railwaybob:
There was a misunderstanding between us on Free-mo. I was referring to the Free-mo standards that are associated with Free-mo.org, the national standards. HOTRAK's "Free-mo" standards are not the real Free-mo, but rather an improvement upon them that work only with HOTRAK's layout. The NMRA spec says 40" to railhead, while the Free-mo standards say 50" height to railhead.
It is true about club specs. I hate Jones connectors, they are overpriced peices of garbage, but thats what my club uses, so thats what I have to use. If I build a module set, however, I am going to use Powerpoles in the middle of the set so that I can avoid those pesky jones connectors. This also brings up the point of a non-standard standard. An oxymoron for sure, but my module is compliant with my group's spec's but not with the NMRA's. In terms of solutions, it is a little more complicated than that, but it can be done to create a "mega-mush", or even to reuse a module built to a totally different spec with a club that uses a standard standard or a different non standard standard.
Like you mentioned the legs can be made to fit to whatever height, as long as they are not the built-in kind. Beyond that, the wiring is adaptable, although if I were to use my module wired with 18 guage wiring in a layout like ABEL that uses 12 guage wiring, I would need to have a 12 guage cable to jump over my module's electrical bus in order to eliminate extrantaneous voltage drop that their DCC booster system is not designed to take. For multiple clubs, the connectors don't matter, you could just put each layout in its own booster district.
The track joiners may be different from the standard standard of 9" joiner tracks with a 4.5" setback on module. If the track centers are both 2" on center, then the modules could be connected with a weird looking peice of track. This is especially true of Free-mo, where the Free-mo spec uses rail only, not complete joiner tracks. I much prefer the joiner tracks. If the modules have different track setbacks, problems could arise with corners. For example, my module has 4 and 6" setbacks for the tracks, whereas the standard standard has 5" and 7" setbacks. If my module was used in a standard standard setup, then it would be easy to do, mine would just jut in an inch, not big deal. If a standard standard module was used in our layout, it would stick out an inch. Again, not a big deal. If you use different corners, however, you could have a problem where there is more"slop" in the layout, although with a bigger setup, this probably wouldn't be a problem, it would just get bent out. This is also a problem with reversible corners in Ntrak, as they are not quite the same in either direction, although a setup big enough to need inside corners probably has enough bend to run off the slop.
The last problem is control system. Free-mo and Ntrak both use Digitrax, for Free-mo it is the exclusive, codified spec for control, while with Ntrak it is an agreement between clubs that Digitrax will be used for DCC, although Ntrak also uses DC extensively, often with DCC on one or two lines, and with DC on the other one or two lines. In the Northeast US, there is a HEAVY penetration of NCE for modular clubs as we are close to New York where NCE is, while about half use the industry standard Digitrax and one actually usues Lenz. I'm not kidding. Lenz. Because NCE usues an RS-485 bus, and Digitrax uses Loconet, one system would need to have enough throttles in the participating clubs to supply the whole layout. Boosters are easier, they just need an adapter cable. Then there are two clubs, mine being one that are still stuck in the dark ages of DC. Unfortunately, there are some people who don't understand anything about DCC, and refuse to learn about it. If they did, they would want it too.
I'm not going to argue for Jones connectors. Not that it even matters unless you are starting a new club. Trailer hitch connectors are much cheaper and can handle heavier wire.
The use of 120AC works well for some, and not for others due to the configuration of modules. For my club, we use DC, so we can't run off of the track bus, and we have no accessory bus. A number of members have extensive collections of wall-warts under their modules to power various things, one even has two power strips crammed completely full of them for his module. He needs 15VAC, 12VDC, 1.5VDC, a power pack, and a bunch of other stuff. Other people don't need AC power at all, so they just have a 6' extension cord to pass it on to the next module. We also set up in a doughnut, and the 120AC runs around clockwise so that everyone can run their collection of wall-warts off of the 120 tap. We also use section control on our third line for limited switching, so we have a half-dozen or so power packs hooked up to mains as well, and I usually bring my Zephyr to shows, so that gets plugged in as well. We also sometimes run desk lights for module illumination, laptops, camera chargers, soldering irons and the like.
HOtrak's modules wouldn't work with a mains bus, as the Free-mo like modules are revsersible, 120AC is not. This is also why Free-mo has implemented a DCC/AC accessory bus. Running accessories off of the track bus, and only having one track bus, means that for the same sized setup, HOTRAK would need more booster districts, for short protection and for accessories, than a club with a separate accessory line. In net, however, the setup is probably the same for HOTRAK's metod, or with an accessory bus, as the more complicated setup of having more boosters is offset equally by the simplicity of only having one bus line on the layout.
Ntrak, on the other hand, has separate bus lines for each trak, not even common rail is allowed. This is necessary for multi-club setups, or even within a single club, when DCC is used on one line, and DC on the others. Because you never know what system will be used on what line, Ntrak does not allow accessories to be tapped into the track bus lines. Ntrak has a white DC bus, which is for DC throttles, and just recently, for accessories as well, if they are connected temporarily with CJ or Powerpole connectors. They also have created a 15VAC accessory line, that allows modules that have a lot of accessories to be powered off of a low voltage line that does not violate the NEC, which states that a power strip can't be plugged into a power strip. My club just doesn't care about the NEC, we haven't been busted yet.
I like taking other ideas and changing them to suit my needs. Your module construction page is an example, we are probably going to make some modules with your method modified for our leg standard, or possibly for folding legs. Your method is ligher and stronger than our current foam method, and a LOT lighter than wood modules, like my current one. I have also taken the Ntrak standard for PowerPole connectors and used them for my DCC to layout connection.
For PowerPoles, take a look at the Ntrak web site, there are some documents by Doug Stuard of NVNtrak on the connectors. They are replacing jones connectors in Ntrak to use 12 guage busses. It is really cool. I have some of the lighter connectors for 18 gauge, and they are really nice. One really nice feature is that the 15A (16-18AWG), 30A (12-14AWG) and 45A (10AWG) connectors can be connected to each other. This is great for using DC on a layout upgraded for DCC, as the DC feeds may need to be smaller to connect to the power pack or whatnot. They can be stacked any way for a plug that has any number of connectors you need. They are also genderless, so they can be plugged in on a reversable module, like an Ntrak corner or Free-mo. On Ntrak corners, Red connectes to Black, and Black to Red for each bus line, but they keep the phase right nonetheless. For Free-moN, they are used as totally reversable connectors, with a Red connector for the track bus, and a Black connector for the accessory bus. This way, the modules can be turned 180 with no problems.
I think that many clubs will consider switching to PowerPoles if they are currently using Jones connectors, although for clubs already using trailer hitch, molex or other "alternative" connectors, there really isn't much point. PowerPoles also are much cheaper and more durable than CJs. They are only about $1 per connector as opposed to $3-$4 for CJs.
My club's electrician was impressed with them, and he is going to use them for the club power supply, as its current 4 conductor jones connector is falling apart. We are probably going to use them for everything except track busses, as they are great connectors.
I would love to take a look at your setup, but I live in southern New England.
The PDF looks really neat though, I like how your standards are flexible to have different types of modules and conversions between them with weird shaped layouts. Do you do mostly private setups that are model railroading for model railoaders type of events? The club I belong to does just the opposite, which is running trains for the public, and running trains in circles. While it is really fun to do public and charity event, having some operation would add quite a bit. I have seen some clubs who have created a balance between the two, at public shows. They typically have operations, with plenty of yards and industries, but they also have a long mainline packed full of trains for the general public. Unfortunately, the general public thinks that model railroading is all about running trains in circles, and it is also unfortunate that running trains in circles is what most of them want to see.
I have seen a shift towards operations, however, both in standards like Free-mo, and with traditional doughnut type layouts. Some Ntrak clubs are even trying to do more than keep a zillion trains in non-crashing orbit around the fort. They are starting to use the Orange passing siding line for bidirectional operations with DCC, and using sidings on the blue and green lines for more prototypical operations or switching puzzles while the usual zillion trains are in orbit.
EDIT: Spacing and clarity. The forums software eat my first set of edits to this post. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Good thing I ctrl C'ed it, as it just eat another post. Or, as Ted Stevens would say, the tubes got clogged.
Finally, I think I am done with this post!
