So who is using Rail-Pro and what do you think of it as an operating system?
Considering this system for my next conversion.
Thanks for any input
Rick
Looks like the reply I typed never got posted. Check your DM and give me a call. Working from a tablet and I don’t do well with touch keyboards!
Edit to add that I really like it!
Totally happy with Rail Pro, works better then I ever thought it would. Bought all my stuff from Don Sweet here, https://rcsofne.com/about-us/ Don is on this forum and I got excellent service and he hooked me up with what I needed for each of my engines. You can actually talk with him and he will spend the time to make sure you have no problems with the install and that you are satisficed with your purchase.
trainman
Thanks John, yes, I have delt with Don before on other systems and it as you say.
I love RailPro! Have Airwire in a couple of engines, another one converted to RailPro, and now converting all the rest to RailPro. Looking for someone on the West Coast to help me with more USAT Diesel installs.
Michael Kirrene said:
I love RailPro! Have Airwire in a couple of engines, another one converted to RailPro, and now converting all the rest to RailPro. Looking for someone on the West Coast to help me with more USAT Diesel installs.
So your saying that you are converting your AirWire controlled engines to RailPro, correct? This thought has crossed my mind as I have some rail trucks and small locos that are still using the original 1300 AirWire transmitter.
Rick, I already converted two of my engines to Airwire and haven’t converted those to RailPro yet. I can still use the battery packs, speakers, and LED’s in those engines when I decide to convert them to RailPro. I converted a third engine to RailPro and love it. I really like consistency and want all my engines to have the same electronics in them with one controller for all.
Jon Radder said:
Looks like the reply I typed never got posted. Check your DM and give me a call. Working from a tablet and I don’t do well with touch keyboards!
Edit to add that I really like it!
That’s cool, Jon. I do believe that you have now been anointed as EXPERT! (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
Any more thoughts? (I’m VERY interested in the system myself)
Bruce Chandler said:
Jon Radder said:
Looks like the reply I typed never got posted. Check your DM and give me a call. Working from a tablet and I don’t do well with touch keyboards!
Edit to add that I really like it!
That’s cool, Jon. I do believe that you have now been anointed as EXPERT! (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
Any more thoughts? (I’m VERY interested in the system myself)
I’ll say the same as I did to Rick: Give me a call. I’ll be in the car tomorrow for several hours from around 11:30AM to 1:30PM EDT. That would be a great time to call.
Not that I don’t want to reply here, I think a conversation would be better answer your questions.
For anyone who is buying into RailPro and will be loading their own sounds, or wish to modify buttons I highly recommend the PC interface modue. It is well worth the small cost. Note that all RailPro software only runs on Windows.
Love RailPro, yes talk to Don Sweet.
Fred Ottusch said:
Love RailPro, yes talk to Don Sweet.
Yep. Already done that. Don has been VERY helpful and now all his great answers are finally paying off for him (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-money-mouth.gif)as I plan to get the system from him. I will be installing it myself, just like I’ve done others over the years.
When purchasing RailPro from Don, you have the option of having him set up the locomotive module by loading sounds and doing basic configuration. The LM’s come from Ring pre loaded with diesel sounds and basic lighting configurations.
I like to putz around, so I ordered my LM’s as-is and began experimenting on the bench with a speaker and a few LEDs connected. I ended up leaving that one on the bench and have loaded it with most of the available steam sounds, bells and whistles. This allows me to make informed decisions when choosing sounds for a loco.
If you plan on loading your own choice of sounds and lightning effects you will need to download and install the free RailPro Assistant software from Ring’s website. And, if you purchase the USB interface, you will also want to download the HC simulator. The simulator is handy for loading sounds (quite slow) and setting up locomotive modules without using up battery on your HC. You can actually control a locomotive from the simulator, however range is limited. Also, if your PC is not close to your track, you may want a long USB cable so you can get within the recommend 2 feet when making any changes to a LM.
When purchasing RailPro from Don, you have the option of having him set up the locomotive module by loading sounds and doing basic configuration. The LM’s come from Ring pre loaded with diesel sounds and basic lighting configurations.
I like to putz around, so I ordered my LM’s as-is and began experimenting on the bench with a speaker and a few LEDs connected. I ended up leaving that one on the bench and have loaded it with most of the available steam sounds, bells and whistles. This allows me to make informed decisions when choosing sounds for a loco.
If you plan on loading your own choice of sounds and lightning effects you will need to download and install the free RailPro Assistant software from Ring’s website. And, if you purchase the USB interface, you will also want to download the HC simulator. The simulator is handy for loading sounds (quite slow) and setting up locomotive modules without using up battery on your HC. You can actually control a locomotive from the simulator, however range is limited. Also, if your PC is not close to your track, you may want a long USB cable so you can get within the recommend 2 feet when making any changes to a LM.
Is battery an issue on an HC?
Jon Radder said:
I like to putz
Jon said : “Putz” and has been reported to the moderator!
Bruce Chandler said:
Is battery an issue on an HC?
Bruce it’s not a issue just takes a long time like over a hr. to down load sounds with the HC but for $35 for the CI-1 Computer interface Module it’s no time and no use of the HC
Richard
Was Jon speaking Yiddish? I believe that context in which putz is used is important. To poorly paraphrase Britney Spears - “Oops it was said again”!
Now backing away from thread drift, sorry but I couldn’t resist. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Bruce Chandler said:
Is battery an issue on an HC?
Hey Bruce, Coming in late to the conversation, but if HC means the “Hand Controller”, yes, the battery runs down long before the engines do with Li-On batteries. Some of this is more the indicator on the controller than actual battery running down. Have not had the controller battery run down, but have had the indicator/meter on the controller make you think you aren’t going to finish your run. Jon, Ken and I had a conversation about this and we think the battery indicator/meter may not be reading true battery life left.
.
Has anyone actually had the controller run out of battery while running an engine?
If battery life IS an issue with the hand controller, I’ll probably just use one of my external battery packs. (They work well for phones and tablets)
Coincidently, it seemed that after charging my HC-2-SUN controller, the controller battery life wasn’t as long as I thought it should be. I asked Tim Ring about this and his answer was the following:
“With a lower backlight setting, you will get over 8 hours of run time. With the brightest setting, you should still get six hours. Have you ever seen the red charge indicator? If not, you have not been close to the batteries actually being drained. Once the indicator is red, it can run over half an hour. When the charge indicator flashes red, you have two minutes before it will turn itself off.”
I’d also read about an over-heating issue with the LM module and the possibility of installing fans, so I asked Tim about that:
“The only overheating issues were with our first run boards and they were very few and far in between. The new Rev 3.00+ boards are extremely capable of handling heat and I have not heard of any problems and the huge vast majority will not need any fans with Rev 3.00+ boards. You should not enclose most of the module with a holding bracket. Please see the manual for directions on spacing required around the module for proper heat dissipation”.