Jump to content
 

ECoS Controller Questions


Sir TophamHatt
 Share

Recommended Posts

It's OK. Operator error....;)

 

My Mac is in my office downstairs and the ECoS is upstairs, so I can't see them both at the same time and it can be 30 seconds or so for me to walk upstairs to see what is happening. It appears there is a delay of a minute or so after you click 'store settings' whilst it collects all the data off the ECoS. Just by luck I went upstairs and happened to see my ECoS with a please wait message. Once that cleared I came back downstairs, just in time to see a download being set up and saved in my download directory.

 

Just one of those things in terms of location and timing. I now recall  when John was here demonstrating the unit I had the ECoS next to my Mac...

 

Thanks for bearing with me, Keith.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Many ECoS users stopped using Java when Firmware 4 was launched. 4.x.x includes a VNC Server, and if you install a VNC Client on your laptop, tablet or smartphone and connect both the ECoS and your laptop, tablet or smartphone to your WiFi router, then you can control your ECoS remotely from the laptop etc. The most used VNC Clients are Tight VNC, and RealVNC. I use RealVNC which comes in different versions for Windows, Apple's OS and iOS, Android, Linux and Solaris. The VNC Client runs in a window and is scaleable. It isn't an extra throttle, but true remote control of the ECoS. Anything that you can do on the ECoS's screen you can do on the laptop/tablet/smartphone.

 

As regards UK loco icons, there are virtually none built into the firmware. But there are 20,000 (no that's not a typo, I do mean twenty thousand, well 19,991 to be accurate as of now) for the ECoS 2 and 2.1 available on the ESU website which includes a considerable number of UK locos, from Rocket to Eurostar. But to access them you have to register your ECoS with ESU on their website, and then in a couple of days you will get access to the ECoS Support part of the forum, to the loco icons in the Loco Icon Bazaar part of the downloads area, and also to the latest version of the ECoS firmware, the most recent being 4.2.7. also in the downloads area. When you get access don't try typing "BR" in the search box to find British loco icons as BR is the German abbreviation of Baureihe meaning Series or Class. If you do you'll be swamped by German locos. Instead try using "British" or the loco class such as "Class 77" or operating company like "Eurostar" or "Underground".

  • Agree 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Black Hat said:

Another EOCS question: Can you hook up 2 ECoS terminals onto one layout or will the settings of one conflict with the other or even cause damage?


As with any DCC system, there can only be one Command Station.
Not only because more than one system would cause a confliction and nothing would work, but also because both (all) of them would be terminally damaged.

 

The ECoS unit itself, contains the Command Station and system Booster, as well as the control console interface with its throttles (cabs).

Therefore only one ECoS can be used.


However, ECoS has the “sniffer” facility.

This is where the track output from any DCC system, can be connected to the ECoS’s “sniffer port” and the ECoS will read, or extract, the DCC signals being transmitted from that other system.

ECoS will then replicate and rebroadcast those signals over its own track output, along with its own DCC output.

( note: I need to check, but I think it only works for loco commands on the ECoS and not accessory commands).

 

This effectively makes the guest, or slave DCC system, just another throttle (cab) on the ECoS system.

This would be a “dumb” throttle, as no ECoS system information can be fed back to the “slave” system.

Note that this only works one way, from the “slave” DCC system to the ECoS and not the other way round.

 

Using a second ECoS this way would be a serious waste of money, as most of its functionality (the electronic gubbins under the skin), would not be utilised. 
 

EDIT:   It may be possible to connect multiple ECoS via ECoSlink, where the additional ECoS units, simply act as throttles.

 

 

.

.

Edited by Ron Ron Ron
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Ron.

 

I have a problem with my ECoS unit where the screen looks to have failed. When pressing on the screen of the unit you need to aim to the side of the icons on the screen to select the icon. This gets worse the further away from the centre of the screen you go and makes the unit hard to both operate and use overall.

 

As a result I think my unit needs replacement but think its massively overkill to get a second unit and use that as a slave or spare. Thought I'd check anyway. Any ideas on whats the best way for replacing this. I have spoken to South West Digital who say they would then charge me on postage to post it to ESU and ESU are so far not easy to contact to confirm whats needed for repair.

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, gordon s said:

Might be worth talking to Kevin at Coastal DCC. He is a repair agent for NCE and I bought my ECoS from him. No connection, but a satisfied customer...

 

South West Digital have the contract for spares or repair for ESU but they said they just send them all to ESU in Germany.

  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

@Ron Ron Ron A question regarding multiple uses of ECoS, if I may? I went to a show here in France (thread elsewhere under the 'Continental' section), where one rather extensive layout had 5 ECoSs (yes five) in operation - three in the fiddle yard area and two out front. How did that work? Were they daisy chained to each other via the 'sniffer' with one of the units being 'Mother'? The operators at the time seemed to be 'doing things' independently of each other - just curious.

 

@The Black Hat I too had a screen problem in one corner where you had to target the stylus about 10mm south of the icon to get it to work. Unfortunately for me the matter has become moot as I managed to get myself tangled in some cabling and the unit fell onto the floor spreading bits of innards about  :( - so mine will be going back direct to Germany (avoids third party handling) for repair - once I have some available cash as it's a non-urgent matter for me at the mo'. You might get some info regarding repair estimates direct off their website (I have seen it) but you will need to log in as I believe it's the way they can access your machine details as you have to provide them when you create your account (IIRC).

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Philou said:

@Ron Ron Ron A question regarding multiple uses of ECoS, if I may? I went to a show here in France (thread elsewhere under the 'Continental' section), where one rather extensive layout had 5 ECoSs (yes five) in operation - three in the fiddle yard area and two out front. How did that work? Were they daisy chained to each other via the 'sniffer' with one of the units being 'Mother'? The operators at the time seemed to be 'doing things' independently of each other - just curious.


@The Black Hat


I’ve no idea how those 5 ECoS’s. (What’s the correct plural ?) we’re working together.

AFAIK, the “sniffer” port will only accept loco commands.

They may have been connected using ECoSlink, ESU’s data, or comms bus for connecting compatible devices.

The user manual mentions connecting Marklin Central Stations via ECoSlink, therefore it may be possible to connect multiple ECoS using this interface.

 

 

.

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

You cannot connect 2 or more ECoS together va their ECoSLink ports either directly or via L.Net modules. Only 1 ECoS can be connected to a layout at a time. But you can connect several ECoSBoost boosters as well. If you want additional throttles your options are:

a) Mobile Control 2 throttles, expensive;

b) smartphone apps, there are several for Android and Apple devices, probably the cheapest option for most folks;

c) Loconet throttles via the L.Net module, but the throttle must be configured to be a slave as the ECoS must be the Master and cannot be configured to be the slave on the loconet system;

d) ECoSControl Radio, but that was dscontinued years ago.

e) the early models of the Maerklin Mobile station, but those were discontinued years ago as well;

f) any other DCC system via the sniffer port.

 

I have no idea how they managed 5 on 1 layout unless the layout was in 5 totally electrically separate sections. They might have had exchange sections which could only be fed by one ECoS at a time with "quarantine" sections so that a loco couldn't accidentally bridge parts fed by diferent ECoSs.

 

Bing able to connect 2 ECoS together as Master and Slave is something that ECoS owners, including me, have been asking ESU to introduce for over 10 years. ESU hinted at times that it was on its way, most recently when firmware 4.0.0 was introduced, but it's never happened, and I don't think it ever will.

 

And a message for Black Hat abour repairs, look in the Support part of the ESU website for answers to all your questions about repairs. 

Edited by GoingUnderground
  • Thanks 1
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Sorry to bump this.

 

However from the Hattons 66, I've seen another limitation with my Prodigy Advance 2.

With (sound) locos getting more and more functions, my PA2 only shows up to F12 (and is slight faff to get anything over F9).  This means it's difficult to know if a higher F number is activated or not.

 

Does the ECoS show whether higher F numbers are on or off anywhere on the display?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Click on the "spanner" emblem under the speedo display, then "edit loco", then properties, then you can sideways scroll 8 screens up to F28, switching them on or off and latching or permanent, and testing them to see if anything's there.

Edited by daltonparva
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
5 hours ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

Sorry to bump this.

 

However from the Hattons 66, I've seen another limitation with my Prodigy Advance 2.

With (sound) locos getting more and more functions, my PA2 only shows up to F12 (and is slight faff to get anything over F9).  This means it's difficult to know if a higher F number is activated or not.

 

Does the ECoS show whether higher F numbers are on or off anywhere on the display?

 

The normal display will show 16 functions and their current state (if latching functions).  One button press will bring up the next 8, but replaces the 9-16.  I don't have any decoders with more than 24 functions so cannot comment on what happens for F25+.

 

Excuse the bad photo's, but these were already on my PC.

The first image shows the normal 1 - 16 functions.  Using the 17+ button at the top of the screen then brings up the next 8 functions, as seen on the second image.

 

unnamed.jpg.5aa3c92fdfdd116f12c3a2c8b9d32ee3.jpgunnamed2.jpg.e1a69eed888ae9662ed1bd37166fd0dc.jpg

 

 

Steve

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
On 25/02/2020 at 10:08, The Black Hat said:

Thanks Ron.

 

I have a problem with my ECoS unit where the screen looks to have failed. When pressing on the screen of the unit you need to aim to the side of the icons on the screen to select the icon. This gets worse the further away from the centre of the screen you go and makes the unit hard to both operate and use overall.

 

As a result I think my unit needs replacement but think its massively overkill to get a second unit and use that as a slave or spare. Thought I'd check anyway. Any ideas on whats the best way for replacing this. I have spoken to South West Digital who say they would then charge me on postage to post it to ESU and ESU are so far not easy to contact to confirm whats needed for repair.

ESU are quite good with repairs, I've sent several decoders to them for repairs. Id recommend sending it to them it will be far cheaper than the current £600 price tag for a new ECoS, id go through SWD and then at least you have a "middleman" in the uk. But ESU to send you emails as per the the issue and how much its going to cost when they have looked at it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Yes - try this! Sorry Si @pheaton yours is the next step if this doesnt work!

 

https://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12010

 

Save your stored configuration first - just in case!

Edited by Phil Bullock
Link to post
Share on other sites

I had a problem with the screen calibration but at the top right hand side when I had to aim south of the icon. It was a pain. The problem has resolved itself - I ... err ... dropped it. :banghead: As with The Black Hat, it's going to have to go back, but in my case I'm going direct to save the faff. ESU say on their site that they will only give a quote once they receive the unit - and work will not start until palms have been crossed with silver - hence why I'm going direct.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

 

  • Friendly/supportive 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Can I ask if the Mobile Control 2 will work with the ECoS 50000 (old version)?
Will I be able to upload colour photos to the ECoS and see them on the MC2, and will they still be visible (in black and white) on the ECoS? The picture will obviously be lower resolution.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
6 hours ago, robbie58 said:

Can I ask if the Mobile Control 2 will work with the ECoS 50000 (old version)?
Will I be able to upload colour photos to the ECoS and see them on the MC2, and will they still be visible (in black and white) on the ECoS? The picture will obviously be lower resolution.

 

You can't upload a 50200 colour image into the 50000, the two formats are completely different.  80 x 20 pixels (B&W) vs 190 x 40 pixels (24bit colour).

 

  • Agree 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Sorry to drag this up again

However... 

 

1) So the ECoS isn't wireless?

My house is running powerlines anyway, so I can get a other adaptor but don't really want to if I don't have to.

 

2) If I'm running JMRI on a PC in another room, does that mean I can directly communicate with the ECoS? Would this be to upload photos of locos and such?

 

3) Does the "change of tone" toggle not really work well for UK diesels?

 

4) How do you make a layout plan in the ECoS? Does it matter if you're using a whole mix of set track and flexitrack?

 

Thanks

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

Morning.

 

ECoS as it stands isn’t wireless but it does have a port to connect to a router. I use this to connect to my lap top via my domestic wireless network for back ups and image transfers, and also to create a local wireless network with a separate stand alone router so that iPhones can be connected and used as wireless throttles.

 

if you use a patch lead to connect ECoS to your router then yes you can access it from any other device connected to your wireless network ... you just search the web for the address ECoS gives you and off you go.

 

The change of tone toggle depends on the sound project and how you map it’s functions to the toggle. Legomanbiffo horn tones are separate high/low functions so if you map them correctly to the toggle then it will work exactly as intended ... forward for high tone, backwards for low. Other sound projects eg Howes have high/low tones grouped as a single function so mapping them to the toggle triggers the function as built. That means for example forward might give you high/low and backwards a single tone.

 

As for the layout plan It’s only a representation and is not related to actual size so it won’t matter. 
 

if you want a closer look drop me a PM and we can set up a video link if that would help 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

And here's the next question:

 

With ECoS you can operate shuttle trains very easily: put a rail contact at both ends of the track and ECoS will do the rest.

 

 

Can anyone expand on this?

 

I tried [to make a shuttle] with some shop bought diode thing (I can't remember the name now, perhaps by Lenz?) but I couldn't get it to work very well. If the ECoS can perform a shuttle operation relatively simply, I think this will be the clincher to purchase, providing I can sell my PA2 system.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...