OK, please bear with me as there will be quite a lot of Blue Sky Thinking and "wouldn't it be nice if..." in this post!
Whatever Massoth's difficulties are with the DRC300, I think we can all safely assume that we're not going to see it anytime soon, as borne out by Whatlep's post above. So, what to do now?
I suspect there are a good number of folks who, like me, have been waiting for the DRC300 specifically because it fits certain important criteria for us:
1) it will allow RC control of locos that already have DCC chips, without having to fit a separate RC speed and function controller, thus allowing full control over all sounds, lights and special functions;
2) it will allow the control of said locos directly from the standard Navigator handset that us Massoth users already have (often in multiples!);
3) it will allow a loco to be switched quickly and easily between onboard battery power and track power, and when on track power it will give the choice of control via the RC link OR by conventional DCC track signals from the central station.
So, first question - is there any other proprietory system that is actually available that fulfills these criteria (or even two out of the three - eg: one that requires its own handset rather than a Massoth one)?
Then (and this is where it gets a bit blue-sky), does anyone think there is any way that anybody else, such as one of the current small manufacturers of specialised train RC equipment, could produce something that again fits at least two out of the three requirements? Again, I'm thinking that expecting something that works with a Navigator handset is VERY unlikely from a third party, due to proprietory technology restrictions if nothing else, but I'd take something that required its own dedicated handset provided it allowed points (1) and (3) above......
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Jon.