hosh

Always good to start the new year off with a good laugh! 😆

I've been saying Feb 29 in non leap years for donkeys and I am, of course, the winner! :)

I'll go with my usual 29th Feb, 2017

29th Feb, 2017

Put me down for March 2030 - looks like present management have given up.

Ok, so this is just for reference - I have a txt file on the desktop for that anyway.

On signal green - ok, this is pretty straight forward. Toot horn, flash lghts, set speed, etc. On signal red - so there will be an option other than stopping? Stop loco on signal - on a signal other than red? Or does this mean a signal from any device, not necessarily a signal. A signal (instruction) from another sensor perhaps? Resume loco on signal - on a signal other than green? And same as for :Stop loco on signal". I'm hoping the Stop and Resume on signal commands imply red and green. So unless instructed otherwise for given trains, at a given sensor you simply tell it to Stop loco on signal, Resume loco on signal and it simply does this for all trains.

JMRI began in 1997. I know of at least 1 company that has had interfaces between command stations and PCs since 1996. Hornby released RM in late 2010. Just exactly what sort of computer and OS do you imagine is required to do the hoplessly simple chore of automating a bunch of trains? You speak about this as though it's some sort of NASA task - are you kidding? The old 286s running DOS would have run 1000 trains without even breaking a sweat!

I reckon it would have been best if Hornby released some sort of detection hardware and software at least 15 years ago! LOL

Ok, and that seems to be within the rules but I'll post it in the other thread to keep the "on topic" cops happy.

There is a product I know of, providing 16 detection points on your layout for under $10US per point. You can have a million of them depending on software. PS - Oh, and btw, it's been around since right on the turn of the century, as should be expected.

There is a product I know of, providing 16 detection points on your layout for under $10US per point. You can have a million of them depending on software.

Someone else gets it - wonders 'ill never cease! LOL

Care to elaborate? If I want to stop a train right at the end of a platform I can have a block begin there and simply cut the power. At another block that begins around about at the start of the platform I can start to slow the train down so that it is almost stopped by the time it gets to the "stopping" block. How can LD do that better?

Well the invasive comment seems to go to the heart of the matter. Who is going to be interested in LD and not be prepared to have a layout "properly" set up? The idea of providing LD (or any detection system whatsoever) for someone that doesn't even have their layout wired properly is hilarious! And this is what I believe Hornby have recently woken up to. All this other talk about Patents is just as laughable - pure cover story. They haven't got a clue! Looks like we'll simply need to wait for the dinosaurs presently calling the shots to die off and wait for those born in the calculator age to start coming up through the company. Then they can get some advise from their children (born in the computer age) about what to do. Hallelujah!

So the problem is the basic logic (or lack thereof) of RM. I find it laughable to have software that requires hardware to tell it so much. As I have stated before, when it comes to anything computer related, Hornby just seem to have no idea at all! :)

I can't understand how anyone thinks LD will be able to do things that BD can't. Care to give an example? BD needs - BlocksGood softwareThere is plenty of good free software out there and any "proper" layout should have blocks as well anyway. I really can't see the fuss - I must be missing something. Any sort of "detection for the masses" seems like a contradiction in terms to me. Detection is not a "for the masses" thing. Probably from either a purist point of view or a marketing one. On a real railway block detection (something is in it the block or not) is supplemented by the on-site loco driver who knows what loco he is driving, how fast it is going and where precisely in the block it is. LD adds all of those to BD. Simple! Not sure what PJ means by "Block Detection" with live and dead zones. My meaning is very simple - the entire layout is always live DCC but only the sections with locos in them draw current and are thus detected (by current detectors of course). Anyway - Control of loco speed, accelerate to (x), decelerate to (x), increase speed to (x), decrease speed to (x)More accurate stopping, every time in the same placeWhy can't BD do this? If I simply cut track and use plastic joiners I can have my BD points wherever I like! I have seen a product that can detect 16 such points for example. Do you fellows understand how easily software handles these chores? Again, LD could give - speeddirectionTrain IDBD needs none of this - it knows what train is expected in what block next, it knows what direction it came from and where it's headed and it knows it's speed because the software had already set it. The only thing BD needs to be told is what train is in what block at start up and what it's program is but even most LD systems would need to know certain things at startup also anyway. Personally, I think Hornby have recently realised the above and then pulled the plug on LD.

I can't understand how anyone thinks LD will be able to do things that BD can't. Care to give an example? BD needs - BlocksGood softwareThere is plenty of good free software out there and any "proper" layout should have blocks as well anyway. I really can't see the fuss - I must be missing something. Any sort of "detection for the masses" seems like a contradiction in terms to me. Detection is not a "for the masses" thing. Probably from either a purist point of view or a marketing one.

Seems pretty obvious to me - if they string everyone along then they buy Elites/RM rather than go in another direction with the electronics of their layout. From what I can see, the only reason to look at Hornby for model railways is for British Locos and rolling stock. The rest is like something out of a 1970s catalogue!

My theory - I think Hornby have tried to make an LD system for everyone and have thus failed. By "everyone" I mean people other than those looking to do a fairly serious layout with blocks. And so we have things like tags that can tell you what train it is, what direction it's going, etc. With a computer controlled system all of that is redundant. All that a computer system with software worth more than 5 cents needs is a simple notification that something just entered Block A - that's it. And that's also as cheap and as non-problematic as the system can be also. It seems Hornby were shooting for more than just detection - they were going for transponding as well i.e. feedback about which train it was, what direction and speed. This was going to require tags, IR, etc. Costly, dust collecting and completely unnecessary. All they need is simple block detection - I hope they wake up to that soon.

Exactly! Great marketing - the realm of slackers that can't produce anything that can market itself via word of mouth. This company is a dinosaur. It's customer base should be used in studies of misplaced loyalty! I'll bet there's a whole bunch of inherrited wealth at play calling the shots (blanks). As we all know, part of this threaad or another went MIA a few months back because it no doubt pointed out the hopeless shortcomings of their present LD system - just embarrassing! So that's about 15 years overdue and counting (and I'm being kind!).

Yeah, maybe we need another thread for alternatives to "LD". Here's mine - "Left Dangling".

Due to not enough days in February, even with a leap year, the date will be entered into the sweep as 29th February 2016. LOL - it was no mistake on my part - just being sarcastic.

30th February, 2016

I can't see your guess hosh? Oh, ok. I'd say about 13/13/3013 I've booked us all a kryotube - cyall in a 1000!