Can fiber optic cables be used as buss cables for DCC?
Really thought you were joking.
Fiber optics transmit light. Used for data transmission.
Cables, electricity. Power.
Google both.
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.
Only if you're modeling the Quantum, Acme, and Pacific....
[sorry, a physics joke, couldn't help myself
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
good one Mike
nothing says you can't do signal cables like loconet on optical fiber. But the data rates on these cables are incredibly low and it would be like trying to go two blocks by airline ... Just expensive for no reason.
NP01 ... Just expensive for no reason.
I just thought that one use of cable is for transmitting data and somehow it could be used to send the different wave lengths for instructions, with a seperate transformer for power. But as you suggested, it would be slow and just be overkill. Thanks.
JWK Railway I just thought that one use of cable is for transmitting data and somehow it could be used to send the different wave lengths for instructions, with a seperate transformer for power. But as you suggested, it would be slow and just be overkill. Thanks.
Slow? Fiber optic cable can transmit data at a faster rate than regular copper cable (light travels faster than electricity). In theory I think you could use fiber optics for our model control needs but the equipment needed would be way too expensive. Indeed it would be overkill.
TONY
"If we never take the time, how can we ever have the time." - Merovingian (Matrix Reloaded)
Yeah I don't think he gets it still.
You could in theory use fiber optic tranceivers to convert something like Loconet into light for transmission over fiber. But it's absolutely pointless, unless you are trying to control the layout from miles away. Loconet is a slow enough protocol that it doesn't even require twisted pair wiring, let alone fiber optics. It would be a big waste of equipment to do this. Loconet would be no faster over fiber.
Fiber can't replace the track power bus, you need an electrical transmission line, not an optical one.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Optic fiber cables do not transmit electicity. They use light to transmit signals. 0 and 1 in light means the same as 0 and 1 in electricity, or even in smoke signals. To use optic you would need a coder/decoder at each node of the optic cable.
LION has a lenght of optic cable, the conductors in it are as fine as a human hair. This piece of cable has been kicked around the train room for so ling, I do not suppose that it is intact at all.
LION was hoping to salvage the fibers and use them for head lamps in locomotives or cars, but these are just far too fine for that, and even if I got the light into them, you would hardly discern it coming out the distal end.
Now the LION *does* use optic fiber on the computer network of him. Well, not on my network per se, but the phone company uses optic fiber to connect our system to the world. Yup. LION has an optic fiber internet connection. That might be impressive out in the hinterlands, but the fact is that the telephone comany removed ALL of its copper wires in town, and uses ONLY optic fiber connections to the houses and businesses that are connected to the phone system.
About the same time the CABLE COMPANY came in with FAT CABLES, so now you can get Telephone, TV, and Internet from either comapny. It was a race to see who could get in first, since they assumed that people would connect to the first FAT WIRE that came into them, and would not change thereafter.
Well people out here are loyal, but the fact is we own an interest in our local telephone cooperative. [That *is* what a cooperative is after all]. The Richardton Telephone Company merged with other local companies to form Consolidated Telepnone, and later Consolidated bought out AT&T in our area, so even the cities have Consolidated Telephone connections. Our phone number is the same (15) now as it was 50 years ago. (Well, yes, they did add more digits in front of our number over they years, but that is how it works, isn't it?)
You said buss cable. I think we went over that before. (A buss is a kiss -- A bus is a vehicle which can carry electricity if you have an electrical bus) Be that as it may, I presume this whole thread was NOT about the power bus. Digitrax has a Loconet, but to other poviders use that technology? The LION does not know.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS