Must the base station be out in the open or can it be mounted below the layout?
It works a whole lot better if there is nothing between the antenna of the radio base and your throttle.
If we’re talking a 4x8, you probably can stick it underneath. But if you have a whole room or basement, it needs to be out in the open. Wood, metal, and humans block radio signals.
One suggestion is to mount it upside-down from the ceiling (antenna facing down).
–Randy
The NCE radio base station is a separate device from the command station. The add-on repeaters are similar. Both are connected by network cables to the command station, so they can be placed to ensure a good signal. As with any radio system, the higher the better with the antenna. Depending on how crowded a layout might be, the materials used in construction, etc, placing the antenna down low accentuates their propensity to limit range. As Randy noted, a ceiling mount is optimal with the antenna placed hanging down as this minimizesthe blocking effects of stuff in the layout room itself.
Thanks for your help. Everyting I read is new info for me.
Thanks Mike. I’m in Peoria, a few miles away. I have a “U” shaped layout. I dont have a lot of room in the middle of the ‘U’. I dont want to have to operate in the middle. Thank for the help.
I have a CVP wireless system for my Lenz DCC. I had a 24x24 foot room, and the wireless receiver was mounted beneath the layout. I never had any problems with signal strength, reception or interference. If I were building anything bigger or felt like doing more wiring, I might put it up higher, but as is the system worked very reliably.
Since Lenz does not make a wireless throttle, I am grateful to CVP for filling that gap.
isn’t it just plugged into the cabbus like any other cab?
My layout occupies a 42’ x 25’ space, eesentially forming an L-shape. I have an NCE wireless 5 amp system with the base station/antenna mounting upside down on the ceiling. It is most responsive when the wireless cab is aimed in the direction of the antenna.
Rich
If you plan to operate from around the outside of the U, the best place for the RB02 would be in the middle of the U. Shortest distance and most visibility to all edges of the U.
–Randy
Yes.
Rich
Yes, it is. Thing is, if you do have a system of cabled UTP throttle connections on the fascia of the layout (the most common location, but maybe people stick them elsewhere, too) you are best off routing the cable up the ceiling to install the radio box(es) up there.
Mister Beasley had good results with his radio set under the layout. That can avoid some extra work and cabling. I don’t doubt that, as layouts vary greatly in terms of size, materials, and use cases, but if doing that doesn’t work well (and it often doesn’t) then moving things up higher is what you do. This works generally for radio systems.
In my case, the layout is in two rooms next to each other. I have two radio boxes, one in each room. They attach to the end of the daisy-chained UTP net cabling. Never a problem with reception.
My antenna is under the benchwork against the end wall of my house. I did a test and at 100’ away at the other end of the house it still worked perfectly.
Not at all surprising. It often does and this can be determined, in part, by simply testing to see it it will as you install, assuming there’s a layout in place that the radio system is being added to.
Many factors affecting reception/transmitting can be taken into account in planning such a radio system and can be veified as you proceed with construction. And if the only operators would be you and maybe one or two others, that would be all that needs attention.
However, if you’re planning a larger system where multiple operators would normally be present, than you can’t really account for this easily by verifying how it works during construction, as you’re unlikely to have that number of warm bodies in the room until that first big ops session…and that would be a bad time to find out that things don’t work so well because of the potential for human interaction to interfere with the radio links.
Other factors that are typilcally present can also account for substantial differences in radio effectiveness. Whether the throttles have internal or external antennas can make a substantial difference at times, although they often preform equally well in many installations.
Then there’s the local RF environment. Rural locations are often better in this regard, as very little radio use is nearby. Exceptions to this can include a location that just happens to be near a transmitter site. In urban locations, RF is often dense. This raises the overall noise floor and can act as a limiting factor on reception. While external to the train room, it’s a factor you can’t really do anything about, other than to improve your reception by going with strategies like moving your equipment higher.
An ex
if reception is better when both antennas are more parallel to one another, it may make sense to put the RB02 closer to the floor than up high where the antennas are more perpendicular to one another
My layout is located in the basement and is 24x36ft. My NCE antenna sits on a shelf beneath the laout. I have yet to experience a “dead spot” I’ve also tried it from the 1st and 2nd floors of the house and from outside the house. Always responded perfectly. Great product…
Mark B.
Do you have a repeater connected to the RB02?
Rich
No- just the regular antenna.
In that case, the reception quality of your RB02 is impressive, no dead spots from the 1st and 2nd floors of the house and from outside the house.
Rich
There is such a thing as too many repeaters. Friend of mine has a large, two room layout. He was having trouble with his NCE system. After consultation with NCE he removed all but two of the repeaters and his issues went away. Turns out that the extra repeaters were interfering with each other.
I agree that you can have too many repeaters, but what surprises me is that Mark B has no repeaters and yet can get perfect reception from two floors away from the layout or even from outdoors.
Rich