UPDATE From MTH....DCS/Proto-Sound Lives On....!

Alan this is great news .

That is great news!!  Thank you Alan for posting and alleviating some gloom and doom elsewhere!!

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is NOT another train! The proprietary MTH electronics/control systems will be supported and presumably enhanced!

Needs a small clicker for locomotives like Lionel.

I wonder if Bachmann might put in DCS/DCC decoders into their product line?

I hope they pickup the Z4000 too. Great transformer. 

Thanks, Alan. So good to hear factual news over all the speculation.

fyi,

 I talked to mth service yesterday.  Not that its a big surprise, but they are taking repairs as normal.  My Tiu needs some attention and I got an RA# to send it in.  I was told 2 to 3 weeks turn around time.  That's the same amount of time my son's video game console needed, so no big deal to me.  (Although I did a factory reset on a few engines last night with the working channel just to make sure they were working properly in conventional!)

Makes sense to spin off the DCS system into a new company. It's one thing to turn on a transformer and run a post war Hudson. Not being able to run thousands of dollars worth of electronic engines would be a big problem.

But then again- our phones and computers are obsolete almost as soon as we buy them.

@Ken-Oscale posted:

I wonder if Bachmann might put in DCS/DCC decoders into their product line?

Sure don't know why they would.  The two prime modeling scales, HO and N, are firmly entrenched in DCC (and that is a good thing).  Two rail O scalers are predominately either still straight DC, or DCC.  Yes, there are outliers out there (John Sethian and Engineer Joe come to mind) that have been successful with two rail DCS, but they are a small minority. 

Regards,

Jerry

Just to confirm, this includes manufacturing the physical proto 3 boards? If so, this is the perfect silver lining to Mike's well deserved retirement.

If they weren't making the boards, it would be somewhat pointless I would imagine.   However, it's actually pretty clear that they do intend to make the boards.

"The new tech company will continue to manufacture and provide support including any necessary software updates to the DCS hardware or DCS WiFi App."

This is amazing news for me.  I adopted DCS when it first came out 18 years ago.  I went through a phase where I had to sell most of my engines, but I was just starting to take the plunge again.  The news of MTH closing made my heart stop and took the wind out of my sails...  Mostly because I am wedded to DCS.  This news today gives me hope for a hobby stretching into my retirement years.

Hate to be a downer, but I really can't see them having enough business to stay afloat.  Hope I'm wrong!

@Frank Mulligan posted:

Hate to be a downer, but I really can't see them having enough business to stay afloat.  Hope I'm wrong!

If no one picks up new engine manufacturing....yes, DCS will fade away as older locos die. I'd see a solid 10 years minimum before the market share shrinks.

Offering retro-fit kits as the technology advances will likely keep them afloat indefinitely.

If they would price the boards ($200 DCS Upgrade Kit) closer to say$150 then I'd upgrade more of my PS2 engines to PS3.   As it stands now I can buy a nused PS3 Railking engine for around $200 and cannibalize the PS3 board for one of my Premier PS2 engines.   PS3 gets me DCC and a better sound set including a quillable whistle on steamers.   With no more new MTH engines after 2021 upgrading PS1 may be the only way to get a certain engine under command control.   A reduced PS3 board would make upgrading fiscally more attractive and generate business for upgrade techs and expand DCS user base.

See my PS3 upgraded 1997 C&O Allegheny here: I bought the engine nused for about $350+$200 Ps3 upgrade kit (DIY install) = $550 for a Premier articulated steamer.

This is great news, I'm sure there will be more.

That is truly wonderful news!

Seen this news posted last evening on the other forum and was glad to see it. But what about parts like traction tires and smoke units, etc,etc,etc..........

This is very good news indeed.

Hopefully the iconic Z-4000 will continue to be supported. I have one in use which I purchased in 1998, and it works fine! I love those digital readouts for the volts and amps.

" In fact, new and exciting product ideas are currently under development."

Better more diverse sounds please.

Smoke units and parts thereof, as well as other normal wear/tear components should also be supported in addition to the P2,3 boards.

DCS boards to fit Lionel.

A clicker to run all channels of the Z4000.  "LionChief" the thing for Conv.

Ummmmm...well....so what is he business model? Software sales--sure. Upgrade kits--okay but got to be careful about pricing those--that will be low-margin and not high volume neither. Will they make TIUs and AIUs and WIUs? Handheld remotes--probably not. MTH had already announced the end of the handheld.

So I guess the model is about the same as the current crop of DCC guys selling in HO scale? But O scale is a much smaller market. So they will have to be strong into HO and maybe N.

Like ERR at Sunset, they are going to need all of our support (meaning our purchasing) at least initially.

I'm no expert but from a casual, hobbyist review of what's out there for DCC users, DCS is so much better put together, easier to implement and maintain that it should eat their lunch. They have a stable hardware and software base at a very good price point. Or so it appears from a distance.

Don Merz

@Tinplate Art posted:

Hopefully the iconic Z-4000 will continue to be supported. I have one in use which I purchased in 1998, and it works fine! I love those digital readouts for the volts and amps.

I love my Z4000 too, Art!

The Z-4000 is truly one of MTH's benchmark achievements in the hobby! It's UL approval rating remains unique for a high power transformer.

I also hope for continuation of the Z4000.

For DCS to grow in the market it needs to make the protocol open.

Good news indeed to see the DCS operating system will carry forward.

Mr.Wolf is a practicing hobbyist with at least one personal layout as well as an astute business person, so he will do the responsible things to support his fine products after the shutdown. I believe he is also a very ethical person who takes great pride in his company's achievements.

This is good news for sure, very curious like so many about what new things are coming.  I see direct wireless being a big change that would be good.  I really like what Railpro is doing with this.

@carl552 posted:

For DCS to grow in the market it needs to make the protocol open.

I mentioned this in the MTH closing thread but the TIU needs to evolve to be able to operate DCC equipped locomotives without any add on equipment. If the TIU could operate both DCS and DCC equipped locomotives without extra hardware then hobbyists in HO, N, G, and 2 rail O could continue to operate their fleets of DCC locomotives while adding DCS by just buying a TIU. To meet the needs of every model railroad hobbyist the TIU should be able to operate DCS and DCC locomotives right out of the box and TMCC/Legacy locomotives with the addition of the adapter cable and a Lionel command base (as it currently does). 

Just thinking out loud here.  With Mike walking out the back door.  You think there's any chance the new regime will open the DCS system up?  So I can control MTH engines in a command environment with my Cab2 like we can with the DCS system controlling TMCC/Legacy??  One can dream.

That is a relief after the bad news of MTH closing. 

As much as I would prefer one command control system (for ease of having to remember what does what and how to program, troubleshoot, etc), having a viable DCS and Legacy control system actually lends variety and spice to the hobby of running trains in a command control environment. More to the point, each has advantages and features. Now, if one of the "exciting new products" turns out to be a universal remote that operates all command control trains than I wouldn't complain

@superwarp1 posted:

Just thinking out loud here.  With Mike walking out the back door.  You think there's any chance the new regime will open the DCS system up?  So I can control MTH engines in a command environment with my Cab2 like we can with the DCS system controlling TMCC/Legacy??  One can dream.

This is already possible with SDMark's great work.

You could read the TMCC/Legacy commands coming in from the command base, and send out the appropriate DCS sequence. The work is just deciding how to map Legacy/TMCC commands to the desired response from a PS2/3 engine.

I keep meaning to build this as a proof-of-principle but haven't gotten around to it.

The obstacle to developing TMCC/Legacy/LionChief control of PS2/3 locos has always been legal, not technical.  Perhaps this will be one positive that comes out of this transition?

There has never been any real legal obstacle to sending commands to a TIU you have purchased, or creating a device to do so - despite tales of MTH threats to the contrary.

In any case, the patents on the DCS system that have not already lapsed will expire this year.