No TIU detected?????

I believe that the messages that the system displays, are not fully accurate or informative enough to know what is really happening.

Don't assume that it's not seeing the TIU. For some reason it gives that message, for other reasons as well.

Steve,

The issue is the time that your network, particularly if you're on the Home rather than MTH setting, takes to recognize and sync the WIU with the app.

If you wait 2-3 minutes after the WIU gets power before tapping refresh, you should be fine.

This and a whole lot more about DCS WiFi is all in MTH’s “The DCS WiFi Companion 1st Edition!" This book is available from many fine OGR advertisers and forum sponsors, or as an eBook or a printed book at MTH's web store!

Thanks Barry.  Going to buy it as soon as I get back up to Mr. Muffin's Trains in Atlanta, Indiana.

Hi all,

There's another wrinkle that can make a big difference in how quickly and reliably your app is able to connect to the WIU(s)... your router.

When the WIU's are first turned on they take a little over one minute to fully boot up.  If you keep your WIU(s) turned off between operating sessions you'll never connect faster than a minute.  However, if you leave the WIU's turned on you can do better.  How much better depends on your router.  The WIU's use the "Bonjour" protocol of mDNS for device discovery.  This means that the WIU's are repeatedly sending out a signal that tells every other Bonjour enabled device (phones, tablets, etc.) on the network where they are (IP address and port assignment).  When you connect your phone or table to the network it has to wait for the WIU(s) to tell broadcast their presence.  The more WIUs you have the longer it will take.  However, the right router can help speed up the process.  Some routers are themselves Bonjour enabled devices and maintain a list of all the other Bonjour devices on the network.  When a new device, like your phone, connects to the network the router sends a list of all the Bonjour devices it has already found.  This can make a big difference if you have a large layout with multiple WIUs and TIUs.

If you have one WIU operating in MTH mode (stand alone network) you should connect to the TIU almost as soon as you make the network connection.  If you use multiple WIU's with one WIU operating in MTH mode and the others in HOME mode, it will take longer for all the WIUs and TIUs to be found by the app, but it will still happen pretty fast.  In part, this is because the WIU is a Bonjour enabled device that keeps track of all the other Bonjour devices on the network, just like a Bonjour enabled router.  Once your phone or tablet connects to the MTH mode WIU it will get a list of Bonjour devices from the WIU.

Things get trickier when you start using your own router.  When you first turn on the WIU(s) they not only have to boot up, they also have to join your home network.  If your router is located in another room that can be a slow process.  But the kicker is whether or not your router is a Bonjour enabled device.  If not, there is no central hub on your network to keep track of all the connected Bonjour devices.  That means your phone or tablet has to wait for each WIU to broadcast its presence on the network, which can take a while.  The worst case scenario is a large layout with multiple WIU's connecting via wireless to a router without Boujour support.  In such a case it may take over 5 minutes for all the WIU's and TIU's to connect, and one or more may have trouble staying connected.  If you ever run into problems with connection stability check out your router and see if it supports Bonjour.  New Apple, TP-Link, and Asus routers support Bonjour, but some Netgear routers do not.  Many modem/routers supplied by your ISP don't include Boujour support.  Spending $50 to $100 on a router with Bonjour, leaving the WIU's turned on, and using the hard wired ethernet connection whenever possible, can all make a big difference in both the speed and reliability of connecting to the WIUs and TIUs.

Will check out your suggestions.  Thanks Dave

Dave Hikel posted:

...

...The WIU's use the "Bonjour" protocol of mDNS for device discovery... 

...New Apple, TP-Link, and Asus routers support Bonjour, but some Netgear routers do not... 

...

 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for sharing this interesting information about the "Bonjour" protocol.

Regarding the Asus routers, we have installed a recently purchased Asus RT-AC1200 at our club and it is working fine.  ( https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Networking/RT-AC1200/ ). 

I wanted to know if it was supporting "Bonjour", so I looked at the spec of this router, and I did not find anything about "Bonjour".  I have also looked at the ASUS website and could not find anything about "Bonjour" (I have used the "search" feature of their website).   

Do you know if the Asus RT-AC1200 is supporting "Bonjour" ?   Do you see it mentioned somewhere on any other Asus router ?

Thanks !

Our club setup is : 4xWIU/TIU, Home-Mode via ASUS RT-AC1200 WiFi-Router, TIU DCS 6.0, WIU F/W v1.1,  Premium IOS App V2.0.0 -and- Premium Android App V2.0.0 build 37, Remote Handhelds and Apps in Super-TIU mode for all 4xWIU/TIU.

Daniel,

Your router need not support Bonjour in order to work with your WIUs. Bonjour is definitely helpful, however, it's not required.

Dave Hikel posted:

Hi all,

There's another wrinkle that can make a big difference in how quickly and reliably your app is able to connect to the WIU(s)... your router.

When the WIU's are first turned on they take a little over one minute to fully boot up.  If you keep your WIU(s) turned off between operating sessions you'll never connect faster than a minute.  However, if you leave the WIU's turned on you can do better.  How much better depends on your router.  The WIU's use the "Bonjour" protocol of mDNS for device discovery.  This means that the WIU's are repeatedly sending out a signal that tells every other Bonjour enabled device (phones, tablets, etc.) on the network where they are (IP address and port assignment).  When you connect your phone or table to the network it has to wait for the WIU(s) to tell broadcast their presence.  The more WIUs you have the longer it will take.  However, the right router can help speed up the process.  Some routers are themselves Bonjour enabled devices and maintain a list of all the other Bonjour devices on the network.  When a new device, like your phone, connects to the network the router sends a list of all the Bonjour devices it has already found.  This can make a big difference if you have a large layout with multiple WIUs and TIUs.

If you have one WIU operating in MTH mode (stand alone network) you should connect to the TIU almost as soon as you make the network connection.  If you use multiple WIU's with one WIU operating in MTH mode and the others in HOME mode, it will take longer for all the WIUs and TIUs to be found by the app, but it will still happen pretty fast.  In part, this is because the WIU is a Bonjour enabled device that keeps track of all the other Bonjour devices on the network, just like a Bonjour enabled router.  Once your phone or tablet connects to the MTH mode WIU it will get a list of Bonjour devices from the WIU.

Things get trickier when you start using your own router.  When you first turn on the WIU(s) they not only have to boot up, they also have to join your home network.  If your router is located in another room that can be a slow process.  But the kicker is whether or not your router is a Bonjour enabled device.  If not, there is no central hub on your network to keep track of all the connected Bonjour devices.  That means your phone or tablet has to wait for each WIU to broadcast its presence on the network, which can take a while.  The worst case scenario is a large layout with multiple WIU's connecting via wireless to a router without Boujour support.  In such a case it may take over 5 minutes for all the WIU's and TIU's to connect, and one or more may have trouble staying connected.  If you ever run into problems with connection stability check out your router and see if it supports Bonjour.  New Apple, TP-Link, and Asus routers support Bonjour, but some Netgear routers do not.  Many modem/routers supplied by your ISP don't include Boujour support.  Spending $50 to $100 on a router with Bonjour, leaving the WIU's turned on, and using the hard wired ethernet connection whenever possible, can all make a big difference in both the speed and reliability of connecting to the WIUs and TIUs.

Just to add to Dave's post:

I have also found that assigning your WIU's manually with a static IP address will also decrease the wait time for the WIU to be ready on the network. Keep in mind that this is different than telling your router to always give the same IP address to the WIU. This configuration step must be taken on the WIU itself via the LuCi web interface.  Networking experience and knowledge about your home network is required and this should only be done if you know what you are doing.

+1 on the hard wire connection. Takes out the time needed for the WIU to negotiate the wireless encryption.

I also disabled the wireless Radio on the WIU in the LuCi web interface as I do not use the MTH mode to directly connect phones/tablets to the WIU. The WIU no longer has load the software to drive the wireless interface which also decreases the boot up time, slightly.