Infrared control

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I have just purchased the D. Chief system. The room I am using it in is a study (smaller than the 12 by 13 bedroom layouts MR like to illustrate). The room is a modified L shaped area. It is about 13 feet long, 7 foot wide until almost half way down, then 9 1/2 foot wide the remaining distance. My son and I are building a two level N scale layout with a reversing loop on level one and another reversing loop on level two - above the level one. We have just begun construction. Yeh, I know; we jumped the gun with the purchase of the Chief, but I figured it was better to get it right at the beginning, rather than modifying the layout electrically latter. It is a shelf layout, walk in style. My question about infrared is thus. First, being the cheap guy that I am I would like to take advantage of the technology already available with the Chief, i.e. infrared. I am aware you have to buy a receiver. With infrared TV remotes today, you can bounce the signal off the ceiling or off the wall and the TV sensor still picks up the signal. Can you do that with the Digitrax system? I have used the catnip system at a friend's home and am not enamoured with it because if you don't aim the signal just right, you've got problems. Also if you are beyound around 18 feet you have problems. Lastly, it seems to be sluggish in picking up the signal. In a room as small as I have described, I can't see any great advantage to going to radio controlled. I figure at most I could get away with two infrared receivers. Which leads me to my next question: can you daisy chain two or three infrared receivers together?

-- Rick Nicholson (rsn48@mybc.com), December 12, 1999

Answers

Rick,

Sorry for the late responce here, must have missed this one.

Yes the Digitrax IR systems have excellent bounce characteristics. Not sure on the actual range, but as long as you can visually see the receiver [UT91] it will work, bounced or not.

And Yes you can daisy chain the UR91's as required. Unless the layout is divided up into multiple rooms, even large layouts usually do not require more then two or three, but if more are required, no problem just add them in the LocoNet.

Don

Remember Always Have Fun and Enjoy!, Don Crano Akron, Oh NMRA #096211 mailto:donc@sssnet.com Visit Model Railroading with DCC at: http://pages.sssnet.com/donc/

-- Don Crano (donc@sssnet.com), February 09, 2000.


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