Looking for Feedback on a Potential New Venture

If you could come up with a cheap switch machine with  built in tmcc compatability that would work on atlas ross and others. That could replace the lcs sc2 boxes that are quite exspencive and only do four at a time. That would be somthing that the market may want. Phone control or at least app or tablet control is something lionel already has on the market. Thier system is quite good, but can get quite costly if you have a big layout with lots of switches. Just a thought.

He's doing a school project... Its a simple ask to answer the survey so that he can have a working project.

There's many products that do this. DCS, LCS, JMRI, etc..., doesnt mean the concept cant be the subject of a school project. If it works via bluetooth, thats different.

Nick, I answered your survey. Good Luck.

Nick,

I filled out your form with extensive comments and suggestions. Your idea does indeed have considerable merit and is not quite the same as user interface now provided by Lionel or MTH to control switches and accessories. Feel free to get back with me and I'll be glad to help you refine your concept

Bruce

Good luck!

Peter

Submitted.  Go with it young man... and, best wishes.

Glad to help.

I am responding as a parent as two of my three children live with me. Sometimes they show an interest in a topic, which is new to them, but because I am older, I can see where it is leading. I let them go, because there is no harm done and that is how children learn: through their own experiences. The last thing I want to do is claim seniority and discourage them. I responded to the survey. Maybe he is reinventing the wheel.  But let him find his own guard rails.

Mark

Potential to be much less expensive than investing in the Lionel or (soon to be gone?) MTH systems if it requires only accessory and switch modules and a smart device.  Sort of like LionChief for switches and accessories.

Many of my projects in engineering school were designing and coding a basic apparatus which already had sophisticated versions of the same in the marketplace. It’s how engineers learn. This project is great and, as others have suggested, if you take the survey (I did), it envisions a simplicity and ease of use not currently available in the market. Whether it comes to be commercially is irrelevant. Far more importantly, this is a great academic exercise that allows the OP to combine an outside interest in his schoolwork.

Good luck with your project, Nick.

Just filled out the survey. Good luck. Always nice to here from young people in the hobby.

Done. Would like to see the end result when you complete the assignment. Thanks.

I completed your survey. Best of luck!

Survey completed. Best wishes to you on this project.

survey completed. Good luck with your project.

Best of Luck Nick!! Nice to see the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well by our younger members. Stay with it!!

survey completed. 

Done.

Disruption, in an economic sense, not only comes from totally new products, but also through solving the same job for the customer in a better way (more fun, more interactive, simpler installation, etc.) or through a lower cost business model.  Good job, Nick! @NSDTrains

Completed the survey. Good luck!

Completed. Best of luck on the school project

Done, best of luck.

Completed.  Good Luck.

Lou N

Adjunct Professor, Lorain County Community College

MEMS - Micro Electro Mechanical Systems

Interesting set of questions.  Done.

Nice project!!!!

walt

Done - Good luck. I often used to give my students independent projects as well. These can be great teaching and learning experiences.

Thank you to everyone who has responded so far and left supportive comments! Just wanted to respond to one particular comment here:

@Landsteiner posted:

Potential to be much less expensive than investing in the Lionel or (soon to be gone?) MTH systems if it requires only accessory and switch modules and a smart device.  Sort of like LionChief for switches and accessories.

Landsteiner hit the nail on the head. I am familiar with Lionel's Layout Control System. As far as I am aware, that requires a wifi connection and the Legacy Base to control switches and accessories. My idea was to cut out all of the extra components and give people direct control from their phones via Bluetooth. Very similar to how newer Lionel engines can be controlled with nothing more than a phone with the LionChief app.

Apart from the subject matter, I think the design of the survey was good. Not too many questions, short and simple, easy to answer. Always important when you're asking people for a favor.

I'm in.

@NSDTrains posted:

My idea was to cut out all of the extra components and give people direct control from their phones via Bluetooth.

I'm going to play along here.... how are you going to do this without extra components? To my knowledge, there is no bluetooth switch machine. There's probably no bluetooth anything, because DCC functions on the loconet bus and its standardized, and if it involves 3 rail, its all proprietary whatever it is. Also, surely you can't expect layouts to be retrofit by ripping out dozens of switch machines to put in new ones? You're going to need an interface that has a way to talk to existing hardware. Thats going to require an "extra" component of some kind. And it'll need to talk to a lot of different things in order to work.

Just look at DCC. Every time there's a new functionality that comes out, you need another box or module to make it work. Lets just say at a minimum, you'd need a loconet adapter for bluetooth.

I'm not raining on your parade, just something to consider while working your way through this.

Completed.   Your prototype looks like a control panel board but portable.... nice.   It would be nice if one could make a drawer for a control panel to hide away and use your software on an iPad simulating that control panel, where you  could move it anywhere you wish around the train room.  Perhaps DCS on a phone/remote and your system on an iPad for the same layout.  Just a thought.  Good luck and keep spreading the word that O Gauge trains are alive and well and mesh with today's cool technology.

Done!

Ok, submitted. Good luck!

FYI, The original bluetooth based BlueRailTrains module can control four small relays.

Even tho I would never consider using anything other than what I currently have (plain old transformers, switches, buttons and insulated rails) I did fill out your survey and applaud your effort. You only learn by studying how to do things and hands on building it to see if it will actually work.

Jerry

Completed the survey then started thinking,...    In my previous life I provided testing support for new products, then my brain got tired and I retired to focus on more important aspects,...   My last employer bothered me for a few years to come back for this or that, but I was busy.   After completing the survey (good job on that)  I decided to check on what hardware might be available to do something like remote control a switch.   On mouser I found a Bluetooth development kit that looks interesting so if you actually do proceed then perhaps you might consider the hardware side too. 

Anyway, good luck in your research,.

https://www.mouser.com/Product...QQxMtylvFgWOxw%3D%3D

Nick,

Just filled out the survey. I am happy to help out a fellow college student (electrical engineering major myself), best of luck with the project!

Bryce

Survey submitted. Good luck!

@Boilermaker1 posted:

I'm going to play along here.... how are you going to do this without extra components? To my knowledge, there is no bluetooth switch machine. There's probably no bluetooth anything, because DCC functions on the loconet bus and its standardized, and if it involves 3 rail, its all proprietary whatever it is. Also, surely you can't expect layouts to be retrofit by ripping out dozens of switch machines to put in new ones? You're going to need an interface that has a way to talk to existing hardware. Thats going to require an "extra" component of some kind. And it'll need to talk to a lot of different things in order to work.

Just look at DCC. Every time there's a new functionality that comes out, you need another box or module to make it work. Lets just say at a minimum, you'd need a loconet adapter for bluetooth.

I'm not raining on your parade, just something to consider while working your way through this.

While I am not sure what the OP hardware plan is, this can be accomplished at very low cost with a Bluetooth enabled Arduino and compatible relay boards:

Arduino Uno or Mega $15

Bluetooth module $10

Relay boards 10 for $15

He will need to program in options for momentary activation of relay (Atlas, Lionel, MTH switch machines) and continuous activation (Tortoise and other stall machines).

Survey done.  Good luck with the project!

Bob

I filled out your survey. If you would like to have someone to bounce ideas off, and independent review, please contact me.

Great idea and good luck!

Done. Good luck to you.