Another one from Spur G Blog
From what I know about blue tooth, witch is not much, I think this would be very limited for g scale due to limited range.
If you are following your trains for operation then it would be feasible.
But I think it is very cool.
Will be interesting to see what Bachmann does with it. Yep, 10 meters isn’t great range, but with the right equipment it could be a very easy entry point for kids who already have a smart phone.
Are you kidding? My smart phone, that I’ve had for only a couple of months, is way too smart for me already. I only recently learned that the camera on my smart phone is way better than the digital camera I have. Now you suggest running trains with it? It does seem like a good idea though. These phones will be our everything in the not too distant future.
Bluetooth is a bad choice for outdoor remote control over distance.
Greg
This could find favour in the UK, however, as a good many folks have a small back yard.
My current cell 'phone, which I seldom use, is an older type (no singing and dancing) version. I use the 27Mhz. TE for train operation.
The upshot is that should the TE fail then a new cell phone, capable of railway ops, would kill two birds with one stone maybe.
The Bluerail cards use Bluetooth 4.0, also called Bluetooth Smart, with a nominal range in the open up to 100 m. Real world range will depend on antena positioning but will easily exceed 30 m, which will be enough for most large scale uses.
The advantage of Bluetooth use will be cost (if you already use a compatible smartphone). Also, the train sound could be generated in the phone itself, avoiding the need for sound cards. The disadvantages would be questionable screen visibility in the sun and lack of tactile feedback.
I’d like to try it in one or two of my locomotives, so that visitors could operate them from their own phones. I think that would be neat.
Thanks José, I don’t have a smart phone, but really like the “lets do it the easier way” approach.
BTW on that sun problem, we’ll be using two Acer tablets for throttles and they are apparently the worst for reflection. Recommendation found on the Internet: the product from GreatShield.com . Works very well, even in brilliant Okanagan sun. When I lost the visor on my P&S cam I applied it instead. Perfect!
While I understand “Bluetooth Smart” and “Bluetooth 4.0”, you need to read the specifications more carefully…
Bluetooth Smart is just another term for Bluetooth 4.0
The new spec includes many variations of Bluetooth, not all of which are the previous Class 1 version that has the max range of 100 meters.
On top of that, having one Class 1 unit (in the loco), but all of our phones and laptops and tablets are Class 2, and this combination IS NOT any better than two Class 2 devices under typical conditions.
So until you have BOTH devices at Class 1 or better, and good antennas (again a bit tricky in our locos) all of these great claims for range are iffy.
Mix this with the fact that your cordless phone and your wifi and your cell phone are all running at much higher power levels, and you will see that this is not going to be the optimum wireless system where range is important.
Bluetooth failed miserably in home computer printers, and now wi-fi is pretty much standard. Bluetooth was designed as a PAN (personal area network) not a LAN (local area network).
Just inappropriate for outside layouts bigger than a kid’s wading pool.
Greg
José Morais said:
The Bluerail cards use Bluetooth 4.0, also called Bluetooth Smart, with a nominal range in the open up to 100 m. Real world range will depend on antena positioning but will easily exceed 30 m, which will be enough for most large scale uses. The advantage of Bluetooth use will be cost (if you already use a compatible smartphone). Also, the train sound could be generated in the phone itself, avoiding the need for sound cards. The disadvantages would be questionable screen visibility in the sun and lack of tactile feedback. I’d like to try it in one or two of my locomotives, so that visitors could operate them from their own phones. I think that would be neat.
Sounds like grounds for a good train wreck. have the video camera at the ready.
When I was at the NMRA convention in Cleveland a lot of guys were using iPhones to operate HO trains. To me the idea is cool, I don’t know much about it and I don’t think I’d do it any time soon. Two things had me wondering and both my questions were answered at the show.
1 While I was watching, an operator’s phone/controller rang. He answered it and then got into a conversation and failed to realize that he ran his loco ran against the points of a switch and shut down a group of modules causing quite a problem.
2 Later I got into a conversation with a guy operating with an iPhone and #1 came up in the discussion. He said he bought a second iPhone just to use as a controller. I asked “so you bought a used phone or an older model?” he replied no, he bought a new iPhone 5. At the time this was like a $400 phone. So giving him the benefit of the doubt I then asked if he could do DCC programming with the phone. Answer- nope it’s just a basic throttle he still had to program with a computer or base station.
Now, granted I don’t know much about the iPhone platform for DCC ops, but at what point is tech going to far? Or, at what point are people going too far for tech? A basic throttle is like $50. Plus, you can’t answer it and wreck your train.
Terry
Too true Terry.
I have 4 old iPhones that cost me nothing, since they aren’t registered they don’t ring, and we have a free program that creates basic throttles, select loco, set speed, consist, throw switches.
So they are useful. I have the full featured throttles for programming, but we do more running than programming, as it should be.
Greg
Not at all interested in this hi tech stuff but I did watch the movie, just out of curiosity why does the headlight appear to blink all the time ? Track continuity issues or something else ? Mars light simulation ?
Bad software code, maybe was trying to simulate flicker.
Did you notice sound is of steam loco with chuffing?
It’s easy to make a rudimentary decoder with a few functions… it takes work to make a good decoder with all the features working correctly.
I’ll stick with my non proprietary DCC system with lots of options on who I buy my equipment from.
Greg
Greg, I was wondering if anyone else noticed the cuffing coming from a diesel.
David Maynard said:
Greg, I was wondering if anyone else noticed the cuffing coming from a diesel.
I thought it was normal. I once loaded the Phoenix in my FA-1 with a generic steamer and took it to a show, just to see if anyone would notice. The HO guys were horrified, but all the kids thought it was cool.
I went to friends house and changed all his steamers to diesel sound. Good times, good times.
Terry
Terry, diesels with steam sound is ok. Steamers with diesel sounds is just wrong. 