Re: Repeaters

[Alan]

Hmmm... with a limit of 4. Doubt that will matter much at the present time but what if a RP round robin group happens with say 6-8 layouts each with a PWR or two. Common in the DCC world. Sounds like you would operate sans repeater on most of them. Again, probably not a problem since all the layouts would have to be very large or full of RF blocking. I don't use RP power supplies so I guess my layout won't take up any of your repeater slots! 

[nodcc4me]

In that situation you could just delete the PWRs at the end of the day’s run. At the next house, find the new ones. It only takes a minute or two.

[G8B4Life]

The PWR-56 be could functioning as a repeater without having to be detected by each HC if it just picks up the broadcast from the HC's but I doubt this is the case given the potential (however remote) that your neighbor could be using RP you or they could end up repeating on each others networks so RE probably designed it much like any other wireless network and you must detect it to use it but again we don't have anything technical from RE about it to say for sure.

I can certainly understand this way of thinking and don't disagree with it but the limit of four needs to be increased or the power of the repeater needs to be increased (and adjustable). I'd also like to see just a repeater if the cost could be significantly less that a PWR-56 but I don't think the amount of components from the track part of a PWR-56 would amount to much.

If I was going to use a repeater (PWR-56 or otherwise) I'd be inclined to mount one up high, like up near or on the ceiling like you see wireless nodes in shopping centers and such, you should get great coverage from one repeater that way.

I think I might send RE an email about using repeaters, see what we can uncover.

- Tim

[William Brillinger]

It also says in the manual that if you are within 20ft of your train, you don't need a repeater. Most operators are, so this isn't really a big issue when visiting others layouts. Unless you are in the habit of staying in the corner while you operate your train on the other side of the arena.

[G8B4Life]

It also says in the manual that if you are within 20ft of your train, you don't need a repeater. Most operators are, so this isn't really a big issue when visiting others layouts. Unless you are in the habit of staying in the corner while you operate your train on the other side of the arena.

This is true, and even staying in the corner might not present any problem, I just went to the other side of the house (over 20ft), closed all the doors in between myself and an LM, pointed the HC the opposite direction to the LM and it was just fine, through three walls. I wouldn't call my house an RF hot zone though.

I am however thinking scalability, and when I say that I'm thinking mega layout (think FREMO size), in a club setting you may not be able to follow your train very well, at a train show you may very well be running your trains from one end of the layout, and also while the HC is portable the CI-1 in effect is not; not unless you want to carry a laptop around following your train or have a laptop in the middle of a room (thinking of future automation / monitoring etc more than individual control of a train by a person here).

I'd like to know how well RP scales up from simply running a train around the walls of a bedroom to controlling on a mega layout where you might not be able to continuously walk around with your train.

- Tim

[Dean]

I believe the reason you need to 'find' the PWR-56 with the HC is the e-stop. One of the e-stop buttons is 'remove power' ( or something similar ). If you are not using a PWR-56, you can't shut off the power supply with the HC.

[Alan]

I believe the reason you need to 'find' the PWR-56 with the HC is the e-stop. One of the e-stop buttons is 'remove power' ( or something similar ). If you are not using a PWR-56, you can't shut off the power supply with the HC.

That makes total sense.

@Bill or Tim - You might consider moving a bunch of this content to a new thread so we don't further trash out Ken's Open House topic.

[William Brillinger]

I asked Tim Ring...

Does the PWR-56 have to be setup as a repeater on the HC or will it be repeating by default?

Here is his answer...

The first PWR-56 you Find will be added as a repeater.  However the save button is not executed.  So after you Find a PWR-56 you should press the save button.  If you want more PWR-56 to be repeaters you should go and select the ones you want to be repeaters.  Only PWRs in the repeater screen will do the repeating.  If there is no PWRs in the repeater selection screen then no repeating will be done.

Tim

Ring Engineering Inc.

[Ken Z]

I am finding out so many neat things about RailPro in these posts.  I just need to be sure I can find it to keep it fresh while I am learning. 

Ken Zieska