Quote from: phillyreading on November 10, 2015, 03:06:58 PM

Quote from: Yardmaster on November 06, 2015, 06:58:18 PM
We need to see how it does in HO before looking at other scales....

I'd like to see what H.O. people think of it as well. Seems like most H.O. people I have talked to in the past are stuck on the DCC system. Time will tell.

Lee F.

I bought my first DCC system (Digitrax) while at the NMRA National Trainshow in Valley Forge, PA during the summer of 1993. While I like DCC, and would prefer it over DCS or TMCC, I recently bought a couple of the E-Z App locos in HO, and I am more enthusiastic about it than I was about DCC way back when. I think it has a much greater potential, and I really hope it takes off like I think it will. I really like it! I'm anxiously awaiting the user installed boards to put into some of my favorite locos, in On30 as well as a couple of O 3-rail engines from Williams.

Bill in FtL

Quote from: Az Ftroop on December 28, 2015, 07:27:29 PM
Can locos be retrofitted to E-Z App? All mine are the "DCC On Board" type.

BlueRailTrains (Bachmann's  E-Z App development partner) has announced that user-installed Bluetooth boards should become available in early 2016. The first board to be released should fit inside a steam loco tender, but is probably too large for a hood unit diesel (it might fit an EMD F unit or an Alco FA, though). If your loco already has a DCC-Ready socket, the installation should be made easier, but the board can also be hard-wired. For more info, check the BlueRailTrains.com website.

Bill in FtL

I'm looking forward to possibly using BlueTooth Control in O scale too. I have a LionChief Plus Mikado, which was my first O 3-rail loco, purchased last summer. Even though it's not to scale, I like it a lot, and have since purchased a couple of Williams diesels in O 3-rail as well, and would like to convert them to either R/C or BT. The operation of BlueTooth Control should have the same advantages as the LionChief system, and the two should work together, since the power requirements are similar. I'm not that interested in battery power at the moment, because of having to deal with the charging process (low battery levels on my iPad are trouble enough!).

Bill in FtL

I just got my first E-Z App loco (a PRR Alco RS3) today and set it up on a test track on the dining room table for a trial run. I used an old MRC Tech II 2400 with the throttle knob set at about 3/4 power for the test. The first thing I noticed is that the loco would sit for a short time on powered track, but would eventually start moving if there is no BlueTooth signal. This effect seemed to be polarity sensitive, but I didn't take the time to fully test it out. Once the Bluetooth was powered up, the loco didn't show any further tendency to creep. For a controller, I was using an iPad Air, since my cell phone is too old (Apple 3GS) to be compatible. The app loaded onto my iPad with no drama in just a few minutes time. Turning the iPad on, it took me a second or two to initiate the start, and the loco began running as expected, with all controls functional. There were a few times when the unit seemed to get " confused" during a slow start with the bell on, where it would start to roll, then stall with the headlights flashing. This may have been a low voltage issue, since even at full throttle, the power pack is supposed to only put out 14 volts. I don't think it was caused by dirty track, because recovery was simple, just return the throttle to stop and try again, maybe with a bit more throttle this time. I tried operating at about half DC throttle power for just a few seconds, and the operation seemed to be the same, so the system seems pretty tolerant of voltage input

I only have the one loco to run at the moment, and the system recognizes it only as "Bachmann Loco", although I see there is an option to change it's name. I'm curious to see how it works with multiple locos, and wonder whether multi-unit loco sets will be possible, but if they're not, it's not a major issue, since my layout is fairly small, and large lash-ups would probably look out of place.

This coming Monday, I will take the loco and the iPad to a local library where our club is displaying modules in several scales for the Holidays, for a real system test, and will check out the range as well. So far, though, I like it, and I think this method of control has great potential. I may even have to get a newer phone now, since the iPad is a bit too big to hold and operate with just one hand. I'm also anxiously awaiting the release of the plug & play boards to convert existing DCC-Ready locos, since I have a few candidates in mind.

Bill in FtL

Quote from: JDW on July 16, 2015, 12:30:03 PM
I am purchasing a set of Bachmann under frames c/w couplers which type of arch bar trucks will be best to keep coupler height correct without major modification pn- 29901,29903 or 29904.

I'm sorry to see that after two months and 488 views to this thread that no one has replied. The under frames should work easiest with the 29901 trucks, the 29904 low frame arch bars will require you to change the coupler to the medium length under shank version to achieve proper coupler height. It's been a while since I looked at one of the under frames but as I recall, it comes with a medium center shank coupler. You may need to also fine tune the coupler height with washers between the truck and under frame.

Have Fun!
Bill in FtL

Hello Yardmaster,

Thanks for the reply. I had heard that Bachmann planned to offer the EZ-App pre-installed in certain Bachmann locos and in some of their train sets, while boards for user-installations along with OEM boards for other manufacturers would be offered by Bachmann's development partner, BlueRail Trains. Was this information not correct, or have things changed since the original announcements were made?

My comment about the boards being able to be seen for comparison to a typical DCC decoder was really aimed at being able to see how far the boards have evolved, especially in size reduction, since we have seen the early boards that were shown in the video.

Also, will the boards in the RTR and Trainset locos be hard wired, or will they use the standard 8 pin plug and socket currently used in DCC-Ready products, or will they use some other type of plug so as to make them incompatible with other locos, should a customer wish to buy one of the RTR locos or Train Sets and perform his own board swap?

Bill in FtL

I'm not familiar with the Bachmann TT, I just assumed it was like the Atlas unit. Are you trying to feed all the stall tracks from the incoming track, or through the turning track, or what? Traditionally, a turntable's stall tracks are wired with their own feeders, usually through a toggle switch that allows power to be shut off for each individual track.

Bill in FtL

Will there be samples of locos equipped with the new EZ-App loco control system being demonstrated at the NMRA NTS next month? And, will the plug-in boards themselves be on display to be seen for a comparison with DCC decoders?

I'm looking forward to the release of this system, so far it looks like it has great potential.

Bill in FtL

I haven't seen much posted about the new BlueTooth EZ-App since it was first announced that it would be released in Summer 2015. Since Summer is now half over and no chatter has been heard, I'm wondering if this product has been delayed, or has it "died on the vine". My current cellular contract is up, and I'm still using my old Apple 3GS (not Bluetooth 4 compatible), but I don't want to upgrade the phone until the BlueTooth App is released...

Bill in FtL

While the MRC power packs may not always have a separate slide switch to control the pulse power, most all of them do use pulse of some form. I have heard the MRC 1300 is one of the units that has automatic pulse injection, though I haven't ever used one. I do have an MRC 2800 Tech II Dual Power controller that I have used for my T-Trak modules, and to date, it has scrambled the decoders of at least four of my locos, three with TCS and one Broadway Paragon with sound in an E-8. The Paragon unit was restored only after several resets (both soft & hard) were performed. The TCS units' resets have not been attempted yet because I need to set up my laptop computer programmer to do it. Different DC power packs seem to have different pulse effects on decoders, and some decoders seem to be more sensitive than others to the effects of that pulse. If you only have DC power packs, and your loco has a jumper plug, then it's probably a good idea to remove the decoder and use the jumpers. Most N scale locos don't have room for a jumper socket, so that's not usually an option.

Bill in FtL

How about; Sidewalks, Laminated Sub-roadbed, Perimiter Forms when casting plaster, Dividers for parts drawers, Gondola and Flatcar loads, Base Support Structure for Hard Shell Scenery (instead of cardboard strips, at least the bugs won't eat it)?

Bill in FtL

Thanks Ken,

Now I'm wondering if these items were announced at the 2014 NMRA National Train Show, who was it who announced them? It doesn't make sense that Bachmann UK would have a booth at the NTS, since they don't distribute their products here. It also seems unlikely that Bachmann USA would have shown them at the NTS, since they now say they never made that announcement. Is there perhaps an independent distributor that could have announced this at their booth rather than Bachmann USA? Why? It sounds like these items, even if they should get produced, won't be sold in the US, so why bother to announce them at the NTS? I guess if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...

Bill in FtL

My mistake, I guess. I thought I had seen several posts on Trainboard about this announcement back in July, but missed the detail that it was about Bachmann UK (who usually doesn't attend NMRA shows). Here's the link to the Trainboard thread:

(http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?159175-New-stuff-at-the-NTS)

There was another link pointing to the Bachmann UK announcement included in one of the messages in that thread, but that link now returns a blank page, so it's still a bit of a question mark.

Thanks anyway for the prompt response.

Bill in FtL

I thought Bachmann announced a new line of HOn30 trains at the 2014 NTS last July, but I notice there is no mention of these in the newly released 2015 Bachmann catalog, although there is mention of a narrow gauge loco & cars for the Thomas range (not cheap, either!). Has Bachmann changed their mind about the previously announced HOn30 items, hoping they will be quietly forgotten?

Bill in FtL

Well, here it is, October 29th already, and I still don't know if my initial sign-up attempt was successful or not, since I have yet to receive a newsletter. Does anyone know if Bachmann has sent out any newsletters in the past two months? Hopefully, there should be something for a newsletter to talk about with Bachmann's announcement of their new & upcoming "BlueTooth" app for wireless loco control.

Bill in FtL