Latest News
What Are All Those Blinky Lights?
You may have noticed all those blinky lights on the ProtoThrottle and its receivers. Yes, Nathan and I are fans of LEDs on the stuff we build. There is a small coolness factor, but more importantly, for products going out into the wild, beyond our loving care (and our ability to see and touch them), these lights convey important information that helps the user – and us – debug problems when they arise. Below is a guide to what all those lights do and what they mean. To use and enjoy the ProtoThrottle, you certainly aren’t expected to know and remember all the information below. But things do sometimes go wrong, and we wanted to provide a reference guide to help in figuring out what happened. This should also help you understand why one of our first questions, when someone contacts us with a problem, usually involves us asking about those pesky little blinking LEDs…
How Do I Choose a ProtoThrottle Braking Mode?
There are two main braking modes in the ProtoThrottle. The default mode is a basic on/off (VAR BRK = OFF) brake. When you move the brake handle right, past the brake threshold (approximately mid-way), the assigned brake function is activated in the locomotive decoder. When you cross that threshold moving the brake handle left, the assigned function is deactivated. Simple and straightforward. This is equivalent to what you get with a standard function button on a traditional throttle.
2018 STL RPM Meet
We will be attending the St. Louis RPM Meet this Friday and Saturday (July 20-21, 2018). Please stop by and say hello. New for this year… the ProtoThrottle! No more waiting as it will finally be available for regular sales. Following the RPM, we will make it available on our website, along with our two exclusive dealers: Caboose in Denver, CO, and Spring Creek Model Trains in Deshler, NE.
If you’re in the St. Louis area this weekend, stop by and see all the wonderful models and soak in the knowledge at this year’s meet. Hope to see you there!