NEW TCS UWT-50 WiFi Throttle--Was It Worth The Wait (249)

[@wheelhorseman2306]

Thank you, Larry, this is the video I've been waiting to watch, and I now have a potentiometer version coming this week from Streamlined Backshop- I already bought the LNWI for my Digitrax Zephyr, too. Also similar to yours, a DLink router, ($5 from Goodwill). Thanks for posting this, looks like fun!

[@funnelfan]

Thanks for the video. I just got mine. I discovered the reason for the two included knobs. One has a range for the thumb indent so it goes over the top, while the other knob has the thumb indent range under the bottom.

[@rjl110919581]

thank you for the detailed video and put through operation

[@donaldshroyer8633]

Nice vid. Very informative and very helpful. I recently upgraded from a Bachmann E-Z Command system to a Digitrax EVOXD system. I wasn't willing to wait for TCS to release their newest stuff. I'm still getting used to the spinner control knobs. This throttle seems like a very good option for me, especially given the choice of knob.

[@genebarfield6688]

Here's another reason I love your videos. Even the comments you make in passing end up being useful and productively thought provoking. For years I lived with the same problem a lot of us encounter: no room for a layout - no basement, no spare rooms. 22 years ago we built a barn, 56'x32'. It's called a horse barn because the center bay is two stories. I finally decided to dedicate the entire east bay to building the railroad I dreamed about, fruitlessly for two decades. The room is 12'x48', long, completely weatherized and climate controlled, large enough to demand either a bunch of tethered-throttle plugs with a long, finicky cab bus, or wifi which I never paid much attention to until this video appeared. I thought it would require another big investment and a whole 'nuther learning curve with me at the bottom of it. I used to run a reactor plant on a submarine, so tech doesn't scare me - except when there's a lot of it to integrate successfully and I just want to run trains. When you mentioned you were using an old wifi router you started me thinking and solved a ton of problems for me, so thank you. So far all I've been able to finish and use is my test stand, which I operate using an NCE PowerCab. The main road now being built will use the NCE PowerPro command station I've been waiting to use for years. The test bed runs using JMRI, and I want that available on the main road too. I also am finally getting good at using my Cricut Maker, which I bought specifically to use for model railroading. It rquires some kind of connnectivity - the design software lives on the laptop - and it seems to like wifi much more than it does USB connectivity. I use it to make structures and detail or landscape accessories, as well as to make stencils to letter or reletter signs, buildings, motive power and rolling stock. Until you mentioned your wifi router it has been a serious pain in the you-know-what, trying to keep everything connected using the laptop I bought for the barn, where my wood shop also lives. I've become an expert at tripping over cables moved from one piece of gear to the next and the next and the next. All of the gear, and the printer, are wifi capable but I never imagined wifi in the barn because I just assumed there had to be internet connectivity as well. The barn is too far from the house for the wifi signal from there to reach. I never really looked into a stand-alone router until your comment made me realize it would be a productive effort. Now I can finally use that up-to-now useless tablet someone gave me years back. Then there's this whole other thing about connectivity issues. I have been trying to get the youngsters in the family interested in model railroading. My first task was to dispel all the myths they had in their heads about this being an old-fashioned pastime, reserved for old-fashioned people. A simple thing like wifi operability on a tablet is far more likely to engage their interest than an old transformer or even a modern DCC throttle, a piece of equipment wholly unfamiliar to them until you can hold their attention long enough to become properly familiar with it. I expect that by Sunday I will have the likely only wifi-capable barn in the county. And a lot of pieces, of gear and hoped-for use that never seemed likely of simple integration will then be working together more easily and productively than I ever imagined. I'm gonna have to name a town or something substantial after you. REALLY looking forward to your upcoming wifi video! Thanks, Larry. You're the best.

[@catfisherboy]

Thanks for the nice video, I am sure it will help get folks started with their new throttle, I have been a long time user of the UWT 100 and liked it very much. .I have a Digitrax Zepher command station with a LWI , and I purchased the Digitrtax DT602D with high hopes, however I was never able to get it to stay connected , I had sent the throttle back to them to see if it was faulty and they returned a new one which also would not stay connected ?? Just 3 days ago I received my new UWT 50 that I had preordered a year ago and like you have had a learning curve, I use the wheel with the indent on the bottom and swing right or left from that position and find it move convenient for yard mode (love yard mode) and regular operations as well.. I purchased the UWT 50 for a small switching layout I have in the garage and use it with a WiFi Trax command station / booster purchased from Iron Planet Hobbies

[@jhoodfysh]

Larry, that was very informative, thank you. I tried yard mode too, and for the same reasons you showed, I discarded that option. One thing you mentioned I would be interested in learning/seeing how you added the network to your train room and what it is used for. It may have been covered in a previous video, but I do not remember seeing that.

[@TheDCCGuy]

As I said i the video I’ll be doing a video soon o setting up a wifi network connection for a layout and customizing the loco settings in DecoderPro for use with wifi throttles such as the UWT-50 and cellphones.

[@jhoodfysh]

@@TheDCCGuy oops, I must have glazed over that part, sorry.

[@kenrodenbeck5629]

Thanks for the video Larry, I am running the Wi-Fi Trax WFD-31 with my NCE Power Cab. You simply take the original Power Cab Panel out and put the WFD-31 in its place. It provides a very good signal. I will likely also use it with JMRI but with my system the USB cable between the layout and my desktop computer gets in the way so the WFD-31 was a better choice for routine operations. I pre-ordered my UWT-50 so was able to get it for $150 + the WFD-31 (from Iron Planet Hobbies) at about $110. Even if you ordered the UWT-50 at current price of $200 with either Wi-Fi Trax WFD-30 or 31 you are almost half the price of the Proto Throttle + the cost of the receiver it needs for NCE. Even though the Proto Throttle is very nice with its controls, it is not in my budget. I have used my UWT-50 for about a week now and am very satisfied with its capabilities.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Souns like a good setup, glad to hear it works well for you.

[@riogrande5761]

After selling some excess loco's and raising the needed funds, I purchased the TCS Command Station and Throttle combo. The TCS DCC system looks to be one of the better, more modern systems on the market and by all descriptions, is as user friendly for MUing diesels as the much touted NCE system.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Yes, I’ve liked their consisting system since I first got their UWT-100 throttle and the CS-105 adds even more capabilities.

[@tomstorino70]

Great video, that said if you can't figure out how to get the lanyard on you probably shouldn't be working with model trains imo

[@ericlakota1847]

Really cool just saw the man who made the mold for injection molding the case itself

[@h2osmokey]

Is the center throttle detent in yard mode not noticable? Is there a momentum setting separate from any momentum for highway mode?

[@TheDCCGuy]

The mechanical detent just isn’t enough for me as I always run past the “0” point. I don’t know of any momentum setting in the throttle but you can download the manual form their website.

[@1500chessie]

Had a good laugh Larry, "the sound drives me up the walls". I feel the same , get stressed with all that noise, maybe i'm getting old.Anyway, a nice handheld controller that i waited for a long time. Like the knob and perefer it over the scrolling wheel.Have a Digitrax Lnwi ,so it fits in my system perfectly. Thanks for your infomative videos.

[@dougjuk]

I have a DR5000 at the moment, I plan to upgrade it with the new Yamorc chip. SO with Jmri and decoder pro this would be a good wifi throttle to buy for this setup. Are there any other throttles that get the roster from decoder pro.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Any throttle that uses the Withrottle functionality should be able to download rosters. For example an iPhone or iPad running the Withrottle app can download rosters.

[@arekbartkowiak1004]

Is it possible to switch a DCC turnout with this throttle? I see the button with the turnout picture (accessory probably) but I don't know how to operate the turnout. How can I do it? Probably I choose the number of accessories after hitting the button. But what next? How do I switch the turnout? 1 and 2 buttons maybe?

[@stuartbaker3595]

I would like to let you know what LAYOUTWIFI is. All UWT-50 and UWT-100 throttles come with one network profile already preset with the SSID LAYOUTWIFI. The TCS command station will also come with this by default. This is so that out of the box, the TCS throttle can find a TCS command station in LCC protocol mode without any further configuration required. Of course the user is permitted to delete this network profile from the throttle if they do not with to use it.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Thanks for that, I’m sure it says that somewhere in the manual but you saved me tracking down.

[@peterjhillier7659]

Thanks Larry, looks a nice bit of Kit, doesn’t it make DC look a wee bit old fashioned especially with its ability to utilize Computer Programs. Thanks once again, keep safe.

[@1701_FyldeFlyer]

Good video, Larry. What's your opinion of the Engine Driver application you can download to your phone and use that wirelessly to control locos?

[@TheDCCGuy]

I have used the ios as well as the Android versions and they work fine, I just like having a real knob to turn instead of a virtual slider for speed control.

[@jrisner1951]

Do you have a video of setting up a Wi-Fi network using a an old home router like dlink for your layout? Thanks

[@TheDCCGuy]

As I said in the video it will be coming soon.

[@jrisner1951]

@@TheDCCGuy thanks. I’ll watch it again to see what I missed.

[@derekalexander4030]

So you have had the controller for over a week, do you prefer it to the Digitrax duplex radio controller and why or why not?

[@TheDCCGuy]

Well, that depends on what I am doing. Among the Digitrax throttles I still love the 502DT. It has all the programming features plus the duplex capability. It has one issue in not being able to connect at times but I have found that pulling the battery, waiting a minute, then reinserting it typically will fix it. I don’t know what I’ll do if it ever dies-I should have bought another one when they were still available. The TCS wifi throttles are also great as long as I don’t need to do any programming, but I do a lot of ops mode programming. The connection is fast and bulletproof even when used with DecoderPro. Since most of my consists are now advanced I can get by easily, and I can also do my programming using DecoderPro, so I could happily exits with the TCS throttles alone.

[@OhioCentralModeler]

I need to get one of those. I'm currently involved with a couple of clubs that primarily use Digitrax systems and I both use NCE at home and despise the Digitrax throttles, so I've avoided buying a personal Digitrax throttle. Once upon a time I was part of a club that used potentiometer throttles on a DC layout, and there I could just operate trains without having to pay attention to the controller and it looks to me like the potentiometer version of the UWT-50 is the closest DCC throttle I've seen to that design since.

[@TheDCCGuy]

Keep in mind that the owner of each layout on which you operate must either have the system specific wifi interface or have DecoderPro and a wifi wireless router set up for you to use. I’ll go over how to do that in a coming video.

[@funnelfan]

Jacob, I use NCE at home, but use my 2 Digitrax Throttles I own at clubs. I'm constantly losing control of my trains while on Digitrax Wireless. I've heard these TCS Wifi throttles are much more reliable, so that is why I purchased one.

[@donaldkormos5529]

Thanks for the video Larry. I've got JMRI running on PC which is USB connected to DCC++EX running on Arduino Mega. JMRI WiThrottle allows me to use Engine Driver as a WiFi throttle. Would either the UWT-50 or UWT-50 function as another WiFi throttle?

[@TheDCCGuy]

That’s how I had it operating in the video.

[@donaldkormos5529]

@@TheDCCGuy Thanks for your reply ... I'm gonna pickup a UWT-50 and check it out. All the best to you ...

[@Mark_W_L]

Very interesting Larry. Its $100 cheaper than the UWT-100, are there any functions that only the latter has? How long do the batteries last? I use an ESU Mobile Control IIs running Engine Driver which works in much the same way as the UWT-50 and have found these WiFi controllers are very good and easy to use. The ESU is a bit more expensive than the UWT-50 (but cheaper than the UWT-100).

[@TheDCCGuy]

I have only had it a week so can’t tell about the batteries yet. The ones in the UWT-100 seem to last forever. I use 2 AAA rechargeable batteries.

[@stuartbaker3595]

You can expect 2000mA hour rated rechargeable NiMH batteries to last about 15 hours during 100% continuous operation with full backlight brightness. Most users will experience a bit more than this, as the default settings are not full backlight brightness, with auto-backlight dimming between periods of inactivity. TCS recommends rechargeable NiMH batteries as the best battery chemistry to use with the UWT throttles.

[@Mark_W_L]

@@stuartbaker3595 That's very good. It will work throughout an all day exhibition and will be OK for at least four home operating sessions.

[@richardcolemanjr3749]

I wonder why the hobby has not embraced Radio Control. Rail Pro by Ring Engineering is a fantastic system. I guess it's because of the continued investment in DCC.

[@TheDCCGuy]

It takes a long time for new technology to be accepted and for manufacturers to build it into their models. Investment is a big part of it, but a new technology needs hears of use to actually prove that it can do the job without problems cropping up.

[@chuckizowsky4181]

Wish it was available for n scale

[@dundasjunctionmodelr.r-jam8267]

Very impressive throttle, going to order from Iron Plant hobbies and ship to Canada 🇨🇦, Code Human and get 10 % off

[@GT-ee5ms]

I agree, these controllers are easy to use and have potential but I regret buying the UWT-100 as it failed pretty much out of the box. It comes with low quality encoders, bad warranty and customer service from TCS and most likely you'll end up paying more for its repair than it cost brand new. All marketing smoke and a very expensive land fill👎