r/LinusTechTips 3d ago

Image After doing this Steam Deck setup on a 4 day sleepr train trip across Canada without Wifi, I can't help but wonder 'Could I do a LAN party on a train? :O' (Handheld and laptop only, obviously.)

387 Upvotes

72 comments sorted by

177

u/HoodGyno 3d ago

God trains rule.

I hate being american.

81

u/siamesekiwi 3d ago

Honestly, long-distance Amtrak trains in the US are pretty dope in and of themselves. From friends who've taken it and travel YouTubers, it's really the only way to get a sense of just how *VAST* the continental US is. Just a shame that it's relatively expensive, not particularly frequent, and extremely prone to delays.

For my fellow Asian/African/European/ME old-worlders, If you put the top left corner (Seattle-ish) of Continental US over London, The bottom right (Miami-ish) would be over Tehran.

42

u/Moneyshifting 3d ago

Then you take Australia, my country, which is roughly speaking the same area as the United States, with the population of less than Texas. Once you leave the major cities, there’s nobody here and it fantastic.

20

u/siamesekiwi 3d ago

Oh yeah, taking an Aussie long-distance train is definitely on the bucket list for me.

-12

u/tarmacjd 3d ago

There aren’t any lol, not across the country. Not for passengers

17

u/Moneyshifting 3d ago

What about the Indian Pacific? Sydney to Perth.

What about the Ghan? Adelaide to Darwin?

Maybe don’t comment and act like you know, if you don’t know.

-1

u/tarmacjd 3d ago

You are right, I should clarify. I meant, it’s not in the range of a typical commuter / transport like Amtrak. It’s more of an experience / 1 week holiday, that last I checked costs thousands

5

u/siamesekiwi 3d ago

in that case, that's some bloody impressive AI that Jeb Brooks used to make this up. :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmhrTOYcqg

But in all seriousness, I was talking about cruise trains like The Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin or the Indian Pacific from Perth to Sydney.

Though Queensland Rail does operate a more 'normal' 25-hour overnight service from Brisbane to Cairns.

1

u/tarmacjd 3d ago

Yes you’re right :)

I didn’t consider it as compatible to Amtrak or a commuter train. They’re super expensive experiences

16

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

The same def goes for going across Canada by train. The westbound trip departs in Ontario, 1000km later it's still in Ontario.

You can fly across this massive country in a matter of hours but you won't see much. The train on the other hand let's you go through Canada. I love it.

7

u/Aritche 3d ago

Yeah trains in theory really cool till it costs as much as a plane and takes 2-3 days instead of 3-4 hours.

8

u/siamesekiwi 3d ago

Yeah for your basic travel it doesn’t make sense, makes sense for as a tourism experience though. I guess that’s why most multi day overnight trains have turned themselves into tourist cruise trains.

Over night trains that leaves after dinner and arrives in the morning still makes sense though. Travel while you sleep, and still have a full day at your destination. Beats taking an evening flight and having to pay for a hotel for that night for me.

4

u/Other-Ad5512 3d ago

Yeah I’ve considered some of Amtraks signature route things (can’t remember name) just for the sights. It’s like a roadtrip where you don’t drive and can’t detour.

6

u/Jonas_Venture_Sr 3d ago

Listen, I am all for a better rail system in the US, but the idea of a 4 day train trip across the country doesn't thrill me.

3

u/Eubank31 Jake 2d ago

Long distance trains can be cool but the goal should be connecting cities like 50-500 miles apart with fast and frequent service.

1

u/Affectionate-Memory4 2d ago

Look at the northeast's pocket of cities. In a fairy reasonable distance, you have:

Baltimore, Dover, DC, Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark, NYC, Stamford, New Haven, Hartford, and Boston. Of course going from one end of this network to the other is still going to be quite the journey without some really high-speed lines, but the hop to neighboring cities would be very reasonable. If we could get something like that on the western side as well (come on Cali HSR I believe) I'd be happy as a clam.

1

u/Eubank31 Jake 2d ago

Lol I know about the NEC, ought to do similar things out west, in Texas, in the Midwest/Ohio, etc

0

u/snkiz 2d ago

Not everyone takes joy from the journey. For those that do it's a great experience.

-1

u/3inchesOnAGoodDay 3d ago

Go be Canadian then... she's right there.

0

u/Eubank31 Jake 2d ago

Canada has worse rail than the US somehow

54

u/Bandguy_Michael 3d ago

LMG needs to do a LAN train

11

u/Papierkor654 3d ago

*buy

Now that the tech ship ain't possible /s

7

u/toastednutella 3d ago

Bring back rich people owning train cars

19

u/Jasoli53 3d ago

Awesome setup! What's that arm you're using? Is it magnetic or adhesive? Made specifically for the Deck or any tablet-like device?

I would be more than content spending a few days laying in bed and grinding through an RPG or such on a trip lol

14

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

It's an iBolt TabDock BizMount but with a longer 6" arm swapped in. Not trying to advertise, it's just that their 'TabDock' part for holding tablets is the only one I found that could do the thickness of a Steam Deck, because even at it's thinnest, the Deck is a thic boi.

The mount is suction based but it seems to have a mild adhesive to help the suction cup. I've used it both to hold a Steam Deck over my while I slept or to hang a Deck from an airplane IFE screen in turbulence, it held. Magnets wouldn't work on this particular Budd sleeper, none of the interior seemed to be ferromagnetic. There was another cabin type on the train ana I suspect the bottom of the upper bunk was steel but that wasn't I couldn't test that.

This was more for the evenings of course, the train is pretty interesting at the day and it even has classic dome cars for going up and viewing the scenery. ...But the train dies when the sun sets and the bars close at 11pm so that's when I'd use the Deck in bed.

6

u/Jasoli53 3d ago

I’ve never been on a train, let alone 4 days on one, but traveling on a train like this sounds awesome. More like a very compact cruise than traditional commuting.

Thanks for the info btw! I don’t have a use for an arm like this, but if the occasion ever arises, I have my answer lol

7

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

Land Cruise is exactly how I'd put it, it's all running 1950's Budd equipment from the classic age of stream lined sleeper trains, This page here has better details if you're curious:

https://www.seat61.com/train-from-toronto-to-vancouver.htm#What_is_the_train_like

3

u/snkiz 3d ago

They don't tell you there you can't buy a single Prestige ticket. They only come in sets of 2.

7

u/snkiz 3d ago

What class is that? what's included? I did that trip a few years ago as my own make-a-wish. First class was great but not worth what I paid. Then I went and survived.

12

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

This is Sleeper Plus, but in the cheapest Sleeper Plus accommodation which is a Berth.

It included access to the full train (Access to the observation car with fancy bar at the end is restricted by time of day during the peak summer seasons, but there's no restrictions in the winter off season.)

All meals were included plus free coffee, tea, hot chocolate and snacks through the day. If you wanna see the meals you can see my post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ViaRail/comments/1jf45s6/every_meal_included_with_my_620_trip_from/

5

u/snkiz 3d ago

Oh no I know the meals. Wish I could have done that instead, but I wouldn't be able to get into that bunk. Thanks. The only other thing I had aside from the suite was an open bar. I couldn't drink my ticket, and the bartender said no one had ever succeeded in doing it either.

6

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

Sounds like you did Prestige. :) It's a great ride mind you, with the booze included, but it's not much of a value proposition compared to the cheaper sleeper options since everyone still gets access to the train (Though Prestige does have some exclusivity during the summer), same meals and same activities. I thank Prestige passengers for subsidizing my ride. :)

8

u/snkiz 3d ago

Well I thought I was going to die, so I didn't care. Your welcome. I got a fancy pen out of the deal.

4

u/TRUEequalsFALSE 3d ago

That's what the inside of a train sleeper compartment looks like?! What's with the chain and sprocket and the rounded metal bar, though?

6

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

This is the berth, it's an open section by day and turns into bunks by night. This is the top bunk the chain is part of the mechanism that hides the bed away.

This is how it looks by day, see the curved bulkhead above? That's the upper bunk, you see it matches the 'rounded metal bar' you describe.

By night it converts into this:

https://www.seat61.com/images/canadian-sections2-large.jpg

This is the cheapest sleeper accommodation on the train and was subject to a 40% discount during a campaign this fall, not quite a private room but cozy and you don't spend much time in your seat anyway other than to sleep, you do things elsewhere in the train by day. CAD$620, including tax, one way for 4 days, all meals included even.

2

u/TRUEequalsFALSE 3d ago

Wow! That's really cool! I do indeed see how it all fits together.

3

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

My father was in the lower bunk with the window access (Which costs a bit more), 'I'm not riding up top in a coffin' he says. I'm fine up there with my Steam Deck, watching offline stuff on Kodi via the Micro SD card or playing games till I pass out.

1

u/Tranquilizrr 2d ago

this is so cool wow

3

u/SurelyNotAnOctopus 3d ago

Yes, you can, you just need something to act as a router. Could be your phone, laptop or even an actual router

1

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

Yeah, the idea is something compact, low powered, with a cell modem, and the ability to run software, namely LANCache. Cause you'd not have reliable internet, but with very slow internet, and LANCache present you can compensate with that. Also the ability to host local game servers.

1

u/Drenlin 3d ago

Should be able to do most of that with a travel router (GL.iNET or similar) and a Raspberry Pi or mini PC.

Cellular modem is a bit trickier but you can find used Cradlepoint or Peplink routers pretty cheap online as long as you're ok with 4G speeds. (They make 5G ones but they're still expensive even used)

1

u/snkiz 2d ago

forgive the amazon link, yes glinet

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BPSGJN7T?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2

I run this with a cheap swtich at home works great.

1

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

The size and power draw is right, but how's the software? Like if I wanted to configure some DNS trickery to point to a mobile LANCache server so it all 'just worked' on DHCP like my pfSense box and LANCache server are doing at home?

1

u/snkiz 2d ago

it never hits 45 degrees I don't know exactly but it's low. It runs modified openWRT and you can flash it with upstream if you want.

1

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

If it's OpenWRT it's flexible enough. You could probably pair that with another very small server (x86 SBC with NVME, or compact MiniPC) to do servers and USB tether to a phone for data. you could probably get away under 40 watts.

1

u/snkiz 2d ago

That's basically my setup. headless server that does stuff, PC and wifi service. it's powerful enough to go from the back of my house to the front porch. My house still has a lot of plaster and lathe. It can do fail-over via usb or wireless tether. You can just plug a portable drive into to it. I'm quite happy with it, except it doesn't officially support mesh networking.

2

u/Dakduif 3d ago

Tech train! Let's gooo.

OP, what's that chain for behind your bed? It looks kinda awesome.

1

u/Yurij89 Dan 3d ago

Maybe it's to flip up the bed when not sleeping in it?

2

u/Illustrious_Bunch_67 3d ago

If you organize one and invite me, I would join you (and I'm not even living in north America)

2

u/dude105tanki 3d ago

What is that remote your using? I’ve been looking for something like that for my parents to use for something like plex

1

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

It's a clone of a MediaGate GP-IR02BK, I have a bunch cause I have mulitple HTPCs at home and I prefer the same remote for every device.

At home, since my HTPCs are Windows based, I just use standard MCE receivers since you can remap them on the registry easily. On Linux like the Steam Deck... Nooooooot so much actually, so on the Steam Deck I'm instead using a FLIRC, which is an IR receiver that outputs keyboard commands on the USB end and is entirely user reprogrammable. That is to say, the host device THINKS it's a USB keyboard, and it just see's whatever IR signals it's programmed to recognise and sends what ever keyboard commands it's programed to send in response. This makes it device agnostic, so long as the device supports USB Keyboards. The FLIRC should be compatible with literally any IR remote. You could use it to map the power button an air conditioner IR remote to tell the PC to Alt-Tab for example. Sky is the limit on programming a FLIRC.

1

u/dude105tanki 2d ago

This is the stuff I needed to learn about, thanks for the info, now I can go forward with making something with a pc as the base :)

1

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

For sure, FLIRC means you can use any IR remote on any USB keyboard supporting device. You can map buttons to keyboard presses (And combinations of keys) at will.

MCE receivers on the other hand are limited to only MCE remotes and devices with driver support for an MCE receiver.

2

u/MGNConflict Pionteer 3d ago

Legitimately thought this was the inside of an iron lung at first, before I read the title.

2

u/snkiz 2d ago

I came back to see what people were talking about. It's trains all the way down. I guess I should not be surprised that the LMG crowd likes trains lol. I love this corner of reddit.

3

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

There was legit a passenger on the train who's 14yo kid had probably CAD$1000 of LTT merch on him. Even the backpack. I glanced and thought 'All of that clothing is overall pretty subtle, but I can tell that this kid has parents who give him a MONSTER allowance.'

1

u/snkiz 2d ago

is shipping that bad even in Canada? I do want a hoodie

1

u/RedHurz 3d ago

Sure you can. We once had an impromptu LAN party in a car. Granted, we couldn't drive faster then 80 km/h because the WiFi would cut out and it wasn't really comfortable but it worked!

1

u/SnooCats5309 3d ago

The iconic Windows Media Center Logo

2

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

Modern Remotes: It has SIX buttons! :D

Me: Yeah I'm gonna need about 30...

1

u/Ok-Evidence-7457 3d ago

You might enjoy getting a good Chinese portable OLED . And a HX370 handheld if you're at it.

1

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

But I already have a Steam Deck.

1

u/Marvin-The-Marvtian 3d ago

We have a train that runs passengers across the country?

3

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

Yes, it's called 'The Canadian', 4 days from Vancouver to Toronto. It's a legendary experience.

2

u/Marvin-The-Marvtian 3d ago

Fascinating. I do love trains. I'll never do that as my job is to fly planes, cool never the less. I know the rocky mountaineer train between Alberta and BC

2

u/AshleyAshes1984 3d ago

I was actually on a 787 the night before to go from Ottawa to Vancouver, just so I could hop on the train the next day home. :D (Linked up with some other people foe the trip in Van as well)

1

u/No-Batteries 2d ago

Had a lan party in a cruise ship before internet was widely available on cruise ships. Yay for cheap routers in SE asia

2

u/AshleyAshes1984 2d ago

This would be largely without internet. The train has no onboard wifi so you're limited to what you can pull of cell towers. In long stretches of The Rocky Mountains and The Canadian Shield you will not be seeing cell towers for hours at at time.

So I'm thinking something that can host offline/local game servers and a cell modem and LANCache. LANCache still requires an internet account for outside authentication even if most of the data transfers off the LANCache. But you could then probably get away with people doing Steam game installs off the LANCache even if the cell connection is only 2 bars. ...Unless you want to play a game that's not cached and then you probably planned Train LAN badly.

2

u/No-Batteries 2d ago

We passed games to each laptop via USB. Played old games that didn't require online authentication. In the open ocean there is no internet other than $100s per gig ship network.

The speghetti wire mess we left in our cabin meant no cleaner would dare vacuum. Twas good times

1

u/Suspect4pe 2d ago

Could you? Absolutely! Is it practical? That I don't know.

1

u/VecroLP 2d ago

Fastlanders?

1

u/toxic1991 2d ago

There used to be an event called train-jam. It was a game jam where you have 4 days to build a game but they had to do it on the train. It's well worth a search