Hello to everybody. Is still interested Esu to launch the upgrade for ecos that include the mfx?
no news about it and was expected by the first days of February!!!!
does anybody new something about that.
regards
interno6

Price at LokShop.de is EUR 139,99 for the CS1 Upgrade ESU 59990.

Very good news, thanks Tom.

P.S.

interno6 did wrote Ecos.
Not CS1 upgrade to 3.0.0...!

Goofy

Goofy, why would I splash out and buy an Ecos II or CS2, just to get a colour screen!? I'm with Bob (wa6ld), much cheaper to upgrade what I have, I don't need or want a colour screen - that's what I have a computer for!

My thoughts exactly Benny.

Harvey, if your CS1 is at v2.0.3 or v2.0.4 you can apply the v3.0 update. Yes you are correct in saying that Marklin will not be providing updates for the CS1. Once you purchase the v3.0 update from ESU, ESU will continue to provide updates, and you will gain access to the ESU support forums.

As for what features the v3.0 update make available, take a look at the pdf file on the ESU site.

http://www.esu.eu/filead...aded_ESUKG_ESULLC_US.pdf



Marklin have issued the following technical bulletin regarding the future of CS1 updates. Lutz has alluded to this bulletin in some of his recent comments, but it is posted here in its entirety.

"Update for the 60212 Central Station

Märklin's guiding principle regarding further developments of the operating system is to offer the customer a user-friendly, user-oriented solution that technically emphasizes the
market leadership of the system. This means continuing further development of the products with regard to prototypical functionality and ease of use. The goal of our development is to offer the customer the maximum enjoyment in conjunction with the greatest level of prototypical realism. The newest result of this development and a worthy representative of what is currently doable technically is the new Central Station (60213). On the predecessor model (item no. 60212) of the new Central Station Märklin pursued the strategy for the first time of developing a suitable hardware foundation and adapting this product constantly to the desires and needs of our customers by means of further software developments. This strategy runs up against its limits however when the hardware no longer allows the necessary expansions. Like a computer, you reach a point sooner or later at which the performance of the hardware is no longer up to the requirements of the newer software.

We have reached this point with the 60212 Central Station.
As an example, it is necessary more and more that a central controller includes a track diagram control board in order to simulate prototypical railroad operations. But, this can be
achieved only with a high resolution color display. For this reason the new Central Station has a color display with four times the resolution of the previous unit. Also, the RAM memory storage on the Central Station has been doubled compared to the predecessor version and the flash memory has even been increased by a factor of 8.

Another highlight is the fact that the processing speed of the processor is 10 times faster and the external connections have been expanded to bi-directional operation. This makes it rather clear that the new central controller represents a new milestone in digital
technology. For this reason further development of the older Central Station (60212) beyond the high level already reached does not seem viable any more. Even with the highest expenditure in development this unit no longer comes close to the possibilities offered by the new Central Station. Numerous new developments and new functionality that we have planned in the future for the new Central Station (60213) can no longer be supported by the older Central Station (60212) in terms of hardware. Märklin continues to stand by the compatibility of our products. For this reason we at Märklin have decided to place the future of digital control on a more reliable footing. In the future, this foundation is only defined by the Central Station (60213), which is based on the latest hardware and software.

In closing, we need to point out that any possible manipulation of the Central Station (60212) through the installation of software not authorized by Märklin terminates the Märklin manufacturer's warranty. Märklin will therefore not assume any responsibility for a unit changed in this manner and will not be responsible for product liability. This also applies to damages resulting from the operation of a unit altered in this manner. In addition, Märklin's guarantee of adherence to the legal provisions for warranty coverage is terminated, when a Central Station altered in this manner is operated by the owner.

A Central Station (60212) altered in this manner will most likely not be usable any more as an auxiliary controller with the Central Station (60213). This will destroy the option of integrating this controller into the current system architecture.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information newsletter."

It´s yours willpower to choise byself.

Goofy

For those who has already old system like CS1 and Ecos I,it´s good to upgrade.
But i prefer to buy (if) the new one Ecos II,just because it has become MORE FUN to play with it...!

Goofy

P.S.

I haven´t not decides yet,if i shall buy Ecos II or Intellibox II. [:I]

Yes Henk, I think that that Marklin bulletin is full of 'spin' than anything of substance. Track Diagrams are included in the v3.0 CS1 update, which proves you don't need a hi res colour screen to make use of that feature. Furthermore, the upgraded ram and cpu are needed in the CS2 because it has a colour screen, but ESU are proving that the CS1 doesn't need that to get new features.

Actually I'm rather annoyed that Marklin has chosen to not make the 60123 booster backward compatible (and I don't give a toss about whatever technical reasons there are for this) with the CS1. Until now they have made all their equipment backward compatible, but they seem to be departing from that with this new booster. I don't care about the politics between Marklin and ESU, as a customer of Marklin buying Marklin branded items, I expect that everything will work together. After messing everyone around for 3 years with Marklin Systems this is the least they owe their customers. Washing their hands of the CS1 is not a good look, especially for a company that is in financial trouble. What about the thousands of people that bought CS1's? I'm sure not all of them can afford to ditch their CS1's and rush out and buy a CS2. It wouldn't surprise me if there weren't some really annoyed people out there.

Good on ESU for committing to provide support for the CS1. They are providing a service which quite clearly Marklin is failing to do, in this instance. What will be next - Marklin refusing to provide service and support for their locomotives that have ESU decoders in them?

You have clearly made a point here and I cannot agree more.

Hi Lutz,

this is the information from ESU the 16. of march:

http://www.esu.eu/forum/forenue...t/update_300_verschoben/

The english translation:

http://www.esu.eu/forum/forenue...1/firmware_3_0_0_update/

We have not moved the update, but first the 3.0.0 update for the ECOS released.
If everything goes well, just the end of Q1 (read: middle of next week). It could also be the end of next week.
I think it is among adults at 2-3 days arrive
The 3.0.0 update for the ECOS is as usual for free download.
More or less at the same time, we will deliver updates Centralstation.
Since we update for each individual software package a CD to create, this process is also due to the large number of
reservations, however, probably 5-8 weeks. We are also in order of receipt of supply order.

If the beta tests going on now give the programmers more work to do, it might last another week.

Two questions that I'm interested in having answered.

Untill now Marklin always have been providing support for their controllers.
About the future of CS1 : I don't see any great interest in 2 companies providing support for one item . Don't you find 1 company is enough ?
( BTW: i.m.o. a track diagramm in monochrome doesn't offer prospects of a very pleasant use . let's see how they proceed, first...)

Bigdaddynz

Thanks for the link and detailed information. I have signed onto the ESU site and monitor their progress. I had hoped to be a 'totally Marklin customer' but now I will begin looking at ESU to upgrade my CS1 (2.04 version). The cost of the ESU 59990 upgrade doesn't seem like much. My only concern is '5 years down the road when I have expanded ... and Marklin has enhanced once more' is the ESU path compatible with what Marklin is doing. Well, time will tell and that's the risk customers have. Thanks again.

Interestingly enough, no answers on the question of whether a CS2 will work with a v3.0 CS1 yet, but this announcement comes from Marklin in the latest Digital Newsletter (Mar/Apr 09), received today.

"Märklin Warning Concerning Connect 60212:

This device (the Connect 60212) is not yet available from Märklin, but when it is ready it will connect the old Central Station 60212 to the new Central Station 60213. Märklin is warning owners of the old Central Station 60212 that any of those units that are upgraded to the ECOS standard or anything beyond the software included in the unit when sold by Märklin, will void the warranty on the new Central Station 60213 if they are connected together.

This is only reasonable because Märklin has no way of knowing what the changes made to the 60212 will do when connected to their new Central Station 60213."


I think this is a bit of a cop out from Marklin, but the really interesting statement is this:

"...any of those units that are upgraded to the ECOS standard or anything beyond the software included in the unit when sold by Märklin, will void the warranty on the new Central Station 60213 if they are connected together."

My CS1 was at v1.3 when I bought it. It was sent back to Marklin to have the v2 update applied, it came back at v2.0.3. Later I applied the v2.0.4 update to it. Taking that statement literally, the fact that my CS1 has been upgraded from v1.3 (the device version when I bought it) to v2.0.4, if I use it with a CS2, according to that statement, the CS2 warranty would be invalidated. Someone please tell me this is not true. Dr Tom, you wrote this, am I reading it correctly?? (Aside from the fact that v1.3 does not even work with a CS2).

And to throw a spanner even more in the works comes the rumour (see the "Update for Central Station 2 ??????" thread) that due to Marklin's insolvency there may be no further support for the CS2 (I stress this is a rumour, not yet substantiated, but where there's smoke, there's fire......).

I wouldn't be surprised if the CS2 is long gone in a few years time and replaced by a CS3, CS4 .. [xx(]. Hopefully these will be backwards compatible. The "ever lasting life" as seen with the 6021 doesn't exist with the products of our times.

Thanks for the update Tom.

David, one reason that hinders me from upgrading my CS to version 3,
is that i do not know if i will be able to connect it with my future CS II as a slave unit.

<u>Hello Lutz.</u>

It looks much better with colours, I must admit.

But we are still with the ECoS 1.

Agreed Tom, it does look better in colour. However, it is better than no track diagram at all!

Better to wait and be assured of a reliable product, rather than rushing to market with an incomplete product, and suffering the gripes and groans from users who find bugs.

We've waited 6 months or so since the announcement of v3.0, a few more days will not hurt!

Lutz, you found one reply from 27.03.09 09:25, one day before. He had tested a lot more the last day, so what you refer is not very interesting.
There are many replies and I was referring this one from 28.03.09 09:44 from the same beta tester:

So, um nun auch noch was positives los zu werden: die letzte Beta sah schon richtig gut aus und bis Quartalsende könnte das sehr gut was werden,
wenn jetzt in letzer Sekunde nicht noch ein riesen Bug auftaucht. Sieht aber momentan nicht so aus. Also noch ein bisschen Geduld. Es ist bald soweit. Das Ziel ist in Sicht.

I don't think my translation was bad. Nevertheless, we have to wait and the new version will turn up sooner or later.

Sorry...
My mistake...!
Good luck by upgrade ESU program to CS1 with DCC too...!

Goofy