Jump to content
 

My simple PC USB based DCC controller


Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Premium
13 minutes ago, nigelwright7557 said:

Mine is pretty basic. 

Forward/reverse and speed control.

It can send function commands too.

I might expand it in the future.

 

Are you doing this because you like the challenge of developing your own system?

As Mike said there are already plenty of home brews around using Arduinos or RPis and if using an Arduino, as probably as cheap as it's possible to go.

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 22/11/2020 at 23:27, melmerby said:

Are you doing this because you like the challenge of developing your own system?

As Mike said there are already plenty of home brews around using Arduinos or RPis and if using an Arduino, as probably as cheap as it's possible to go.

 

Partly the challenge, I have been programming for 40 years so always looking for a new challenge.

The biggest challenge with DCC is getting the right information to do certain tasks. The software part is easy.

Loads of info around on DCC CV's.

However, not so much on the fine detail of how many bits in preamble and how many times you should send a set command.

What  I have found is differing ways of doing it which just causes confusion.

As said earlier managed to get a loco to go forward and backward and change speed so basic communications are right.

My DCC loco has gone wrong now and for some reasons thinks its address is 255 !

So waiting for a new decoder to test my CV changing software.

 

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
29 minutes ago, nigelwright7557 said:

 

However, not so much on the fine detail of how many bits in preamble and how many times you should send a set command.

 

Have you got yourself a copy of the NMRA specifications 9.2?

That sets out all the info required, downloadable in pdf form

https://www.nmra.org/index-nmra-standards-and-recommended-practices

Edited by melmerby
transposed words
Link to post
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, nigelwright7557 said:

However, not so much on the fine detail of how many bits in preamble and how many times you should send a set command.

 

The information is all in the standards. At the very least you need to read NMRA S-9.1, S-9.2, S-9.2.1, S-9.2.3 and S-9.2.4.

 

The only real confusion is when you come to accessory addressing, which leads to the "off by 4" problem when moving hardware between systems.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

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...