At some point before I finally found my lcs wifi module in a pile of trains... I dongle'd my laptop usb port to the Base 2 ser port and it worked just fine. I pre-ordered Base 3... we, will see how it goes.
The USB is a comm port configured similarly to one of the PDI ports.
During development, we're using a serial converter connected to one of the PDI ports for diagnostics, which can send and receive data such as info on the 2 and 4-digit databases as well as all the radios.
The USB can do similar; it will be used in production testing of every unit. We're also creating an all-new LSU, called B3SU (Base3 System Utility) to go with the Base3. We'll recommend to connect over Wi-Fi, but some desktop computers do not have Wi-Fi, so the USB connection will allow a hard-wired connection.
The B3SU will do everything needed. View/edit the databases, configure RF and BLE engines, update Base3, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi firmware, use memory modules, and even have a simplified control panel to run engines with. Think of it as a PC-based version of the Cab3 APP.
Back to the USB... the serial data is the same as on PDI, but it is limited to PC-use. The PDI has specific capabilities for LCS and interfacing with other systems. That is why I say the SER2 must be used for connecting to say a TIU.
I think the point the original poster was making is...
This is a new product. Why not use the latest technology? Kinda makes sense to me.
@LionelAG posted:I think the point the original poster was making is...
This is a new product. Why not use the latest technology? Kinda makes sense to me.
Do you want to pay for it? This thing is already seriously expensive.
Technology "just because you can" is not a good marketing philosophy. It works with phones because people have no idea what they really want. They just want someone to tell them what to buy.
It doesn't work like that with toy trains.
Mike
@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:Do you want to pay for it? This thing is already seriously expensive.
Technology "just because you can" is not a good marketing philosophy. It works with phones because people have no idea what they really want. They just want someone to tell them what to buy.
It doesn't work like that with toy trains.
Mike
We’ll I’d like to get something for $500.
Preorder was on the cheap 399... with free shipping ...I live dangerously.
@Dennis-LaRock posted:Preorder was on the cheap 399... with free shipping ...I live dangerously.
Or just a good bargain hunter!…😆
Pat
@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:Do you want to pay for it? This thing is already seriously expensive.
Technology "just because you can" is not a good marketing philosophy. It works with phones because people have no idea what they really want. They just want someone to tell them what to buy.
It doesn't work like that with toy trains.
Mike
The cost difference is pretty negligible.
Just because it's USB-C doesn't mean it has to be usb 3.x complaint. USB-C has dedicated connections for usb 2.0 use only.
@H1000 posted:The cost difference is pretty negligible.
Just because it's USB-C doesn't mean it has to be usb 3.x complaint. USB-C has dedicated connections for usb 2.0 use only.
You want to put a USB-C on a USB 2.0 only connection. Personally I'm glad they didn't do something kludgy like that!
@gunrunnerjohn posted:You want to put a USB-C on a USB 2.0 only connection. Personally I'm glad they didn't do something kludgy like that!
Why not, backwards compatibility is built in. Why do you need usb 3.x speed and features? Is 480Mbps too slow? If you plug it into a USB 3.x port it will still work. You wouldn't know that it was only running in 2.0 mode.
All-
I found the following link a little while back that gives the history and facts of each version of USB that exists.
https://www.onlogic.com/compan...d-usb-3-1-explained/
The "kludgy" practice of mixing usb speed is inherently built in to the USB protocol. While use of any of the usb connector styles is still supported, the go-forward connector by technology vendors is by far in the direction of USB C. Sure we can "get an adapter" but this is akin to our continued use of RS-232 for our applications. Sure RS-232 is still available, USB-A and usb-a micro-b can all be had. But we're talking about introduction of a new piece of hardware (BASE3) and you have a chance to "get with the program" and use the most current connector. It will be easier to find USB-C in the years ahead and I hope to be enjoying my trains for 20+ more years.
