NCE Power Pro Radio. Anyone got any tips for its use please?

[dasatcopthorne]

Just bought an NCE 5amp Radio setup.

 

Does anyone have any tips and tricks to offer in its use please?

 

Dave

[Nigelcliffe]

I trust you are aware that using the device is illegal in the UK (and Europe) - it is using radio frequencies allocated to other purposes. 

There is very little checking of radio frequency use, so low chance of prosecution. 

 

- Nigel

 

[AndrueC]

17 minutes ago, Nigelcliffe said:

I trust you are aware that using the device is illegal in the UK (and Europe) - it is using radio frequencies allocated to other purposes. 

There is very little checking of radio frequency use, so low chance of prosecution. 

 

- Nigel

 

What frequencies does it use?  Would be good to know what the possible impact is. There's prosecution and then there's pissing off your neighbours.

[amdaley]

6 hours ago, AndrueC said:

What frequencies does it use?  Would be good to know what the possible impact is. There's prosecution and then there's pissing off your neighbours.

916.50 MegaHertz (Mhz).

[amdaley]

7 hours ago, dasatcopthorne said:

Just bought an NCE 5amp Radio setup.

 

Does anyone have any tips and tricks to offer in its use please?

 

Dave

You should find what you need here.

https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/200943035-PH-Pro-5-amp-Radio-Starter-System

[AndrueC]

8 hours ago, amdaley said:

916.50 MegaHertz (Mhz).

Competing with mobile phones then apparently. Whether it would actually cause a problem or not is another matter.

 

Ofcom Frequency Allocation Table.

[amdaley]

8 hours ago, AndrueC said:

Competing with mobile phones then apparently. Whether it would actually cause a problem or not is another matter.

 

Ofcom Frequency Allocation Table.

Wouldn't have enough power to cause a problem surely ?

[AndrueC]

13 minutes ago, amdaley said:

Wouldn't have enough power to cause a problem surely ?

I wouldn't have thought so but I have no idea. Ofcom has these rules for a reason but it'd take a more knowledgeable person than me to understand the impact.

[amdaley]

2 hours ago, AndrueC said:

I wouldn't have thought so but I have no idea. Ofcom has these rules for a reason but it'd take a more knowledgeable person than me to understand the impact.

I spoke to someone very knowledgeable about these matters and he said the only way you'd cause any interference with the NCE Radio system is if you went out & threw it at someone 😏

[BoD]

I bet that hertz

[faulcon1]

I have a NCE Pro Cab 5 amp radio here down under where it's allowed by law. The only precaution that NCE states is if you take your layout to an exhibition then it's best to plug the radio throttle into the command station rather than use it in radio mode as it can interfere is wireless security systems and mobile phone repeaters. The power output of the radio throttle is FAR less then that of a mobile or smart phone. In my Pro Cab Wireless supplement it states "The transmitter of the Pro Cab is .00025 watts. By comparison your mobile phone can put out about 3 watts or 12,000 times the power of the Pro Cab. If of course you find that interference is being created by the radio throttle then you can always plug into the command station which cancels out the radio function. It should also be remembered that the ISM or Industrial, Scientific and Medical radio band that the Pro Cab radio operates in of 916.5 mhz may cause your radio throttle to become so confused with the amount of traffic on the line that it refuses to work at all. They recommend attaching the base station which is a little box with an antenna to the ceiling to prevent dead spots with the radio throttle held and operated vertically. I've found the radio's range to be around 150m. But of course at that distance you can't see the loco you're controlling without binoculars.       

[faulcon1]

On 02/06/2022 at 17:52, AndrueC said:

Competing with mobile phones then apparently. Whether it would actually cause a problem or not is another matter.

 

Ofcom Frequency Allocation Table.

It goes both ways. It may interfere with mobile phone operation or mobile phones may interfere with the radio throttle's operation.

[Crosland]

12 hours ago, faulcon1 said:

It goes both ways. It may interfere with mobile phone operation or mobile phones may interfere with the radio throttle's operation.

 

Either way, if that's the case it would fail EMC regulations for emissions and/or susceptibility.

[faulcon1]

13 hours ago, Crosland said:

 

Either way, if that's the case it would fail EMC regulations for emissions and/or susceptibility.

What we don't know was it bought brand new or was it bought off ebay. It's really easy these days to get an English plug adapter with an Australian socket as our power voltage is really the same at 230-240V. But as others have said the chances of being prosecuted for using unauthorised electrical equipment is minimal. The radio throttles have been designed by NCE so that they must be able to be interfered with by other devices and not have a dominating effect in the 916.5 mhz yet I've had numerous mobile phones in operation near to my radio throttle and have suffered no detrimental effects to performance of the radio throttle. Of course you can use software to make a radio throttle of your own and yet we don't know if that's legal. 

Edited August 26, 2022 by faulcon1

[Izzy]

I know this is rather getting away from the OP’s question, sorry, but having a Gaugemaster Prodigy Wi-fi setup I believe there are two aspects involved. Use in the home/club environment, and at exhibitions. It has been found already I understand that there can be real problems at the latter with cross-interference and so forth. With the Prodigy the only solution is to use a wired handset instead as plugging it into the base station is only for battery charging. This is where it seems the NEC version seems to really score if when this happens it switches over itself. Far, far, better.

 

At home or club conditions are generally more controllable, but it does seem having some form of non-wi-fi backup as a precaution to control issues is a basic need whatever make of equipment you use.

 

Bob

[Crosland]

2 hours ago, Izzy said:

It has been found already I understand that there can be real problems at the latter with cross-interference and so forth.

 

The real problem with WiFi at exhibitions is not so much interference between layouts, but the number of mobile phones being carried around by the visitors, with WiFi turned on, each one trying to connect to your layouts access point and possibly swamping it.

 

Radio throttles will work a lot better, if they have been designed with exhibition environments in mind, i.e., protected access for a layout and enough processing power to filter out the traffic not intended for the layout.