Grinkle Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I have a question? What will happen to dcc when some one puts WiFi on a decoder chip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted May 10, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 10, 2018 You will be able to run the next door neighbour's trains. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinkle Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 not if they have a pasword Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted May 10, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 10, 2018 Nothing at all...? What do you even mean by adding WiFi, it’s just a wireless protocol, you still need something to interpret the signals and you can already get hardware and software to use a PC/phone/tablet to control a layout. WiFi can’t power the loco, so you still need to power the track. Battery operated exists, with Bluetooth boards for communication (among others I’m sure), if that’s what you mean? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinkle Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 with wifi you only need power the trackno need for the dcc signal I have already seen battery operated 0 gauge using jrmi at a local club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil S Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 ROCO already sell Locos with inbuilt-wifi deocder/controllers - either with, or without video cameras..... Without Cameras they can be bought cheaply as 'next Generation' sets aimed at younger users - interacting also with 3 RFid detectors in the track to identify the loco position in the games. (The option with each is to control by dcc OR wifi) THE SET comes with 18V dc track power ... 'the central controller' effecvtively being in the loco or run on dcc track. WITH cameras, they are their VIdeoLok locos - the video is streamed back to the PC/other device like the tablet (more than 640 pixels needed) over the Wifi. Cheapest starter in this was the ICE2 trainset (3 vehicles) with bulging camera in the windscreen. The posher modules have the camera hidden in the cab - and cab interior overlays can be downloaded to your Tablet or iPad from which to control the loco. Again the same option to control via dcc or wifi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grinkle Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 Things are moving on guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 This question was mooted when the 802.11 standard was first drawn up as some people said what will happen to the old LAN cables - they wont be needed and will disappear. Strangely they are still there with some of the main reasons being the higher data capacity provided by fixed (optic or copper) cables, plus the inherently much more reliability and have significantly lower packet loss. Exactly the same will apply to DCC - if anyone can be bothered with the noise suppression required to overcome the motor interference and can then make it work inside metal body at a price that the market will pay. It will come, but DCC in the current guise will remain and Wi-Fi, like Bluetooth control, will be a useful addition to those that are in a scale large enough to use it and that have the cash to afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter220950 Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) with wifi you only need power the trackno need for the dcc signal I have already seen battery operated 0 gauge using jrmi at a local club If it's using JMRI surely it has a DCC signal through the track and a decoder in the loco, so it does need a DCC signal? Peter Edited May 11, 2018 by peter220950 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted May 11, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2018 Things are moving on guys Moving on where, and for whom? While I can see wifi with battery power, or even solar, has real benefits for the large-scale community outdoors, I fail to see any great attraction for those of us in the far more popular smaller scales indoors, where battery technology needs to go quite some way to be useful in 4mm, let alone 2mm/N. And in those small scales any space is increasingly being used for sound. I am happy with my Digitrax radio/IR mix, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trog Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I like the idea of being able to stream video from a loco mounted camera, and have a drivers eye view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold imt Posted May 11, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2018 I like the idea of being able to stream video from a loco mounted camera, and have a drivers eye view. You can certainly do that already - especially with the new miniature video cameras from the mobile phone industry. HOWEVER as Olddudders points out - you need somewhere for the processor wifi gubbins and a battery. What I have seen a lot of are video cameras in vans or other rolling stock pushed in front of the loco or some where the van fitted with the electronics is towed and the camera lens on the front of a loco has a wired connection. SOME locos or tenders may be big enough to hold what is necessary, but with Bluetooth and/or wifi needing battery power it will be a long time before it is an off the shelf easy to fit technology. There are several threads on here on Bachmann Bluetooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junctionmad Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Wi-Fi will not displace DCC. in fact for Wi-Fi to become a usable standard either (a) you will have simply DCC Wi-Fi decoders or (b) someone like the NMRA will define a new standard. My view is DCC nerds a serious updating , but it will not be displaced by Wi-Fi because there is no standard for Wi-Fi operated locos at present, I think the OP doesn’t understand the difference between DCC and Wi-Fi , DCC is both a transport layer and application layer specification , Wi-Fi is only a transport layer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10000 Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 OK not 00/HO but give them time https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2575667 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium dhjgreen Posted May 11, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2018 I have a question? What will happen to dcc when some one puts WiFi on a decoder chip? This topic has been around since Jan '15http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/95379-bluerail-trains-bluetooth-locomotive-control/ Including both Bluetooth and WiFi if you have the stamina to read it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I like the idea of being able to stream video from a loco mounted camera, and have a drivers eye view. You can already do that. Nothing to do with DCC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 with wifi you only need power the trackno We'll still be having the same arguments about frog switching and you will still need reversing modules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ron Ron Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) I have a question? What will happen to dcc when some one puts WiFi on a decoder chip? This is an out of date question. WiFi equipped decoders are already commercially available, as are Bluetooth equipped decoders. WiFi Trax BlueRail Trains Ring RailPro p.s. Most of these are currently, or soon will be, compatible with DCC. Not WiFi as such, but pre-dating all that, wireless transmission of DCC signals has been available and in use for many years. US DCC manufacturer CVP, makers of the EasyDCC systems, have been selling their AirWire wireless DCC systems, for use in battery powered large scale trains, for at least a decade. NCE also used to sell the G-Wire cab, which they stopped making a few years ago. WiFi is also available as an add-on to be used with existing DCC control systems and standard DCC decoders. Tam Valley Depot's DRS system can be added to almost any DCC system, allowing the full range of DCC operating features (except RailCom) to used wirelessly to control trains (aimed at battery power Dead Rail applications). This would allow a standard MRC/Gaugemaster, NCE, Lenz , ESU, Roco, etc, etc, DCC system to operate battery powered trains. However, there are different variations and permutations in the way that wireless comms can be applied to model train control. Examples.... WiFi or Bluetooth to support a non-DCC control protocol. WiFi to transmit NMRA DCC signals to suitably equipped decoders. Track power with wireless transmission of control signals. On-board battery power with wireless transmission of control signals. It's also important not to conflate direct wireless control with dead rail (battery power). They are two different things. . Edited May 11, 2018 by Ron Ron Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crosland Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 I have a question? What will happen to dcc when some one puts WiFi on a decoder chip? Forums like this will be flooded with questions like "how do I change the wifi channel on this decoder" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold ianLMS Posted May 15, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2018 Wi-Fi is already yesterday's news. Li-Fi is the new kid on the block!!! Soon our trains will be controlled by nothing more than a light switch!!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted May 15, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2018 Wi-Fi is already yesterday's news. Li-Fi is the new kid on the block!!! Soon our trains will be controlled by nothing more than a light switch!!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi But as the Wiki article says "The light waves cannot penetrate walls". So decoders inside anything (locos, tenders, tunnels etc) are going to be a problem …. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted May 15, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2018 But as the Wiki article says "The light waves cannot penetrate walls". So decoders inside anything (locos, tenders, tunnels etc) are going to be a problem …. Just as early-adopters of radio dcc quickly found fat bellies could interfere with radio waves. Life's tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted May 15, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2018 Was that LiFi article written on April 1st? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetheroad Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 WiFi or Bluetooth or whatever are radio methods of transmitting data directly from your hand controller to the receiver in the loco. this means you don't need a DCC style base station to provide data to the loco through the track. This has obvious advantages as the track only has to provide the power, or you can use an on board battery to remove the need for any track power. BlueRail trains original BlueHorse board shows a glimpse of the future as it seamlessly auto switches between track power and on board battery, removing any worries about live frogs etc You can run it purely using on board batteries as well. Radio control with battery power is entirely possible in 00 scale even with present battery technology. I have diesel locos that can run for hours on standard NiMh AAA rechargeable batteries. IMO existing battery technology is sufficient to power almost all 00 scale trains in normal operating sessions. I have over 40 converted steam and diesel locos. Oh the joy of no track wiring and track cleaning twice a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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