RailCom
®
RailCom is a bi-directional data communications technology defined
by NMRA Standard S-9.3.2 and RailCommunity RCN-217. RailCom
enables bi-directional communication between the command station
and decoders, unlike in traditional DCC where the communication is
exclusively in one direction (from the Command Station to the Decoder).
The inclusion of RailCom opens up significant opportunities for future
features and expansion. For example, the use of RailCom allows for real-
time read-back of CV’s while programming on the mainline. In traditional
DCC, you would only be able to write to a CV, whereas with RailCom,
writing and reading on the mainline are both possible.
Some other possibilities such as live feedback on a throttle for fuel or
water level, temperature, and many other statistics are also unlocked
with RailCom technology. Block detection becomes more integrated
with RailCom as well, including the possibility of knowing who or what
is occupying a block, rather than just knowing a block is occupied. This
data could be used further to aide in automation setups and macros. A
fleet of rolling stock could also be equipped with basic RailCom decoders
to keep track of cars in yards or trains. The potential applications
for RailCom are still being explored, and is an untapped wealth of
possibilities!
RailCom is a highly-responsive system as well, allowing up to ~126
individual operations per second (depending on the available DCC
bandwidth) at a bit-rate of 250Kbps by introducing a very brief
interruption to the DCC track power. During this interruption, the RailCom
detector on the Command Station will send or receive information to and
from the decoder.
!!! IMPORTANT !!!
“RailCom
®
” and “RailComPlus
®
” are not the same
thing! RailCom
®
is standardized by the NMRA and RailCommunity.
RailComPlus is an expanded version or RailCom which was modified
and expanded upon by ESU (Electronic Solutions Ulm GmbH & Co.).
The expanded featureset created by ESU is not available in any
published documentation or standards. As such, TCS is not capable
of developing our products to incorporate these unpublished features.
Similarly, TCS cannot guarantee that all features of an ESU decoder
featuring RailComPlus will operate correctly on a TCS command station
with RailCom such as the LT-50.
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