Anything else that will do what the DRC300 promised....?

Zerogee

Zerogee

Clencher's Bogleman
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OK, time for more Flagellation, Necrophilia and Bestiality! ??? ;)

Given that most of us have pretty much given up hope of ever seeing the semi-mythical DRC300 from Massoth (after four years of promises and non-appearance it's disappeared from their catalogues, and Peter now seems to be ignoring further inquiries about it), does anybody know if there is ANYTHING else on the market, or under development by anyone, that will essentially do the same job - ie: allow an already DCC-equipped loco (running on battery OR track power) to be controlled by direct wireless link, while still allowing full operation of sound and other functions?

I know I've asked this before, but new kit is being developed all the time and I just wondered if anybody had noticed anything new being announced?

Jon.
 
Thanks for that, Paul - very interesting, and above all it proves that it CAN be done (MASSOTH, ARE YOU LISTENING?? Hmmm, probably not.... >:( ). I'm assuming that the US-only legality is just a radio frequency issue, wonder how much it would take to do an EU-legal version?
Any of our members from across the big pond actually tried this out yet?

Jon.
 
It seems that none of the USA makers are interested in making something for other than the USA market.
Perhaps it costs too much to have them frequency and operation approved for the non USA market.
 
Possibly, Tony.... so what is needed is for someone on this side of the Atlantic to maybe do a licensed Euro version of it.....? European companies like Massoth seem to have no trouble making EU and US frequency versions of their transmitter/receiver boards.
Could be a small business opportunity for anyone with enough technical electronics knowledge/experience? ;)

Can you chaps down in Oz use US frequencies, or do you have your own bands and thus have the same problems we do?

Jon.
 
Same problems for DCC people looking for R/C.
Obviously individuals bring what they want in, however OZ dealers do not stock anything like that because it is usually exclusively 900 MHz. One of our mobile phone frequencies.
 
The difference has been that dcc chips offer the most controllable recorded sound compared to the generic sound of something like mylocosound. Steam and diesel locos often have very distinctive sounds if you know them so generic ones just don't cut it even when they're good.
Now the disadvantage is you rely on full track contact for dcc locos which is fine on a permanent line at home but what if you visit friends who only run steam usually or want to run a train without having to clean all your track when the sun comes out for five minutes?
That's why having specific sounds with full control of them on rc can be an advantage and is different :)
 
Stainzmeister said:
Mr Thickey here..... :D :D :P
What am I missing ?

If you run DCC with a wireless handheld controller - you effectively have radio control of one or several locos.
If you run a battery powered loco with a receiver in it using a hand held wireless controller - you effectively have radio control.

Why do you want something else ? :-\
Click to expand...

Pretty much what PaulRhB just said in his post above, Paul(H)..... it is to have the option to run an already DCC chipped loco under battery power when circumstances warrant, with full control over all the sound and other functions. With the DRC300 as proposed, you could take your wireless-DCC battery-powered loco plus your Navigator to a layout where there was no track power at all, and run it with 100% control over all functions just as if you were running it on track-powered DCC. In the (continued) absence of the DRC300, the Tam Valley system does appear to be the next best thing, giving you almost what the DRC300 promised except that you still have to have a DCC central station to connect the DRS ("Dead Rail System") transmitter to - though that station doesn't have to be connected to the track!

Jon.
 
... and, in theory at least, Airwire and G-Wire give you the same, but you don't need any DCC gear apart from the decoder.
 
It's a real shame that the DRC300 has not appeared. I'd have at least a couple on day 1 and probably more than that if they worked as promised.
Massoth do seem to have some problems with customer service and PR, as attested to by members of this forum who've sent items to them for repair.

By the way, Massoth's website still shows the DRC300 as available summer 2010. >:(
 
I can see from this correspondence that there are doubters and believers in the concept of the DRC300 and the variants that are about (sadly not UK and presumably EU Legal).

For my part Massoth if you are listening, I would be very quickly wanting to get around 5 or 6 of which at least 3 would be needing new Massoth Sound Decoders for compatibility. No small investment there then.

But why? I hear you ask, well I have circa 350 feet of Track to keep clean (not counted it all up as yet) could be some more than that. Now although my line is all at least 3 feet high, the cleaning is still something that could stop me running on occasion. Though if I get desperate I can always fire up one or all of my Aristo Battery conversions. But they do not really fit in with my Harz Theme.

Please please please Massoth DRC300 please or Euro DSR1, maybe if DSR1 happened I could save on new Chips!
JonD
 
1&2 already done widely on here , 3 uses a switch no auto detection required ;)

Number 4 is the real technical challenge creating a dcc control signal from a DC battery with enough voltage to run the chip and amplifier ;)

Peter kept promising it in a few months then went quiet and seems to ignore the question now as even his dealers can't get a straight answer. I had excellent service from Massoth upgrading a XL decoder and it just seems a press release would stop the wondering stating we are continuing to develop it but need to ensure full compatibility, or development stopped as battery technology, or whatever, not currently capable of achieving our requirements.
 
Beddhist said:
... and, in theory at least, Airwire and G-Wire give you the same, but you don't need any DCC gear apart from the decoder.
Click to expand...

Airwire I'm familiar with, but my Google-fu is obviously weak today, I can't find any reference to G-Wire.... got a link to it or anything about it?

Jon.
 
Switch Paul? Switches are modern tech, some you're familiar with already have multiple positions in the loco. ;)

You still need to turn it on somewhere unless you have a constant standby like a TV but that would knacker batteries by deep discharging if you didn't use it frequently. Physical switches are very modern y'know the modern ones come on all sorts of pretty new colours too ;)
 
Stainzmeister said:
Technically its a big ask/statement to make - a piece of kit that will:
1. Run on DCC
2. Run on analogue ;)
3. Run on battery power (and simultaneously isolate the electrical pick up/put down - think about it). ;) ;)
4. #2 & 3 via radio control ;)

:P
Click to expand...


The thing is, Paul, I believe we're seeing an increasing number of people moving away from track power of any sort - more and more folks here on GSC have either gone to battery already, or are seriously talking about doing it. The sort of system we're discussing here would enable people like you and I, who already have a LOT invested in locos with DCC chips and sound, to make such a move - even of only with a few selected locos to run on friends' "dead rail" layouts - without stripping all of the expensive electronics out of said loco(s) and buying it all over again in a different form.

While it would be technically possible to have one loco fit all your four criteria above, thus being a "universal loco" that you could run ANYWHERE with the right track gauge after simply flicking a couple of selector switches, I don't think that (1) and (2) are strictly necessary - certainly not on all converted locos. What we're talking about here is the ability to take one of our already expensively DCC-sound-equipped locos and converting it to battery power to run on dead rails while still being able to drive it and operate all the functions using our exisiting DCC handset.

Jon.
 
Zerogee said:
Airwire I'm familiar with, but my Google-fu is obviously weak today, I can't find any reference to G-Wire.... got a link to it or anything about it?
Click to expand...

Here are a couple for you:

http://www.tonystrains.com/productcompare/g-scale-systems.htm

https://sites.google.com/site/markgurries/home/nce-info/nce-qsi-g-wire

Oops, temporarily unavailable: http://www.qsisolutions.com/products/q-gwire.html#!gwire-receiver/c1hur
 
Thanks Peter!

I've just dropped yet ANOTHER email off to Massoth asking about any progress on the DRC300...... I'm not holding my breath, but if I get any kind of reply at all then I'll let you guys know.
Wasn't it Einstein that said the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results....? ;)

On the subject of different methods of direct radio control, there is also this, which APPEARS to be available:
http://www.modell-land.de/train-line-wlan-decoder-spur-p-13898.html
It seems quite pricy for what is basically just a receiver plus driving decoder (it supports SUSI plug-in sound modules), BUT doesn't require either a central station OR a dedicated controller as it works from your smartphone or tablet....
Running the text through Google Translate results in something just about understandable - it appears to be based around a Raspberry Pi board, which I've heard of but is otherwise definitely above my pay grade in terms of technical understanding! :o

Jon.
 
Raspberry PI - Superb piece of kit !!

I have one in the garage acting as a media player - using XMBC - http://xbmc.org/ and Yatse - http://yatse.leetzone.org/redmine - as the controller on my phone

Its connected to my home network, plays all my music from the server in the attic and plays internet radio stations - It drives an old stereo which has 4 speakers - all out in the garden - Two out on the back garden and two on the patio - can play to the 2 zones individually or both together.

I can foresee a lot of people looking at Raspberry Pi's to drive loco's or actions on the layout
 
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