New RPT-1 Radio Repeater Accounced September 17, 2024

[William Brillinger]

New RPT-1 Radio Repeater announced today!

I checked with Ring, and they confirm that the RPT-1 works with any HC.

RPT-1 works with all RailPro Products.
Your HC-2 and HC-2b need to be at Rev 2.52 or newer to use RPT-1. HC-3 needs to be at Rev 1.09 or newer.

https://ringengineering.com/RPT-1.htm

From Ring's website:

Add this low cost radio repeater to your RailPro Layout to add extended Radio Range and improved radio coverage!  You can use multiple RPT-1 to extend the radio range of a RailPro Handheld Controller to hundreds of feet!

All Radios (including Bluetooth and WiFi) suffer from multipath distortion.  This is where a radio wave can bounce off an object and come back and combine with the original signal in a way that it degrades the signal.  This typically can cause small angles to have dead spots. By adding a RailPro Radio Repeater you can eliminate this radio problem completely.








Available for pre-order now on PDC.CA, or from your favorite retailer.

Cheers!

[CPRail]

Can this be used with any usb wall wart? Like say the ones that come with cell phones? I have a couple of those kicking around.

[William Brillinger]

Can this be used with any usb wall wart? Like say the ones that come with cell phones? I have a couple of those kicking around.

Based on the FAQ on the product page, I would say "Yes."

[KPack]

Yes, it should be able to be used with any wall wart.  I'm pretty sure they all have about the same power output.

I've been testing the RPT-1 and it works well.  I think this is a good solution for guys operating on someone else's layout, a club layout, or Freemo.  If you're concerned about signal being lost, or are in a saturated area (show), then throwing a couple of these things around the space is simple and works great.  Either put them in a wall wart or in a cell phone battery pack.

Or if you want to increase the signal on your own layout without adding a much more expensive PWR-56, these are a simple solution.

-Kevin

[G8B4Life]

I flagged a new product called RPT back in July: https://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php/topic,1624.0.html. Why it did not click that RPT would stand for repeater back then I don't know.

Still, should be quite helpful and something we've wanted for quite some time.

- Tim

[ddankwardt]

Has anyone had any luck with the rpt-1 for outside g gauge railroads.  I had a spot that needed some extra signal so i thought this would be a great solution in between 2 pwr-52's.  I am running battery so just needed them for the radio signal.  I put the rpt-1 aprox 30 feet from the one pwr-52, the device is recognized in the hc3 contriller, and all firmware has been updated and still if I walk maybe 20 feet from the rpt-1, I loose signal to a locomotive that is 30 feet on the other side of the pwr-52.  I know that the rpt-1 is working as if I shut off the power bank I lose signal instantly.  So I am struggling with the range of these new devices.  I could buy 3 or 4 of them and place them 20 feet apart but seems a little silly.  If anyone can ahead some light on the situation, it would be appreciated.
Thanks

[G8B4Life]

I don't have one of these so not sure of how it's built inside but if it's like other RP products the transmitter is on the same side as the logo etc on the products wrapper. If that side is not facing the trains try changing the orientation of the repeater to the track to see if that helps; It might it be possible that your transmitting most of your repeaters energy away from the trains.

- Tim