Next Model Railroaing Tech Breakthrough...

[ljudice]

Been nose to the grindstone with layout construction and wiring, but was wondering:

When will technology alter our hobby - the way for example cheap accelerometers, GPS, etc changed R/C planes, helicopters, etc?

Thoughts:   wifi to replace DCC

                 near field communications or bluetooth for signaling

                 accelerometers, level detectors for a "track geometry car" with readouts on a mobile device

All this stuff is cheap due to billion+ volumes in cellphones, etc.  That how it crept into cheap drones, helis, etc...

Other, better ideas???  Thoughts?? 

[peteski]

...and some magical way to reliably supply electricity to those WiFi equipped locos.    Please, no cumbersome continuous induction-charging coils under all the tracks - we already have too much crap under the layout. 

Oh, I know: a large Tesla coil in the layout room to supply high-frequency, high-voltage field everywhere in the room (people and all), complete with the Frankenstein laboratory sound and lighting effects.

[ljudice]

...and some magical way to reliably supply electricity to those WiFi equipped locos.    Please, no cumbersome continuous induction-charging coils under all the tracks - we already have too much crap under the layout. 

Microwave!  But seriously, 12 volts has to be easy.  Assume the locos/etc  auto sense polarity...

[peteski]

Microwave!  But seriously, 12 volts has to be easy.  Assume the locos/etc  auto sense polarity...

Sure, we need more radio frequency radiation going through our bodies.  Have you ever heard of what happens to birds flying across microwave signal from a RADAR antenna?  Let me give you a hint - microwave ovens.

I can just hear it now:  Honey, you are glowing again - you might want to spend less time in your layout room! 

EDIT: But seriously: DCC is finally (after many years) gaining widespread acceptance by modelers and manufacturers and now you want us to just dump all of that for some new-fangled control system?   You know model railroaders - we can't take such drastic change without our heads exploding (plus think about the strain on your already-slim wallet). Lets be happy with DCC for at least a decade more.

[ljudice]

On the bright side it will keep your coffee warm...

I am serious though, there has to be some new technology filtering into the hobby....

[peteski]

On the bright side it will keep your coffee warm...

I am serious though, there has to be some new technology filtering into the hobby....

See the edit to my previous post.  New technology means large extra expense - we are finally at the point where DCC decoders have become really affordable.

[djconway]

How to drive the cost of model railroading even higher.

[nkalanaga]

Wifi and DCC are not mutually exclusive.  DCC is a control system, while wifi is a communications system.  DCC commands can be sent over wifi just as easily as through rails, as long as there's a means of supplying power to the controlled device.  Batteries could do that, or an onboard generator, or solar cells. 

[peteski]

Wifi and DCC are not mutually exclusive.  DCC is a control system, while wifi is a communications system.  DCC commands can be sent over wifi just as easily as through rails, as long as there's a means of supplying power to the controlled device.  Batteries could do that, or an onboard generator, or solar cells.

But that adds another layer of network complexity. And batteries have to be charged somewhere sometime.  Also, today's highest energy density batteries are very light-weight.  Great for flying models - not really good for model trains. There goes your pulling ability.  The lack reliable power source and cost are 2 main reasons to keep the existing technology for a while longer.

[ednadolski]

I don't care much for wi-fi, battery, or other hi-tech stuff.  For me things like more reliable and closer-to-scale couplers, wheels, handrails, and other details would be plenty 'breakthrough' enough.

(Oh yeah, scale ride height too) 

Ed

[jagged ben]

It seems to me that a reasonable next step from the DCC manufacturers would be that the command station comes with an ethernet port and that the manufacturers provide the server software and the cell phone apps to set up throttles with the technology you are already likely to own.  Not that JMRI isn't doing a pretty good job, but for new DCC users it might be nice if it all came 'in the box' and they didn't have to go to multiple sources for equipment and technical support.  And we could use better throttle apps, I'm not that impressed with what I've seen so far.

Of course the problem may be that there's not really any money in it for the manufacturers if it means they sell fewer throttles.  But maybe one of them will go for the market share argument as well as the notion that it lowers the financial barrier for entry into DCC and thus grows the customer base.

Beyond this sort of thing I'm not anticipating any 'breakthroughs'.   Most technology 'breakthroughs' are actually the culmination of a lot of incremental changes that lead to a critical ratio of functionality to cost.  Most of our 'problems' have to do with functionality that is particular to our hobby, and I'm not seeing a lot of change in those areas except in a few cases like smaller LEDs becoming cheap and available.    And if things like onboard radio receivers in locos are to be a preferred solution for anybody, it will happen in the larger scales first.  The fact that this hasn't already become popular in G scale and filtered down to HO scale tells you that it's unlikely to be popular for any scale anytime soon.   

[peteski]

That sounds like a good multi-scale general outlook Ben.  I have been looking at this strictly through my N scale colored glasses. Plus this is posted in the N and Z section. 

[Power Stroke]

...and some magical way to reliably supply electricity to those WiFi equipped locos.    Please, no cumbersome continuous induction-charging coils under all the tracks - we already have too much crap under the layout. 

Oh, I know: a large Tesla coil in the layout room to supply high-frequency, high-voltage field everywhere in the room (people and all), complete with the Frankenstein laboratory sound and lighting effects.

Great post!

[craigolio1]

There was a fellow who developed wifi for HO. I can't recall his company name, Railflier maybe?. He was also making lots of Canadian detail parts.  He had major production issues with the equipment he purchased to machine molds, etc, and had to close up.

He reopened under a new title and has a website where he is selling the HO system. It includes LiPo (I think) batteries, "wifi nodes" (sort of like a decoder) for locos and accessories, and the App for control. His youtube videos are very intrigueing.

I know it's not N scale, and unfortunately when his first venture went bankrupt a lot of buyers who were waiting for paid orders got left high and dry so please don't make this into a "hey that guys a jerk, bla bla" flame war. 

The only point of this post is that the tech is out there, and while for one reason or another  he may not get people to buy his tech, it's out there, it's cheaper thank DCC, seems to be more configurable than DCC, and it likely will make its way to main stream eventually.

Craig.

[mmagliaro]

Whatever it is, it must eliminate the burden of cleaning track.
I still think that by far the biggest pain in the rear end that gets in the way of enjoying my trains
is keeping the track clean. 

That means either a new battery that can pack larger amounts of charge in smaller spaces OR
new metal alloys that the track and wheels could be made of that would never oxidize OR
some sort of chemical formulation that could be spread around the track and wheels by
a cleaner that would keep the track clean far better than any of the snake-oil techniques we currently use.

Personally, I want the battery.  Track will always get dirty, even if it doesn't oxidize.

I'm not holding my breath for any of these, but maybe one day.
After all, in 1995 or so, when I tried my first coreless motor/gearhead, I was astounded that
a motor technology had been developed that could be so much better, in the same size,
and could be used for N Scale.  And the coreless motors have gotten far better, even since then.
We now have 10mm, 8mm, and even 6mm coreless motors that pack enough punch to
run our engines.

So the power/pickup/track problem will be solved one day.