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Something New For A Marine Scene?

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Something New For A Marine Scene?
Posted by BATMAN on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 1:13 PM

Brent

"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 2:04 PM

The moving boats are not for me.

However, the possibility of having waves knock against the side of my car ferry is appealing.

Unfortunately, glowing water is a non-starter. They need a different kind of display that is more reflective than source.

-Kevin

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Posted by hornblower on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 3:53 PM

My friend and I saw this guy's display at the Costa Mesa, CA train show on February 12.  The in-person experience was quite good although I forgot to get down at a lower view angle.  The guy demonstrated several programming options including water color (it doesn't have to glow), water calmness/roughness, the ability to locate white water effects where waves would hit obstacles like pilings, bridge abutments and sea walls.  The moving boat path was also demonstrated but there really wasn't enough room for the sailboat he was using to follow such a tight path on the display diorama.  However, a larger flatscreen or a smaller boat would have looked fine.  The program generates a small white boat footprint moving along the selected route on the screen.  The motorized module fitted inside the boat uses an optical sensor to follow the white boat footprint along the selected route.  You can also select an approriate wake based on the size of the boat in use and the program automatically generates the wake as the boat moves along.  I think the best idea the guy had was the rocking mechanism built into the sailboats.  In a harbor or marina scene, the site of several docked sailboats randomly rocking in the "moving" water would look quite convincing.  

Hornblower

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Posted by PennsyLou on Thursday, February 23, 2023 10:23 AM

The whale below the boat was very cool - I imagine one could model schools of fish, submarines, etc. as well.

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Posted by maxman on Thursday, February 23, 2023 11:51 AM

PennsyLou
I imagine one could model schools of fish, submarines, etc. as well.

JAWS! bump,bump,bump, bump............

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Posted by MisterBeasley on Thursday, February 23, 2023 5:58 PM

I think this would need a much larger body of water or much smaller boats.  The screen size limits the size of the water, and having HO scale vessels moving around in such a tiny pond seems silly.  Can this be extended using multiple screens?

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by hon30critter on Friday, February 24, 2023 3:08 AM

MisterBeasley
I think this would need a much larger body of water or much smaller boats.  The screen size limits the size of the water, and having HO scale vessels moving around in such a tiny pond seems silly.  Can this be extended using multiple screens?

Hi MisterBeasley,

I believe that the technology already exists for combining multiple screens to form one image so I don't see that as a problem. However, how large will your layout have to be in order to accommodate such a large expanse of water?

Also, as you point out, the current system seems to require the use of rather large boats in order to hide the drive mechanism. Perhaps in the future the designers might be able to reduce the size of the drive system so that smaller boats could be used.

For now, I think the system is very interesting, but unfortunately not very applicable to most layouts.

My 2 Cents

Cheers!!

Dave

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Posted by richhotrain on Friday, February 24, 2023 4:01 AM

Man, does this bring back memories.

As a kid, I would fill the bathtub with warm water, get in, and take my six plastic sailboats, and start a race around the perimeter of the tub of water with me in the middle of the tub. I would use my arms and hands to create a circular flow of water and off the boats would go.

How my mother tolerated such nonsense, I will never know, but when the race was over, there was more water on the bathroom floor than in the bathtub.

Rich

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Posted by maxman on Friday, February 24, 2023 9:42 AM

Hopefully there weren’t many geysers from underwater depth charge explosions. 

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Posted by Autonerd on Friday, February 24, 2023 6:34 PM

I saw this demo at the Ventura show last week. I agree with Hornblower -- the rocking boats are pretty darn cool. Moving boats might be nice with a HUGE body of water, but those rockers look great tied up to the dock. I was going to suggest we invest in one for our club.

Aaron

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Friday, February 24, 2023 7:12 PM

Autonerd
I saw this demo at the Ventura show last week. I agree with Hornblower -- the rocking boats are pretty darn cool.

Moving boats hold no interest for me, but... if I could have waves breaking against the side of my car ferry, AND some small rocking boats at a slip, that could be amazing.

-Kevin

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Posted by NorthBrit on Saturday, February 25, 2023 4:44 AM

SeeYou190

 

 
Autonerd
I saw this demo at the Ventura show last week. I agree with Hornblower -- the rocking boats are pretty darn cool.

 

Moving boats hold no interest for me, but... if I could have waves breaking against the side of my car ferry, AND some small rocking boats at a slip, that could be amazing.

-Kevin

 

 

Gee!!!   Scare the passengers into thinking the water is 'rough'.  Devil  Laugh

 

David

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Saturday, February 25, 2023 8:15 AM

NorthBrit
Gee!!! Scare the passengers into thinking the water is 'rough'.

My car ferry only handles freight cars.

Was it common for car ferries to transport passenger cars?

-Kevin

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Posted by NorthBrit on Saturday, February 25, 2023 8:35 AM

SeeYou190

My car ferry only handles freight cars.

Was it common for car ferries to transport passenger cars?

-Kevin

 

 
 
Oh Yes!!!
 
 
 
 
David

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Posted by kasskaboose on Saturday, February 25, 2023 7:10 PM

Interesting idea.  It does look like a bathtub though.

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Posted by "JaBear" on Saturday, February 25, 2023 11:16 PM

SeeYou190
Was it common for car ferries to transport passenger cars?

Gidday Kevin, while anything can happen on the Stratton and Gillette Railroad on Tuesday, August 3rd, 1954, I suggest on other railroads that the carriage of passenger cars on car ferries would be a rarity.
 
That said,  gmpullman Ed reminisced that in 1973, one of the private passenger cars he served on, it had to cross the Detroit River on a car ferry because it’s cooking facilities were powered by bottled propane (?), the carriage of which was banned from using the under river tunnels.
Cheers, the Bear.Smile

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Posted by hardcoalcase on Monday, February 27, 2023 8:31 AM

Man, does this bring back memories.

As a kid, I would fill the bathtub with warm water, get in, and take my six plastic sailboats, and start a race around the perimeter of the tub of water with me in the middle of the tub. I would use my arms and hands to create a circular flow of water and off the boats would go.

How my mother tolerated such nonsense, I will never know, but when the race was over, there was more water on the bathroom floor than in the bathtub.

Rich

Sooo, that's what motivated your mom to get you a train set? Big Smile

Jim

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Posted by maxman on Monday, February 27, 2023 10:44 AM

hardcoalcase
Sooo, that's what motivated your mom to get you a train set?

Too much bubble biting?

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Posted by rrebell on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 10:27 AM

You can proubly use any size screen, large screens are around, after all, 65" tv's are now available for under $400.

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Posted by Water Level Route on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 5:44 AM

SeeYou190
Was it common for car ferries to transport passenger cars?

Around my parts it was.  The huge wooden ramp in the right of this photo was for loading automobiles on an upper deck designed for such application.

 CEN Ludington MI Loading Rail Cars SS Badger Pere Marquette and C & O RR Railroad Steamer Car Rail Passenger Ferry US Mail Boat5 by Don...The UpNorth Memories Guy... Harrison, on Flickr

 

Mike

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, March 2, 2023 9:44 PM

Perhaps it ought to be mentioned that the app generating the water and wake details is free, so experimenting with the 'look' might be a short and direct experience.

Making a boat 'rock' at anchor seems like it would be a simple exercise -- then program the wave action to match...

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Posted by NorthBrit on Monday, March 13, 2023 6:26 AM

Wrong thread  Embarrassed

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