Saw the advertisement on back of this months Model Railroader and looked at a couple videos online. Looks like a neat addition to a layout with many options and applications. Does anyone actually have one in hand and hooked up yet? How would you compare it with other lighting options?
First time I've seen it advertized. MRC's website says that it has yet to be released. It looks like an interesting device. Apparently it can run 48 or more LEDs or 24 incandescent lamps, and it looks fairly simple to set up.
MRC says there are 20 lighting pattern options. Unfortunately they don't provide a complete list, and one thing they don't mention is random operation of building interior lights. That would be a nice feature.
One thing they will have to compete with is the Arduino mini computers which are becoming increasingly popular with model railroaders. They can be programmed to do anything the MRC system can do and more. The biggest drawback to Arduino is that you have to program the system yourself, but I'm sure that will change as things develop. From a cost perspective, Arduino is much cheaper.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!