rrebell Now not to start a flame war but DCC reminds me of early code writing, one mistake and it didn't run or run well. My train friends have them and there is always a problem with learning the ins and outs of each decoder and the different systems, even the old Crest stuff (from before the breakup) runs on any DC or DCC system.
Now not to start a flame war but DCC reminds me of early code writing, one mistake and it didn't run or run well. My train friends have them and there is always a problem with learning the ins and outs of each decoder and the different systems, even the old Crest stuff (from before the breakup) runs on any DC or DCC system.
Wait til people start blowing up LiPo batteries because the charging circuit isn;t hooked up right... there are plenty of ways to smoke things with dead rail, if anythign there's MORE to wire than with DCC. You're just moving around where the complexity lies. Perhaps it is the way of the future. Once there is some standard it may indeed take off. Too many different systems - picking one today would be like picking Dynatrol or Keller or Railcommand in 1992, right before the DCC standard started being worked on.
Besides having some sort of common control signals, IMO for a dead rail system to succeed, it must offer charging from the rails so you don't have to constantly take your locos off the track to charge them. Even with modern LiPo batteries, you need a lot of space to get any sort of decent runtime, so smaller HO and anything smaller is just right out for now. Given how small they make DCC decoders these days, I'm sure the electronics for a dead rail system can be made small enough to fit even in Z scale - the problem comes back to the battery. If charging canbe done from the rails, you can get nearly unlimited run time, just like a normal track powered loco, yet still make complex trackwork like reverse loops completely dead to avoid autoreversers or other controls. Next problem is track detection - any sort of whole block detection system generally relies on sensing current flow in the rails. No problem for rolling stock, resistor wheel sets will still work, assuming there is power in the rails still. Except those dead sections. And what about light engine moves? If they do not have recharging fromt he track, the loco would be insulated from the rails. Or need pickups anyway, with a resistor across them. Further complicating the installation. Anything that applies to installing a DCC decoder and not having it smoke, such as making sure the motor brushes are isolated fromt he frame and rails, still applies to dead rail, so the very same ways people smoke DCC decoders will also smoke dead rail receivers. Possibly worse - a LiPo battery pack can provide a LOT of amps in a short time to a short.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I'll have to look into some of those commercial systems. Maybe wait to see how the Bachmann version works out. Their dcc setup is about as easy as they come (albeit limited), might bode well for their wireless too.
Rrinker: I'm also a bit of a Reading fan. Grew up along one of their former branches, near a small classification yard. Started my train interest in a lot of ways.
rrinker Maybe people try to hard? I install decoders in my locos, program an address, and off they go. Only real mistake could be keying in say 567 when I meant to key in 576. Can't fix that. Keyboards have been around since the 1800's and people still make typos. --Randy
Maybe people try to hard? I install decoders in my locos, program an address, and off they go. Only real mistake could be keying in say 567 when I meant to key in 576. Can't fix that. Keyboards have been around since the 1800's and people still make typos.
The stuff from Backmann is coming out now with more in NOV. The company that makes the chip is coming out with a plug-n-play 8 pin in Dec. and can be converted to dead rail. Even my DC train setup is wireless to the controler (Train Engineer by Crest) and I have their plug-n-play stuff made for HO but I will proubly go with the new stuff, much easyier (never could spell and I have two college degrees).
Don't forget CVP Products as well. A friend of mine just got this set-up this week, and I'm looking forward to see how it works out ....
http://www.cvpusa.com/mini_airwire_convrtr.php
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
modelmaker51 No, you are by no means alone! There are several manufacturers out there that offer battery powered radio control systems: Lochtfield Station http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php?cat=452 , North West Shortline (NWSL) http://www.nwsl.com/S-CAB_Radio_DCC_Control.html are just two. Ring Engineering http://www.ringengineering.com/ , while out of the box does require voltage on the tracks, it can easily be converted to battery power.
No, you are by no means alone! There are several manufacturers out there that offer battery powered radio control systems: Lochtfield Station http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/home.php?cat=452 , North West Shortline (NWSL) http://www.nwsl.com/S-CAB_Radio_DCC_Control.html are just two.
Ring Engineering http://www.ringengineering.com/ , while out of the box does require voltage on the tracks, it can easily be converted to battery power.
And this one:
http://shop.crest-electronics.net/main.sc
They are introducing HO sized receivers and are one of the leaders in battery power for large scale.
Sheldon
MRR technology is advancing even as we speak.
Some are not aware that DCC is only ONE WAY of controlling model trains with digital technology. It is easy to confuse the different methods.
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.
Bachmann will offer a system to use with a smartphone. Check the Bachmann site.
Some systems will run on a DC or DCC layout as the battery can be charged by either method.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
One of my particular interests in the time I was away from the MR hobby has been RC flight - a hobby that has been entirely transformed in the last 15 years by (primarily) lithium batteries, brushless electric motors, and spread-spectrum radio technology.
I'm curious; is model railroading taking notice? Is there a(ny) movement towards battery-powered, radio controlled trains in popular indoor sizes (HO, in particular)?
I'm imagining a layout that needs no track wiring, no reversing circuitry, no hunting down shorts and wiring faults underneath the benchwork and scenery.
I haven't started the conversion to DCC yet, and I'm of half a mind not to bother. The potential for R/C just seems... better. Am I alone in this thinking?