|
|
Post by Paul Cutler III on Apr 6, 2015 9:43:21 GMT -8
How does Railpro work in tunnels, and more specifically tunnels built with wire screening?
|
|
|
|
Post by kpack on Apr 7, 2015 8:54:09 GMT -8
Paul - shouldn't be any issues there. The unimpeded range is about 100 ft, shorter if there are obstructions in the way. I have used it through several walls without much of an issue, so I don't see any problems with a tunnel even if it is wire screening.
-Kevin
|
|
|
|
Post by jacobpaul81 on Jun 17, 2016 9:36:22 GMT -8
I'm considering Railpro for my first HO layout. Those of you who are utilizing Railpro still happy with your decision?
My main considerations are:
Ease-of-use / Simplicity
Sound
Control
Cost
I've found the starter kit for as low as $319 and the LM-2S for $79. That seems close to if not better than a decent DCC system with sound. I'd be planning on using Kato locomotives - GP35, SD45, SD40, SD40-2.
|
|
|
|
Post by kpack on Jun 17, 2016 11:03:03 GMT -8
I'm still enjoying mine very much. Going on four or five years now with no issues. Judging by what the others are saying on the (unofficial) Railpro User Group it sounds like the other guys are still happy with their decision.
To address your main considerations:
1. Ease of use/simplicity = it's about as straightforward as you can get. Consisting locomotives is as easy as tapping the "MU" button, then tapping the locomotive icons you want in the consist. That's it. It was the ease of consisting (load-sharing) that initially sold me on Railpro. The rest of the system is pretty self-explanatory and easy to use. Settings are all adjusted using a graphical interface...no obscure CV's to deal with. Response to throttle input and button selection is instantaneous. Two-way communication between the locomotives (and other Railpro accessories) and the controller allow you to see the status in real-time.
2. Sound - getting better. Loksound is probably the gold standard right now and is very hard to beat. They have been around for a while and really have excellent recordings. Railpro is a relative new-comer and therefore is behind the likes of Loksound when it comes to sound. The files are improving with new and better recordings, but there are still many sound files that are missing. You can add your own sounds, which is nice, but that part of Railpro still isn't as polished or robust as what Loksound offers. It'll take time but Railpro's sounds will improve and be on par with some of the better DCC offerings.
3. Control - See above. Very easy, very responsive. And you can use Railpro locomotives on any DCC layout.
4. Cost - comparable to DCC offerings, but Railpro has built-in radio control. For a LM-2S (sound capable) you can find them for around $75 at YankeeDabbler, which is about the same or less than DCC sound boards from the same vendor. The controller is expensive, but if you think about it the controller basically equals a DCC controller, command station, and wireless setup all wrapped up in one handheld unit. Additional throttles can be expensive though, whereas with DCC you usually only need one command station and wireless adapter.
Hope that helps.
-Kevin
|
|
|
|
Post by sparkyrail on Jun 17, 2016 14:05:22 GMT -8
Can anybody tell me if Railpro would work well for S gauge? I am going to begin wiring a medium sized layout for a friend soon, and this system looks very appealing to me. WAY above all other concerns is ease of use for him. He has about 10 locomotives, is not likely not to get any more, and is not interested in sound, so the cost seems in line with a full wireless DCC set up. I did verify that the engines are all DC powered, most are about 15 years old, from S-Helper and American Models.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!
|
|
|
|
Post by kpack on Jun 17, 2016 15:16:45 GMT -8
Sparky - I'd suggest posing this question over at the Railpro User Group: rpug.pdc.ca/. You'll probably get a more correct answer from some of the guys there. I don't do anything larger than HO so I'm not really qualified to answer. I have heard of people using Railpro in S-scale but am unsure of what locomotives they are using it in. -Kevin |
|
|
|
Post by el3672 on Jun 18, 2016 14:38:04 GMT -8
Kevin.....Thanks for the Railpro write up and following posts, very informative.
With my new layout under construction,I'm now highly considering the RP system.
BTW... nice weathering segment on that BNSF hopper. Simple yet very effective results,
are you planning any other freight cars/loco weathering segments?
|
|
|
|
Post by SD90 on Jun 19, 2016 19:13:24 GMT -8
I too am just in the planning stage of building my layout, but I have started buying locomotives (5 so far) and rolling stock (28 so far). Still have no track, switches or layout for that matter, but once the bench work is done and I get some track down, I'll be looking to run some trains, so I'm carefully considering all of my control system options. Coming from a DigiTrax Super Chief system on my last layout, I'm not looking forward to having to deal with 1980's technology when it comes to programming CV's again! I have to say, RailPro is at the top of the list, but the sound feature of today is a big part of what I want. The sounds I've heard from Lok sound and Tsunami are fantastic, I don't know if I want to limit myself. I know the sounds are upgradable with RailPro, but how much memory is available on the LM2S? It would suck to spend $75 on each sound decoder for each locomotive, then find out that the new and improved sound file I want to use is too big to fit on the memory of the LM2S, and have to upgrade all the modules to a LM3S or something. The interface is beautiful and looks so simple to use. So many options, but time is running out, I will have to make a decision soon! |
|
|
|
Post by fr8kar on Jun 19, 2016 19:45:30 GMT -8
If the cost can get down to about $20-25 per non-sound module, I'm in. It's just too expensive to convert my fleet of 50 locomotives from DCC for me to change now.
|
|
|
|
Post by sparkyrail on Jun 20, 2016 12:32:40 GMT -8
Kevin- Thanks for the link to the user group. I did not come across that during my info searches. Looks interesting, I'm leaning towards giving the system a try.
|
|
|
|
Post by SD90 on Aug 11, 2016 22:44:10 GMT -8
RailPro is still high on my list, actually, it's on the top.
They also have a feature similar to LokSound's full throttle, where you can control the notching of the prime mover separate from the speed on the throttle! It's called manual notching.
Very cool!
|
|
|
|
Post by hirailer on Sept 1, 2016 14:18:00 GMT -8
I have been running RailPro on my layout for the past three years with absolutely no problems, it is a pleasure to use. This is a short video of a twelve car train with an old Atlas/Roco GP40 in the lead and being pushed by another Allas/Roco coupled to an Athearn SD70 pushing from the rear of the train. Consisting took about 15 seconds and all locos ran perfectly together. This is on an unfinished helix with a 2% grade all hand laid code 70 track. There is a small bump in track caused by a high spike head hitting the wheel flanges. Notice no lurching or loco pushing harder than the others.
Mel
|
|
ADK
Junior Member
Posts: 78
|
Post by ADK on Sept 19, 2018 18:40:49 GMT -8
3ish years later, how do the folks that have railpro like it? Have the sounds caught up to DCC (Particularly Loksound), or are they still behind? I'm mostly interested in the comparison to Loksound as being around the prototype often, the "drive hold" feature is very appealing to me. Any plans to work with the Proto Throttle?
|
|
|
|
Post by kpack on Sept 19, 2018 20:26:06 GMT -8
Sounds have definitely improved and are continuing to do so. Loksound is ahead of everyone in the sound game though, and it will take quite a bit to catch up to them. The shear number of sounds that Loksound has available is impressive. That being said, the new sounds that Railpro is putting out are extremely good. Railpro has changed the way their prime mover sounds are edited and played, so that there is no detectable loop. The prime movers sound far more natural than any other sound I have heard. The new sounds were all recorded from locomotives under load through all 8 notches.
Loksound's Drive Hold is a nice feature. Railpro now has something similar, but different. It is based on simulated "load". You set the load on the locomotives (heavy train, light train, etc....0-100% load) and the locomotives will respond accordingly. Set a consist at 100% load and you can crank the throttle up to 100% and listen to the prime mover roar, then watch the train slowly get up to speed. At high load settings the train will respond sluggishly to all speed changes and will take a long time to brake. The prime mover sound also changes based on load. When throttling up under load the prime mover chugs and is loud, when letting off a load and coasting it is quiet.
There is now a brake function that is fun to play with. It could still use some tweaking or enhancements, but overall it is nice improvement. There was a dynamic brake function that did work as a dynamic brake, but that was tweaked so that it only played the dynamic sound and not influence the speed of the train.
Here are a few samples of some of the new sounds. You'll have to forgive the sound quality in the videos....my recording equipment isn't great, and the sound was recorded while it played from the locomotive speakers. They sound much better in person.
EMD 16-645E3
GE 7FDL-16 Modern
There are several others that have been released recently (GE GEVO-12, EMD 710-G3C, EMD 710-G3C-T2, EMD 645 Roots, GE 7FDL-16 Early). You get the idea though. I only wish my recording equipment actually recorded how nice these sound in person.
-Kevin
|
|
ADK
Junior Member
Posts: 78
|
Post by ADK on Sept 20, 2018 6:06:59 GMT -8
Thanks for the reply and the information Kevin.
It sounds like the sound modules/firmware is definitely improving with RailPro which is good to hear. You mentioned that RailPro uses a simulated load and not drive hold, is there a way to manually control the prime mover, or do you have to use the simulated load option? I can see where the simulated load would be useful, but I would still rather have manual control over the prime mover.
Another question, I have several Scale Trains locomotives that came with ESU sound installed. With the RailPro modules will I be control all the lighting functions? I know with ST that in their literature they state that if a non ESU decoder is used all the functions can't be accessed.
|
|
|
|
Post by kpack on Sept 20, 2018 10:52:27 GMT -8
Thanks for the reply and the information Kevin. It sounds like the sound modules/firmware is definitely improving with RailPro which is good to hear. You mentioned that RailPro uses a simulated load and not drive hold, is there a way to manually control the prime mover, or do you have to use the simulated load option? I can see where the simulated load would be useful, but I would still rather have manual control over the prime mover. Another question, I have several Scale Trains locomotives that came with ESU sound installed. With the RailPro modules will I be control all the lighting functions? I know with ST that in their literature they state that if a non ESU decoder is used all the functions can't be accessed. At the moment there is no way to manually control the prime mover sound. I'm somewhere in the middle with this. I like the idea of being able to control the sound of the prime mover separate from the movement of the train, but at the same time it is much easier to set the load and go. The one time I'd really like to have separate control over the prime mover is when going up a grade....I'd like to be able to set the speed of the train to something slow and then ramp the prime mover up to 100%. The nice thing about Railpro's software is that everything can be updated and changed. I know Ring Engineering is more interested in sticking with only the load function for the time being, but that doesn't mean that it can't be tweaked to allow for a bit more customization. Regarding the ScaleTrains locomotives, I don't have a good answer for you on that one. Currently the Railpro modules (decoders) have 6 function outputs. You can get adapter harnesses that go from 21 pin to 9 pin, but not all functions are on the 9-pin. Two additional functions on the Railpro modules are on a separate 6-pin, and you'll need to solder those wires to the lights you want to control. I am not sure if Ring is working on a 21-pin module or not. Likely that they are, or have plans to, but I can't say for certain. I know of several Railpro users that have successfully wired the Railpro module into all, or most, of the lighting functions available on the new ScaleTrains locomotives. For myself, I model the modern era, so headlights and ditchlights are all that I really need. I don't worry about numberboard lights because all my locomotives are custom numbered anyways. I also don't worry about step lights or ground lights. It'd be cool to do that, but I hate having a lot of wiring inside the shell. And I also remove all factory electronics out of most of my locomotives, then hardwire the Railpro module in. It's cleaner for me that way and it allows me to set everything up exactly how I want. |
|
ADK
Junior Member
Posts: 78
|
Post by ADK on Sept 21, 2018 19:39:11 GMT -8
It would be nice to have the option to select which mode to run in. I can see where the simulated load would come in useful, but there are definitely times where controlling the prime mover makes sense. Did Railpro used to have the option to manually control the prime mover, I thought I had read that somewhere? ETA: Started looking back through this thread and found the post at the top of this page from sd90, where RailPro can manual notch (Called manual notching). This post was from 2016, so is this feature still available in RailPro or have the updates got rid of this feature? Found this thread as well from 2016: RailPro Manual Notching |
|
|
|
Post by kpack on Sept 23, 2018 19:53:40 GMT -8
Yes, manual notching is still available. I used to use it exclusively, but now end up using the auto notching with the load feature more. It certainly makes running things easier, and works great for switching operations (except for when running light....need to get that figured out better). But doing manual notching would be great for mimicking slow uphill in full notch 8. There just isn't a quick way to switch between auto and manual at the moment.
Good news is that can all be changed with updated software.
|
|
ADK
Junior Member
Posts: 78
|
Post by ADK on Sept 25, 2018 18:54:09 GMT -8
Yes, manual notching is still available. I used to use it exclusively, but now end up using the auto notching with the load feature more. It certainly makes running things easier, and works great for switching operations (except for when running light....need to get that figured out better). But doing manual notching would be great for mimicking slow uphill in full notch 8. There just isn't a quick way to switch between auto and manual at the moment. Good news is that can all be changed with updated software. That is good news! Once I start running trains it sounds like RailPro will be the way I go. Thanks for all the information Kevin! |
|
