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Freiwald Traincontroller


Andymsa
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One approach to automated software, which I know works on TrainController, so probably works in iTrain is to take some tasks outside to some other external software, triggering the I/O through a mixture of turnout operations and sensor messages.  Use fictitious sensors/turnouts for this communication.

 

So, within TC (and assume iTrain), have activities which are triggered by a fictional sensor.  At the end of those activities, TC (and assume iTrain) changes a turnout. 

 

Now, your external software just has to monitor your DCC system for turnout changes (for the fictional ones used for messaging), and can send sensor messages to trigger activity. 

 

I've seen the above work with LocoNet and TrainController on a very demanding layout.  No reason it won't work on other system combinations.  And I can't see a reason why it couldn't work on a combination of TrainController and iTrain.

 

 

- Nigel

 

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Nigel,

 

Indeed this can be and is done within iTrain and can be used to great effect. I use this 'trick' on my own layout and recently set this scenario up for a friend to stop trains running over a particular area of his layout when the access flap is open. This 'sensor' doesn't stop the main layout, only the area where the flap is because we didn't want trains running off the end their world onto the floor! 

 

I use such fictional sensors and relays to start trains on routes, to have sounds happen on the layout, and to prevent trains accessing areas depending on the status of those 'sensors'.

 

Can be very powerful, though it does need the user to think laterally to create some of the less obvious uses :)

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Having just about outgrown TC Silver V8 i was thinking of upgrading to TC Gold V9 but at £350 and all the negative talk regarding Mr Freiwald maybe not.

iTrian Pro is about £315 at current rates but the only thing stopping me is that it doesn't support NCE, so i'd have to buy a new DCC system as well. That would mean rewiring all the sensors from the 3 NCE AIU's to whatever system i choose as well. Not an insignificant task.

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@tender iTrain has an interface for NCE PowerCab Pro however the NCE kit doesn't provide all the information required to enable full automatic control and NCE have not provided the required interface information to the iTrain author hence whilst the interface is there it may have limitations.

 

The best I can suggest is that you download a trial version of iTrain and see if it works sufficiently for your use case.

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20 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

@tender iTrain has an interface for NCE PowerCab Pro however the NCE kit doesn't provide all the information required to enable full automatic control and NCE have not provided the required interface information to the iTrain author hence whilst the interface is there it may have limitations.

 

The best I can suggest is that you download a trial version of iTrain and see if it works sufficiently for your use case.

 

Thanks for that, i only got as far as reading the interface list on the website and NCE isn't listed. Having just downloaded the manual i see there is some support for NCE so i'll download a trial copy and give it a try although 2 months may not be enough. It's taken me several years to get where i am now with TC but I might get far enough to see if the change is worth considering.

Ray.

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Sensibly, I think, he has taken the viewpoint of only listing interfaces that he has complete confident in them working now and in the future thus not creating expectations that cannot be met.

 

There are other systems which are not listed that work but if the OEM isn’t forthcoming about how the interface works they may break it in the future and reverse engineering an interface because of an undocumented or unpublished change isn’t a simple task.

 

NCE isn’t alone in this respect :( 

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Wouldn't go near traincontroller due to the contempt the owner of the software has for his customers. And especially the price differences between EU states, this is actually illegal. 

 

See here (my bold); 

 

"As an EU national, a trader cannot charge you more when you buy a product or service just because of your nationality or country of residence. Some price differences can be justified if they're based on objective criteria and not just on nationality. For example, differing postage costs may mean you pay more for delivery in one country than in another. However, traders may still set different net sale prices in different points of sale, such as shops and websites, or may target specific offers only to a specific territory within a Member State. Under EU rules, all these offers must be accessible for consumers from other EU countries.

 

However, there is no possible justification for differences in access to goods or services for customers from different EU countries in the following three situations:

 

  • sale of goods without physical delivery – for example, if you buy something online that you will collect from a shop, rather than have it delivered to your home
  • sale of electronically supplied services (excluding copyright protected content) – such as cloud computing services, or website hosting
  • sale of services provided in a specific location – for example hotel bookings, car hire, tickets for entry to theme parks

Where a trader has several country versions of the same website, such as a webshop selling products to different countries across the EU, you should be able to choose to view which version you visit. You must give your permission to be redirected to a specific country version of the website. You should also be able to change your choice at any time."

 

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/unfair-treatment/unfair-pricing/index_en.htm

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The bee in his bonnet is not just Brexit, it's Trump also. UK and US price is $799 whereas for all other countries priced in dollars it's $649, and that includes Canada for example.  Given that from the price paid for a new licence the only costs are his admin, he is still making a handsome profit. After all, he does not have to manufacture anything apart from supplying a dongle. Plus future updates bring in more revenue. 

 

Just plain daft from a business point of view. 

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@toolongtorememberUnfortunately your post also provides his escape from consistent pricing across Europe as his work is copyrighted :(

 

  • sale of electronically supplied services (excluding copyright protected content) – such as cloud computing services, or website hosting


Copyright
This software is protected by copyright law and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The software is licensed, not sold. You agree, that Freiwald Software keeps all copyrights of the software and included documentation. You do not acquire any other rights with regard to the software than the rights explicitly expressed here.

In no case you may change the program files delivered as part of this software. This applies especially to the executable files with the suffix .EXE or .DLL. You may make exact copies of the original software and documentation for your personal use. It is not allowed to give copies of the software to anyone or to distribute the software and documentation via electronic means without the prior permission of Freiwald Software.

 

https://www.freiwald.com/pages/2014_agb.htm

 

 

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10 minutes ago, RFS said:

The bee in his bonnet is not just Brexit, it's Trump also. UK and US price is $799 whereas for all other countries priced in dollars it's $649, and that includes Canada for example.  Given that from the price paid for a new licence the only costs are his admin, he is still making a handsome profit. After all, he does not have to manufacture anything apart from supplying a dongle. Plus future updates bring in more revenue. 

 

Just plain daft from a business point of view. 


actually it’s worse than 799 dollars, it’s now 847 dollars to the uk. In a previous post it is clear he does this as a hobby now and not run to make a profit. Of course there is irony in that as his markup to any country he deems as awarkward shows. Of course you can move to the Falklands or Gibraltar which are uk territory and buy for 649 dollars

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2 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

@Andymsa I wonder what price the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands need to pay?

 

They would get very upset if you said that they are part of the UK as they most definitely are not, yet they don't appear in his list of countries :(

 

 

 

 


yes I noticed this also :D

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9 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

@Andymsa I wonder what price the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands need to pay?

 

They would get very upset if you said that they are part of the UK as they most definitely are not, yet they don't appear in his list of countries :(

 

 

 

 

They were "generally" included as part of the UK for trading links with the EU, although they never joined the EU.

Likewise they will also be affected in a similar way to the UK following Brexit.

From that I assume Freiwald will charge them UK prices.

 

The Falklands/Gibraltar anomaly is just that, they joined and left the EU as part of the UK! They are more closely tied to the UK administratively than IOM or Channels

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5 hours ago, Andymsa said:


actually it’s worse than 799 dollars, it’s now 847 dollars to the uk. 

 

According to his listing it's still $799. 

 

TC.JPG.1edfe9b2fcccf3371fc76a72fb6ce3d4.JPG

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24 minutes ago, melmerby said:

 

$847 on mine also.

 

Robert does your browser need refreshing?

 

All very odd. I've tried everything on my PC to clear browsing history - it deleted 20,483 items - but still shows $799. Even pressing F5 makes no difference. But the wife's PC shows $847. 

 

I will do some further investigation .....

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22 minutes ago, RFS said:

 

I will do some further investigation .....

 


Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones that Herr Freiwald likes.

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4 minutes ago, BoD said:


Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones that Herr Freiwald likes.

 

No unfortunately not. IE shows $847 but Edge was determined to show $799. Deleting browsing history didn't help until I deleted all "cookies and site data". This at first didn't work either till I noticed it was only for the last 7 days. So changing it to "All time" finally go the right result. TBH I'm surprised hitting F5 didn't refresh the page. 

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This is another email I got from mr F. This certainly has some strange logic and could border on being sexist. But in any case his conclusion of why he feels my stick is not the cause is flawed because to make such a statement he would need to examine the stick and at no point has he offered any data or facts as to why the stick is not at fault.

 

“Looking at the facts, I realize that TrainController 9.0A4 works with your stick; Version 9.0B2, however, does not. So there must be a software difference (!) between version 9.0A4 and 9.0B2, that does this. This difference in the software cannot be remedied by exchanging the stick.

Your stick does not work with version 9.0B2, but someone else's stick works. From this you conclude that it must be due to the stick. Your stick was issued in the name of a woman. The other stick surely in the name of a man. Just as one could conclude that the stick is the cause, one could also deduce the gender of the user (which can be derived from the information stored on the stick) as the cause. Just as you request an exchange of the stick, you could also request a gender change of the user. I put this obvious nonsense into the field to show you how to classify your conclusions and demands.”

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@Shirleybasm I don't understand the logic in the email you quote above - it seem to state that the fault is in the USB dongle, but then it seems to suggest that you need to change your gender as as far as I am aware USB dongle are neuter therefore they cannot change gender :)

 

But it seems clear that the response from him says it is the dongle is at fault, and I concur with him that there is software difference between 9.0A4 and 9.0B2 - otherwise why did he issue and an update?

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3 hours ago, Shirleybasm said:

This is another email I got from mr F. This certainly has some strange logic and could border on being sexist.

 

I don't find the logic strange. It may not be easy to understand. But in my eyes it's not sexismus, it's more a parable.  He compares your point of view with something he says himself is nonsense to show how nonsensical it is in his eyes. As I said, maybe difficult to understand, but not illogical.

 

He also says that it can't be because of the stick, but must be a difference in the software if 9a4 works for you with the stick, but 9b2 doesn't. That also sounds logical to me.

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