Slashdot Mirror
Model Train Control Using Your PDA
VP writes "Forget that crap about PDAs making you more productive by keeping useless contact lists and appointment reminders. Here is the real reason PDAs exist: locopalm.com. You might want to check out the TechTV spot as well."
Hmmm... OK, now that I see it in print, maybe it's not such a great pick-up line after all...
I want to be able to drive my car with my PDA/Cell phone.
I want to be able to fly a remote control helicopter, too!
2 posts and can't connect.
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
oh, in that case it would be easier. me, i'd have to go all the way across the house and boot up the other computer, so i'll just burn some karma. i have more than enuf MUHAHAHAHA!!!!
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Here's a mirror.
LocoPalm
LocoMon
LocoConfig
LocoProg
Adapter
I.O.U One Sig.
Was he running his website on his PDA as well? Did we crash his train too?
"She's a West Texas girl, just like me" - G.W Bush Iraqis
you are SOOOO talking to the wrong people.
YOU SUCK BALLS!
....with a PDA..... lol what a pointless article. I mean, sure, great for them, all the power to them, but... slashdot material? lol.. erm..
I've left to find myself. If you happen to see me, please, keep me there until I return.
Yeah, here's the google cache Jeez, were they hosting the server on the Palm?
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
Projects like this are a lot of fun, and a great way to get into electronics.
Lead developer, http://wisptools.net
this won't be cool until you can use a Palm to make 2 model trains collide and explode like in the Addams Family.
"And this is my boy, Sherman. Speak, Sherman." "Hello." "Good boy."
When I was in public school my friend's dad had a model train set up in one room in his basement. We were never allow to go in there, he was afraid we'd break something. You might think this kind of "forbidden fruit" would be beyond temptation to two young boys, but you'd be wrong. I never went in that room, and I never wanted to either.
Moral of the story.. even though you think model trains are great, most people don't give a shit.
I've always wanted to build a really detailed diorama with model trains and a little city. In fact, I'm gonna do that when I retire ... some 40 years from now. I just hope I'm going to find my bookmark for this story when that time comes ...
Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?
Dont be so hard on the parent poster.
/. users own a fully working train set that they currently USE. /. users also own a PDA.
he raises a very valid point.
(before i start, this is not flamebait! im mearly saying my opinion)
Who really cares? everyday i keep seeing the same bullshit. Guy controls train with PDA. whoohoo. instead of posting constructive topics, we get this weird shit.
Okay then, to prove the parent poster above isnt a troll.
1)How many
2)How many
out of the total above, how many people are now going to make there PDA control there train. very few.
dont take me wrong, im all for people being creative. but hey, there are people dying/being killed/ass raped by george W./being stressed out by the slashdot effect.
How about we work on CONSTRUCTIVE projects that would make this world a better place.
Hairy Palm by L0PHT!
My Sony Clie comes with a program that lets you use it as a sort of universal remote control. Works pretty well too... It's a lot of fun going to sports bars, covertly taking out the palm pilot, and changing the channel from ESPN to Lifetime.
What goes around comes around.
--- and around
--- and around
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
It's great that someone has figured out how to control model trains with a palm pilot, but think of how useful a Palm could be to control various appliances and circuits in your house. This has been done with computers, but it isn't too practical. But with a Palm, imagine... You wake up in the morning, find the Palm Pilot on your night stand, and push a button to start the coffee maker. Did your kids leave the lights on in a dozen rooms in the house, and you've just settled down to watch the game? Turn 'em all off in a snap with the Palm Pilot by your side.
How about we work on CONSTRUCTIVE projects that would make this world a better place.
Or at least someting cool like...
VNC Server for Toasters and Light-Switches
and
TCP/IP Enabled Lego Bricks
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
And, most importantly, can you do a 14L with it???
there are people that convert lego train motors to use DCC as well, allowing lego trains to be controlled from your palm.
a while back there was the article about how to turn a floppy disk into the enterprise from star trek (why i even bothered to clarify that here is beyond me). It was kinda gay, but a lot of people that day put up pictures of their attempts at it. It was cool because everyone has a spare floppy disk, and many a /.er likes star trek. in the end, i found i actually enjoyed the article, simply because people were doing it and posting pictures. Now this one, i'm not going to see a picture of your attempt, and (as you mentioned) not too many people have trains and a pda and want to do this (the enterprise thing took five minutes).
but who am i to rant and rave about the poor quality of these articles? after all, i'm only here because i'm wasting a little time right now. and if it was realy that bad, i'd just leave, the internet is a big place.
YOU SUCK BALLS!
The locopalm is nice, however ...what is really amazing are the goals my 9 year old met to be able to Rent-A-Locomotive at the Golden Gate Museum Railroad!
His face was full of delight as he drove an actual locomotive (under an engineer's instruction, of course).
Sometimes there's nothing quite like the real thing.
--Hopscotch
...I almost know the answer: "Because this is Slashdot."
But consider the following: 1. Very few slashdotters own a working train 2. Very few slashdotters that own a working train want to control it with their palms 3. very very few slashdotters own a working train AND want to control it with their palms. 4. If this is a slashdot story, then why are non-tech-related things cut?
Where's my AC at?
Who really cares? everyday i keep seeing the same bullshit. Guy controls train with PDA. whoohoo. instead of posting constructive topics, we get this weird shit.
You are apparently ignorant of history. Much of compter science came from a model railroad club.
The MIT model railroad club, to be exact. See Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution for more details.
These are the folks who brought you emacs, time-sharing, and open source.
So don't be surprised at the occasional computer-controlled-model-railroad story on slashdot. That's what they were trying to do in the FIRST place.
It's nice to see that its finally working. B-)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
now if only they could get their website to handle more traffic...
When geek cultures collide... pda's and model trains? throw in linux and its a geek paradise...
wont even get your ass laid
i dont know about you, but i don't like it when my ass engages in sexual activities...
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Forget that crap about PDAs making you more productive by keeping useless contact lists and appointment reminders.
I've known better about that sort of thing ever since I discovered ZShell for the TI-85.
The coolest voice ever.
I actually do have a train and I own a Sharp Zaurus. When I saw the article I was instantly interested in doing that with my PDA. I will definately have to look into it.
Blah.
well, tell me if you ever post some pix of it or the like. still, you are a rare one amongst the /. crowd for havin both the props and the desire to do it
YOU SUCK BALLS!
You don't know your hacker's lore. This article is about as on-topic as Slashdot gets.
Computer controlled model trains have been around for awhile now. It's known as direct command control (DCC) and it's a well known standard among serious model railroaders. I believe its specification is also defined by the National Model Railroading Association (NMRA).
Basically, the flaws of regular DC model railroading are as follows: Each locomotive picks up DC power from the rails, and therefore, it is not possible to have two trains moving in different directions or different speeds unless the sections of rail are insulated. DCC was brought about, which allows each locomotive to be addressable, and "command controlled". A "decoder" is installed in each locomotive, which receives the command. The decoder is really just a PIC.
I wonder if this the technology discussed in the article (which I can't get to right now) is a DCC derivative of some sort?
Guess I'll join in too. Does anyone have a mirror site for ./ that doesn't have Ads, dupes, trolls, or AC?
No. Well back to work then.
I really hate Dan Patrick.
Great self portrait, the likeness is uncanny.
why do all the screens look poorly pasted on in photoshop except for one? particularly in this one. i wouldn't think they should need to do that.
Because it's about grace. It really is about grace.
Alterslash.org is pretty close.
I don't know about 1, but I imagine quite a large percentage of slashdot users own pdas. (Furthermore, I would imagine that among the slashdot users who do own a fully working train set, the percentage also owning a PDA would be even higher.)
The idea of using a PDA to control a model train fits in VERY well with the theme of slashdot. It is a cool hack. There needs to be more of this kind of story posted here. It is a story of individual initiative and inventiveness, rather than corporate greed and legal entanglements. It is a story that inspires people. How much more constructive and good for the world do you want?
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
Remind me of a scene where Fry gets a Lucy Lui bot. Scenes goes like
:)
Fry: "I Love you"
Lucy "I love you"
Fry: "I love you"
Professor: "Oh my God she's stuck in an infinite loop and hes a blithering idiot"
Class
Rus
Cheap UK and US VPS
If anyone will be in the Boston area on Saturday (tomorrow, May 3rd), TMRC is holding its Spring Open House from 2-5 in room N52-118 on the MIT campus. Come see our new control system in action. Lots more information (maps, etc.) at tmrc.mit.edu.
Tom O'Reilly
TMRC Treasurer
Just thought I'd share...
It might be cool if you could stage your own AmTrak-style derailments.
Yeah yeah, mod me down if you want. I liked making dangerous rides in Rollercoaster Tycoon too. It's amazing how high you can fling coaster cars into the air with incomplete track . . . wheee
Reading stupid /.ers trying to talk about model railroading is like reading about a bunch of normal people talking about computers.
"Yeah but it wouldn't be cool unless the scroll wheel makes the two windows collide and the screen explode like in Star Trek!"
Spoon not. Fork, or fork not. There is no spoon.
Reading this story got me interested in what kinds of railroad simulators are available online. BVE is a cab-view simulator that has a decent collection of real-world trains and tracks for you to try out (sorry, it's windows only). If you've ever wanted to drive a train on the London Underground, here's your chance.
After all these years I found the reason my father wouldn't let me operate my minitiature trains. I guess he was affraid I was too young to own a PDA ;-)
/(bb|[^b]{2})/
Forget that crap about PDAs making you more productive by keeping useless contact lists and appointment reminders. Here is the real reason PDAs exist
This isn't the reason PDAs exist, it's just the real reason why most geeks will never get laid.
Geek 1: I can either save that girls number on my PDA, or free the memory up so I can use it for my train controlling app.
Geek 2: There are girls, and phone numbers all over this planet, how many train controlling PDAs are there!?!?
Geek 1: You're right! Train controlling app it is!
dh.
PS. also a soution to the slashdot effect.
If you're gonna fly a plane using your PDA... For God's sake, don't use Windows CE or PocketPC! Worms/Virii could do massive dammage there :-)
Not Buzzword 2.0 compliant. Please speak english.
You can do better than that guys!
Dolemite
Save the World! Use a Quote!
This sort of mass produced hardware for 200 or so, total, is going to put a lot of process plant control manufacturers out of business.
Sig:
Navy nuke sub lifestyle?
"wont even get your ass laid
i dont know about you, but i don't like it when my ass engages in sexual activities..."
Everytime something "nerdy" appears on Slashdot, we get a whole chorus of people complaining that Slashdot users won't get laid. This happens every single time.
I can't help but think that this falls under the, "I think thou dost protest too much" category.
"Here is the real reason PDAs exist""
And all this time, I thought the purpose of PDAs was so you could entertain yourself in boring meetings and yet, look like you were taking notes. I mean come on, with that IR port so you can play IR Pong with the person across the table??
While finding cures for diseases is a noble goal, it requires equipment that is beyond the reach of most hobbyists.
As much as I may disagree with their influence in the world, assasinating people who you don't like, or who's political views you do not agree with, does not make the world a better place. It makes it a worse place.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
If you really want to see something, check out http://www.marklin.com and http://www.marklin.com/digital/
They've had computer controlled train mods since the 90's
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
Imagine a beowulf cluster running one of these! Get it? Instead of the other way around?
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
Well ... I was referring to little RC helicopters with onboard video cameras, like the kind used in movie productions.
But yes.
What would you use? QNX?
Life sized Remote Controlled Trains!
C'mon, get rid of the cables already. I can control my TV, DVD player, AV/AMP, and VCR (and those at school!) with my Clié's IR port. Why is this still using cables?