ESU and Piko both have the same system? Piko Smartcontrol ESU Cabcontrol What are the differences? Are they interchangeable/compatible? Why can't I find other info on how these systems appear to be almost identical?
Would appear to be an OEM repackaging. My bet is ESU is the OEM and Piko the reseller, but that is just a guess.
Probably not interchangeable as I would assume each has it's own software and proprietary communication with their respective wireless receivers. Jason
Thanks for the info. After quickly glancing at both manuals, I'd say that the few differences are so minuet that all a person has to do is pick one and hook it up.
So they are sort of the same product... I have a Piko Sm.artControl set The Piko SmartControl comes with a command station/booster and the ESU version is one of two types. The MobileControl handheld can connect to an existing ECoS command station, or there is a CabControl kit that comes with the same command station as the Piko kit. Both systems can connect to a network and use JMRI as an ECoS device, and allows for full automation. The Piko handhelds cannot be used with the ESU product, however the ESU handhelds can be used with the Piko system. I have tried taking the APK files of the handheld, but even with all the service apps, i cannot get it to run on another android device. The Piko system can use any ECoSLink boosters, but not many other ECoS devices like detectors. Piko has released an Loconet adapter and a CD/E adapter. I really like the system. It's very easy to program decoders, I can even copy settings between locos (albeit in a roundabout way) The graphic navigation for selecting locos and operating functions is great. I wish I could add my own photos of Locos, but that is a minor function. I can hand a remote (I have 2, 1 Piko and 1 ESU) to my 5 year old nephew and it he can pick a loco and go. The large knob is on an encoder, you get a sort of force feedback for the loco while accelerating. Consisting is a bit goofy, but not a big deal. The stop button automatically cuts track power, and the 4 buttons on the side can be programmed to trigger almost anything. I do find that the handheld can lag sometimes, so I've gone and disabled some Android background processes that aren't needed. The specs that ESU and Piko advertise about the RAM is not correct. They initially advertised it with 1GB of RAM, but it actually has 512mb. Not really a big deal since it runs Android 4.1. Feels nice in the hand, has great battery life, usually lasts a whole day of ops. Not many complaints from me. Piko has yet to release new firmware, that was to fix a couple of small bugs, but I bet thats more an ESU code issue.
