Hi Bob Werre, S-cab is not old technology, it's the most recent development combing radio control and DCC. If you saw a radio controlled loco on someone's layout several years a ago, I doubt that it was an S-cab system, because S-Cab has only been available for the past few months. The S-cab wireless radio hand-held throttle talks to it's radio receiver and then to a standard DCC decoder, both of which are wired together and installed in your loco, along with a small rechargeable lithium polymer battery. The decoder is only used for it's control functions, it doesn't see a DCC signal from the tracks, only the simulated DCC signal being transmitted from it's S-cab throttle. You can have several of these receiver/decoder equipped locos on your layout (DC or DCC) and they will operate off of the S-cab throttle without interfering with your layout's original control system (either DC or DCC). There is also an optional voltage regulator/charging board that connects to the on-board battery that can recharge the battery from track current (which is always full power with DCC). When running it on a DC layout, it will only recharge when sees more than about 5 volts of track power, but in any case, the loco is always running on the battery power, so there are no more dirty track issues. In fact, there's a video on YouTube of a guy te4sting his loco on a bare plywood workbench with no rails (see: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNipamGMAos&NR=1>.
Check it out, I think you'll agree think it's a system with great potential whether you already have DCC installed on your layout or not. Regards, Bill in FL --- In [email protected], Bob Werre <bob@...> wrote: > > Yes Bob, by using RC control units you can run your typical DC > powerpack. I saw it being used on Mel Medhurst's Sn3 layout in San > Diego many years ago. Although pretty neat at the time, I think we gone > way beyond that now. > > Bob Werre > > > > On 11/9/11 7:52 AM, shabbona_rr wrote: > > > > I guess what I wonder about this, is the technology available to > > convert a tethered cab controller to wireless, with a transmitter and > > receiver substituting for the cord, similar to a cordless telephone? > > This, too me, at least, would be preferable junking an existing > > control system for something "new and improved" - well, - "new", anyway. > > > > Bob Nicholson __________________________________________ > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
