Sound Familiar?

[William Brillinger]

Yes Tim, it was your words that inspired me to write that. Thanks!

[darryl.trains]

 For me, electronics was the way to go in model railroading as like everyone else I had just plain DC control to start with and that was it for the time being. Then I ran across Keller Engineering for a start in Electronic engine control. Quite a feature for it's time but time was really short as along came DCC with NMRA standards. All well and good so I jumped into DCC and even tho it had interesting features, I didn't like the programing and trying to remember the CV's, well some of them, was not my bag. I was thankful that NMRA did make the standards and still do but now they are promoting LCC as DCC is overloaded or so to speak.

 My first change cost me dearly as I had pile of Keller Engineering products that I disposed long ago. The demand was there, due to the higher initial cost, for cheap used parts..  It was easy to find a new home even tho I took a direct hit..

So many moons went by and then I discovered RP.  And you must now know the rest of the story.

 RP will last me until the final train pulls out and hopeful not too soon, NOT too soon.

 I find this banter amusing but very useful as long as it doesn't get ugly and so far it has been nice. I guess the asbestos suit will hang in the closet until needed at some future discussion that might be getting rather warm?

 Y'all have phun ya hear?  The old fardt in Yuma

 

[Joel B.]

 Hi All
After reading the whole MRH post, it made me think for a moment. My take on it was that he really didn't want a solution. You guys did a very good job and were very polite, offering him just what he was asking for. Instead he came back with age old arguments. Well you tried and I doubt he will look in to RP although he might like it. Then again I doubt he would admit it.
 Enjoy your day
     Joel B.

[William Brillinger]

My take on it was that he really didn't want a solution.

Well you tried and I doubt he will look in to RP although he might like it.

Your observation is likely correct, however the conversation has significant value to the RailPro community in that it has already been read by 400+ other individuals who may not feel the same way. Even if the OP isn't interested, odds are that others will be kicking the tires soon.

[Alan]

Stuck on an insanely boring late day conference call today I read the recent comments on the MRH thread.

Bill, you may want to take a look at Jeff's price comparison comment as it is unfair to RP dealers such as you. Jeff's opinion, being a MRH staff member, may carry more influence than one from a common forum member. Jeff includes a module price in the RP calculations but not in any of the DCC calculations. Jeff is a DCC user so I understand why he would look through a "conversion to" lens and for existing DCC owners that is okay. However, his equipment list for DCC reads as if the person has no equipment i.e. for a person just starting out. I am puzzled how a person just starting out can run DCC trains with no decoder. As Jeff demonstrates, RP is the least expensive wireless system available. It would have an even bigger advantage if he didn't include a module.

In other news, Dave did no favors for ECoS by posting the video (or ESU themselves for making it). Have you watched it? It is still just as complicated as any other DCC but with a pretty face. $1400 for that??? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Jacob, very nice comment. Rotary phone to iPhone pretty much sums it up!

[William Brillinger]

Good point Alan, thanks for the heads up. I will talk to Jeff directly.

[William Brillinger]

Not quite what I hoped to see, but Jeff has updated his part about RP.

[Alan]

Why would you buy locos with DCC installed if you don't have a DCC layout? Never mind, it's a rhetorical question. At least it was nice of Jeff to edit the post.

I think there is a lot of suppressed jealousy within the DCC crowd. They can't bring themselves to admit RailPro is a superior solution. Understandable. It is human nature to defend your decisions even in the presence of evidence to the contrary. Can't blame them. When the next revolutionary product comes along we will be in the same situation with our large investments in RP. When that day comes I hope I am open minded enough to tell the new system users how jealous I am of them. 

[PatP]

I finally jumped into it, actually not here, but in the MRH thread, especially since my stuff got here today and I am officially now an RP user. Y'all realize this is almost a religious war, right? Both sides don't just know, they believe they are right. The DCC crowd is so sure that they've closed their minds to anything remotely close to an alternative. Sadly, this makes them about average, as people go. I always explained them to my employees as the "we all know anything new or different won't work" crowd. The RP group evidently took off the blinders. I had to do the research for myself, running into the same roadblocks you've already seen/heard.

The DCC communication is actually a radio, as best I can decipher, using rails/busses as antenna. A constant DC carrier with a 1mhz square wave signal piggybacked in it. I guess it works, for 1970 technology, but the radios back then had crystals too. This is the same reason those users have to continuously clean track, to keep the static down. Sadly, today's radios don't transmit or receive without an antenna either, which says it's faulty technology.

I did the cost math. RP was not the cheapest for my system, which is evidently fairly large (20'x30'), but it wasn't the most expensive either, keeping in mind I also bought extra remotes. I figured the prices with and without "decoders", which the DCC stuff is actually higher for the better ones. And, I only figured the higher end stuff for the DCC systems, at least the ones most people were claiming as "better".

Today, though, pulling the decoders out of two Athearn SD70Ms, plugging in LM-3Ss and being up and running was just amazing. I had ran those engines as straight DC and I swear they are quieter and smoother now. That kind of defies Alan's question but, I got them as DCC-no sound for the same price as DCC ready. Besides, these are special. "Spirit of Mulberry" and "Spirit of Tampa". Hey, this is phosphate country.

Something has to go wrong. It can't be this simple.

Enough of this. I've got to re-read Alan's thread about speakers. I've got trains to run.

PatP

[KPack]

Congrats Pat!  If you think it's good now, wait until you see what's coming.  Just sayin'.

-Kevin

[G8B4Life]

Ok, Kevin's let the cat out of the bag on the MRH forum. This feature isn't even announced by RE yet (though many probably guessed this feature was coming). I've known about it it since Bill had said he was "sworn to secrecy" by RE all that long time ago and I have seen the screens for setting this up in my research though the screens weren't reachable in the software.

So, now the info is out in the wild, who's going to start a thread to discuss it?

- Tim

[KPack]

What thread?   

Sorry, I guess I had forgotten that this feature was not officially announced yet.  I've known about it for forever and assumed that it had been released some time ago.  I mean it's been over a year since I first beta-tested it.  I didn't keep track of what had been released and what hadn't, and I haven't messed with this feature since I first tested it.  So, my bad.  I will keep my lips sealed.   

Deleted my post over at MRH until this feature officially released.  I suggest that we continue to keep it quiet until Ring gives us the thumbs up to talk openly about it.

-Kevin

[darryl.trains]

 Ahhh you can tell us as we won't tell anyone else..

 "Ok, Kevin's let the cat out of the bag on the MRH forum. This feature isn't even announced by RE yet (though many probably guessed this feature was coming). I've known about it it since Bill had said he was "sworn to secrecy" by RE all that long time ago and I have seen the screens for setting this up in my research though the screens weren't reachable in the software."

[G8B4Life]

Ahhh you can tell us as we won't tell anyone else..

Sorry Darryl, even though I'm not sworn to secrecy like Bill and the beta testers (no one told me, I uncovered the secret separately) I have to be in agreement with Kevin on this one and not say what it is until it's released. It really can't be far away, heck a year of beta testing is more than enough time to get it working properly.

- Tim

[William Brillinger]

Heads up: I'm not posting this to be cruel, rather to give you all hope for the future!

The beta testers received a huge update yesterday. The list of changes is long and comprehensive. There is far more in here than the secrets of last year and if any of it works you'll all be amazed.

I hope to be able to test some of the new features out by the end of today.

As soon as we're allowed to talk about it, we will!!

If anyone else here is on the beta testers list and you want to compare notes, feel free to send me an email so we can do so privately.
It would be cool if we could connect the testers together offlist by email.