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Loco detection

Gregd99

By Gregd99
in Hornby RailMaster & TrackMaster

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PJ_model_trains Grand Master

PJ_model_trains

Posted
Posted

Hi John

I did write to a couple of membes (private emails) explaining, with a title... We thought we were prepared!

The warnings came for the storm, Morecambe Bay gets the high tides and north westerly winds, the river through Kendal spills out into the Bay and Tebay was forcast for record rainfall. On the other side we have the River Lune always a concern for the high tides and flood waters. Sea defences are in place in both areas, Lancaster and Morecambe.

It was 10:30pm when the power went off, we thought we were prepared! We knew where the torches plus candles and matches were. We thought we were prepared!

We moved in the bungalow 2.5 years ago, it was all electric, we had gas central heating installed, but the heating went off as it needs electricity.

We live in a day an age with hign speed communication, the router was off. Not knowing the extent we started to text family and friends, mobiles are charged at night less than 30% battery didn't last long. And we thought we were prepared.

One of my daughters has to go to the hospital in Lancaster Sunday, she contacted them on her mobile to find out they weere on generators. It was much wider than expected. Then the battery life on the mobiles went off. We had given the portable radio to charity so had no access to news. Unbeknown to us at this point Bay radio on the Quay at Lancaster was flooded. The river broke the sea defences!

We went to bed as the temperature started to drop, next morning it was still off and temperatures falling. We then realised we had no heating or lighting etc, but no gas fire and no gas cooker. We had no heating at all.

30.5 hours the power was off! Temperatures dropped to 12 degrees.

We found out afterwards the river broke its banks near the motorway and flooded a large substation. Both bridges in to and out of Lancaster were closed. 55,000 homes had no electric. My wife went to her mums (who fortunately had a gas fire) to boil a pan of water and fill flasks twice a day. We thought we we prepared! During the short journey she tried charging the mobile phone, it gave about 20% which we had to use sparingly.

The above is just brief notes on the situation. The reason I share it is, we thought we were prepared. We were not! As mentioned earlier we thing we can visualise things in life but sometimes the only way you know is when you are thrown in at the deep end (so to speak).

It wasn't pleasant, it wasn't easy but, we were lucky, we were not on the side that was flooded.

I took your comments in the right manner John. I cannot laugh at peoples unfortunate circumstances but I try laugh at everything else. You said... 'i have a brother and  a son, in the same boat'

 

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PJ_model_trains Grand Master

PJ_model_trains

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Posted

 

Surely then if we have a simulated layout that shows me what bits are important it doesn't really matter if RM remembers certain items so long as it does what it should do. The same can be said for the LD sensors, do we know what type they are? Not yet. Does it matter? Not for me, because I know if I install it as recommended, add tags as recommended, etc it will talk with RM and make playing with my trains more exciting. 

 

I cannot fathom for the life of me what people even mean when they say that RM doesn't know where a sensor is or that RM doesn't remember where a sensor is.

 

Does it really matter hosh, so long as (when available) it installs and works as it should?

 

Another example may be, why does sound come from a chip in my loco. I didn't tell it to make a sound I just clicked by screen and started my loco moving. Did RM remember that?

 

I am honestly not bothered so long as it does.

 

Life is short hosh. LD may not come in our lifetime. ;o)

 

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RDS Grand Master

RDS

Posted
Posted

Let's have a look at RM with and without LD.

 

Train headed for a station where it intends to stop at the end of the platform -

 

  • without LD - user runs program S that slows train down realistically near start of platform. When train reaches end of platform he stops the train.
  • with LD - sensor tripped at start of platform, RM runs program S. Sensor tripped at end of platform, RM commands train to stop.

With the user in control, he sees where the start and end of the platform is and issues commands at those locations. The situation is identical with LD except RM uses sensors instead of eyes and also runs a program script to perform both the slowing task and then the stop.

 

As you should be able to understand, both see where the loco is and both know what to do at given locations.

Hi hosh,  I totally agree with you on your post above.  I will answer your other post separately.

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RDS Grand Master

RDS

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You are right hosh, in that RM knows that a train has just passed over a sensor.  It will apparently know, which train it was, how fast it was going and in which direction.  What RM does not know is, WHERE the sensor is on your layout.   

 

Could you please explain what you mean by RM not knowing where the sensor is? And/or what the significance of this statement is?  I name the sensor "A" - I have just called that location of the layout "A".  Where's the confusion or point of contention?

 

Hi hosh, All I mean is that there is no tie-up between the schematic RM layout on your screen and your actual layout.  (I think the example I quoted earlier today about having a separate RM schematic to test my points, emphasises this)

 

RM will know that you have programmed a particular LD sensor to stop a train, or slow one down but it will not know that was because it was for a station or a platform.  It will not know how far it is from one sensor to the next.  Your schematic does not need to represent your layout exactly, or at all.  I know that mine does not because at some places I have left extra room on the schematic just to put a label on and in some places I have even removed track to get a Programmable Label in place.  In other cases, I have squashed bits of the schematic just to get it on the screen.

 

The London Underground map is apparently a very good example of this as the actual routing of the lines, bears no (or very little) ressemblance to the Map.

 

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hosh Collaborator

hosh

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Posted

Hi hosh, All I mean is that there is no tie-up between the schematic RM layout on your screen and your actual layout.  (I think the example I quoted earlier today about having a separate RM schematic to test my points, emphasises this)

 

 

So all you fellas are really refering to is the schematic? There is a huge difference between saying the schematic wont track trains and RM, as an entire system. doesn't know where sensors are.

 

In any case, as I posted from the 1.63 pdf recently, there was mention of direction arrows being a part of the RM schematic when LD is in play so..............................

 

Still got me scratching my head.

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PJ_model_trains Grand Master

PJ_model_trains

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In any case, as I posted from the 1.63 pdf recently, there was mention of direction arrows being a part of the RM schematic when LD is in play so..............................

 

The direction arrors are for guidance hosh nothing else.

 

We may have a clockwise track we may have an anti clockwise track, if we have 2, 3 or 4 loops if may be confusing especially with oval loops.

 

The arrows are just for the our visual guiadance, nothing more.

 

If you run bi-directional loco/trains then they are pointless.

 

For LD that is debatable. For RM probably if we feel we need them.

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