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Reply to "Future Electronics for Model Railroads"

All of your wish list is feasible except the costs, which is why those things are not off the shelf.  If your computer work includes product development, you should be aware that getting a *_product_* out the door is an order of magnitude more effort & cost than the design+prototyping+coding&testing effort to get an alpha release.  At my last job, we used the engineer's estimate, tripled it, and changed the order of magnitude. That formula would mean the $3 switch machine you envisioned would sell for $90 in small quantities.  The price would come down to a reasonable point with volume but that means the manufacturer knows the market, can produce the product, and sell it at a decent profit margin.

You have to provide documentation so that even a One-Delta-Ten-Tango can install and use your product.  Then there is ongoing warranty support costs that must be built into the sales price.  Fail at these things and the Internet blogs will kill your sales. 

A few weeks ago, a forum poster asked about getting a layout he bought with servo+Arduino switch controllers working.  Since there was no support available, the solution was to tear it all out and install Tortoise machines.

Every time I wince at the price of Lionel's LCS products, I remind myself that these are "products" and not a kit for the enthusiast.  I can plug and play with a high probability of success if I actually read the fine manuals.

WRT the future of train control electronics, reliable communication is the challenge.  Bluetooth is already available and I would expect to see WiFi-based engine control to emerge.   All of these technologies have to operate in an incredibly noisy electrical environment.  MTH's DCS was announced but delivered a couple of years later - probably because of signal propagation issues that had to be solved (and partially mitigated by us re-wiring our layouts).  Lionel's IRV2 shipping was 18 months late and Dave Olsen said they had to re-engineer the product to protect it from noise.  With large layouts, range for RF comms is a limiting factor.  Add in all the devices blasting out signal in the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz consumer spectrum and expect interference that will degrade performance of your product.  Add a couple of hundred cell phones hunting for WiFi at a train show for competition in the 2.4GHz space.  I have seen a performance gaming router obliterate the 2.4GHz spectrum and jam the Legacy to CAB2 comms.  A lot of challenges to creating a RF train control product.  Don't get me started on wireless video (without dropouts).

So, while the items on you list are desirable and worthy for product development, I don't see future products coming available at anywhere near your price points.  I would like to see the Arduino and RasberryPi experimenters come out with prototypes to merge in-cab video with WiFi control.  For G gauge using battery power, this appears feasible with off the shelf parts.  I'm not sure the electronics will fit into O gauge yet.  +1 on Bob's comment about retiring young.

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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