You can no longer buy the simplex throttles or radio receiver, the UR91. However, the UR90. which is IR ONLY, the UR91, and the UR92 all included the IR portion along with the respective radio.
It's really not confusing - duplex radio receiver needs duplex throttles, simples radio receiver needs simplex throttles. There's a guy with a whole video on YouTube who bought a UR92 duplex reciever and then tried to save a few bucks by buying the UT4R simplex cab instead of a UT4D duplex equipped cab. Not sure how you really can make that mistake - like goes with like.
If you have enough throttles, you cna get them upgraded to radio. Nice thing is, the cost for this is the original price difference. So you are not penalized (other than being without the throttle for a few weeks) for buying a wired throttle today and switching to radio later.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
The original simplex radio used 914MHz for a frequency. That was not available for personal use in all countries, so the IR option was also included.
IR is line of site. For the most part, the top of the throttle has to point at the IR receiver. You can get some bounce, off reflective and white surfaces, but if you hold the throttle down at your side below the benchwork there's pretty much a 0% chance it will work. Advantage is, it is cheaper. It does work, friend's layout is in a room of his basement with white ceiling tiles installed and as long as you point the throttle in the general direction of the wall where he mounted the IR receiver, it works fine.
The newer duplex radio is on the 2.4GHz band which is, with some exceptions, pretty much usable world wide. This is also the band used by some wifi standards among other things. The usable spectrum is divided into 'channels' and if you look you will see Digitrax sells versions of the duplex equipment with a CE suffix to the name. This is because the available channels are different in EU countries.
Actually the names simplex and duplex are not really correct. Simplex means only one side can talk at a time - think a walkie talkie, one person talks, the other listens. But either can talk or listen. With the Digitrax 'simplex' radio, only the throttle talks. The system can not talk back ot the throttle. That's why you need to plug in to acquire a loco, that's the only way the system cna then inform the throttle that is has control of the selected address. After that, you can unplug and run the train. Duplex means both sides can talk at the same time This is like your telephone, or wifi. Since the system can talk back to the throttle over the radio link, you can do everything without plugging in. When you initially set the system up, in addition to the channel in the 2.4GHz band, there is also a Loconet ID, so multiple layouts can operate next to one another without interfering. For a home user it doesn;t matter unless you have a close neighbor who also has it, so the defaults are fine. For clubs that set up at shows, they may beed to change ID to prevent interference with a neighboring club. To set the throttles to match this ID, they get plugged in, which automatically configures them. Then you can perform all operations wirelessly.
The NCE system is also simplex, but in the true meaning of the word. It talks both ways, just one side at a time. Since their cab bus is polled, the command station polls the wireless cab via the radio base, and the cab responds back over the radio.
Oldline1
The IR system is like your TV remote. It is line of sight and so it must be pointed at its receiver. The radio throttle broadcasts a signal to its receiver and doesn't have to be pointed. It can reach into a different room if it isn't too far away and there aren't any heavy objects in the way. The original Digitrax radio system is called "simplex". It broadcasts one wat from the throttle to the receiver. The newer system is "duplex". The throttle broadcasts to the receiver and the receiver can reply back to the receiver. This allows for acquiring locos without having to plug the throttle in to the loconet.
Joe
IR is a wavelength of light. Radio is like your cordless phone as in radio waves. You can take your phone or your radio throttle in the bathroom and they will both still work. IR will not in the john, unless maybe you leave the door open. I'd rather you didn't at my house.
It looks like the IR system only does IR. The Duplex does both. Someone else will have to fill us in on the advantages. Maybe IR came first and Duplex makes it backward compatible?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I'm not very savvy when it comes to Digitrax. I get lost in their website and would like to know if their IR is the same as their Radio or Duplex systems. Thanks for any help.
oldline1