The Mobius Wireless Module (MXM) is a new control box from Neptune Systems that will finally allow users of the Apex controller to control and manage their Mobius-compatible Ecotech Marine and Aqua Illumination products through the Fusion software. This new development was teased last weekend through one of the Apex suer workshops where a single slide (captured by Mark Levenson) showed off an image of the new MXM Mobius Wireless Module but we don’t know when it will be available or how much it will cost.
Once upon a time in a far away land, long before the merger of AI and Ecotech, the first WXM module enabled the Apex to communicate with Vortechs and early Radions, while the AWM module did the same for Aqua Illumination lights. With the release of new products from both companies the communication protocol changed, breaking backwards compatibility with the Apex modules and the diehards have been begging for these functions to return.
Once Ecotech Marine joined the consortium that acquired Neptune Systems it was a foregone conclusion that interoperability between the Apex, Ecotech and AI ecosystems would eventually be restored, we just didn’t in what fashion. Many reefers surely believed the feature would be baked into the latest, third generation of new Apex controllers, at least the Apex Pro would have it but now we have learned that you’ll have to pay extra for the privilege with the purchase of the Mobius Wireless Module.
With the previous WXM and AWM modules being priced at $125 it’s reasonable to assume that the new Mobius Wireless Module will be similarly priced but it’s hard to know how supply shortages might push that price up, or whether the powers that be will aim for a loss leader to encourage more Apex users to adopt Ecotech and AI gear. We find it perplexing that reefers would want to inject an extra layer of software to connect and control products that already have some of the best control software around – myAI and Mobius are industry leaders when it comes to app control – but if you simply want all your gear within one app, you’ll soon have that option.
