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Cell Phone for Controller

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy A01 at Best Buy for $59.99 + tax. It seems to work really well. If you order on line you can only order one (1) at a time. I wanted more than one (1) so I place two (2) orders, one right after the other. I placed the online order about midnight and was able to pick it up, at the store, at 10am. I plan on using these phone exclusivity for my train layout, so I did not activate the carrier.

Also, I just found a reconditioned Samsung Galaxy A01 for $29.99 on Straight Talk web site. https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones/reconditioned-samsung-galaxy-A01.black

11 comments

11 Comments

Admin

May 28

Yet another great deal: https://www.amazon.com/TracFone-Motorola-Moto-Play-Black/dp/B0CCSZZGT7

Admin

Feb 27

Latest deal (2/27/24) at <$40: https://www.amazon.com/Total-Verizon-TCL-32GB-Black/dp/B0CHHL5R3H

It's an Android 12 with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of memory. After you receive it, simply throw the SIM card out and you will have a dedicated train controller!

Admin

Oct 19, 2023

Here's the latest deal for < $40 : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBXBXCFC. As always, you don't need to insert the SIM card or activate it.

chdiecast

Oct 03, 2022

I bought a Motorola Moto G6 Play for $38 shipped from an ebay.com vendor: sellingtech13.

It didn't have a SIM card but I was able to install one from a flip phone to get online to download the LocoFi app. I'm not skilled at smartphone use but I was able to get it to control the LocoFi 3 board without the SIM card. To get familiar with LocoFi I set up a "breadboard" of just the components. Here's a video of it:

https://youtu.be/BqdZ6xAUHG4 It works well. Now I'll install it in a loco.

The "Play" version of the G6 has a long-life battery that is replaceable -- most low-priced used Android phones have non-replaceable batteries.

Admin

Oct 04, 2022

Replying to

Great test video! Thank you for sharing.

Just FYI that you do not need a SIM card to download the app. Simply connect your smartphone (without the SIM card) to any WiFi network with internet connectivity (e.g. your home WiFi or even Starbucks) should as well enable you to download the app. Also, as you have noted, you do not subsequently need internet connectivity for running your trains.

A phone with replaceable and long battery life is a plus!

scott589

Mar 01, 2022

At the suggestion of the LocoFi team I just tried this Tracfone Alcatel TCL A3 phone from Amazon. It worked fine with my existing WPA secured home Wi-Fi network, and it was only $40.

https://www.amazon.com/Tracfone-Alcatel-TCL-32GB-Black/dp/B09CLN4LLN

Admin

Mar 01, 2022

Replying to

Great deal indeed! Thank you for sharing!

Admin

Sep 15, 2021

Looks like a great deal! Thanks for sharing.

chdiecast

Sep 28, 2022

Replying to

Will a phone without a SIM (no wireless phone capability) be able to download the Locofi app? I'm presuming that it can since it can access wifi to run locos but I'm just checking to be sure. The deal mentioned by Rick Garthe above at https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones/reconditioned-samsung-galaxy-A01.black is still available.

Admin

Sep 28, 2022

Replying to

Yes. Absolutely. In fact, just take the SIM out (if not planning to activate the line). First time and occasionally thereafter each time an app update is released, connect to a WiFi network with internet capabilities (most likely your home WiFi network) to download the LocoFi™ app. Once that is done, if using a separate router for setting up the "train network", you do not need any internet connection on the router. It's just going to be a local network with the phone throttles and locos all connected together on the same network. You can however connect to each train directly individually as well. Not only that, you can also setup your phone as a WiFi hotspot or even use one of the LocoFi™ modules as an access point (limited to 8 devices) for other modules and phones to connect to and create the network. Although signal strength and coverage may not be far reaching for bigger layouts in the latter cases.

>The deal mentioned by Rick Garthe above at https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones/reconditioned-samsung-galaxy-A01.black is still available

Great! We're sure there are many other such deals out there. You just have to look. And that is the flexibility that you get to be able to choose your own device (or use existing one if you already have it) and not limited to system provider's hardware.

Hope that helps.

chdiecast

Sep 28, 2022

Replying to

Thanks!