That's certainly being done in the larger scales such as G, and all of my locomotives are wireless, battery operated. Battery technology has not reached the point yet of being able to be fit into HO together with a wireless receiver/decoder, but that is likely to change in less than 5 years.
Technology now exists to recharge cell phones and other similar devices using some form of RF. Therefore it is only a matter of time that this will be available to run our HO loco's as most modern can motors run on much less then 1 amp.
cacole wrote: That's certainly being done in the larger scales such as G, and all of my locomotives are wireless, battery operated. Battery technology has not reached the point yet of being able to be fit into HO together with a wireless receiver/decoder, but that is likely to change in less than 5 years.
The bad news is I'll end up having to retrofit all my new DCC sound equipped locos that are currently the latest and greatest. It's going to be like PCs were in the 1980s and 1990s when you had to upgrade every 2 years or you were out of touch and 2 months after you bought one, there was a newer model that was cheaper and more powerful.
caellis wrote: Technology now exists to recharge cell phones and other similar devices using some form of RF. Therefore it is only a matter of time that this will be available to run our HO loco's as most modern can motors run on much less then 1 amp.
I suspect that will be the next step within the next 10 years..Just think we would no longer worry about cleaning track! That would revolutionize the hobby in its self!
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
An R/C car that is already on the market (look at RS) with that transmitter and an F7 would work. In steam, I do not know. The run time would be short like the R/C car.
The Cedar Branch & Western--The Hillbilly Line!
Some time ago (about the time that ASTRAC appeared) one modeler built a radio controlled battery powered covered wagon set with controllable headlight and horn sounds. IIRC, the contemporary writeup mentioned him running it across a restaurant table without benefit of tracks!
IMHO, the next logical step would be direct control of the on-board DCC controller by radio (eliminating the base station,) with enough on-board battery capacity to run from one recharger block to another. If the entire turnout (yard throat, passenger terminal puzzle palace) was electrically dead, the whole "insulfrog vs. electrofrog" debate would be moot. Recharger blocks could be the switchless main tracks between towns, platform tracks at stations or other frog-free locations.
Prototypes for recharger blocks, one ultramodern and one ancient:
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - and occasionally hiking Six Companies roadbed from the vicinity of the Lake Mead visitors' Center)