I have a couple of engines here from a friend that bought them out of Washington state... The model number is 6-3003 1 My question....is there anyway to retrofit these engines with a color camera.... I have the electronic ability to do this but no experience in this field... Any help would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks in advance for any help.....Ross
One other question on these lionel engines... Has anyone out there used one of those wireless X10 cameras in place of the railscope system. And if so, what can you tell me about the quality of the picture... Thanks, Ross
Right off the bat, the X-10 is I believe color, while the Railscope was B&W.
Don
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Well, that was the idea or at least my friends idea. He has a color monitor that would work with the X10 camera but it looks like it sure would be a tight fit and on top of that, we aren't too sure how well it would work. We were trying to avoid spending $100 bucks on the camera and battery pack if it won't be satisfactory. I was just curious if anyone had some experience with this idea..... :>) Ross
I have played around with the X-10 in 2 rail O, 3 rail O and HO applications. I used the X-10 system directly and not merged into the old Lionel RailScope system. I have not personally use the RailScope system, but did see it demonstrated when new. I believe it transmitted its signal via the rails, and as a result, there was quite a bit of noise in the picture. The X-10 uses radio frequency wireless transmission which bypasses all these problems, save one - the RF signal is very directional, so as the train goes around a layout, there are at least two points that the transmitting antenna is at right angles to the receiver antenna, and there is a momentary break-up of the picture. This can also happen as the transmitter passes through metal grounding structures like a Lionel #313 bascule bridge.
A benefit of the X-10 is that the cameras also have microphones and a sound channel - you do need to pay an extra $10 for the sound capable receiver to pick-up the signal. It is quite impressive to try and run a train using just the video, and to hear the "stack" noise change next to buildings or in tunnels, to hear the whistle and bell, and to hear verbal directions from a brakeman at the location where you are switching.
The X-10 camera can be used in-tact in larger O-scale units, and it disassembles very easily (no electrical disonnections/reconnections need to be made) for mounting into HO units - I put one in a HO dummy E-9 and have the lens aimed out the open nose door. I like the normal lens in 2-rail O and for HO, but prefer the camera with optional wide angle lens for my Lionel postwar O layout with O-31 track - the normal lens loses sight of the track on these tight curves which is somewhat disorienting, while the wide angle lens keeps the track in the field of view even on curves. The normal lens has a considerable depth of field - you can read the car end reporting marks lettering as the locomotive pulls up within a few inches of a standing string of cars!
I also like the color. I find the view is much easier to visually interpret on a color monitor than on a similarly sized B&W screen. GQ
Thanks so much for your informative reply....I am not a train enthusiast but an EE but my friend is and wanted me to do this for him...Thanks again for your time, Ross
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