hold for me.

Thanks for all the replies. Everyone brings up great points. I think I will placing another preorder for the Cab-1L. I had seen a decent deal on a Cab-2 legacy 990 set about 6-8 months ago but had not fully committed to going Command Control. I will also keep my eyes open for a decent 990 set as well. Really a 993 would be fine too because of my Base3 on order.

Thanks again everyone.

I just got notice today from Trainworld that they are shipping my pre-ordered Cab-1L.

Brendan

Dave Olson mentioned that they came in on the catalog show the other day.

I just watched that video last night. Not good news that the Base3 might be 1st quarter of next year now. While I agree that a product should not be released until it is ready, it did surprise me that they have been working on the Base3 for 4 years now. I work on software design but not hardware. I do not know how long it should take for a hardware device like a Base3 to be designed, coded and then get into production. If it is going to 1qtr if next year I might buy one of the older TMCC bases. Which older bases would work with the Cab-1L? Any of the TMCC bases or are there only certain versions?

Thanks.

See if you can get a 1L base.  Probably cheaper than a Legacy base on the used market.  Could look around and see if any dealer has the cab-1L and base still in stock.  Patience is going to be needed given supply chain issues, although the availability of the cab-1L in mid-summer is a good sign and mildly surprising to me.

The TMCC base will only work with a Cab 1. The Cab 1L will work with it’s own base or with a Legacy base. Not a cheap option as you you most likely will end up having to buy the remote with it.

Get the 1L now (a relative bargain) and wait until the Base 3 arrives would be my strategy, by the way.

Thanks Dave. Just was hoping for an inexpensive option while I wait. That does seem to explain why you can find the TMCC base units fairly cheaply. I had a chance to buy a TMCC set with an engine but decided I wanted to go with the new Base3 but did not realize the release date would keep moving out. I am sure it will be worth the wait.

I might be willing to sell my extra BASE1L, I use my CAB1L units with my Legacy system.

Just for kicks and giggles, TMCC Cab 1, the first edition, was the beginning of command by Lionel, a Neil Young invention, had many pluses, lots of minuses…one being lost signal, also one train going over another train could cause a train to stop, and then came the earth ground…. That being said, the Cab 2 base has a different chip and therefore helps greatly with track signal. Now, we are finding that Cab 1L, the new base is the one in the upcoming Cab 3…. So, get the Cab 1L set and you will be covered. (The Cab 1 had a metal antenna, it was easy to lay on the track and could cause shorts, also many antennas got bent). If you actually get a Cab2 set, #990, you would be set. Good luck, get your wallet ready. Just kidding… Happy Railroading Everyone

@Eddie in FL posted:

I just watched that video last night. Not good news that the Base3 might be 1st quarter of next year now. While I agree that a product should not be released until it is ready, it did surprise me that they have been working on the Base3 for 4 years now. I work on software design but not hardware. I do not know how long it should take for a hardware device like a Base3 to be designed, coded and then get into production. If it is going to 1qtr if next year I might buy one of the older TMCC bases. Which older bases would work with the Cab-1L? Any of the TMCC bases or are there only certain versions?

Thanks.

While I and many others question why Lionel does thing that seam crazy I think a lot of thing went against them to make this new base take so long. I wouldn’t be surprised if they only realize 2 years ago this was going to be a complete new piece of hardware. Dave had stated before this was just going to be a LCS module to add to the current Base-2. But then part obsolescence kicked in on the Cab-2 and Base, I think the main one that killed the Cab-2 was the monochrome touchscreen was nowhere to be had plus it was a very labor intensive product to manufacture. So by the time they change gears realize they aren’t going to have base or remote, come up with an idea for the base and for simplicity sake use a app for a new remote.

I hope if enough of us gripe in the years to come they’ll come up with some sort of Cab-3 hardware remote

@Eddie in FL posted:

I just watched that video last night. Not good news that the Base3 might be 1st quarter of next year now. While I agree that a product should not be released until it is ready, it did surprise me that they have been working on the Base3 for 4 years now.

@zhubl posted:

While I and many others question why Lionel does thing that seam crazy I think a lot of thing went against them to make this new base take so long.

Four years to bring out a Cab-2 replacement is unacceptable IMHO. The delays they are running into may have to do with the pandemic and parts shortages, but my hunch is they bit off more than they could chew. Integrating all of those disparate systems into one box is a bit like spinning plates. You get one part of it done and taped out, and then another section of the BoM has a part that is NLA.

This is why building things in modules is the way to go. The same is true in software design. Separation of concerns and doing one thing and doing it well is the way.

That said - part obsolescence is a "thing" and engineers have had to deal with it since the beginning of the craft. The special metal you use to make your tappets needs a particular type of steel, sourced from a remote part of some mine? Well, what happens when that mine taps out?

The other thing about obsolescence is - it's been no  problem for the boards in the locomotives. I guarantee there are things used on the original Legacy locomotives that just aren't available anymore. Whoever was in charge at the time started designing something new when the time came.

I don't exactly when the last Cab-2s shipped, but it's been at least a year because I had been wanting to get a new one for quite a while before that and I couldn't find them at any of the dealers I was familiar with (local or online). It was only when the run on them started earlier this year that I called about 30 dealers until I found one. I say that because I think it's pretty sad that Lionel will have gone at least a year without making a controller that run their state-of-the-art locomotives and control all their features.