CAB 3 - good product? Thinking about purchasing.

I replaced my Base2 with a Base3, using the CAB2 remote.   That part works OK.  Transfering the setup from BASE2 to BASE3 was 1 engine at a time.  I do not have TMCC/CAB1 connections.

Only Android phones can upgrade the Base3 Firmware currently.

The Base 3 System Utility has not been released yet.

The CAB3 software that runs on a phone/tablet still has holes in it.

You may want to wait until the software catches up.

What's your hurry?  Give it a few months to age and see where it is then.  You will not notice much if any difference between what you're running now and the BASE3.

One more thing, to run the TPC400 you also need to buy the LCS-SER2 module to be able to plug your serial cable that connects to the TCP400 and other accessories.  There is no serial connection on the Base3

There's an old adage in software engineering - never trust/buy version 1 of any software product. I guess that applies here. Also am interested in controlling my layout with my iPhone/iPad. I'm able to use them to control my 2 telescopes - I would like to do the same for the trains. Oh well - I guess I should wait.

Thanks guys!

Also, VHubbard - that hardware is needed for switches as well? I have 2 ASC's that I use to control my switches. Will they work with the LCS-SER2 and CAB 3 - or will I need something else for the switches?

Now also I'm seeing about having an LCS-wifi module between the CAB-2 (and presumably the CAB-3) base and the LCS-SER2 module. There is also something called an LCS Sensor track that I'm seeing in the SER2 manual. What's that all about? Is this sensor track needed on each mainline run?

This sounds like to me that I'd be heading down a rabbit hole with this new setup! Lots more stuff to buy. Also, I solely have Atlas and Gargraves track - no Lionel track any longer.

This seems to be typical of Lionel - throw something out into the market without really thinking through the typical requirements that are needed!!

Grr!!

@JEFFREY RUCKGABER 050219 posted:

Also, VHubbard - that hardware is needed for switches as well? I have 2 ASC's that I use to control my switches. Will they work with the LCS-SER2 and CAB 3 - or will I need something else for the switches?

You should be able to use them with the BASE3 and the LCS SER2 as well.

@JEFFREY RUCKGABER 050219 posted:

Hi All,

I'm considering upgrading to the CAB 3 base. I currently have the CAB 2 base that allows me to run a combination of Atlas and Lionel TMCC and Lionel Legacy locomotives using the CAB 2 remote. I also have 2 parallel tracks running through a TPC 400 that I can also control through the CAB 2 base and remote.

I have a separate wire running to an external antenna that is connected to the CAB 2 base. That antenna is in the middle of my layout and there are no issues with communicating to the tracks or locomotives.

What are your thoughts about the CAB 3 base? Is it worth the money? There's no issue with the CAB 2 system, I'm just looking to upgrade.

Any gotchas I should be aware of before I proceed down this path?

Lastly, the best price I've seen is $439 for the unit. Should I keep searching for a better price?

Thanks,

Jeff

I have one and even though I am good with technology this is a real crap shoot. The idea is great but not all the pieces are ready for prime time. I would wait a few months for all the software to catch up.

Hey, you NEED a LCS sensor track on your layout. Regardless of the size of your layout. you only need one sensor track.  One might think you also need fast track to use the sensor track.  This is not quite true.  Lionel was  marketing a kit to adapt other kinds of track or convert them into a sensor track.

Why you need one:  Lionel quit distributing engine information on the orange modules you used to load into your CAB 2 base and computer for the Lionel Utility on your PC application.  Now the trains have an I/R element on their underside that is read by the sensor track.  There is no other easy method to get newer engine information into your CAB 2 or CAB 3 system.  A sensor track makes this a breeze.  One pass of the engine, or Lionel dining cars with talk etc. in them and "bingo"  the information is captured to the base 2, and your IPhone running the LCS app.  The couple of cabooses with crew talk in them might have this element in their underside as well.  I'll have to unbox one and check.

So yes, the newer cabin car cabooses (part # example: 2326770) have the active element on their underside to transfer information to the sensor track.  Again the sensor track IS THE ONLY WAY to read the car's important information!!!!!!!    One sensor track per layout - very necessary and valuable!

Subsequently, you can transfer the engine information from your smart phone to the CAB 3 base.  I don't think the BASE 3 will directly read the orange engine modules.  At least I have not found out how yet.  A fellow named Shawn's Trains is perhaps the best board resource for learning things about the Base 3.  He has a 3 part tutorial that is excellent, and very professional in its production.  His tutorials are found on You Tube.  Somewhere in the long string on the CAB 3 is a link to them.  That topic has grown so lengthy, so maybe you can use the search tool to find Shawn's multiple posts to that thread.

So, yes, obtain the sensor track!  Everybody running newer and current issue Lionel engine and certain rolling stock needs one! (If you want intelligent control of your piece)

Get your Base 3 NOW!.  Although there are a few software bugs, you need to start learning how to use it now to be prepared for a few bug corrections.

The Base 3 is a fantastic piece of hardware.  Kudo's to Dave Olsen for packing so much technology into the box! It gives an operator 100% backward compatible technology to TMCC (via a CAB1L).

I am a retired Electronic Engineer, so I understand his challenges in designing the hardware and low level software for this piece!  Hard to believe, been retired from engineering for 54 years! That means I am getting forgetful about some aspects of electronics. Huge :-)

Lou Kovacs did a great job on the TPC 300 and TPC400 also! He also had inputs on the little boxes Lionel marketed that helped you do great thing on your layout.

@donhradio posted:

The Base 3 is a fantastic piece of hardware.  Kudo's to Dave Olsen for packing so much technology into the box! It gives an operator 100% backward compatible technology to TMCC (via a CAB1L).

FWIW, the Legacy #990 does the same thing, I run TMCC & Legacy with the CAB1L all the time.

I have the Legacy #990 set (CAB2 base + CAB2 remote, both working perfectly), plus I bought a working used #993 set (essentially another CAB2 remote + charging base) when the #990 was discontinued so I have a spare remote.  CAB3 base doesn't do anything that I can't do with my current gear, and if / when I decide to move to the CAB3 base, both of my CAB2 remotes will move over and work with it.  Besides 4-digit addressing and the (currently buggy) software app, there's literally nothing else I'm missing out on, so no plans to upgrade (not now, and not until something I have breaks).  Kudos to Lionel for continuing to invest in control systems, but for those of us with working #990 sets, not much of a reason to move to CAB3.

I'm still on the fence about Base 3, I have 2 base cab 2 remotes that work perfectly!

Alan

@Alan Mancus posted:

I'm still on the fence about Base 3, I have 2 base cab 2 remotes that work perfectly!

Alan

Stay on fence, it’s not ready yet no matter what some people say. If you do buy one do not try to do too much until all the software comes out . The program for windows is the most important part of the puzzle. While it has lots of goodies packed in my Cab 2 does the same thing and I can take it around the layout. Small and compact in the sense it’s all in front of me and if a call comes in, I keep running trains.

in the technology world sometimes “new and improved “ is not so much.

PennCentralShops

What Lionel should but will not do, is come out with a Cab-3A hand held remote. Color screen same look and feel as the Cab-2 the technology is available and cheap. They just need to want  too………

@ThatGuy posted:

What Lionel should but will not do, is come out with a Cab-3A hand held remote. Color screen same look and feel as the Cab-2 the technology is available and cheap. They just need to want  too………

The lure of letting someone else build the hardware is too strong for these companies.  In a way, I can't really blame them, in spite of how much more desirable a physical remote is to the users, having someone else supply the hardware is an attractive option.

The problem is the user experience.  However, if every manufacturer goes the same direction, you're kinda' stuck, no physical remote for you!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

The lure of letting someone else build the hardware is too strong for these companies.  In a way, I can't really blame them, in spite of how much more desirable a physical remote is to the users, having someone else supply the hardware is an attractive option.

The problem is the user experience.  However, if every manufacturer goes the same direction, you're kinda' stuck, no physical remote for you!

True on all points, it does make me laugh that in our hobby chips go obsolete and poof that’s it. Yet mysteriously in other hobbies that’s not the case……..lmao

Obtaining a Base 3 at this time depends to accessing how one runs trains and what needs/wants ownership addresses. For example, having both Legacy and LionChief/FlyerChief engines in sufficient numbers and the desire to operate both with one system is a plus. Personally, I have two complete fully functional Legacy No. 990 setups and a working CAB-1, and I run conventional about half the time (Gilbert Flyer, conventional classics, and prewar tinplate), so there is very little inducement for me at this time. Although one can use a (small) smart phone as a stand-in for a handheld, it still lacks the gratifying tactile satisfaction and convenience of a CAB-2 remote. I am perfectly content to let others be the beta-testers of both the first gen hardware and incomplete buggy software, and sit tight until Lionel gets their odds-n-ends sorted out.

In any case, have fun.

Bob

Thanks all to everyone for their input. I think I'm going to wait. I have no burning need to move to the cab 3. I just wanted to be able to run my trains using my iphone or ipad - like I can with my telescopes. I'm sure there are/will be additional features with the cab 3 as well - which will be fun to explore.

Maybe by Christmas Lionel will have something more "usable".