Signal Research Roadmaster System

[dknelson]

Thanks I have been considering this system since I first heard of it. Yours is the first direct experience report I have seen.
My one question and reservation about the system, which even the Signal research people did not seem to grasp when I emailed them about it is: OK you have 3 or 4 guys at an operating session. Does just one guy run trains? If you have two local switchers at once -- just one throttle -- how does this work as a practical matter.
I would advise anyone interested to check the MR review from a few years ago as well as Signal Research's website
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

sorry this message was written for the z_scale yahoo groups list. I have just copied it over to here. If you would like to see the layou photos please join z_scale on yahoo groups.
Keith

[Anonymous]

WOW. I know a few of you have been interested in the Signal Research RoadMaster Digital Block Control System (www.signalresearch.com). I ordered one in July and received it in September. The time from order to ship was to be 4 months but it came two months early and I was not ready to hook it up. Well the big day came yesterday and I have hooked up the first 8 blocks of my layout. (photos of some of the construction of the layout can be in in the photos section under klwzscale) I really do not know what to say about the system but WOW!!!!! In the eight blocks on my layout I had 3 trains running without having to watch them and stop them from running into each other. This is what the system does automatically for you. Not only do I not worry about collisions I have 1 reversing section in the first 8 blocks and I can freely run trains through it without switching any power toggles (All done with the RM system automatically).
If you are afraid of modifying your engines for DCC and the very large expense of retrofitting all of your engines I would seriously think about purchasing one of these systems. You only need to double gap your rails at each block and run a feedback wire from the turn outs to the RM system so the brains know where the train is headed and can power the track with the correct polarity. Soon there will be a tethered walk around control and then later a wireless one too. For all the specs on the system I will refer you to the web site.
I will now be completing the rest of my wiring and hook of the final 8 blocks over the next couple of weeks. Then comes the real fun of decorating. (I will try to get an MPEG file of the trains running and post on the net sometime in the future.)
If you have any other questions feel free to contact me by email directly. I will do my best to answer your questions.
Keith
[e-mail]