A friend of mine who operates on our round robin ops group was looking at this rail pro system to operate trains rather than conventional DCC. Has anyone operated with this system or familiar with its reliability ? Looks like it is from a company out of Indiana called Ring Engineering. Thanks
Being discussed in the MRH forums and I believe the company rep is there also.
Google mrh rail pro. You will get the rail pro home page, you tube video and mrh discussion. I am sure you will find opinions from those who don't use it.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Thanks Rich,
I have been on their website and watched the video. It looks interesting but I would like to have an independent source telling me they have purchased and operated the system and how they like it.
http://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php
Try the Rail Pro Users Group--they will give you some good info--I love mine basically the consistings of units is as easy as the instructions show.
Tom
Will a locomotive with a Rail Pro decoder installed run on another DCC system?
I'm in the process of building my layout, and I bought the Rail Pro system and I love it. I belong to a club and we have Digitrax, and almost anything you do to alter anything involves a program track and CV's.
The Rail Pro is a radio controlled module that operates in real time. It is super easy to set up your engines, turnouts, accessories, etc. You can consist several engines together in seconds after doing a very easy procedure at initial engine setup that measures the amp draw of your engine, and it takes about 3 seconds to do.
If you figure all the stuff you need to use most other DCC systems RP is a little cheaper because you don't need a loco net, programming track, and a lot of the other bits that seem to arrise with DCC.
Another bonus is you can take your engine and your RP hand controller and run on a DCC layout. All the RP needs is about 14.5V to make the magic happen. Plus if can find room in your engine for batteries, you can run on dead rail. I would highly recommend it, if for no other reason than not having to fool with CV's anymore.
SouthPenn Will a locomotive with a Rail Pro decoder installed run on another DCC system?
With the Railpro controller. They cannot be controlled with DCC. They can use the DCC track power though. You can run Railpro and DCC locos all together on the same layout.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker SouthPenn Will a locomotive with a Rail Pro decoder installed run on another DCC system? With the Railpro controller. They cannot be controlled with DCC. They can use the DCC track power though. You can run Railpro and DCC locos all together on the same layout. --Randy
Just to clarify, in case there is still some confusion, Railpro and DCC locomotives can indeed run on the same layout at the same time. However there is no interaction between the two. Railpro does not control DCC, and DCC does not control Railpro. DCC send its signals through the rails , whereas Railpro sends its signals directly to the locomotive via radio.
For the OP, I've been a long-time user of Railpro and have participated in beta-testing software programs and updates to check for issues. I have no complaints with the system, and in fact I really enjoy it. DCC works, but it was not fun to use and ended up making the hobby more of a headache for me than an enjoyment. Railpro has made running trains enjoyable again.
Do check out the Railpro User Group as mentioned above. Lots of users on there and lots of great information. Also search on here and other forums (MRH) for threads relating to Railpro. There are a number of them that go more in depth about the system. Also search for Railpro on Youtube. I've put a number of videos up overviewing various parts of the system. Many of them are oudated now because Railpro is constantly improving through software updates. But they still show the basic premise and how the system works.
Hope that helps!
-Kevin
I tried out RailPro at a train show a while back, so my opinion may very well be out of date. But at the time:1). It had a really slick interface with the touch screen and the knob.
2). I really didn't like that it was unable to be used one-handed. With the knob on the bottom, it's on the wrong end. Our thumbs point up, not down. And when I'm operating with a switchlist, a train order, an uncoupling stick, and a radio, a two-handed throttle doesn't work for me.
3). I thought the MU-ing was great, and allowed pretty solid speed matching with ease.
4). I didn't like that there was no way to reverse direction without looking at the throttle first due to the touchscreen. Again, with my hands full during operation sessions, I don't want to have to put everything down every time I reverse direction.
5). At $60 per loco without sound, the price is a little high compared to DCC's sub-$20 decoder. With sound at $100, Ring's sound receiver is right in line with DCC sound decoders.
6). At the time, there was no way to upload pictures of your own equipment to the throttle yourself. You had to either use generic pictures, or you had to take pictures of all your locos and send them to Ring. They would then send them back to you in an update to your throttle.I thought overall that it was a neat system to compliment (rather than replace) DCC, especially in a club setting (of which I am in). I've questioned whether it will work well while in a tunnel, especially one made of wire mesh, but I've yet to hear anyone say yes or no. Still, if I had a spare $300 for a throttle and another couple hundred bucks for some RailPro decoders, I'd get it. But I'd rather buy more locos/cars and rely on the existing DCC system. The difference between DCC and RailPro isn't great enough to change from one to another, in my opinion.
Paul A. Cutler III
Paul -
A few things have changed since you tried it out at the show. New software has since been released that allows you to load your own pictures, sounds, and create your own function programs. It had been in the works for a while and was released around mid-last year. I've had a blast editing sounds and uploading them for my own use.
The throttle can be used one-handed but it takes some time to figure out how to do it. I've gotten to the point where I can control the speed with one hand and can operate the basic functions with one hand without looking (horn, bell, reverse). That being said I usually prefer two hands just to use all the other functions (I have many other sounds set to use for switching, etc).
With a touch screen it makes sense to keep the knob at the bottom. If it is at the top then your palm will possibly touch/rub the screen while you are controlling the knob with your thumb, thereby activating buttons you weren't planning on.
I have used Railpro in tunnels (both normal andlined with wire mesh) and haven't had any issues. I've used it through a few walls without an issue either. That does tend to attenuate the signal, so you can't be as far away if you are going through walls (had to in a club I used to belong to).
Does anyone know if the standard facia mounted plastic throttle holders work on the rail pro throttles as well?
Thanks,Rob
The Railpro throttle is larger than most DCC throttles and will not fit in a standard fascia mount. Most guys I know either put in on a shelf, on the layout, in tool apron, or in their pocket when they are going through paperwork. I just stick mine in my pocket and pull it out when I need it again.
I have been using the RailPro system for the more than two years and I love it.
RailPro is a full featured, serious system that really puts a lot of fun into running trains with out all those problems of DCC. This system is so easy to opeate that a six year old, after a couple minutes of instruction, could operate trains successfully.
I have never had a problem installing or maintaining this system, everything works the way it is supposed to. I have hard wired LMS2 modules in four of my old Atlas/Roco GP38's and GP40's. along with LED lights, everything worked first time out, not bad for a 75 year old fogey.
I have never been sorry that I chose RailPro and I highly reccommend this system to anybody.
BTW
Ring Engineering customer support is absolutely outstanding.
The other Mel
I wish I had heard of this system when I trashed my Digitrax system and went to NCE. I love my NCE system, but this sure looks good too.