tmurray

Hello, Found this thread a while back, but I'm finally getting around getting a membership and to posting to it (!). I think I'm the only person I know in the States that has one of these systems. I managed to pick it up from Hatton's back in February for a good price -a really good price. I'd been following the development of this system for a couple of years, as I first got word of it from my ESU rep. There were issues releasing it here with production, branding, and licensing. Piko decided to release it here, but has not marketed it as well as I had hoped. It has tremendous potential, and can compete with much larger setups, but it seems to be marketed as a "starter set." I did have a couple of issues initially; as I (not reading EVERY word in the manual) tried to charge the handheld with the USB port on the system -it bricked both. So, I hope others don't make that mistake. A reset of the firmware to both the handheld and the Smartbox proved successful in returning functionality to both. The instructions provided by Piko on their site, worked fine and the process was really straight forward. But, this is not an exercise for those who aren't very familiar with PCs. The LNet (or LocoNet) port is not active on the box. This is completely due to Intellectual Property issues, and it's -supposedly- it's restricted by software, which disables the port. Last week, I did receive the ECoS to LocoNet Converter, and have only NCE cabs. I'm trying to find a Fleischmann Profi Boss to replace my PowerCab, without any luck. If anybody knows where I could find one, I would be very grateful. :-) There is basically zero documentation on this converter from Piko or ESU. There are a few shortcomings, in my view, such as a fascia mounted holder that can also charge the unit via the contacts on the rear, and the limited power supply. But, I do believe these are being addressed by ESU and we'll see some new accessories, hopefully this year. The hookup to JMRI is something I haven't tried yet, and connecting to my phone using various apps, has yet to work, for some reason. With a working handheld, I haven't really put a lot of effort into this yet, so maybe in the next week I'll play more. Has anyone else had hands-on experience using the system? -Tom