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Short Line Data Systems ROCS Update March-April 2008
Website: www.sdsrocs.com
Greetings –
Well, our intention was to write this update a month ago, but as happens, life got in the way. We were very fortunate to sell our house in this hellacious market, and it closed at the end of March. That meant that we were spending most of our time dealing with getting all of our stuff out of the old place, finding spots for it in the new place, and doing all of those things that you have to do when you are selling a house.
While the house has been taking up a lot of our time, we haven’t been sitting around and doing nothing with our products. The development of version 11 of ROCSTM has been proceeding, and you will get an update below. We have also added a new customer to the SDS family, and the introduction is below. The solar version of the TRACCURATETM reader has been installed at the M&E, and we will update you on this exciting product. Finally, we will preview the ASLRRA annual meeting, which is less than a month away. So, to quote a certain mouse, “let’s get on with the show.”
RCH Car Hire
One very important news item has to do with the new payment method for car hire, which will be an electronic method through the Railroad Clearing House, or RCH. All ROCS users are already capable of reporting their car hire electronically through Railinc, but it is the responsibility of the user railroads to sign up for the RCH. If you haven’t already filled out the forms, please do. If you haven’t received the forms, please call Warren Alvis at Railinc, 919-651-5001.
ROCS Version 11
The development of version 11 has been continuing. Our focus for the last couple of weeks has been the integration of a new FTP client for communications with Railinc. The software that we have been using, WS_FTP Pro, while highly capable, has not been as reliable in the Vista versions as it was in the XP versions. Also, the program was accessed by going back to some DOS features, so it was decided that a change was needed. We are currently working with a program called ScriptFTP. It has a pure Windows interface, and so far has been extremely reliable and easy to use. We have also been adding the direct interface between ROCS and ROCSScan, so that users of TRACCURATE can interchange cars in and out through ROCS.
New Customer
It is our pleasure to welcome the Baja California Railroad to the Short Line Data Systems family. Located in southern California, the BJRR runs from San Ysidro down into Mexico on the Baja Peninsula. They are up and running ROCS, and we are looking forward to a long relationship.
TRACCURATE
As we mentioned above, we have installed the first solar powered version of TRACCURATE at the Morristown & Erie, and expect to be able to release the solar version to customers in a couple of weeks. Combined with the standard wireless connection, the solar powered TRACCURATE system is a truly stand-alone solution for AEI tag reading. No cables to bury whatsoever. The release version of ROCSScan (version 2008.1) is now complete, and will be delivered with the TRACCURATE reader (SLT-100). We will have pictures of the installation at the M&E up on our website soon.
ASLRRA Annual Meeting 2008
It’s hard to believe, but the ASLRRA annual meeting is less than a month away. We will be there in full force, with our display in booths 518 & 520, which is in the middle of the hall. All of the SDS products will be available for demonstration, and we will have a solar TRACCURATE system on display. As always we will have a selection of cool items for you take with you, and we look forward to seeing everyone in San Antonio at the beginning of May. If you haven’t registered for the convention yet, there is still time. Go to www.aslrra.org for more information.
Well, that is all for now. We will see everyone in San Antonio, and we’ll be back in May for a recap of the Annual, and all of the other happenings at SDS.
Stay safe,
Steven Friedland President |
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