Hey folks --
I took a look at the Utube video that started this discussion and was totally
fascinated at what some people were doing. I also started looking at some of
the related links that Utube listed and I'm tellin ya - I think we really
missed the boat somewhere along the line <VBG>!
Some of the links were about the Faller Car System - this has got to be the
ultimate interactive accessory for our railroads. Enter 'Faller Car System'
into the Utube search function and into Google for some more good stuff. This
is an entire auto/truck/bus/trolley-bus system that has apparently been on the
market for a few years (and there are others suppliers in this market also).
The vehicles follow a wire buried in the roadway. They correctly interact with
each other and with any trains at RR grade crossings by the use such stuff as
collision avoidance, braking/stopping, and route selection systems. Some of
them seem to utilize DCC control also.
I don't know whether the control signals are carried in the buried wire or by
radio or whatever. Some of the functions are provided by each vehicle with on
board infrared sensors.
I'm sure the guts of these vehicles could be put into S-scale vehicles that
were appropriately modified for steering and drives. The stuff doesn't appear
to be cheap, but it should be do-able by anyone that's up for a little
craftsmanship and tinkering (we're S-gaugers anyhow). These systems
technologically seem to be every bit as complete and sophisticated as any model
railroad system.
I don't know how we (or at least I) haven't heard some discussion of this
stuff. There is a lot of on-line information to sift through. Does anyone on
this list have any experience or exposure to this stuff that can provide some
firsthand comments?
-- Jim Miller
[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:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[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/
