BOB WALKER posted:
Battery power for OGauge is a completely different subject. The newer batteries make this mode more realizable than ever before, so why not look into it?
Sure look into it but this subject keeps coming up on this forum yet I only know of one person who posts here that has actually ripped out the electronics in his locomotives and is using battery power. One person! That's it!
In my opinion, the biggest pro to Bluetooth/battery power is you don't have to clean the track or get any short circuits but it ends there. Transformers? I already have more than I need. They are a one time expense and they are paid for. A Command Control System? Bought and paid for already. No pro there for me. Rip out the center rail? Nope. Already did that. No pro there for me.
I am not threatened by it either but I feel that the cons out weigh the pros by a lot especially in 3 rail because one of the biggest pros is that you can remove the center rail. Well, most 3 railers are collectors/operators meaning that they have more locomotives than they can run on their layout at any given time. If they rip out the center rail then they can't run any of their locomotives!!! They would have to rip out the electronics of their entire collection which would be costly and a lot of labor. Also since battery power is not desirable by the majority of O Gaugers (at least at this time) their collection would decrease in value. (yeah I know trains aren't worth much anymore but they would be worth even less) Perfect example: I read Bob's article and I thought it was well done but did you guys also read Ed Boyle's article on Digital Electronic Grading? In it he talks to Wally Myers and Wally mentions all the pros to Bluetooth/battery power but after that he says, "I don't intend to change." Why? Because he likes the third rail. Sure some guys would want to get rid of the third rail but then you have the problems I pointed out earlier. I believe Wally is not alone in his feelings and is representative of the majority of 3 railers.
Wally mentions young people coming into the hobby possibly getting into the Bluetooth and battery power. Let's take those young people: They are just getting into the hobby and most likely don't have a big budget for it. So they go somewhere, a LHS or a train show and buy a locomotive. Then instead of getting it home and running it they have to rip out the electronics and buy the new boards from Bluetooth which aren't available at the LHS. So they have to order the boards, wait for them to come in, and then install them before running their new locomotive. I just can't see a lot of people doing this. Especially the young people in our instant gratification society we have today.
Yes, I know I that Bluetooth can be run from track power but then all you are doing is changing from one command control system to another and while the Bluetooth system may be more reliable than Legacy/DCS when it comes to signal propagation (I don't know that it is--it may or may not be) the user will be losing many features and devaluing their collection. Again you have the expense and labor of changing Command Control Systems.
Many O Gaugers like the sounds we get in our locomotives. Some of them sound quite realistic. So it is good-bye sounds that Lionel or MTH put a lot of time into making sound good for generic sounds where every engine will sound the same. Maybe things are different now but I looked into a very similar system to this over 10 years ago and that's how it was then. So yes the technology is here but it does not seem to be growing in popularity in our hobby by leaps and bounds.
Think there are no electronic Standards in 3 rail? Guess what there are absolutely NO STANDARDS in Bluetooth/Battery Power in any scale! So once you choose a company you are stuck with that company. Imagine if that company should go out of business? (I know, not likely but could happen) Now you have to get boards from a different company. Well, your current controller will not talk to those boards so now you must buy the second company's controller. And don't forget, it may not be often but every once in a while a battery will go bad and will have to be replaced.
I am sure that there is a small percentage of O Gaugers that would be interested in this system. They probably have a very small collection of locomotives and so it wouldn't be costly to change over. Maybe they are On30 or On3 guys or maybe they have a small 3 rail layout and only a few conventional engines. For them it is a viable choice. For the typical O Gauge guy with an overflowing collection of locomotives it just doesn't make sense.
I have said it before and I will say it again. When MTH or Lionel starts to offer their locomotives with Bluetooth/battery power installed from the factory (or with a least a connector that one could add a battery or bluetooth board) along with their sounds then that's when this system may increase in popularity. Until then it will stay a niche system that only a very small percentage of O Gaugers use.
Last but not least, I am NOT knocking anyone who wants to go with Bluetooth/Battery Power. Hey if that's what makes you happy and you can afford the expense and labor. I say go for it. I, like Wally Myers, will not be changing over to another command control system.
