We just figured out how to turn on the ditch lights, the horn, and the sounds. There will be no menus to have to sort through, and no buttons to push. Control of these functions will be in the throttle making them voltage modulated.
You just won't believe how simple it will be! No addresses to find. No programming to hassle with, no decoders to put in locomotives.----WOW!

Shane here. I am not sure yet when the release date will be. We are however working on it as fast as we can.
The technology is still proprietary and so I have to be careful about what I say. What I can say, is that it will be the simplest model railroad operating system that exists.
Lately I have become a bit wound up about the way the hobby is being divided. It has become a hobby for the rich and famous. I intend to end that! There have become too many costly luxuries that divide the "haves from the have nots.
A father that is providing for his family, that likes trains can't afford a lot of the things that are out there. I intend to make it posible for him to enjoy the hobby also!
The kit that we will sell will be available with or without the power supply. Most modelers will already have their own power supply. There will be somewhere between 5 and 7 transponders in the kit allowing the operator to run at least 5 trains independent of each other. The transponders will be about 7.50$ a piece.
There will be maybe 7 (or so) Switchboards allowing for that many blocks to be operated in.
Another beauty of this system is that the entire railroad does not have to be equipped with this system to get started. You can install Switchboads for more blocks as time and budget allow. With DCC, the modeler must convert the entire railroad over all at once.
The communications that occur between the throttles and the switchboard will use a phone type cable with an RS232 connector. Then there is a power cable that will have a more heavy duty connector to handle the track current. It takes a whopping 30 seconds to connect the switchboard to the track and daisy chain it in to the system.
To install a transponder into a locomotive, the user pulls the shell from the frame and connects one wire to each side of the motor, and puts the shell back on the frame. He will then place it on the track, and the enabler will tell you something like: "This transponder is transponding on frequency 262.338 (for example) which throttle do you wish to assign to this locomotive?" you will then either type in the throttle number or turn a pot on the enabler. And that is it! No programming, no encoding, no decoding, nothing but a single click of the mouse. That locomotive will then respond to the throttle that you assigned to it and it is the only locomotive in the whole train that needs any change at all. You could have a train with 9 locomotives on it, and eight of them need nothing at all. Helpers will follow. They need no transponder either. Remember 1 transponder per train!
Remember that this will be a block system railroad, so avoid running into someone elses block. This system was desigened to eliminate the need to be manually powering up the blocks that you are operating in. While you must stay out of an occupied block, it will otherwise work like DCC. Insulated blocks will also contain a short circuit so that the whole railroad doesn't get taken down by a short in the track or the locomotive. Installing insulated blocks is just good practice!
Auxilliary functions will be operated without having to program anything also. A simple button on the hand held will operate the functions. I don't want to say how it is done because it is too simple.
There is a chance that it will be ready in the fall.

Shane here. I will keep you all posted as it progresses. There is the slight possibility that we could encounter a real problem that could make it not work, but we don't really foresee that.
The only real problem that we are facing is the cost of the switchboard. We are going to work on that little problem until we have got the price down to where we feel it is reasonable.
I am a retired disabled vet with an income already. I don't need to make a system that will make me all kinds of money. The objective of this whole venture is to get the hobby out of the hands of rich people and bring it back to the average joe so that he can have nice stuff too.
Since 9/11 people are loosing their jobs faster than ever before. They still have hopes and dreams like those of us that are more insulated from the troubles in the job market.
This hobby will soon be getting something that has long been needed, and less expensive in this type of system. There are very few engineers and designers out there that can keep from engineering themselves into a system. The greaest engineering designs are those that engineer the engineer out of the system, making it easy for a little boy like my son to have fun too without needing so much help!
I didn't have anybody to help me with my trains when I was little, I had to learn this stuff all on my own. As I got older I began to realize that some things needed to be changed and improved upon. Hopefully our system will do that.

Shane

Shane here. It can be a real struggle, especially when both parents are working.
I am able to spend about 1/10th of my income on my trains, but I scratch build a lot too and am pretty good with electronics which saves me a ton of money.
The train sets that we will be creating will be equipped with Digital DC. You probably didn't get to read the thread on the other forum about "the trainset a thing of the past?" We were talking about trainsets and the lack of quality in them.
The train sets we will be building will be the nicest train sets in the US if not in the world. They won't be cheap either. This is why we will be creating programs to help people get them.
We will be able to let the modeler send what money he can every month, then we will put the money in an interest bearing account and when enough funds are acrued, the interest earned will help him get the train set.
The only problem with this right now is that CD's aren't paying much of anything. The interest was only 2.8% last time we checked. We will probably have to find another type of account that will pay more.
Why not let the investment help pay for the trainset?
Credit cards are killers!! I would really prefer that credit cards not be used to pay for a trainset, or the Digital DC. I consider crdit cards to be "predatory lending". I have been able to develope a lot of patience by not using credit cards. It takes a lot of will power to save up for something that you want. My wife and I take advantage of a lot of "lay-a-ways". That is how we purchase alot of things. We have learned to get over this "instant gratification thing". We have been waiting 10 years for some things that we have just now seen.
Sometimes though, that doesn't work in model trains because of limited runs. When you finally have enough money you can't find the piece any more. That is why we will be laying away our products for people that can't get them any other way.
There are companies out there where the only thing that matters is the money. Don't get me wrong, the money is what keeps a company afloat. If a company doesn't get too big too fast, they can afford to stay personal with their customers.
We may only sell 8 to 10 trainsets a year, but that's OK, they will not be for everybody, and they weren't mean to be.
When we finally kick off, we will do everything we can to help people buy our stuff, that way everybody wins.

Later

Shane here. I've got a question. How would you like the horns and sounds to work? would you like them to be automatic, turning on automatically at crossings, tunnels, bridges?, or do you want manual control so that you can turn them on whenever you want? would you like both? or do you prefer one over the other?

Later

Shane here. I need some input. We are fixin' to make a major change in the design of Digital DC that may eliminate the hand held controller or tether altogether, leaving nothing to carry around and connect back in.
Depending on the input that we get, each block will have its own throttle control.
It will work something like this: take three blocks 1,2,and 3 left to right. UP 3312 is eastbound in block 1. Every block has its own throttle. As the lead engine breaks OS at the mainline to siding boundry (insulated joint), the throttle for the siding re-initializes, meaning that it doesn't matter where the throttle is set as the train crosses into its block--it is re-initialized. No throttle to have to carry around with you!
Now, D&RGW 5505 on channel 2, is westbound moving right to left. UP 3312 East takes the siding, allowing D&RGW 5505 to hold the main in block 2. Once again the throttle for block 2 is re-initialized.
It doesn't matter which direction the previous train was moving or at what speed it was traveling. Block 2 copied block 1 volt for volt, direction for direction--the block is re-initialized allowing D&RGW 5505 to enter the block without having to do a thing! It switched to channel 2 all on its own!
Now UP 3312 on channel 1, enters the mainline again at the east end of the siding, entering mainline block 3. Block 3 is re-initialized, changing the direction of the throttle. Remember, D&RGW 5505 was westbound. UP 3312 continues around the layout re-initializing the blocks as it goes, to channel 1, that D&RGW 5505 on channel 2 just came through. No tethers to carry around, no coiled cables to be stumbling over, no plugging in the hand helds.
Every block has its own control and it doesn't matter one lick which train it is. If UP 3312 is assigned channel 1, every time 3312 enters a block the throttle will control that channel. As D&RGW enters a block traveling in the opposite direction, every block it enters is re-initialized to channel 2--neato!
Now, you will need to know exactly where your train is. You will need to be with your train as it makes its way around a large layout, staying out of each others blocks.
A block's throttle (potentiometer) will control only its own block. You cannot control your train in block 1 from block 3 and so on and so on.
As your train makes its way around the layout you may not have to do anything for several blocks as it re-initializes the blocks it enters automatically. Only when you need to stop or slow down or switch some cars will you need to get to the controller for that block you are doing it in.
Contollers can be placed at strategic locations near sidings and where work such as switching is to be done so that you are not far from your train as you switch or go into a siding.
We are going to have to give this more thought to make sure that there are not going to be operational problems because of this design change. We just thought that it would be kind of nice not to have to carry anything around, plugging things in, and be stumbling over each other's cables.

Later

we just eliminated the need to have to put anything in the locomotives at all. It just got even simpler.

Thanks Andy. We just made this about as simple as it will ever get. No need for anything in the locomotives. And the Auxiliary functions are not in the rails.

The first comment: "Lately I have become a bit wound up about the way the hobby is being divided. It has become a hobby for the rich and famous. I intend to end that! There have become too many costly luxuries that divide the haves from the have nots."

I am a 20 year college student that came from a poor family. As such I do not have alot of money. However, I am still able to aquire alot of model railroad items for my modest 4 foot by 6 foot layout. While I can probably only spend $50.00 a month or so on the hobby, that $50.00 a month has brought me alot of enjoyment for my money. Granted, I may be able to only afford the low end kits, I find them onjoyable to put together. While the very nice "Proto 2000" kits are a little pricy. They make a very nice car that is well worth the money spent on it. I find these "costly luxuries" that you speak of to be an asset of the hobby. 15 Years ago, all that was available was generic plain Jane models done up for several railroads. Now there are alot of prototype specific models out there for not much more money than the plane jane kits. Also the quality of ready to run models on the market has improved greatly.

Second Comment: "Another beauty of this system is that the entire railroad does not have to be equipped with this system to get started. You can install Switchboads for more blocks as time and budget allow. With DCC, the modeler must convert the entire railroad over all at once."

DCC works the same way. It is NMRA standard that complient DCC system handle one analog loco or Consist. DCC is also an incrimental and Modular technology. All you need is the Command Station, Booster, and one Decoder and your done. No block switches, No Complicated wiring with the excpetion of Reversing loops. Even then Reverse loops are greatly simplified. All you need is one bus and an an appropriet number of feeder wires. The only Blocks in the system are not blocks in a traditional sense. Theyt are sections of track where the bus and track are isolated from one another and connected to different booster from the block before or after it. This concept has been called "Power Districting" as any problem will only shut down power in that district as the booster will automaticly cut power to the section if a problem occures. Note this shuts down the power the tracks, the booster is still operating and when it senses the problem is corrected power will return. Again you can add boosters for power districts and decoders for locomotives as time permits. But at $12.00 a decoder, people with larger budgets than me can upgrade faster.

Third Comment: "We were talking about trainsets and the lack of quality in them.
The train sets we will be building will be the nicest train sets in the US if not in the world. They won't be cheap either. This is why we will be creating programs to help people get them. ... we will be laying away our products for people that can't get them any other way."

You apperently havn't seen a Walthers Catalog, or visited a well stocked hobby shop recently have you. While crap train sets are still being made, most likely found at Toys R Us, there are now a wide variety of nice, relativly low cost, quality train sets on the market. May I bring your attention to Walthers, Athearn, and Proto-1000 brand of train sets. All of them include locomotives that while not DCC ready are DCC freindly. All the locomotives in these sets have flat can motors with flywheels and worm gear drives. Other companies that make quality trainsets are Atlas, IHC, and Bachmann-Spectrum. Roco and ER models have recently entered the American Train set market with a DCC trainset. The spread on these sets vary from $50.00 for a Walthers diesel set, to $125 for a Spectrum Steam set. All of these can be be obtained with out the need to be put on lay away.