06-11-2010, 09:05 PM
I think that the NMRA did the appropriate thing by only standardizing the decoder communications/implementation and track bus. Anything more would have been too restrictive in my opinion. Each company needed leeway to design their system the way they saw fit, that way the consumer wins in the end because of the competition and research.
On the other hand, it could be argued that the consumer actually loses with the minimal standards because once the consumer buys a system, he is intimately tied to that product and any upgrades and additional equipment must be purchased from said company, essentially doing away with the competition.
Hmmm... not sure what is proper here. I am certain that the NMRA shouldn't be expected to spend huge amounts of money researching and developing a DCC "across-the-board" standard.
I agree that it would be cool to be able to use brand A's throttle on brand B's bus, though. On that note, it seems that a "universal" system could be designed and built which would accept any throttle and convert the signal into one that is understood by any other system. Or perhaps a universal throttle that could be configured to run on any system... with various adaptors to attach to the control bus?
Hmmmm.... the next million dollar idea?
On the other hand, it could be argued that the consumer actually loses with the minimal standards because once the consumer buys a system, he is intimately tied to that product and any upgrades and additional equipment must be purchased from said company, essentially doing away with the competition.
Hmmm... not sure what is proper here. I am certain that the NMRA shouldn't be expected to spend huge amounts of money researching and developing a DCC "across-the-board" standard.
I agree that it would be cool to be able to use brand A's throttle on brand B's bus, though. On that note, it seems that a "universal" system could be designed and built which would accept any throttle and convert the signal into one that is understood by any other system. Or perhaps a universal throttle that could be configured to run on any system... with various adaptors to attach to the control bus?
Hmmmm.... the next million dollar idea?
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times