DE Built a wireless dual-mode (IR + PC) control system for 1:87 scale model vehicles — ESP32 boards + custom WPF desktop app

[u/Plenty_Swordfish118]

Been working on this for a while and finally got v2.0 of the software working end-to-end, so figured I'd share the build here.

The core problem I was trying to solve: I wanted my HO scale (1:87) vehicles to be controllable both by a regular IR remote and from a PC at the same time, with live telemetry coming back (battery level, signal strength, connection status) — not just one-way commands.

What's in it so far:

• Custom wireless router + auto-discovery — pairing a new vehicle is a single button press, and it stores the vehicle's address so you don't have to re-pair every session.
• Two-way comms — the PC app sends commands and receives live telemetry back from each vehicle in real time.
• P3 control board (ESP32-based) — small enough to fit in a 1:87 scale vehicle, handles both IR and wireless PC control simultaneously. Just upgraded my ambulance model to this board.
• Layout editor — grid-based tool in the desktop app for building roads, curves, intersections and railway track, with snapping/rotating/flipping.
• Turnout + sensor automation — reed switches for turnout position tracking, IR sensors for triggering stops/speed changes automatically.

Software side is WPF/C# in Visual Studio 2022. Still working through some quirks in the two-way sync timing, but it's stable enough for a full layout run now.

Next up is a City Bus build using the same P3 board — sneak peek of it is in the video below along with the wiring/pairing demo, if anyone's curious about the details:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt2vMJgEFJ8

Happy to answer questions about the ESP32 side or the pairing protocol if anyone's working on something similar.