The final face plates, with lettering engraved, arrived Friday and all the assembled ProtoThrottle circuit boards came in last week. Nathan and I also spent a fun weekend building all the receiver boards we need (and more). With that, everything is in place to begin final assembly of the throttles, testing, packaging, and yes, eventually, shipping!
A progression of face plates… Bare aluminum after milling (left). Anodized (middle). Engraved (right).
Receiver boards after assembly… Lenz / Cab Bus on the left, XBee boards for the ESU/JMRI/Digitrax receiver on the right.
I ordered one and my current dcc is ecos. I also have a nce and digitrax. So it will work with at least one system I have?
I’m not sure about the ECoS system, but the ProtoThrottle will work with NCE and Digitrax using the appropriate receiver. See the following link for complete compatibility information:
https://www.iascaled.com/store/ModelRailroad/ProtoThrottle/Receivers
I’m confused as to whether I need the receiver or will the radio control or ir that I have now for the nce and digitrax will work. I also have the esu ecos system which has a tablet along with a base station.
A receiver will be needed for either the NCE or Digitrax systems. The proprietary wireless and IR protocols on those systems are not compatible with the ProtoThrottle. For NCE, you just need this receiver:
https://www.iascaled.com/store/MRBW-CABBUS
For Digitrax, you need the following receiver, along with the Digitrax LNWI module:
https://www.iascaled.com/store/ESU-BRIDGE
http://www.digitrax.com/products/wireless/lnwi/
Just curious but will the throttles one day have both receivers in it where just about systems will be able to be controlled by the proto throttle.
Due to the proliferation of DCC throttle communication protocols, and the fact that many are wired (e.g. Cab Bus, Loconet, etc.) there will likely always be a need for a receiver of some sort. Conceivably, the throttle could be WiFi enabled, but that comes with its own set of problems.
I called esu to ask about the proto throttle and the cab control which it is able to be controlled by and I mentioned that I had the ecos by esu and they said that it will also be able to be controlled by the throttle. I thought I was going to have to buy the cab control but apparently the system I have is able to be controlled by the throttle just like the cab control. Just thought I’d let you all know if anybody else has the ecos by esu. Also is there any estimated shipping date on the throttles?
Where can I order one of these ProtoThrottle controller?
From Spring Creek Model trains Deshler Nebraska, or Caboose Trains in Lakewood Colorado.