New Members!

[Edavis]

Thx for the help William.Better to start with the Hc instead of the part you can plug into computer?I'm thinking money wise if I can get going with that I could do it quicker.will that work or is it better to just get the starter pack.?

[William Brillinger]

The CI-1 works well if you have a computer at your layout. But it lacks the wireless convenience of the HC. It also does not work with touch screens currently, so it's not tablet friendly in terms of using it as a hand held. It requires the mouse and a scroll wheel on the mouse to work.

If you don't already have an adequate  power supply the RPK-1 is the cheapest way to get a fully compatible power supply and an HC.

A 14VDC power supply and the CI-1 will get you going for less, but operationally it won't be the full RailPro experience.
However, if that gets you running trains sooner, it's a great way to go. That is exactly what the CI-1 was designed for.

[Edavis]

Ok sounds like package is the way to go thx. So will I be able to use the ci-1 later as a second throttle?Iam totally new to this lots of dumb questions lol thx again.

[nodcc4me]

Yes, technically you can use the CI-1 along with the HC Simulator software to run trains, but the real beauty of the CI-1 is that you can download, copy and delete files to and from the modules without the high battery drain on the HC-2 controller. The controller will run trains for hours if you do not use it to copy files into the modules. Also, I don't think the CI-1 radio has the same range as the HC-2 controller, so depending on the size of your layout that would also be a consideration.

[Edavis]

Starting to make more sense to me now.My layout is a around the walls two rooms.Just a square that goes over the stairs.Not real big but two separate rooms. Thanks for your help.I can't wait to get this thing it looks like a lot of fun.

[KPack]

Starting to make more sense to me now.My layout is a around the walls two rooms.Just a square that goes over the stairs.Not real big but two separate rooms. Thanks for your help.I can't wait to get this thing it looks like a lot of fun.

Then you definitely want a HC-2.  Still would be nice to get a CI-1 for the programming reasons.  It's not that expensive and will save a lot of time.

-Kevin

[Monte27ONWRR]

Hello,

New member from Jacksonville, Florida. I started HO scale when I was 11, changed to N while I was serving in the Navy and back to HO after retirement. Just started Railpro could not be happier. My railroad of interest is Edward Hines Lumber and the Oregon & Northwestern (ONWRR), GN, NP, SPS, MILW and UP, Great Western, Southern Pacific. I was running DC before, the effort to modify my turnouts and track to support DCC is unbelievable, and I could never program a VCR, the decision was a no-brainier. Thank you for the discussion, and support. So far I have converted an old school Bowser (Stewart) AS-616 to Railpro, working on a newer Bowser AS-616 (DCC Ready) and 2, S-3 Switchers. Trying to work a keep alive circuity into the next one, can't wait to read the discussions. 

-Monte

[Lee Nicholas]

Hello this is new member Lee Nicholas from Corinne, Utah. I just recently switched to RailPro (RP) in Jan 2017.
I have been modeling railroad for over 60 years the last 50 in HO Scale. My proto/freelanced UTAH COLORADO WESTERN  has been featured in MR, Great Model Railroads and MRP as far back as 1985. My first venture into command control was with DYNATROL in 1979 and stayed with it for 13 years. I started looking at a different system in 1992 which lead me to Rail Lynx which is  IR direct to locomotive eliminating all signal through the rails, similar to RailPro. I was the very first Rail Lynx customer, beta tester and assembled all the hand held throttles until I left in Jan 2017. I first became aware of RP when their first ad hit the magazines and immediately logged onto the web site after RF direct to locomotive caught my eye. RF would eliminate the line of site issues with Rail Lynx and I was already aware of the benefits over DCC but the price seemed a little steep. My Rail Lynx worked fine and was paid for so it was hard to justify replacing 18 throttles, 80 decoders and 16 circuit breakers.
My good friend and Rail Lynx user Rod Loder from Salem, OR jumped ship 2 years ago and his visit to the UCW last Oct and excitement over RailPro caused me to reconsider. I too jumped ship and joined the RP fraternity  in Jan. Although the $10k investment was a little daunting the complete liquidation of Rail Lynx and the great service from Bill made it possible and I was off and running.   
To date I have installed 60 modules (40 with sound big deal for me as Rail Lynx had no sound), 13 HC2's and counting, 4 PWR 56 and 12 circuit breakers so I'm all in and very happy so far.
I've had numerous conversations with Tim Ring getting to know a little about him and his company (large investment after all) and his excitement for the future of RailPro. I happy I made the switch.
I look forward to associating with all of you and our journey with Rail Pro.
Lee

[KPack]

Welcome Lee!  I just went through the website of your layout...wow.  That is really, really nice.  Great scenery, track, etc.  Very cool.  Glad you made the switch to Railpro!  It's a ton of fun to use, great support, and a very active community.  Welcome to the group!

-Kevin

[nodcc4me]

Welcome to the RailPro Group Lee. I like your layout and think it's great that you have a bunch of guys who are all using RP. 

[William Brillinger]

Yup, Welcome here Lee!!

[WyldBill]

Hello all,
When I was young my dad and I used to visit the Tehachapi Loop and that inspired me to build a layout. I last had an N scale layout when I was a teenager. I've been involved with RC vehicles since. I'm looking to get back into model railroading after 35 years. Anyway, technology has changed model railroading and I like the idea of battery power. I really like the idea of simplification the RailPro products are aiming for. So, I'd like to glean as much information from this forum as I plan my new layout.
Thanks in advance....

Bill

[G8B4Life]

Welcome WyldBill,

Battery power is certainly doable with Railpro; there have been a couple of goes with it by a couple of members here and it works very well, though they do feel the technology still isn't there to consider a wholesale change to battery power.

Enjoy reading the forums and ask away when you have any questions.

- Tim

[Tommy Mac]

Hello everyone my name is Tom, I wanted to introduce myself to the group. I am currently working on my layout and have chosen to use the Railpro system. Thanks for letting me be apart of the forum!

[William Brillinger]

Welcome to the group Tom and all the other new members!