Sound Familiar?

[TwinStar]

Oh man, you guys suck!!!

I'm kidding. I can't wait to see what is coming out though. Hopefully it is soon.

[Morebassman]

you guys are killing me!!! Can you at least say how long till we will know the new features? 1 month? 2... 6??

[TwinStar]

Jeff is spot on accurate with this:

I believe that Ring Engineering would do well, for themselves and the community, to put forth some sort of "continuity of business/prototcol" (sic) case to insure that if Ring Engineering goes away, a continued supply of RailPro compatible products will continue to be available. That could ease the tensions created by the single supplier argument.

Jeff Shultz
MRH Technical Assistant

[nodcc4me]

you guys are killing me!!! Can you at least say how long till we will know the new features? 1 month? 2... 6? ?

It's killing me too right now. I am away from home and can't have a look until Monday. 

[KPack]

you guys are killing me!!! Can you at least say how long till we will know the new features? 1 month? 2... 6??

No time estimate, but usually once things enter beta it isn't far from release.  Depends on how much work needs to be done to fix bugs, etc found in beta testing.

-Kevin

[Alan]

Jeff is spot on accurate with this:

I believe that Ring Engineering would do well, for themselves and the community, to put forth some sort of "continuity of business/prototcol" (sic) case to insure that if Ring Engineering goes away, a continued supply of RailPro compatible products will continue to be available. That could ease the tensions created by the single supplier argument.

Yes and No. A statement may pacify some people and that would be good. However, a statement is nothing more than a statement. It is not a money back guarantee. So, it is really only a feel good thing. But if it leads to more RP sales....

While it is prudent to evaluate pros and cons, I believe the single supplier issue is way overblown. Many, many things people buy are single supplier or proprietary yet they don't factor it into their buying decision and they don't lay awake at night worrying about it. Do you not buy a Maytag washing machine because you can't be sure Maytag will stay in business? (just an example to make a point, I know on the inside washing machines are fairly generic)

Let's say for a moment Ring did go away. What is the worst that can happen? You would have to buy a DCC Command System when you purchase your first DCC decoder. All along you can keep using your RP stuff and convert it to DCC at your leisure. Doesn't sound like a crisis to me.

[TwinStar]

Alan,

You are correct but I can understand the sentiment. Maytag isn't going to go out of business with the death or retirement of its CEO or a board member. Ring may. As so many small businesses in this hobby close the doors with a death or retirement it is understandable to either look for longevity or to buy everything you might ever need while it's available. Details Associates parts come to mind.

Truthfully, many of the posters concerned about Ring going out of business will probably succumb to Father Time long before Ring shuts its doors. If it is a financial success I'd have to think another vendor would purchase the assets and continue the line. It'd be nice if Walthers would just buy every going out of business shop and continue the product lines. One can hope.

I think Tim and I are around the same age, 41, and I'm not at all concerned about outliving RailPro. If Ring does go out of business tomorrow then I call dibs on all of Bill's stock!

[Alan]

Yeah Jacob, you are right. A one-man operation does raise the risk level. I suppose it boils down to an individual's risk tolerance - stocks vs money markets. Unlike a financial crash, I don't see changing out a control system as a major life event. Some may.

[MustDecide]

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 just as I was about to place my order. Now I need to wait again.  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.

[darryl.trains]

 
Even "IF" RP went out of business and hopefully it doesn't,  mean the product will not be useable for a long time as it is presently. I remember having Keller Engineering products, 1992, still working long after he closed shop and then when I decided to sell my goodies, there were many folks willing to pay good money for hoard. I suggest having fun with RP and forget about what might happen much later down the track, pun intended !  Cheers, salute or your salutations... TOF in Arid-Zona

[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]

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.

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]

If y'all, and now me, are looking at replacing short lived equipment then maybe we bought the wrong stuff to begin with.

I'm confused. What short lived equipment?  There are some major software upgrades coming, but that's it.

But this recent talk of Ring Engineering and going out of business

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]

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.

Stop it Bill. Just stop it. The suspense was already high enough and then you go and add this. You're killing us!

what is the MTF

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.

I bet RP even transmits a square wave signal

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.

I learned 50 years ago to not worry about things I can't control.

Right on brother. Same here.

[William Brillinger]

Stop it Bill. Just stop it.

Sorry.