Hi All,
I would like your honest opinions for a new product idea I have. This item will not be marketed unless I get an overwhelming response.
If you are interested please visit www.pvanimations.com if you would like to comment go to the support page and click on the techsupport link to email your comments. If not enjoy your weekend!
Thanks,
rap213
Hi All,
I posted this message last night message last night hoping for some feedback on my project. I have not received any at all. I’m really surprized because there are so much information given out here on a wide assortment of subjects. Is my idea just so stupid that no one is interested? The reason I asked to have email sent to my website was because I did not want to break any forum rules, not to gather emails for spamming. Please, does anyone have any comments on my project positive or negative? www.pvanimations.com
Thanks,
rap213
We tend not to do commercial stuff here. Besides, I was not sure what the idea was. Maybe I didn’t read close enough.
Hi Art,
Thank you for replying. That is very good feedback. Obviously I did not do too good of a job on the website if people are not sure what the idea is. Anyone else feel the same?
Thanks,
Roger
I couldn’t get the links to work.
I agree with Art. It is unclear as to what exactly you are marketing. I had to read it over a few times before I really got what was going on.
Here is the problem from my perception. You begin with a very basic idea that you are coming up with a new product to control non-rail related animations. However, then you proceed directly into the more specific workings of it. You have been working on this product for a long period of time and know its ins and outs. However, the consumer doesn’t.
It is unclear what exactly your product is. Is it software? Is it hardware logic? Is it both? There is some middle connection that is missing.
Besides the above, carefully check for tyopgraphical errors and grammatical errors, as well as general sentence structure. As it is, the description is difficult to read and thereby turns away potential customers. Ever wonder why people are overwhelmed by signal logic?
An example where some typographical, grammatical, and structural work could be used:
In the real world events occur both asynchronously and asynchronously to a railroad. Cars stopping at a crossing gate when the train goes by would be an example of an synchronous event with the railroad. Cars on a overpass over the tracks move on their way whether the train is passing or not, this is an example of a asynchronous event.
Typo: both asynchronously and asynchronously
Grammar/Structure: Cars on a overpass over the tracks move on their way whether the train is passing or not, this is an example of a asynchronous event.
->should be semi-colon if you wish to structure it this way, however I would recommend flipping the structure.
The description feels like it
Hi Jeffery,
Do you mean the links from page to page or demo links? I’ve tested from a few different locations and they work ok.
Art, if you are still here:
My idea is designed to control animations on model railroads of all scales. Examples, moving cars, lighting lights, opening crossing gates, etc. These events can be programmed to happen when the train goes by or on thier own. The idea is to make just more than the trains move on the layout to add more realism. It is a an electronic board designed to control DC, AC and stepper motors, solenoids, leds, lamps, relays, and other electronic circuits. It is programmed using software installed on a PC, once programmed it runs on its own without the computer. It really works!
Thanks,
Roger
My opinion on your POST (more than your product)
Neither your message TITLE LINE nor your trains.com message were specific enough to make anyone know if they might be interested. There are gobs and gobs of messages, “opinions solicited on new trackplan”, and “experience with Brand X locomotive”. Your title line looked pretty much like one of those, but not as specific. In half a line, you could put a title line like “Opinions wanted on proposed new product”.
Then IF you have got somebody to commit themselves to open your message IN the forum, give him a little information to make him want to go to YOUR web site, not just, this is something wonderful, information, innovation, click on it and see what it is. You have created what is pretty nearly a “BLIND AD”.
By the way, when I saw the phrase “animation” in your website name, I wondered whether it referred to computer generated video imagery, possibly of an unbuilt but planned model railroad, a rendering and visualization tool. And when I actually went to your web site, the first few lines of your description made me wonder if that’s what you were leading up to.
Right in your initial message, you could in 20 words tell us that you are proposing/developing a system to control the animation of the non-railroad or scenic items of a railroad, the cranes, construction equipment, vehicles, etc. Enough so that people who are interested want to know more. Not your whole sales pitch or product proposal, just SOMETHING.
Now about your product. Sounds to me as if it is primarily a CONTROL system. A few folks have put animated gizmos on their layouts for years, either running constantly, controlled with relays, sensors, etc. or controlled manually. Sounds like your system is a step up improvement in CONTROL. I would think of using it for LIGHTING. I would like to run by schedule and m
The links in the blue line (Demo, Support, place Order, Etc) work fine. When I click on a pic in the demo part, nothing happens.
Roger, this is the middle idea that you need to communicate. As leighant said, you need to tell them you are marketing mens tuxedos (or devices to control animations) before trying to entice them with your product’s benefits and in-depth design.
I personally would not have a use for such a product. The software seems a little complex for setting up the devises. People seem to expect things to be a bit more plug n play these days.
(I did not find the site to be confusing)[2c]
Hi Yoshi,
I was afraid I got too carried away with the tech stuff, I’m an electrical engineer and that tends to happen with everything I do, you should see my layout.
I love model railroading and the only thing I find funny is the basicly the only things that moves are the trains. We try so hard to make our layouts realistic, to mimic life, but in real life evething moves. I am trying to add a little bit more realism to a layout by moving things in addition to the trains. You notice people at train shows always follow the trains around? Imagine if there were other things moving for them to marvel at!
It is both hardware and software, and gives the user simple software control of complex electronics. They do not have to know how signal logic works because the software knows how to control it. I built a model crane that rotates left to right and back, while lifting and lowering. It is one of the demos. I know thay are large files to download and apologize for that. I am also controlling the imfamous Helgen 90’ N scale turntable. It took a while to build it, but once it built and I programmed my board to control it, it works very well.
Awesome comments Yoshi! Thank you very much!
Roger
Hi All,
Again this is all good information. I like the idea of control system. That is exactly what it is.
A few answers. The software does look complicated, because it is designed to control complex movements. For example if you wanted you can program it turn a stepper motor to turn 10 degrees for one second, 30 degrees for another second and then 10 full rotations clockwise, then repeat the whole sequence counter clockwise. Also all this can be initiated when the train goes by. I am going to model a person hanging laundry at a home by the tracks. When the train passes a dc fan whill turn on and blow the laundry on the line, simulating the breeze of the passing train. An opto sensor under the track detects the train. The sensor output triggers the control module to turn on the fan for 10 seconds. So yes the software looks complicated, but in reality it is fairly easy to use.
Jeffery I’ll try to check on the links, tey are 2-4 megabyte in size and if you are using dialup like me will take about 45-60 minutes to download.
Am I getting too techie again?
Roger
Roger, I know where you are coming from. Although of student age, all in my extended family are in enginnering; most in computer or software but a few in electrical and civil, so I understand the tendency to get carried away in giving info.
Do give all the info, just don’t forget the big picture. Since now the big picture makes sense, your last comment was not too techie. You should include the ideas you conveyed there on your site, as I agree that at first glance the UI did seem very complicated and overwhelming. Because of what you wrote here, I was able to quickly understand your software page.
Also consider your target group of consumers. While the new generation of model railroaders is very knowledgeable in technology, the baby-boomer generation often is not as welcoming. Therefore, you may want to consider how you can make this product more attractive to that group.
The product idea is interesting, but have you thoroughly made sure that you will be able to patent it? There is no product in or out of the MR world that does these functions? (I assume you have checked and know, but it never hurts to confirm). With this comes the question as well->what other applications can your product apply to?
Other companies in the MR business do make similar products to control animations and such. This can even be done via one’s DCC system. I don’t know your product well enough to tell you my opinion as to whether your product will be successful against existing competition.
Hello Yoshi,
Your comments have been extremely helpful. I really do appriciate them. I have done research on the competition and tried to ‘find a niche to fit in’. That is the motto of a friend of mine who has been very sucessful in business.
My angle is ‘Who in their right mind would go through all the trouble to build a layout and have a computer run them?’ Running them is most of the fun, the satisfaction of seeing all your hard work working! I don’t want to control trains, as the some competitors do. I want to add more realism to the layout by controlling background movement, to add to the overall realism of the layout. Other manufactueres do make devices to do this, but I have not seen one that can tie them all together and run without operator intervention. I hope to have created a system that can do exactly that. Once again, great input! Interested in editing my site? BTW patent pending.
I have updated the website to try and explain the system better.
For all of you who have visited, please take a minute to look again. www.pvanimations.com I think I may be able to get my message across a bit better due to all the wonderful help I have received from the good people on this forum. Pardon the grammer, been in the beer barn for a while.
Many thanks,
Roger
What’s to keep me from stealing this idea and selling it myself?
Is it good enough to steal?
Roger
Gosh darn it. If I want your product I’m going to have to pay the sales tax! Grr…
[edit] removed what was previously written here. I did not refresh the site when I clicked the link; hence I arrived at the original)
If I can be of any other help, i’d be happy to. Logic, especially those relating to signals (even though that is not what your product deals with), is really interesting to me. Plus, it’ll be a good addition to a college resume.
Good luck,
Okay, now that I have read the updated homepage:
This is pretty good. It is much clearer than before. Your basic ideas are conveyed, but here are a few recommendations:
Why are you providing a simple example? Provide an example that shows your product’s true power. Don’t leave the product’s capabilities to the consumer’s imagination because that sends the message that the product description is misleading and the product is incapable of doing as much as what is implied. Mention ideas about programming a motor to move a certain degree value in certain sequence, etc.
Why do you need to mention Stepper motors on your homepage? As written, talking about stepper motors detracts from clarity.You’re system doesn’t work exclusively with stepper motors, and neither are stepper motors what you are selling.
In order to communicate that stepper motors are best suited to the job, set that as a seperate page on your site, with links from relevant places in the rest of the site. Place these links in the text, not in the navbar (navbar is for your product). You might say, "System is compatible with AC, DC, and stepper motors (link: Why use stepper motors).
[edit] good! You already have “why to use stepper motors” in your overview. Now just link it from relevant places, instead of putting the “why to use stepper motors” idea into a 1 sentence phrase that interrupts the rest.
FWIW - he should probably also explain clearly how many devices his controller can control.
He speaks of “four 8 bit ports, two which are used for I/O functions, one for Stepper motor control and one port for future expansion. Port 1 is a programmable output port, which can be used to control relays, solenoid, lamps LEDs, etc. Port 2 is a input/output port which can be programmed to control 8 more devices or as an 8 bit input port to monitor and cause the micro to react events which occur on you layout”.
So what does that mean to a potensial customer ? Would I be correct in assuming that it could control either:
So basically, what he is offering is the same kind of stuff you can buy from Viessmann in Germany ?
Except Viessmann probably does it better. Business idea of the original poster is to provide a general programmable control. Business idea Viessmann has is to make it simple enough to be used by your average modeller.
They have a better user inteface for their small control thingies - generally each of their thingies are small enough to be hidding in a H0 building, has a couple of input wires for reading sensors, a couple of output wires to control various things and can be configured without the user needing a computer and much in the way of instructions - by just twisting a couple of dials on the unit to set e.g. how long a signal should be off, how quick power should be increased etc. The Viessmann thingies are fairly popular over here to control DC trains (and animations).
http://www.viessmann-modell.com/en/aktuell/inhalt.php
Yeah - they also have windows based gr