There is a DeadRail group on Yahoo.

The current discussion is what the new Bluetooth Modules will mean to DeadRail.

DeadRailSociety@yahoogroups.com

Check it out.

Den

Search...

Dear Owl,

Search, and Ye shall find...
(The Search box is at the Top Right of the screen you are looking at right now ).

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/13707

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2012-01-jan/first_railpro

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2014-04-apr/fl_nwsl-stanton-cab

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/21076

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/11039

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/24428

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/16223

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/5489

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/13299

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/24274

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/10873

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/18669

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/2292

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/magazine/mrh-2014-11-nov/battery-powered-models

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/23915

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/24172

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/24241

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17543

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/22486

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/videos/railpro-demo

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/15731

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/14635

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

" I was wondering if anyone

 There's been a lot of discussion on this topic over the last year or so. Seems like a lot of the decision boils down to what kind of sound you want and if there's room in the loco for decoder ,speaker, and battery.  My impression is powering the easy to power parts of the track and letting keep alive capacitors take care of the frogs would be the most efficient use of time and effort. I don't plan to put sound in my TT scale locos so won''t give it a try there but I do plan to see how that works in S scale when I get some track up and running out in my workshop layout......DaveB

Been using dead rail

Since 2010 my layout has been planned for no power to the rails. It is now about 80% with benchwork, track, and some scenery. The engines are On30 battery powered using Lithium Polymer packs I have made from (3) 3.7V cells.  I have some engines with Tam Valley and NCE receivers/decoders - some with Tsunami sound decoders. I have yet to try my WOW sound decoder and am waiting patiently for the first Bluetooth receivers. 

Charging at present is by removing the pack and replacing with a fresh one while it is plugged into a circuit and wall wart. I have recently received and order for both 3.7V Chargers and 12V chargers via micro USB so look forward to charging on the rails (plugged in) as the packs last plenty long for my operating trains. 

There are no standards yet but common ground. CVP and NCE have wireless throttles and Bluetooth will use a phone or tablet to control or address and hand off to a game controller. As the hobby progresses in this direction I imagine that controllers will be developed specifically for our purpose and give the tactile control that many of us expect and enjoy. 

 My other interest is seeing JMRI interface with my engines via the wireless control. This seems very possible, while I have all the components to experiment, lack the time. It will happen. 

There is not much to it and the digital guide by the Owner of Tam Valley is worth the few bucks to download and read. Yahoo Groups and Facebook are also good sources for information. YouTube has a lot of videos as well but few go into "how" to fit all the components into the little space we have in our engines.  

I look forward to hearing what you learn and decide. 

Neil Erickson 

Leaning heavy

Neil, 

I got started with this thought by a few articles I read in back issues, and by finding/buying/reading Tam Valley's guide. (very well written in my opinion)  I'm thinking it really would be the way to go, especially starting new as I am.  I really like the CVP 5000 throttle, and NCE has their integrated wireless decoder/DCC all in one for a really good price.  ($59ish, the D13DRJ) which does lack sound, but seems like a very simple way to get started.  (and I do really like the idea of not having to worry about reverse loops and wiring power frogs).  

My unknown right now is researching/buying a engine and seeing what I can fit for a battery pack in my planned HO scale.  (mostly GP 40's and 50's running around here) I know I could use a trailing car to house it, but ideally it would be in the engine body.  

Side thought.  since you can run multiple battery packs, I could mount a smaller cell in the engine body (say 500mah), with a much larger pack in a trailing grain car (3000mah).  This would allow for solo engine switching operations, and longer duration runs when trains are hooked together.  I"ll have to see if anyone has tried that.

-Owl (Jared) 

RailPro

RailPro is another option, one simply needs to include the battery in the locomotive and you're ready to go with an excellent control system with sound and custom options. Add a charging system and you never have to take the battery out.

There is a discussion going on the RailPro user group about this topic: http://rpug.pdc.ca/index.php?topic=124

Waiting on Bluerail Trains

Going dead rail, it is just a mater of time. Waiting for Bluerail Trains decoder and Android update, should not be long now. Have you seen the added on board sound for $10 using a bluetooth speaker?

Bachmann EZ App

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/board,18.0.html

I have been watching.

Rich

Check out S-CAB battery train control

You really owe it to yourself to check out the S-Cab system developed by Neil Stanton. In my humble opinion, it's as close as you can come, at this point in time, to "plug and play" as far as a well developed dead rail control system.

It's BIGGEST ADVANTAGE over other competing systems is a built in charger system that can take a 12V charge into the rails and recharge the batteries WITHOUT the HASSLE of having to plug in a external charging jack. You can use a CVP wireless throttle that will enable you to program most CV's for the decoder.

Here is the link: http://www.s-cab.com/

Hope this is helpful info!

S-cab

Opinion...

All of this hinges COMPLETELY on what you want from your hobby and what your skills are. I'm perfectly happy with dead rail, RC control, everything hand made. I like to run my little trains quietly, no sound required from them. Building the Deltang transmitter was an adventure, well worth the time. I have plug in charging too, all hand made. To me, that is a big part of the fun of the hobby. To others, it is a dreaded thing. 

So, first decide what you want out of the hobby and then make the next decision based on that. 

Dummies, Calves and Slugs

You guys worried about your diesels could run a dummy (non-powered unit) behind your powered unit.  The dummy can carry your batteries.  Some of you can create slugs to carry your batteries.  Others running switchers can use the concept on using calves.

For F units you should be able to run A-B-A with the B unit carrying the batteries to power the A units. Get more creative!

Den

Pardon the ignorance, but how

Pardon the ignorance, but how does occupancy detection for signalling work with dead rail systems?  Purely optical detection?

Isolation

Onewolf - I have some sections of track in staging that have detectors running 9V to the rails. Cars that don't have wipers will have resisters surface mounted to the axles to provide detection along the train - cheap and effective.

Optical detectors would be best, I suppose, but I got these units from another MRH forum member who built them for my purpose

Neil

"how does occupancy detection

Seems like one could just use resistance to detect cars on the rails, the wheels sets would need to be un-insulated some how....DaveB 

Detection and Signaling - The Bug-A-Boo of Dead Rail Systems

If you want occupancy detection, signaling or remote switching on a Dead Rail System, given current availably systems, you are going to have to wire you layout. Any type of detector weather optical, resistive, etc, or signal will have to be wired. Now down the road DRS system manufactures may have transceivers which support all of these functions, but they will still require WIREing. Ring Engingeering (RailPro) currently produces two Accessory Modules (besides the Auto Reverse Module), but the functions these modules support are far behind the functions available on a Digitrax LocoNet or other DCC manufacturer based system.

So if you are wiring for detection, signaling and switching, it is not that much more planning and effort to wire for DCC. 

Stanton battery powered wireless DCC system

Just place the recharge

Just place the recharge sections at water and coaling towers and refuel pads!