connecting phone to LCS WiFi

Barry,

The Phone App "Blu Train" has switch that allows it to talk either WiFi or Bluetooth.

Bluetrain will connect directly to the Legacy WiFi adapter and control TMCC/Legaqcy locomotives.  It handles everything in TMCC mode, so you don't get Legacy specific features as of now.

Jim - It sounds like you have set up your LCS WiFi box to connect wirelessly to your home's existing WiFi network rather than creating its own WiFi network, but the app on your phone is unable to find the LCS WiFi box to communicate with.

Are you able to confirm the LCS WiFi box has successfully negotiated a connection with your home's WiFi network? For example, do you already have it working from an iPad using the free LCS app, or is it listed as a connected client when you look at the relevant status page of your home's WiFi router?

Marty, I tried to have the WiFi join the network, but the only way to do that is use WPS.  I have two different routers I've tried, but when you use WPS on either of them, they nuke your configured networks and revert every connection to WPS.  Since some of the devices on the network don't have WPS capability, that's a no-go.

IMO, Lionel missed the board making this a WPS only device.  There should have been some method of connecting like a normal WiFi client.

Needless to say, that shouldn't have to happen.

On some WiFi routers (Netgear, for example) there is a configuration checkbox called "Keep Existing Wireless Settings" that needs to be enabled if you want to use WPS to add a new/additional wireless client. If that box isn't checked before hitting the WPS button, the current configuration of the existing WiFi network gets nuked. Perhaps that is the issue?

Hmm...  I didn't see anything like that, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough.  That would be great if it was there.  This is the first time I ever wanted to use WPS, I've always preferred to use my own configuration before now.

HMB, Gun, MartyE,

Both my phone, which has the Bluetrain App, and the Lionel WiFi box appear on my home network.  The WiFi box shows up with the name of GAINSPAN_NNNNNN where the NNNNNN is the last six digits of the MAC Address.  When I try to connect the App on my phone states it is looking for the Lionel WiFi box but after a minute or so times out with a connection failure

I can connect directly to the WiFi module, but until I solve the WPS issue, I can't really join the WiFi module to my network,  That's how I'd like it to work, but so far that's not happening.

I went back into the router config and I don't see retain existing network config anywhere.

Gunrunnerjohn,

If you have a Netgear router,  go to wireless settings, on the menu to the left is "Simple Configuration".  Click on it and you will be taken to a screen that will allow you to choose between "Pin Number" and "Button".  Of course select "Button"

ASUS router, nothing like that anywhere in the setup.

Gun, hmb, MartyE,

If I switch to Access Point,  I can see the WiFi Box as a network on my phone.  I can connect to it and the green light goes solid, meaning I am connected.  Start the Bluetrain App and I can talk to my Engine.  I have TPC's connected to my postwar ZW's.  I can not do TR "0" and "Boost" to apply 18volts to the track.  I do this with my Legacy Controller and then I can do ENG "13" "Boost" with Bluetrain and the Engine starts up.  Increase the Throttle, the engine heads out.  So the Bluetrain App works somewhat.  I would still like to run the WiFi box on my existing Home network and have the Bluetrain app find the WiFi box.  I still feel like I am missing a piece of the puzzle.

I'm in the same boat Jim.  I can run it from the dedicated network, but I have to keep switching networks, I'd rather not have to do that.  I'm still looking to get a suitable WPS configuration so I can connect that way.

John,

I'm still looking to get a suitable WPS configuration so I can connect that way.

Perhaps what you should be looking for is a new router.

In this case, does the named network the LCS WiFi creates follow the format "Lionel-LCS XXXX" or does it still appear as "GAINSPAN-NNNN"?

Rudy

Lionel, LLC

Rudy,

When in "Access Point" mode my phone shows "Lionel-LCS NNNN".

I suspect the Blu-Train app is not scanning for the IP address of the LCS Wifi module that is assigned by the router.

The IP Address when the WiFi box is in "Join Network" mode is 192.168.254.18.  Some how there needs to be a mechanism within the router that allows a device running the Bluetrain App to search for the assigned IP address.  I am not a router expert but there seems to be a connectivity process using NAT or DMZ.  Maybe NOT.  I don't know...

With both your phone and your LCS WiFi box connected to the same WiFi network, and with both devices having an IP address on the same subnet, there are no other requirements for getting these two devices to communicate with each other (i.e. it is not necessary to do any configuration of your router's firewall or DMZ settings). It should "just work".

Since the LCS WiFi box has an IP address of 192.168.254.18 , can you check to make sure your phone's WiFi interface also has an IP address in the range of 192.168.254.xxx ?

hmb,

The Phone is 192.168.254.25 on my home network.

Hi Jim • The OGR Member, you should talk to is Forrest Jerome.

He installed the Lionel LCS System, just last week.

Check out........

• What did you do on your layout today?

• See page 139, all went well for him, at this point.

• Below is a screen shot of his comment.

  Click on Screen shot to enlarge. Good Luck - Cheers The Detroit & Mackinac Railway

I suggest a simple test--ask a friend with an iPad to drop by and install the free Lionel LCS App. Put the LCS WiFi into Join To Network mode. Then see if the Lionel LCS app works as intended. If yes, contact the BluTrain developer. As SantaFe fan suggests, that app may not be able to connect to the LCS WiFi when it is in Join To Network mode. 

Rudy,

Good idea.  I will try it tomorrow....

Good night

Jim Robb

Let us know what you find out.

Every once in a while a hobby has reached that pinnacle of technology where I have to step back and say, hmm maybe I should wait....

This is one of them.

All following this thread,

Does anyone know how to remove an app from an Ipad?  I will be loading the LCS Software on my sister's Ipad and she won't want the app on it after I am done testing.

How to delete applications from the Apple iPad

Jim,

Does anyone know how to remove an app from an Ipad?  I will be loading the LCS Software on my sister's Ipad and she won't want the app on it after I am done testing.

Press and hold on the app you want to remove until all of the apps start to "wiggle". Then, tap the icon of the app to be deleted.

Next, tap the little "x" on the upper left of the app icon, and press "YES" to confirm to delete the app.

Barry, if you read the link I posted, depending on how you sync, you may have to take some additional measures.

The link also correctly points out one small point, but which does bug some people a lot. Even though the app gets deleted off the iPad, it will forever appear listed on that iPad's  "purchased but not on this iPad" list of apps as evidence it was once downloaded.

John,

As long as it was installed directly from the iPad, rather than via iTunes, no further work is necessary.

As a matter if fact, even it was installed via iTunes, you really shouldn't need to do anything, either. The link you provided is more than 2 years old, and iTunes has changed as lot since then.

I just performed a test by deleting anm app of my iPad Mini's home screen and then syncing with iTunes. The app did not reappear.

Now to hub's point above, if the iPad was synced with the computer after the app was placed on the iPad, or if the setting to automatically add purchased apps to all devices (including the computer's iTunes app) is turned on, as it is for all of my devices, then, yes, the app will remain in the iTunes Library until it it's deleted. However, it still will not be automatically re-synced onto the iPad.

I have been looking around the Lionel site and don't seem to be able to find the area to download the LCS software for the IPad. Can someone point to it or is it on ITunes?

In the Apple Application Store on your iPad.

On your iPad:

• Tap the App Store icon
• Tap the Store tab
• Enter LCS in the search field
• Tap the download icon (cloud with a down arrow, as I recall) to download to the iPad.

Well my sister was here, but could not stay so I could not do the experiment.  I am sure LCS software would have worked with the LCS WiFi box when in the "Join Network" mode.

I will try another time.  Keep you posted

I finally got a way to get WPS working, and successfully connected my WiFi to the iPad, all seems well.

As previously reported, the BlueTrain application can't find the Legacy WiFi, so apparently that needs some work for the joined to network mode.  It finds it fine if I make it an Access Point.

I just received the Lionel wifi & I can get it to work as an access point but I can not get it to work w/my network.  I have a AT&T uverse modem that has WPS enabled but I can't get it to join.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ken M

Ken,

Are they negotiating?  You would know this by the LCS WiFi box's WiFi light rapidedly blinking for about a minute and the router's WPS button blinking.  If your network associated the LCS WiFi box you will find the device "GAINSPAN-NNNN" in the list of Wireless Devices.

Ken,

I read your post again and got concerned with your use of the term modem.  Usually in this day and age your ISP will provide a combined Modem/Router.  If you have two separate devices (modem and router) make sure you are pressing a WPS button on the router.

i don't see the router's WPS button blinking.

Ken M