New: ESU CabControl DCC system.

[Marc Osborne]

Interesting topic. I have the ESU MC2 and like the knob as it replicates the knob on my ECoS. I have set up route control on my ECoS so can happily run trains in a paradestrecke format as well as send and return trains to and from storage yard to specific platforms using the routes. I don't like so much the way locos are accessed. I tend to use the search function to find the loco I want. 

 

In addition I use also an app called ECoS Cab. I can recommend this app for iPhone and iPad. it allows loco lists and accessory lists to be added that enables placing of locos and accessories in their own "folders". It also imports the loco illustrations from the ECoS along with all decoder settings and icons. 

 

The control is a virtual thumbwheel which replicates the real thing quite well. 

 

Has anyone else come across this app ? 

[GoingUnderground]

On 19/05/2021 at 18:41, Marc Osborne said:

In addition I use also an app called ECoS Cab.........Has anyone else come across this app ? 

I have, about 5 years ago, and downloaded it when it was Windows only. But I could never use it as it never picked up the locos, points or routes from my ECoS. I never got to the bottom of whether it was something about my ECoS or the Windows devices on which I had installed it. So I reluctantly abandoned it in favour of remote control of the ECoS using a VNC Client on those same Windows devices. 

[two tone green]

Yes been using ECoS Cab for a while or my iPhone  and it’s got better and better due to the excellent support. 
 

Its about to get VNC view built in to it according to a post on their Facebook page. 
 

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by two tone green

[GoingUnderground]

For those of you that are Interested, ESU have said today (1st February 2022) that there will be a European version of CabControl released. This was not a formal new product announcement, but a reply to questions on their forum about the timing of the 2022 new product announcements now that this year's Nuremberg Toy Fair has been cancelled.

 

They have not said when it will go on sale, whether it will be DCC only, or multiprotocol, or if it will gain any additional functionality over and above the version already on sale in N. America and Australia.

 

They said that because of production difficulties caused by problems with the supply of ICs, they quoted lead times of 57 weeks, and hence they will only be announcing new products when they have finished goods to put on sale.  They mentioned 2 new decoders and the European version of CabControl in the post which suggests that CabControl in Europe cannot be too far away. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by GoingUnderground

[Ron Ron Ron]

Thanks for the news Keith.

I had a suspicion that this year they'd be introducing the CabControl in Europe.

 

They discontinued the Navigator a couple of years ago and needed a lower cost alternative to the full fat ECoS, in their range.

Also Piko have been out of the equation with their rebranded version of it, for around 2 years now.

 

I note the CabControl is now listed on the German and UK versions of the ESU web site, whereas before it was only available to view on the US LLC version.

The German version makes no reference to it being available in USA & Australian markets, but the UK version just has the older US web site version of the web page.

 

It also looks like the LokPilot Standard "budget" decoder, has been replaced by the LokPilot 5 Basic.

 

 

 

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[GoingUnderground]

Ron,

 

There is only one English language version of the ESU website https://www.esu.eu/en/, and that has listed the CabControl since it was first announced.

 

What is worth noting is that the CabControl listed on the German part of their website has a different part number, 50311, to the one on the English language version, 50310. In my experience, ESU only use new product numbers where there is a physical difference between the products. So there must be some difference between the two, but having had a quick look at the German CabControl webpage, I can't see what it is. It also says available Q3/22. And the German page is new, not just a translated version of the English page. That is probably why it doesn't mention CabControl availability being limited to the US, Canada & Australia. There's not a lot of point in that notice being left up once CabControl becomes available outside of the N. America and Australia.

[Ron Ron Ron]

9 hours ago, GoingUnderground said:

Ron,

 

There is only one English language version of the ESU website https://www.esu.eu/en/, and that has listed the CabControl since it was first announced……

 

That’s not correct from my observations over several years.

Mostly it’s the same site, but selecting UK English when switching from German, would produce a different “front page” to the US home page, with no mention of CabControl in the product listings.

When the Navigator was still available, the UK version would list ECoS and the Navigator, but not CabControl.

The US version would present all three and later on, only ECoS and CabControl, whereas the German language and UK version retained the entry for the Navigator until it was dropped from the range.

 

Similarly, back when the LokSound Select was available, it appeared on the US part of the site, but not on the UK version.

 

Apart from these market specific aspects,  the other pages are all shared and identical.

 

 

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[GoingUnderground]

Ron,

In the 12+ years that I've been using the ESU site, I can't recall any difference in the site other than the German/English differences. But then I haven't been looking at the Products pages or switching back and forwards between "english and "american" as I've been concentrating on the Forum and Downloads pages.

 

Currently there is only one English language version of the ESU website, and that is biased towards the USA which isn't surprising as the USA is a far larger market than the UK, and the "2022 Product Highlights" and before it the yearly "Product Highlights" from 2018 onwards list all the items available in the USA. In recent years there has not been a non-USA English language catalogue which would cover what's available in the UK, IIRC the most recent one that I have was for 2013, which excluded the items only available in the USA. 

 

ESU has today published their 2022 price list and it shows the European version of CabControl at 549 euros. It is DCC only according to the product description on the German part of the ESU website. The English language page for CabControl still, today, has the original announcement text, calling it its "North American"  DCC system and has not been updated to match the new German language page for CabControl.

 

Now that CabControl is finally due to arrive in Europe before the end of the year, I wonder if ESU will at some point let Piko SmartControl owners upgrade their SmartBox ICU firmware and the SmartControl app to the latest ESU versions, much as they did several years ago with their "Reloaded" upgrade package for the Maerklin Central Station 1?  

[young37215]

On the rear of the ESU ICU are the power and other connections. For power the abbreviations/letters are B & O with no idication which is positive and which is negative. A quick Google search of what is German for positive and negative reveals nothing. Can anyone clarify which is which?

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by young37215

[MikeB]

19 hours ago, young37215 said:

On the rear of the ESU ICU are the power and other connections. For power the abbreviations/letters are B & O with no idication which is positive and which is negative. A quick Google search of what is German for positive and negative reveals nothing. Can anyone clarify which is which?

 

I don't know what B and O mean - perhaps blau/blue and orange from some colour coding convention?  However, the ECoS instructions say that polarity is not an issue for 2-rail DCC.

 

I can see three reasons for the lettering;

1. they are fixed, whereas left and right depends on whether you are looking at the unit from the back or above from the front

2/ for 3-rail, B has to go to the centre rail

3. it ensures consistency between the main and programming track; this is important if the programming track is an electrically insulated siding as the ECoS provides normal track power to the programming track when programming is not taking place and if the programming track did not have the same sides at  B and O as the main track bus , there would be a short when a loco crossed the gap. 

Edited August 24, 2022 by MikeB

[GoingUnderground]

On 23/08/2022 at 18:01, young37215 said:

On the rear of the ESU ICU are the power and other connections. For power the abbreviations/letters are B & O with no idication which is positive and which is negative. A quick Google search of what is German for positive and negative reveals nothing. Can anyone clarify which is which?

 

A but late to reply, but the terms "positive" and "negative" when used with DCC are meaningless because DCC isn't a constant polarity system like conventional DC. Just think of it a being similar to (but not the same as) AC, but that the polarity changes at a much, much higher frequency than AC mains. And, of course, even on a DC system the polarity is reversed when you reverse the loco so positive and negative would be equally meaningless on a DC controller with a reversing switch or bi-directional throttle knob. It's reversing the polarity on DC that makes DC locos run in the other direction on DC layouts.

 

You need the letters because when you add a booster the wiring from it must have the same "orientation" as the ECoS. or CabControl, and of course to ensure that you keep the same orientation (ESU do call it "polarity" in their manuals) throughout the layout.

 

The B and O matter much more when used with locos equipped with older MM or mfx decoders and Maerklin K83 and K84 accessories may not work correctly on 3 rail systems if the layout isn't wired with the "B" wire going to the centre rail/stud contact and the "O" going to the running rails, note plural "rails" as in this context I'm talking 3 rail not 2 rail.

 

In the 2 rail context all that matters is that you keep the orientation constant throughout the layout.

 

And for the record, "B" and "O" do not refer to colours. They were used by Maerklin in connection with their wiring for their 3 rail system where "Bahn" meaning "Train" was used for the B wire that goes to the stud contact centre rail, and "O" meaning "0 volts or Zero volts" or in English the "Ground" or "Earth" for the O wire that went to the running rails. With thanks to Tom Smit on ESU's Forum who provided that information most recently on 29 November 2021.

[Jeremy Davison]

Any news or announcements from ESU at the Nürnberg toy fair 2023? It would be good to understand where ESU are up to with the CabControl for UK/EU.

Cheers 

Jeremy

[two tone green]

Does not open until the 1st Feb. 

[Ron Ron Ron]

19 hours ago, Jeremy Davison said:

.........It would be good to understand where ESU are up to with the CabControl for UK/EU.

 

 

CabControl  for Europe was due to be available in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2022, but it appears that both ESU systems, ECoS and CabControl, have been and are currently, out of stock everywhere.

One can only speculate that this is due to the global electronic component shortages and supply chain problems.

There are also a number of ESU decoder models that have been out of stock for a good few months.

 

 

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[GoingUnderground]

The release date for CabControl outside N America & Australia is now being shown by ESU as Q1 2023.

[wappinghigh]

I would like a counter proposal put to me why investing in one of these now isn't a giant mistake (now Hornby HM7000 has arrived) ..so will there ever be the ability to control bluetooth equipped decoders via the ESU CabControl? IS ESU looking at adding their own bluetooth DCC chips? Thanks 

[Ron Ron Ron]

You could argue that the arrival of direct radio (whether using Bluetooth or WiFi) and the ability to replace expensive, hardware command stations with a virtual software equivalent, puts into question the purchase of any “traditional” DCC system.

 

CabControl, like any DCC system, can work with any of the Bluetooth equipped decoders, through the usual method of signal transmission via the rails.

 

As to whether ESU or any other DCC manufacturer are going to follow SoundTraxx and Hornby into the Bluetooth arena, is anybody’s guess.

Note that apart from SoundTraxx, all the larger brands who make DCC decoders, also make and sell hardware DCC systems.

Even TCS are now making their own system.

Virtual systems, using Bluetooth might be seen as a threat, rather than a business opportunity.

 

Any universal adoption is going to be dependent on NMRA and MOROP standards, if not those from a new body that all manufacturers sign up to.

Otherwise HM DCC will become and remain a niche.

 

 

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[PaulRhB]

3 hours ago, wappinghigh said:

I would like a counter proposal put to me why investing in one of these now isn't a giant mistake (now Hornby HM7000 has arrived) ..so will there ever be the ability to control bluetooth equipped decoders via the ESU CabControl? IS ESU looking at adding their own bluetooth DCC chips? Thanks 

Because if you’re using it for shows then any radio / wifi / Bluetooth based system is vulnerable to interference as has been seen at Warley due to being swamped by people’s hotspot networks and other stands powerful networks. The weakness is the unique components, like loco chips or handhelds, being made to toy regulations which limits power output. We lost our handheld throttles but fortunately phones and tablets were ok and the main culprit was spikes as people walked by which can only have been hotspots broadcasting. As more people use them and leave them on constantly I’d be wary of the effect at smaller venues too, or in blocks of flats, unless the manufacturer has specified it as tested for this. I see a drop in signal on my Bluetooth light range when everyone’s home in an evening so something is changing and I suspect that’s another 3-6 phones, speakers etc broadcasting id’s in close proximity?

Not an issue if it drops for that but if it caused random loss of control on a layout it could damage something in a collision or running into a point and shorting. 

[wappinghigh]

Thanks for the replies.. yes.. I am tending to agree that Hornby HM7000 is not all it's cracked up to be.. Ok for toy circuits but doesn't  really cut it with big layouts Just MO

[GoingUnderground]

ESU LLC in the USA have recently announced via youTube that the next firmware update for the CabControl will allow the use of user created loco icons, a feature that's been available to ECoS owners for many years. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzhVn5GF4Z0