I need to have my old simplex digitrax dt400 repaired/upgraded. I want to buy a new dt500D and UR92 to use with my existing simplex system.
Do I install the new UR92 in line/daisy chained somehow? Remove the UR91 lst? How exactly do I blend the duplex throttle and system with my old simplex system and still use both types of systems/throttles when operators bring their simplex RADIO throttles over?
I've read through digi's site and poked around otherwise, but still confused. Please advise? I plan on ordering a.s.a.p. Thanks!
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
Aye, Captain,
I've got UR-91s; UR-92s and UP5s all over the layout...
Well, to be more specific, three UR92s, two UR91s and maybe a dozen UP5s.
They all play together nicely.
I found out after quite a bit of trial and error that you want to be sure your UR92s get at least 14 VDC. In the beginning I just plugged mine into my existing 12 VDC supply and didn't notice the Digitrax note on using not less than 14 volts.
Also, if you can, get the UR92s mounted up as high as possible. Even then you will have some "dead spots" (Donut holes, even the mass of your body will block the signal path!) also, some say to mount your UR92s upside down so the "ground plane" will face the downward direction.
Another thing I did was to disconnect the "Track Power" LEDs from all the panels. I undesrtand that there is a possibility of a diode leakage that can cause problems.
Maybe others will chime in with comments but this has been my experience.
Everything really improved when I downloaded new firmware for both my DT402Ds and the three UR92s. Being a registered user, and Digitrax converted both my throttles just two months before the new firmware was made available, it would have been nice if they would have told me or e-mailed about needing an upgrade. It was Paul Cutler here that clued me in...
Still, I wouldn't trade my Digitrax system for any of the others. Maybe they are easier to use but in twelve years, I've generally had very good use out of the Digitrax products and the fact that I can use decoder Pro, wi-fi throttles and continually expand the system makes it worthwhile for me. (Yes, I do know the other systems have that available, too, but I'm not about to change horses this far in the race)
Regards, Ed
I've been using duplex alongside simplex since shortly after duplex came out, and would echo what Ed has said. Both radio systems work well alongside each other on the same layout.
The UR92 tends to have a shorter range and be fussier about where it is located than a UR91, so in some cases it may require more UR92s to provide coverage over a layout than UR91s.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Yup, both work fine together. They are on widely different frequency bands so they will not interfere with one another. The UR92 is not "weaker" - it probably has the same transmitter power as the UR91 in terms of absolute milliwatt output, it's that 2.4GHz is more easily attenuated and deflected by objects in the signal path. Big bags of water are very good at absorbing 2.4GHz waves - otherwise your microwave oven wouldn't work very well. And since humans are pretty much just big bags of water... it's all a function of the wavelength of the signal and the aperture spacing of various molecules - like a prism bending light, the 'right' (in our case wrong) spacing can trap the RF into endless reflections, or bend it so that the beam on the other side of the object does not come out 180 degrees from where it impacted the object. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch - same with WiFi. 5.8GHz can handle faster communications than 2.4 GHz but is even more impacted by obstructions in the path, resulting in a shorter effective range. If anyone remembers the original cordless phone, with the huge pullout antennas - they had a MUCH greater range than today's 2.4 and 5.8GHz models, because they used much lower frequencies. But antennas were unsightly to consumers and prone to breakage. At 2.4 and 5.8GHz, the antenna is just a little strip on the PC board. Same with the throttles - the pigtail you can use to tether it with is simply a Loconet cable, it is in no way the antenna for the throttle. On the UR91, there is a little V of two wires, that is the antenna for the 900Mhz, but on the UR92 - there is no equivalent, the antenna is a trace on the RF board. What's interesting is that the little board you can get to use with Arduino and so forth are available in 2 varieties, one witht he PC trace antenna and one with a connector to use an external antanna like the +3dB types commonly seen on WiFi routers. Digitrax labels their RF board as RF24, so it may use the RF24 chip but in all appearances it is not the board you'd get looking up RF24 on ebay or most shops, the common Arduino ones are much smaller. Might be interesting to find out if the one Digitrax uses is available in an external antenna version, such a thing would greatly improve the range. You can't just connect an antenna, you'd lose more signal than you'd gain from the antenna - there's an art to proper RF engineering.
--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 Big bags of water are very good at absorbing 2.4GHz waves - otherwise your microwave oven wouldn't work very well. And since humans are pretty much just big bags of water...
Thanks as always, guys. So... how is the UR92 physically hooked up? Do I run daisy chain flat cables from the 91 to the 92? I can't seem to find online instructions showing how the new hooks up into or with the old. Something with pics or a diagram. Does the UR92 come with such directions?
I'll go ahead and order a DT500D throttle and a UR92. Is that all I need? That's what digi's site seems to indicate. Thanks again.
Capt. GrimekSo... how is the UR92 physically hooked up?
No different than any other Loconet device.
Depending on how many UP5s you have, you can just pull one of those out and substitute the UR92 for it. The Loconet cable just clips into the RJ12 socket and then you have to plug in the PS14 power supply.
I assume you have looked at all the tips provided bt Digitrax?
http://www.digitrax.com/tsd/KB403/Steps-to-take-to-locate-ur90-ur91-ur92-for-best-pe/
And...
http://www.digitrax.com/tsd/KB37/ur92-adding-more-ur92s/
Of course, there is the time-worn Digitrax diagram...
Do you make up your own Loconet cables?
http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/cms/media/documents/documentation/LocoNet%20Overview%20App%20Note.pdf
There are cheap sources for 6 wire RJ12 data cables on Amazon or Ebay. I just crimp my own as needed.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QC2IO2/ref=pd_sim_147_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QW7VY5GXEQYQK1W19T2D
You can cut in any Loconet device anywhere in the network just by crimping new connectors into the loconet cable. IIRC the UR92 comes with a 12 or 18" length of Loconet cable.
Have Fun! Ed
Also remember to use a PS14 power supply with the UR92. It NEEDS external power to properly operate. It might APPEAR to work with just the Loconet cable but it draws too much power to be fed reliably like that. The power supply is included with the UR92.
Thanks guys. Really appreciate your time and responses.
I think I'm ready to place my order. I'll come back if things don't go right during hook up. Ed, thanks for the digi notes. I think I read them awhile back but obviously was still feeling a bit befuddled about exactly how things connected.
Jim