Hey all. After picking up a few issues of Model Railroader (7 for $10! Grin) and a copy of Model Railroad Planning 2008, I have rethought how my layout is going to work. After a little thought and research, I think it would be interesting to use a combination of car cards and waybills. Car cards controlling the freight cars’ pickup and set out points, and waybills controlling the movement of passenger and freight trains across the main. Now with that, It would be necessary for the operators to be able to contact the dispatcher for waybills. Now, since the layout is planned be in one room, and the dispatcher/operator lounge will be in another, radio headsets seem to be a good choice, but, I have no experience with these. So could someone please give me a few pointers, like what brand you use, why you use it, other brands that may also be good, etc. My needs are simply that it can communicate from my room (2nd floor of the house) to the layout room (basement). Which isn’t very far, because if my entire room were to drop down to the basement level, my room would be right next to, if not slightly overlapping the layout room. Radio interference shouldn’t be a problem, since my house doesn’t have satellite tv or radio, and regular radio is very rarely used. Please and thank you!
You’ve got two options for ‘radios’ when all is said and done.
You could use VHF MURS radios, or look at some of the ‘bubblepack’ FRS radios. All the FRS radios really are the same in terms of performance and what they are allowed to do. The only problem with both solutions is that no matter what you use, someone else has the ‘right’ to use it too.
Another solution is to get a bunch of old phones and make yourself a home intercom system. All the handsets only use a total of 2 wires, and you can use the others so that the dispatcher can ‘ring down’ to a buzzer and have someone pick up to pass a message along.
What exactly do you mean? Because I would really love touse radio, as making an intercom system is a little bit out of reach. (Unless it is simpler than I think it will be…)
“FRS” radios (like the radios you can find at Walmart, Target, etc) are for ‘any’ family use. Anyone can buy a pack and use them for the most part. Of course there are regulations preventing business and commercial groups from using them, but for the most part now, MURS and FRS are a free-for-all.
Making your own intercom isn’t that hard. You just need a 9 volt DC power supply and the related wiring.
If you want to see how an op session works with the crews speaking to the dispatcher via radio, using DCC wireless throttles – and trying to run trains somewhat realistically, then check out the ops reports on my layout web site. I’ve got lots of still photos and discussion of various op sessions, and my latest reports even include some video.
Ops session report on my personal web site – with video.
(click image to enlarge)
I am posting these reports because I know many modelers who have never experienced a prototypically-based op session with a dispatcher, radios, and wireless DCC. For me, this kind of operation is the pinnacle of the hobby and is a total blast. It’s the reason I do all the rest of the hobby! [swg]
The large layout I operate on uses FRS radios. Seem to work pretty good when everyone uses them properly, presses the right buttons. The radios have rechargeable batteries, a real plus in that they don’t need new ones all the time. The dispatcher is in a little alcove, with operators working around him at times, so they just talk to him directly.