Looking at the handout from the show I have to say it looks like DCS has one feature no one else does
3 Adjustable Locomotive Direction Start-up Settings
Forward, backward and what, UP?
Kato is coming out with a renumbering system for thier locos.The Kato rep showed me the chemical stripper and the dry transfers.I have to say that the Kato reps were the most friendly guys I ran into.The Amtrak trains they had on display were awesome.I believe they showed me a sound unit also that was in development.I think that was at the Kato booth.Athearns SD45-2 looked nice.The sound was ok on the F unit as well.The Broadway C30-7 units looked nice but was not impressed with the AC6000.The Reading T1 looked promising.Atlas B23-7 looked great as well as the new CSX stealth C40-8.They did not seem too friendly to me at the Atlas booth.All in all a good show.Dan
Hey, RC, are you an MTH “plant” … ?
Hype is cheap. Back it up with facts, man. [:o)]
To those who have posted the information about the show THANKS. I was hoping to get some heads up. Sounds like some good things comming down the line for all of us modelers.
TO Rivet counter- Here is my 2 cents put up or be quite you tell us MTH is better then white bread but you do nothing to back up your claim. other than offer more babbling which we nither need or want. speak the facts tell us why its so much better and then tell you why you are so devoted to there product.
In todays business world your corporate image and actions speak volumes about a company. MTH has gone against its competitors in a manner that is aggressive and not in the best interest of gaining customers my self included I try to keep open minded at all times but they have caused me to boycott any and all ideas of ever supporting them.
Now I have remained quite for some time on this issue but enough already. If and I do mean if MTH whats to prosper in the HO market it has to change its image and start listening to us the consumers on what we want and expect of them. And they need to learn to play nice. Bullies will in the end get whats comming to them and it is not usually what they want.
I am sorry to anyone if I have offended you in any way.
Will,
I think you’ll get a hearty “Amen” from Joe, Don, Aggro, bukwrm and others on that one.
Tom
MTH is trying to wow us with smoke and mirrors, oh boy a smoke unit that produces a lot of smoke, hey does the tender come with track cleaning pads so we can clean the residue off the track that the massive amounts of smoke leaves behind?
If I wanted to buy toy trains in HO i’d go look for some old tycos, MTH has no buisness peddling their overpriced toys in HO.
While there were a lot of neat, smaller manufacturers there, I think that KingMill Enterprises’ booth struck me as having the neatest idea, with its Kit-O-Mat “design-your-own-laser-cut-kit” package. I just hope that it’s robust enough to handle the sorts of things most modelers will want to do. I know that I’m especially interested in seeing whether it can handle a caboose body design I’ve been working up. This gets rid of one of my last hurdles in this project.
And they’ll accept CorelDraw files, too…
Their scale cardboard boxes are a pretty neat idea, too.
The show was also the first place I saw TCS’ A6X decoder. I like the look of its 1.5v lighting outputs.
I have to say that there were more Z scale layouts per square foot than I’ve seen anywhere else. Well done, as was the Switchin’ and Sippin’ Society’s HO layout (I’ve never seen so many curved dual gauge crossings in one place in my life!).
I thought the whole convention was fantastic! This was my first one and I enjoyed myself immensely. Layout and industrial tours, trips to museums and CUT Tower A, etc. I had a blast! [:D] [:D] [:D] [tup]
The train show was the icing on the cake. So many displays and vendors, I think I missed a few as I was still going on tours during the show. The Lego stuff was truly memorable… wi***hey’d had those when I was younger and into Lego’s! As for MTH, they had a nice looking display but I sure didn’t see any people in there when I walked by. Far from being “the hit of the show”, they may have made themselves the industry pariah.
A big thanks to all those who helped make this convention & train show a success!!
My view? (who cares):
The NMRA stepped in to recommend universal standard’s for DCC manufacturer’s, and MTH has stepped in the void with a proprietary system that ‘rivet counter’ and other’s will be limited to a single (or lisenced) source to buy from.
As for pre-programmed starting voltages, that’s memory I have in my 10 yr old Sountraxx analog system.
- one who has spent his life in Sale’s - barff!
“cheaper and better” is one of the biggest lies of all time - along with “the check’s in the mail” . 'Taint so.
From what I heard elsewhere (I was not at the show), Kato has re-run several of their HO models (SD38-2, SD40, SD40-2, F40PH) and has enough in stock that they are taking a break from new HO releases for some period.
Realistically, seeing the number of new releases being cranked out by Athearn, Atlas, BLI and now Tower 55 (anything new from Proto2k?)… I’m just as glad that Kato is taking a breather. That’s a lot of equipment out there in search of my limited hobby bucks.
Limited runs don’t help anyone but the collectors if you don’t have the money in time to pre-order.
It’s my understanding from Leon of Kato…that the US market…whether HO or N…is still a relatively small amount of sales compared to their home/asian market. So that is why we don’t see as many releases as we’d like. Although from an Nscale POV…I am lovin’ it! (to quote McDonalds latest ads)…with all their upcoming releases.
Mike
Henderson, NV
As a former three railer all I can say about MTH is I hope their quality control in HO is better than it is in three rail. A bunch of that arrives DOA out of the box. The smoke units put out a lot, true, but you need a gas mask after a few minutes of running to stay in the same room with them. I doubt they will even dent the DCC market. From my experience I would say DCS is so complicated that many just give up learning it. I hope they stay out of N scale
DCC isn’t as popular as people think and MTH will prove that there’s a cheaper and better alternative. This time next year, there will be a lot of people drooling over DCS and new HO products from MTH.
And what crystal ball are you looking at there at MTH, RC?
Why don’t you all just get over this MTH thingy and have some fun? I looked at this topic for information about new NATIONAL TRAIN SHOW products and ideas that were introduced. Maybe this forum is not about a fun hobby afterall. Take your peeves and stuff’um. I think yo’all need to all sit back and contemplate the importance of your playtime hobby. This is a hobby, not serious live endeavour; it is about adults playing with toy trains. I have to stop now; it’s time to do something important.
OK, R.C. - if you say so. (I know of one).
- but After reading your ‘factual report’ - I think your ‘MTH’ is a MYTH, and MISSED by a MILE. Thorry about my Thpelling. My key thtuck.
(signed) MTH-less.
You have to respect a man trying to earn a paycheck. Like a Betamax salesman. Or an 8-track salesman.
I would of tossed in buggywhip salesman but at one time they were useful.
It is my take that Ricket Crater doesn’t give a rats bottom about MTH or MTH products. He keeps repeating a simplistic phrase that gets the goats of members here. If he were anything but a troll, he would have a better argument than:
My dad can beat up your dad.
It just keeps on going huh… [(-D]
Keep at it, someone just might get brainwashed! [(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]
I heard two rumord at the LHS that perhaps Rivit Counter can confirm.
Apparently MTH will be introducing an HO scale knuckle coupler next year. While it isn’t compatible with Kadees, that shouldn’t be much of a problem as Kadees aren’t as popular as people think.
I also heard that MTH is also working on a control system for folks that don’t want to go the DCC/DCS route. The system works taking house current (110V, AC) and converting it to a variable DC current. This DC current is then sent through the rails to the model locomotive and the varying of the voltage will control the speed of the model. MTH’s new “two rail voltage proportional current control” system will revolutionize the model railroad world and MTH has applied for a patent. MRC has been put on notice that their power packs may violate this sure to be approved patent but MTH will be happy to work out a licensing agreement.
I’m pretty excited about these two new products as they will revolutionize this hobby and definately make MTH an industry leader, not just in model railroading, but perhaps among all industries. Hopefully Rivit Counter can confirm these two new products!