Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I'm usually pretty quiet on message boards. I only speak up when I feel that I have something to offer. This thread is very extensive. There are many valid points and quality inputs. I would like to share some of my thoughts. My Dad was a Lionel man. I grew up an HO man. I had a Tyco as a kid and moved up to Bachman and Athearn in the 80s. In the 90s, I finally chose a railroad to model, the EBT, a narrow-gauge. Now, as many of you are aware, we NG'ers have rarely been shown a smile from the major companies, let alone a model. Pretty much ALL of our equipment is brass, resin, or wood. But, some like myself, do have interchanges with a 'mainline' railroad that allows us to feel a little like a mainstream model railroader. My thoughts: 1mph I keep running into the 1 mph interval aspect to the MTH DCS. Without looking at anything other than the phrase, I would surmise it would be tied into a sensor on the frame reading a mark on an axel or wheel. This is the way you do it to time your sound outputs with the visual cues. You would simply need to match the number of reads per minute(rpm) with the driver size and you can determine the speed. Work it the other way, I want a particular speed for a particular driver size, here is the rpm to set it for. There would be some effort in determining the correct motor, gear ratio's, and power requirements. But NWSL has excellent guides just for that purpose. Trust me, it's work, but it's worth it to repower some of the brass steamers. NWSL has work sheets and charts that provide a guideline for what kind of motor rpm and gear ratio you need to result in a particular speed for a particular driver size. Tie in a speed table that you worked out, and, viola! You can control your locomotive in whatever speed increments you want. You want the shifter to be able to move at speeds between 0.00 scale mph and 19.25 scale mph. You got it. And, it will work that way on ANYONE's DCC system. I guess, my point is, the 1 mph interval is way too obvious. They may have something I don't know about that makes a difference. But all in all, it seems more like an adaptation of a sound matching system being applied to speed than anything else. Patents I'm not surprised that MTH's patent attorneys advised that letters be sent out to the DCC community advising them that they may be violating one or more of MTH's patents. After all, if they didn't send out the letter, a company being sued by MTH for patent infringement may be able to complain ignorance of MTH's patents. Since they did send out the letter, a company being sued by MTH would have a tough time of making the same claim. So... Why is the claim important? Unknowingly infringement of a patent equals damages. Knowingly infringing on a patent equals triple damages.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community