Abbreviations

[atsfguy]

 Below is a list of abbreviations found on the site. Some are common, some not so much. This list was occasioned by my almost 80 year old brain not recognizing some of those included and I hope this helps others. Please feel free to add any wish.


 

• A - Ampere - a unit of electrical current. One thousand milliamps equal one Ampere.
• AWG - American Wire Gauge - System used in the United States to measure wire sizes. Smaller numbers indicate larger wires.
• BB -  Blue Box - Athearn Blue Box models produced in years gone by. Generally lower quality.
• BTW - By The Way
• CI-1 - Computer Interface used to assist in downloading from Ring Engineering's website. Can be used with HC Sim to run trains.
• DPU - Distributed Power Unit - A locomotive placed in the middle or at the rear of a train capable of remote-control operation in conjunction with the locomotives at the head end of the train.
• FWIW - For What It's Worth
• GA - Gauge - Wire sizes are designated by gauge, smaller number equals larger wire.  (2) Distance between rails.
• GUI - Graphical User Interface - A method by which one interacts with on screen object.
• HC - Hand Controller - Hand held controller from Ring Engineering used to actively control our trains. HC-1, HC-2 and HC-2b are in current usage.
• IMHO - In My Honest Opinion.
• KA - Keep Alive - Very large capacitor that enables a locomotive to cross an electrically dead spot on the rails.
• LED - Light Emitting Diode - Solid State electronic device that emits light. May be capable of emitting multiple colors.
• LM-x - Locomotive Module (LM-1, LM-2, or LM-3) - The decoder that enables engines to run
• mA - Milliamp - One thousandth of one Ampere.
• MFLC - Motor Full Load Current.
• MRH - Model Railroad Hobbyist - Free E-magazine published by Joe Fugate monthly. Recently announced an extra 150 pages will be available with a premium price of $1.99 per issue.
• NMRA - National Model Railroad Association - National organization of modelers for purpose of furthering the hobby.
• OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer - The company that produced a locomotive or other piece of durable goods.
• OP - Original Post or Original Poster - Person, or Post which started the discussion.
• PM - Personal Message - A means by which one may contact an RPUG member by clicking on the “envelope” on the left side of a message.
• RE - Ring Engineering - Manufacturer of Railpro and associated items.
• RPA - Rail Pro Assistant. An aid in downloading software from Ring Engineering.
• Sugar Cube - A small speaker with very good quality, used to produce sound in conjunction with a sound module (LM-2S, LM-3S).

24. RF -Radio Frequency
25. PS - Power Supply
26. SMPS - Switch Mode Power Supply
27. AFIK - As Far As I Know
cecil

[Alan]

Below is a list of abbreviations found on the site. Some are common, some not so much. This list was occasioned by my almost 80 year old brain not recognizing some of those included and I hope this helps others. Please feel free to add any wish.


 

• A - Ampere - a unit of electrical potential current. One thousand milliamp hours equal one Ampere.
• AWG - American Wire Gauge - System used in the United States to measure wire sizes. Smaller numbers indicate larger wires.
• BB -  Blue Box - Athearn Blue Box models produced in years gone by. Generally lower quality.
• BTW - By The Way
• CI-1 - Computer Interface used to assist in downloading from Ring Engineering's website. Can be used with HC Sim to run trains.
• DPU - Distributed Power Unit - A locomotive placed in the middle or at the rear of a train capable of remote-control operation in conjunction with the locomotives at the head end of the train.
• FWIW - For What It's Worth
• GA - Gauge - Wire sizes are designated by gauge, smaller number equals larger wire.  (2) Distance between rails.
• GUI - Graphical User Interface - A method by which one interacts with on screen object.
• HC - Hand Controller - Hand held controller from Ring Engineering used to actively control our trains. HC-1, HC-2 and HC-2b are in current usage.
• IMHO - In My Honest Opinion.
• KA - Keep Alive - Very large capacitor that enables a locomotive to cross an electrically dead spot on the rails.
• LED - Light Emitting Diode - Solid State electronic device that emits light. May be capable of emitting multiple colors.
• LM-x - Locomotive Module (LM-1, LM-2, or LM-3) - The decoder that enables engines to run
• mA - Milliamp hours - One thousandth of one Ampere.
• MFLC - Motor Full Load Current.
• MRH - Model Railroad Hobbyist - Free E-magazine published by Joe Fugate monthly. Recently announced an extra 150 pages will be available with a premium price of $1.99 per issue.
• NMRA - National Model Railroad Association - National organization of modelers for purpose of furthering the hobby.
• OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer - The company that produced a locomotive or other piece of durable goods.
• OP - Original Post or Original Poster - Person, or Post which started the discussion.
• PM - Personal Message - A means by which one may contact an RPUG member by clicking on the “envelope” on the left side of a message.
• RE - Ring Engineering - Manufacturer of Railpro and associated items.
• RPA - Rail Pro Assistant. An aid in downloading software from Ring Engineering.
• Sugar Cube - A small speaker with very good quality, used to produce sound in conjunction with a sound module (LM-2S, LM-3S).

cecil

V - volt; a unit of electrical potential
Ω - ohm; a unit of electrical resistance
F - farad; a unit of electrical capacitance
H - henry; a unit of electrical inductance
W - watt; a unit of electrical power ( A * V )
Hz - hertz; frequency, cycles per second

[atsfguy]

Thanks, Allan. I appreciate your input.

[William Brillinger]

Thanks for this great list Cecil!
I'm sure it will be helpful to many others.

I have moved it to the Forum Tips and Help section.

Note: You can edit an update your list by using the "modify" option on your Original Post.

Cheers!

[qldrail]

welcome to the modern world of  "abbreviations" !!!  I can understand the occasion when it is necessary to use  abbreviations, however, there use has
become so common so as to suggest that the use of indicates a lack of knowledge of the item in question. Or is it   "the modern way " moving to fast to take the time ?  Please help me understand what in many cases the item is ?  Keving.

[Alan]

welcome to the modern world of  "abbreviations" !!!  I can understand the occasion when it is necessary to use  abbreviations, however, there use has
become so common so as to suggest that the use of indicates a lack of knowledge of the item in question. Or is it   "the modern way " moving to fast to take the time ?  Please help me understand what in many cases the item is ?  Keving.

Be thankful for abbreviations. The less modern fast way to write was shorthand. The forum posts could have looked like this:

[G8B4Life]

Just to throw more spanners in the works Cecil should have titled his post  "Abbreviations, Acronyms and Initialisms"; there was only one abbreviation in his original list, the rest were acronyms and initialisms , but I digress...

I wouldn't call the use of abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms modern by any means, many have been around for a very very long time (like anything to do with measurement for instance). I also wouldn't say that the use of has become so common that it indicates a lack of knowledge of an item in question, in fact I would say the reverse is true, knowledge (however intimate) of an item in question is more likely to induce using an abbreviation, acronym or initialism than a lack of knowledge.

As to "moving too fast to take the time" I don't think so, certainly not here anyway. I don't think I've ever seen an abbreviation, acronym or initialism here that only a few out of the many would know without having to look it up or ask. For other aspects that I've had to deal with as part of this hobby then yes I agree; probably the biggest thing that (insert nice word for profane word that starts with s here) me is the laziness of people with expensive educations to not put math symbols in equations.

- Tim

[Alan]

Funny story and also a testament to Cecil starting this thread...

I work for AkzoNobel. There are so many acronyms used within the company that we actually have a Cecil-like thread link right on the landing page of the company intranet site. A $10 billion dollar global company has an acronym list on the internal corporate landing page!!! It's called Akzonyms! I just looked and there are over 400 listed Akzonyms. I am willing to bet the Akzonym page is one of the most employee visited pages on our intranet.

[Alan]

Another few for you Cecil from a recent thread.

RF - radio frequency
PS - power supply
SMPS - switch mode power supply

[atsfguy]

Thanks again, Alan. While reviewing the list while logged in, I saw the cartoon you drew to illustrate the relaionship between volts, amps and watts moving through a wire (pipe) and had a great laugh. Thanks again.

Cecil

[Alan]

Thanks again, Alan. While reviewing the list while logged in, I saw the cartoon you drew to illustrate the relaionship between volts, amps and watts moving through a wire (pipe) and had a great laugh. Thanks again.
Cecil

Not mine. From the web. But it does do a good job of getting the idea across.

[qldrail]

Re abbreviations.. There I go Re instead of  With reference to ? thank you to the list of abbreviations, yes the common list of abbreviations  as referred to
applies to most subjects of times past , but  unfortunately in today's  world  commonplace items or places are replaced with As has been said "probably does not know or understand what they ? are talking about"  Once again thank you for the printed list.  Cheers and compliments of the season to all.... Keving.