Check this out! I found it on the N Scale forum. Bluetooth control by Bachmann, right now its only in HO scale but I think it won't be long.... http://youtu.be/k6xoL6NY83g John
I think we'll be seeing more and more interfaces like this on lots of consumer items John, I think it's a great (and inevitable) idea. I'm happy to see this sort of implementation trickle down to model railroading. I recently picked up a Canon camera with full touch screen capabilities and it's great for using and learning. It would be nice to see this interface do well for Bachmann and the same idea picked up by others too in model railroading. John Raildig.com
Two big problems: Bluetooth (very limited range) and Bachmann = Kader = Sanda Kan = A company I have had massive problems with in the past. I'm prejudiced against Bachmann/Kader for good reasons. Seriously, There is no reason DCC is "difficult" - it's just that all of the DCC companies to date have made some seriuously unfriendly user interfaces. Bachmann has put a pretty face on their proprietary system, but DCC is open. Bachmann even admits in their own video that this is their attempt to make their "play" trains more appealing to a younger audience - and that's what the need to do, because they sell things that are more toy like. Great for Thomas the Tank Engine. Enough said. Railroad & Co. has put a beautiful interface on DCC for PC control. There is no reason somebody could not do the same with a smartphone.
Truth be told all of this is just the start. Real radio (wireless) control or something of the like is the wave. DCC is what it is, people who love it love it. Like arguing about abortion, not gonna change them. People who like DC like me love it don't talk me into decoders yuk. Real wireless will rule one day.
At the last 3 train shows in Tokyo this fall Rokuhan has been showing a wi fi blue tooth connection to control trains using an Android. look at their face book video on YouTube of their company booth at JAM plus other makers also showing Z at JAM and one other show.
I am with Robert here. My multiple attempts at Bachmann products have left me financially injured and gun shy. They make a lot of claims that I have not seen realized. I have also had a few experiences with Apps and most of them leave a lot to be desired. I will wait till someone has taken the time to "really" work the bugs out. Just my personal take on it, albeit a sour one, Trey
You do realize you will still need a "decoder" (receiver) with "real wireless", right? I agree that I don't care for Bachmann being in the driver's seat. But as Bluetooth goes, it can't possibly be proprietary to them. If it somehow is, then that is a concern. I'm curious as to what scenario an operator would be operating a train that is further than 50ft away from them, even on a large layout. As a 1-to-1 setup possibly, but I cannot imagine there won't be an available infrastructure of repeaters and stationary throttles for stuff like remotely controlling a staging yard, for example. You will find, btw, that Bluetooth may work a little further than 50ft. My boss had what *could have been* an embarassing situation when we had a company function in our parking lot. He had opened up his vehicle to play music, then ran inside for a moment not realizing that his phone was paired with his vehicle....got a call....answered...you can imagine the rest. Fortunately it wasn't some super private conversation but it could have really been a big deal instead of something we kid him about. Point is he was well past that 50ft barrier...closer to 100ft and through a couple of walls. I realize that's not typical but still interesting nonetheless.
With Rokuhan approach your Android can control DC trains, just needs a DC controller with blue tooth connectivity. Rokuhan has shown they can do that, will they market such a box I do not know, but if they don't someone else will. The same can be siad for DCC and that is already a reality using your computer interfaced to your DCC system and with an app you connect you android or similar device to your DCC system. If you want to see range just open your wi-fi and search for a connection at home and see how many you can find, In my little village I can see over 20 of them in my basement and quite a few more than that in my living room, and what is astounding is the number that are open and not password protected. In ham radio using this technology and outside omni directional antennas at 20 ft we are connecting reliably at ranges of more than two miles.
I did a search of their web site and cannot find what I think you are talking about. Do you have a link to the information about this? Thank You! Open-Interface-Bob
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0H3AwCv6ag brief appearance at 2 min 57 seconds in this video, I can not find the picture showing the app open on the Android, it just showed a slide bar 0 to 100 % with forward reverse selection button
Thank you Garth! If they have put Bluetooth or Wi-Fi into a Z scale locomotive (which I doubt) then they have my utmost respect. I believe they are just controlling the DC voltage to the track using a wireless link, which is not as unique or outstanding as Direct-RF-Locomotive-Control. Open-Interface-Bob
1) The Bluetooth host and controller layers are obviously not proprietary, but I suspect that Bachmann will attempt to copyright / patent the data application layer. So it is unlikely that they will ever publish enough information for anyone to be able to create compatible decoders or applications with their Bluetooth system - unless they license it to you. If you want to use their system, I assume you will have to purchase their decoders and use their apps. That's not Open like DCC. It's more like MTH TCS. 2) When I made my comment on Bluetooth range, I was doing a mental comparison to Wifi. I failed to write that bit down. (And yes I was thinking of my layout, which is longer than 50 ft!) I still stand by my comment that a Bluetooth option is more of a consumer / toy approach. Simple, short range, but limited. Wifi would have been a more robust wireless choice.
There is no reason why you could not have blue tooth in a locomotive, you got it in your phone and other small devices, wireless this and that, your power source is still going to be DC voltage to the track. so you can put Wi-Fi in your DC train controller and that is already a reality, but I expect if you can radio control quad copters and mini cars you can probably control a train locomotive and control several on a layout with wi-fi in the not to distance future. I may take awhile to get a receiver small enough for Z but for larger scales, where you can fit an Arduino board, it is already a possibility.
BlueRail Trains is working in partnership with Bachmann on this. As of now it appears they are willing to work with other manufacturers. Question is whether BlueRail Trains is a totally seperate company. http://www.bluerailtrains.com/contact.cfm Some of their promo videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFBUsuRfPTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv0kfDKaeoM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOyits9uAvk
Because the new Bluetooth is capable of forming local networks with the right implementation software, it can provide the range needed for most (if not all layouts). I can see the development of Bluetooth-Accessory-Controllers that will be networked together and able the relay control-signals back and forth between Bluetooth-Locomotives and Bluetooth-Throttles. The big holdup to such systems will not be the technology but the creation of an open-interface with sufficient support. Wi-Fi is a better solution than Bluetooth (in my opinion), where cost and size is not important. But I think that most users have cost constrains and many have size constrains. Open-Interface-Bob
Bob's on it. Bluetooth is a far more ideal implementation that wifi due to its smaller size, lower power consumption, and scalability. There's a solid thread about this over in N scale right now....
