Still cutting edge, but uncertain whether it will prevail. I could only find US-based information. This website lists an array of suppliers: https://www.deadrailsoci...com/dead-rail-suppliers/

I could not find any reference to this supplier anywhere else: https://www.wifimodelrailroad.com/

This recent thread might be interesting in this regard, too: https://www.marklin-user...t52607-Dead-Rail-HO---OO

Now imagine the possibility of someone with a bent mind and the app on their phone visiting a show and attempting to take over an HM7000 decoder on a layout without the operator realising. Set it running at full speed where it shouldn't go maybe, possibly causing damage.

I am not aware of any security with the HM7000 decoders whereby one could lock a decoder to a single handset.

When the world is mine, HM7001 will be released which is just HM7000 with Railcom (and I guess resized slightly for the people who had trouble fitting them), DCC-override by default (unless you set a CV; putting the loco on a DCC track will turn Bluetooth off) and with proper DCC support, not the silly 15V cut-off that means I can't run them on my track (because my z21 runs at 20V for smoke-fitted locos).

That way; anyone could use it regardless of their track voltage, you could use bluetooth at home all day long on your 15VDC layout - but when you took it to a club or show - bluetooth goes off; DCC and Railcom go on, you can PoM, just like a normal decoder.

After a week-long pause to accumulate responses, I'll review and try to air a few more points. Thanks to all who responded so far; keep adding new information if you have it. (Photos of installed equipment welcome, too.)

The technology seems relatively new. Only Hornby among the major model railroad manufacturers provides a product. The other designers are either small-scale or DIY; at least one appears to be defunct.

Among the respondents, the Hornby offering is not appealing, but it isn't clear whether anybody actively uses or used it and moved on.

Horrific problems are forecast at meets, when too many things are competing for too little wifi bandwidth, especially at 2.4 GHz. Again, it isn't clear whether this is a lived experience or a foreseeable intrinsic design flaw. (The ESP32 series chips provide 5 GHz wifi in a 2 cm x 3 cm package, so it also isn't clear whether the 2.4 vs 5 GHz band problem is only a temporary one.)

Those who stream cab front video over wifi also foresee problems with (2.4 GHz) bandwidth competition with wifi loco control.

Moving to what hasn't been discussed yet:-

How has anybody who *has* used it benefited from wifi control (meaning, no signals over the rails but by wifi direct to the loco)? Fewer / more decoder problems? Easier / more difficult decoder programming? New automation possibilities with more voluminous feedback?

Direct-to-loco wifi protocols are a potentially problematic area. It is clear to me that one could run Marklin's CS2 CAN protocol over wifi (I do this already but to the locos through the rails), which is (mostly) a public standard. Hornby's HM7000 wifi protocol is not: once you adopt the technology, it appears that you're stuck with their controllers (if wrong, enlighten me, please). The DIY solution clearly does not have this problem, but there's less information about the others. It is unclear to me what LocoFi's protocol is. (Personally, I wouldn't use anything that I couldn't bit-bang myself, but opinions vary widely on the proprietary protocol point.)

Is there enough space inside a typical loco to fit in the wifi decoders? For the DIY solution, the answer is no but that's a hobbyist's trade-off. I could imagine a chip with a 21MTC connector dangling from wires that could tuck itself anywhere inside a loco body; possibly even in a trailing tender/carriage/wagon with a sufficiently long harness.

Many people commented about network response due to congestion, particularly at meets; I'm rather more interested in home use. Poor network response can come about for many reasons, not just bandwidth competition: radio interference, router capability/capacity, local network (mis-?) configuration, local network capacity chief among them. But loco control data rates are infinitesimal compared to even e-mail or video streaming, so, again, hearing about lived personal experience with wifi control would be welcome.

Those with outdoor layouts who probably either use or wish for dead rail running could probably benefit most from rail-less wifi control. Being larger gauge, generally, fitting even DIY wifi decoders would be a doddle. Any experience out there to share?

Osoraku

Edited by user 01 December 2025 11:17:50(UTC)  | Reason: Clarified request for direct-to-loco wifi info