#Rocrail railcom free#

Under Digital Command Control, multifunction decoders do not communicate back to the command station. Zimo introduced a technology, Zugnummernimpulse or ZACK (Train Number Impulse), supported by DCC in 1998, which is similar to RailCom.

There were opinions expressed that the inclusion of a patented and proprietary technology in the DCC Standard was a problem, one that could lead to the owners using their IP against other manufacturers.

#Rocrail railcom free#

Their stated reason for declining RailComPlus was related to the licensing and approval conditions demanded by Lenz and ESU, which these manufacturers found to be unacceptable, in that they prohibited the free exchange of ideas which would impede development and technical progress of digital control for model railways. In addition to Zimo, a number of DCC decoder manufacturers, as well as model railway manufacturers, declined to support RailComPlus in their manufactures. Zimo continues to make decoders which support RailCom only. In 2011 Zimo exited the agreement when Lenz terminated their licence. Work on the protocol began in 2006, with some decoders from 2005 already supporting RailCom. LENZ, KUHN, TAMS and ZIMO formed the RailCom Working Group to further develop 'bidirectional communication' based on NMRA Draft RP's 9.3.1& 9.3.2. RailCom is completely backwards compatible with Digital Command Control. It has been incorporated into an NMRA RP for Two-Way communications between the command station and multifunction decoders on the track. Lenz demonstrated the RailCom concept at a DCC Working Group meeting in the spring of 2000. Examples include speed, motor load, contents of any CV, and its address. RailCom can read data transmitted by a multi-function decoder. RailCom is a bi-directional data communications technology developed by Lenz, and found in NMRA Recommended Practices RP 9.3.1 and 9.3.2. RailCom® and RailComPlus® are registered trademarks of Lenz. 7.3 TCS WowSound Multifunction Decoders.4.2 Standalone Cutout Device for RailCom.