Horatio
Member
BlueRailTrains (BRT) are developing a new system of radio control for model railways. Bachmann have bought into this system and some of their US locos are available off the shelf with BRT radio control. I think this system has a better chance than most of becoming an industry standard given the size of the North Amercian market and the backing of Bachmann.
This system does not need intermediate boxes like DCC. It connects directly from your phone/tablet (either Android or Apple) directly to the locomotive
A few key features: the Bluetooth Smart technology it uses is universal; range of about 100ft; can take power from the track or battery or both ie use the battery as a reserve supply; decoder has 1A continuous rating (2A stall)
There is an informative website - BlueRail Trains – Bluetooth Smart Train Control . The first decoders are shipping in North America only.
I have been signed up to receive news on BRT for the past few months and received the email below (partially edited by me) a couple of weeks ago
Hello from BlueRail Trains.
We have been shipping a lot boards (which is great). If you reserved a Dead Rail kit we are moving through the reservation list and will have reached everybody by the end of next week.
We submitted the BlueRail iOS app to Apple yesterday (usually 7 days to approve) and are still on track for our first BlueRail Android beta around May 7.
International response has been good. We need 15-20 more reservations from UK, Eur, Aus & NZ before we have enough to complete emissions testing. (We are looking into Brazil as well.) Please encourage a few friends if you know anyone who might be interested.
I don't like to send a lot of emails to this list. Please follow us on Facebook or look for posts on the website to stay informed. This week (in addition to Android) we are working on Chuff-rate calibration interface and consisting.
Thank you for being part of this.
David Rees
BlueRail Trains
Now I know that new control systems are not everybody's cup of tea but this system appears to have a lot of scope - not least for garden railways. It would be great if this system were licensed for UK (and Europe). The email says that a few more interested parties are needed to begin the licensing process.
So if you have the slightest interest in new control systems please could you register with BRT website as an interested party.
This system does not need intermediate boxes like DCC. It connects directly from your phone/tablet (either Android or Apple) directly to the locomotive
A few key features: the Bluetooth Smart technology it uses is universal; range of about 100ft; can take power from the track or battery or both ie use the battery as a reserve supply; decoder has 1A continuous rating (2A stall)
There is an informative website - BlueRail Trains – Bluetooth Smart Train Control . The first decoders are shipping in North America only.
I have been signed up to receive news on BRT for the past few months and received the email below (partially edited by me) a couple of weeks ago
Hello from BlueRail Trains.
We have been shipping a lot boards (which is great). If you reserved a Dead Rail kit we are moving through the reservation list and will have reached everybody by the end of next week.
We submitted the BlueRail iOS app to Apple yesterday (usually 7 days to approve) and are still on track for our first BlueRail Android beta around May 7.
International response has been good. We need 15-20 more reservations from UK, Eur, Aus & NZ before we have enough to complete emissions testing. (We are looking into Brazil as well.) Please encourage a few friends if you know anyone who might be interested.
I don't like to send a lot of emails to this list. Please follow us on Facebook or look for posts on the website to stay informed. This week (in addition to Android) we are working on Chuff-rate calibration interface and consisting.
Thank you for being part of this.
David Rees
BlueRail Trains
Now I know that new control systems are not everybody's cup of tea but this system appears to have a lot of scope - not least for garden railways. It would be great if this system were licensed for UK (and Europe). The email says that a few more interested parties are needed to begin the licensing process.
So if you have the slightest interest in new control systems please could you register with BRT website as an interested party.