General > General Discussion
Sound Familiar?
William Brillinger:
Ring Engineering is not going anywhere anytime soon, and is in fact about to embark on a major market expansion to cement their place as a top tier option for controlling model railroads.
PatP:
--- Quote from: MustDecide on July 27, 2017, 11:24:40 PM ---I visit this website/user group forum very often to see what is new and see what is happening in the RailPro world. But this recent talk of Ring Engineering and going out of business really bothers me ...... Why did this subject seem to surface out of nowhere or is that part of the big surprise we are waiting to hear? I did not see the post on MRH.
--- End quote ---
I agree, since I just purchased a system. It sounds like one of the questions I should've asked was what is the MTF, mean time between failure, for RP? I seldom hear the DCC guys talk about equipment failures and some of the utube vids have devices running that aren't available now. If y'all, and now me, are looking at replacing short lived equipment then maybe we bought the wrong stuff to begin with.
So, if, heaven forbid, something happens to Ring, does everything just stop? I understand that he has been in business since 2002? That's fifteen years. Some here probably bought the first stuff he sold. Is it still running? What happens if, let's say Digitrax forks up enough money a buys him out? Everyone's got his price. Ring retires to some Caribbean island and lives in the lap of luxury the rest of his life. What happens then? You know, if frogs had wings...
In my mind, what I bought, is a fancy rheostat for a DC train transformer. It makes the engines go faster and slower, forward or backward. DCC is the same thing. It employs, in my opinion, a poor choice for signal transfer but, it does the same thing. I bet RP even transmits a square wave signal, so the only difference is how that signal makes the trip (well, except RP is a two-way communication). None of these can throw a switch (turnouts are the strip of asphalt where your driveway leaves the highway) without some other device actually moving the switch. Yes, they can turn on lights and blow horns but, I have mp3 players that are triggered by ir so a horn blows when a DC engine passes a certain point, every time, whether I remember or not. Neither of these will do that. Someone has to be standing there watching to press the button.
If Ring has decided to do some kind of dual function (that's easily doable, one of my guys did it with single loop controllers back about 1990), he may attract more of the DCC customer base. But, that doesn't mean I'm switching over. The wireless part is exactly why I bought RP.
It is a conspiracy and, they are out to get you. I learned 50 years ago to not worry about things I can't control.
PatP
William Brillinger:
--- Quote ---If y'all, and now me, are looking at replacing short lived equipment then maybe we bought the wrong stuff to begin with.
--- End quote ---
I'm confused. What short lived equipment? There are some major software upgrades coming, but that's it.
--- Quote ---But this recent talk of Ring Engineering and going out of business
--- End quote ---
Ring is not going out of business. The sky is not falling. Ring is growing, and as Ring Engineering grows, more staff will come onboard and the longevity of the company will be secured through that growth.
Alan:
--- Quote ---Ring Engineering is not going anywhere anytime soon, and is in fact about to embark on a major market expansion to cement their place as a top tier option for controlling model railroads.
--- End quote ---
Stop it Bill. Just stop it. The suspense was already high enough and then you go and add this. You're killing us!
--- Quote ---what is the MTF
--- End quote ---
I seriously doubt Ring has investigated. I doubt any model railroad affiliated company has tested. It is after all a cottage industry. If you crack open a HC or LM you will see they are built using off-the-shelf microprocessors and related semiconductor components. Given the extraordinarily robust performance history of semiconductors I can see no reason to worry about failure. I have had zero RP failures in 3 years of use.
--- Quote ---I bet RP even transmits a square wave signal
--- End quote ---
DCC places a variable duty cycle AC square wave on the rails. The signal is centered on 10kHz but can be slightly lower or slightly higher at any given time depending on the combination of short pulses and long pulses in the data stream. DCC locomotives use the AC signal for both control and power (hence the 'booster' in DCC boosters). RP transmits data in a ISM band on a 2.4GHz carrier. Same as cordless telephones, garage door openers, wi-fi, and many other consumer devices. Quadrature amplitude modulation is used by all digital devices operating in this band. The only true square wave in a RP system (beyond the logic internals of an HC) is at the PWM output of a LM for the loco motor.
--- Quote --- I learned 50 years ago to not worry about things I can't control.
--- End quote ---
Right on brother. Same here.
William Brillinger:
--- Quote ---Stop it Bill. Just stop it.
--- End quote ---
Sorry. :)
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