Jump to content
 

Railmagic


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, Andymsa said:


it is only down stream on the track feeds. But data still needs to go back to the command station via a data bus. For me that is loconet

The position data doesn’t go by loconet. His system includes a throttle capability whereby control is done using your existing command station  that needs a link to the command station 

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Junctionmad said:

The position data doesn’t go by loconet. His system includes a throttle capability whereby control is done using your existing command station  that needs a link to the command station 


I didn’t make any reference to position data. The poster did not see why loconet would be involved when his system is downstream. Regardless of his system works there still needs to be a data sent back to the command station. This was in reference to a digitrax system .

Link to post
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, Andymsa said:


I didn’t make any reference to position data. The poster did not see why loconet would be involved when his system is downstream. Regardless of his system works there still needs to be a data sent back to the command station. This was in reference to a digitrax system .

My own view is that a Railmagic spot detector system that outputted  digital outputs that could be therefore feedback into iTrain , TrainController and jmri would actually be useful. 
 

I simply don’t buy the fact that this “ guy” in his bedroom is going to duplicate a detector system , the functionality of TrainController and produce a sound based DCC decoder to boot. 
 

That’s replicating the output of 3-4 established companies. 
 

cant see that happening 

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
1 hour ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

The thread that never ends...........

 

Not necessarily...  

 

If you can somehow work out where it is now and how fast it is going you should be able to work out where it will stop to an accuracy of +/- one page.

  • Funny 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, BoD said:

 

Not necessarily...  

 

If you can somehow work out where it is now and how fast it is going you should be able to work out where it will stop to an accuracy of +/- one page.


I would expect paragraph accuracy at least :dancer:

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, njee20 said:

You do appear to be deliberately obtuse. All the systems use some logic and calculations to say “this train was at X position, travelling at Y speed, therefore it’s now here”. Whether that’s done by profiling the speed of a loco and defining the length of each block, or by using back EMF, or magic, it’s still the same. It’s deducing where a train is until it is told the next position.
 

Regular speed feedback is no more useful than knowing a loco is at speed step X and that means Y mm/second covered, if I held my finger in front of a loco either system would fail. Railmagic is not a solution in this respect. It is not providing real-time position info.   

Hi,

 

But RailMagic does know how to work out the position more often as every time a magnet comes within range RailMagic can adjust the estimate of where the train is. I agree RailMagic's use of back EMF info fed back to the RailMagic control unit will fail if the loco is held manually in position and spins its wheels. However when allowed to go on its way it will update its position as soon as it comes into range of the next magnet. 

 

Regards

 

Nick

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

As will any of the existing systems. That’s how they work. You can have 5cm blocks if you want definitive location information to the nearest 5cm. It will always be derived between these points regardless of system. This has been covered many times.  

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, NIK said:

Hi,

But RailMagic does know how to work out the position more often as every time a magnet comes within range RailMagic can adjust the estimate of where the train is.

The impession I have from the Railmagic site is that the locos should never be out of range, the idea being that magnets are cheap and you deploy enough of them to ensure that the entire layout is covered. Thus providing a continuous position reference.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, NIK said:

Hi,

 

But RailMagic does know how to work out the position more often as every time a magnet comes within range RailMagic can adjust the estimate of where the train is. I agree RailMagic's use of back EMF info fed back to the RailMagic control unit will fail if the loco is held manually in position and spins its wheels. However when allowed to go on its way it will update its position as soon as it comes into range of the next magnet. 

 

Regards

 

Nick

which is the same for every spot detection system linked back to a computer , ie TrainController etc , nothing new there 

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Grovenor said:

The impession I have from the Railmagic site is that the locos should never be out of range, the idea being that magnets are cheap and you deploy enough of them to ensure that the entire layout is covered. Thus providing a continuous position reference.

I dont think so , as the manual mentions that you cant have too many close together , so it remains an issue whether complicated trackwork can be handled 

 

secondly the position is indicated by you the user. What happens is you place the magnets and then position the train within the magnetic filed and give the tracker the pattern ID  number , ie position A, it then memories the flux/field orientation patterns from magnets it can sense and applies your pattern ID to that pattern . Each time it detects that pattern it tells the RailMagic box  "hello 'Im at pattern ID # position"

 

The BEMF is simply used instead of commanded speed profiling ( TC & iTrain ) as as means of then estimating run distance from a known point . This is used to effect a slowdown and stop , but then TC does that to  

 

what's clear is there is no continuous position update process , That requires triangulation , each "spot" detection point is logged by you and a calibration is performed to acquire the calibration at that "spot "

Edited by Junctionmad
Link to post
Share on other sites

looking at the layout measuring video its unclear how many magnets are being used .  It does seem that the loco can establish patterns upto 2 metre away but the recommended spacing is 20 - 100cm  

 

Hence I think ill modify my previous statements , It is capable of establishing multiple position detections , how many is not clear , if you look at the track measuring video  , you can see that you use a given loco to "walk " the  track on the mimic panel . measuring each section .  again whether this is by BEMF sensing or multiple magnetic field sensing is not clear .

 

Hence the system is more capable then a single point spot detection 

 

again its not clear if the positioning is continuous or a series of discrete points 

 

whats clear is that with magnets  min 20-100cm apart that's a lot of reference points on a layout  with any sort of complicated track . which suggests that a near real time continuous update of position is possible 

Edited by Junctionmad
Link to post
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Andymsa said:

Groundhog day:D

 

The thread that never ends...........

 

18 hours ago, Andymsa said:

Groundhog day:D

 

The thread that never ends...........

 

18 hours ago, Andymsa said:

Groundhog day:D

 

The thread that never ends...........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

  • Funny 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 29/08/2021 at 20:11, Andymsa said:
1 hour ago, Ron Ron Ron said:

 

The thread that never ends...........

 

 

The thread that never ends...........

 

 

The thread that never ends...........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Nobody forces you to read it so stop whinging 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
  • 1 year later...
  • RMweb Gold

As we've heard nothing for a while, thought I'd have a look at the Railmagic site.  Seems lots has changed but nothing available yet. You now need a "CoCommander" for every booster, and a "CoDecoder" for every DCC decoder you have. Plus not only track magnets (now an oblong shape) but also turnout magnets (round ones). 

 

There's a full price list of the components, so out of interest I did a quick calculation on what it would cost me, assuming my layout was already DCC-controlled including turnouts. I have 3 boosters (one dedicated to accessories), 85 locos and 70 turnouts. Total cost for Railmagic components - £2067 which includes 20% VAT. Alternatives? Well I have around 80 blocks and Digikeijs DR4088 occupancy detectors for these cost me around £350 last year. Then I would need to choose some software. Compared to Railmagic's "Virtual Engine Driver", the free Rocrail looks sophisticated, or a full licence for iTrain is only €360. And neither of these requires me to open up every loco and somehow hardwire a "CoDecoder" in place.

 

Somehow think this product is going nowhere!

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...