Which Bus for Automation

[WIMorrison]

I was asked a question the other day which I couldn't provide a clear and concise answer for and I pose it here in the hope that the assembled knowledge can help

 

Essentially the question was asked by a chap who wants to automate his layout and he asked me about the technical advantage of the different busses that he has read about and why he should choose A over B. 

 

I know that LocoNet is the main commercial offering in USA, that XpressNet is (or was?) popular in EU and that BiDiB is becoming very popular in Northern Europe. The UK seems to sit between them all with no clear primary system and also adds in CBus from MERG. Another new kid appears to be LCC though I know nothing of it, not if it actually there in reality of just an NMRA dream.

 

My question is simple :), does anyone have a cheat sheet comparing the different Busses, or why A should be chosen over B. 

[Ian Morgan]

There is also OpenLCB to add to your lists.

 

There is, obviously, no simple answer. You have to look at the complete system(s) and combinations available, including the automation software package. A lot of the choices are mutually exclusive, software packages only operate with certain buses and hardware, certain hardware only works with certain buses. Start with a clear idea of what the ultimate goal is, and then look to see which systems can fulfill that goal, and at what price.

 

 

Edited November 12, 2020 by Ian Morgan

[WIMorrison]

Ian

 

I had hoped to remove the commercial considerations by keeping it purely to the major technical advantages or disadvantages of the different busses which should significantly reduce the complexities of an answer.

Edited November 12, 2020 by WIMorrison
I hate Apple autocorrects!!!

[Nigelcliffe]

I'm with Ian Morgan on this;  you can't separate out the software (and its ability to do what you want) or the available hardware. 

 

In terms of installed base and products available,  LocoNet will be the biggest.  Has a fairly large installed base in Europe/UK, and is dominant in US. A lot of makers producing devices which work on LocoNet in UK, Europe and US.   

 

Theoretical data throughputs or number of devices only matter in extreme situations.   In most situations those comparisons are "counting angels on pin heads".     

 

Start from aims of the modeller, and do a tick-list against software packages, and/or available hardware devices.   

 

 

 

[ColinK]

Well you got me confused, I wondered if the topic was anything to do with my job, driving buses!

[KingEdwardII]

Iain,

 

I think you have a great idea for us collectively to put together a set of info on the various busses. I think that given that the topic here is "automation", this info must include some details relating to some of the pieces of software used to achieve the automation. e.g. If you have iTrain + XpressNet, what set of capabilities are going to be possible?

 

I don't think we should swamp this with too much detail on the software, but knowing that a particular combination can provide info on the location & identity of locos on the track (say) is something important to know when you're planning a system.

 

Yours,  Mike.

[RAF96]

The Rocrail manual has a good description of each of the major bus systems, which may help rationalise benefits.

[KingEdwardII]

Runners & Riders.

 

So what should we cover in the set of Buses?

 

Here is my starting list - I am sure that folks here can suggest others. I'm not suggesting that we cover all of these in any detail, but I'd like not to miss anything at the start.

 

• S88 / S88-N
• LocoNet (B and T variants)
• NMRA LCC
• BiDiB
• SSB
• B-Bus
• R-Bus
• RS-Bus
• XpressNet (plus X-Bus)
• CAN Bus
• Layout Control Bus

 

That's already quite a list, but some of them are very specialized I think, at least with respect to Automation.

 

Yours,  Mike.

[RAF96]

As you say quite a list.

It would help if there was a list of  modules, sensors, etc for each system, either already commercially available, planned or yet to be invented.

Most of it is going to be right over my head anyhow, but still interesting to follow.