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Roco Z21


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Ssamm

 

It was in the fortnightly e mail RightLine e mag from Gaugemaster, I have e mailed them to ask whether they could reproduce it on the website, I will give Gaugemaster  a call tomorrow and ask them that question again, one of the chaps in the shop has wrote the article and as far as I know it is a series of hints.

I did presume it would be on online site as well

 Brittannia

 

The E-magazine "Right Lines" IS on their website. All back numbers can be seen on the download page, scroll to bottom.

However I have seen all 6 issues and found no mention of Z21

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Ssamm

 

to find on website getting started etc

 Go to Gaugemaster website , put RC10820 in keyword at right top, then getting started by Pat Pettett, on right hand side are more Z21 Articles

 

Paul T,

you are correct my mistake ., to where I had seen it

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Will multiple operators ( as in operating session) using mixture of Android and Iphones etc, work together on same Z21 system?

 

 Cheers

 

  ian

Yes. Its fine with multiple devices with a mix of operating systems controlling the same layout. I guess there is an upper limit, but not attempted to find it.

 

- Nigel

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you to all the above posters. I am considering purchasing the Z21 and this thread has helped me enormously. One question I can't find an answer for. How does data get transferred from one tablet to another? I'm presuming that loco and layout info does not have to be entered into each device separately.

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  • RMweb Gold

Thank you to all the above posters. I am considering purchasing the Z21 and this thread has helped me enormously. One question I can't find an answer for. How does data get transferred from one tablet to another? I'm presuming that loco and layout info does not have to be entered into each device separately.

There's a local wifi set up where you tell the device with the details on to transmit and the 'blank one to recieve via the base station. Android to Android or Iphone/pad to iphone/pad works well but you can't transfer from Android to i device so far as the format is slightly different. Setup is nice and easy so at worst you duplicate it for the two different formats as I've done as I have several iphones (secondhand cheapys) and a Samsung tablet. It also means if friends come along it only takes seconds to upload to their device if they want to have a play using their device.

Edited by PaulRhB
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  • RMweb Gold

It's pretty quick especially if you use the other device as a template sitting alongside so you duplicate accurately. I bought the galaxy tablet with the intention of it being a spare but found it's actually very popular with my friends so several choose it over the iphones. I also bought rubber cases for all of them off the net and even the cheapy silicon ones work well at protecting them from knocks and drops plus they are more grippy in the hand.

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Thank you to all the above posters. I am considering purchasing the Z21 and this thread has helped me enormously. One question I can't find an answer for. How does data get transferred from one tablet to another? I'm presuming that loco and layout info does not have to be entered into each device separately.

There is a "transfer stuff" feature in the tablet/smartphone Apps. It works, I've copied Z21 stuff from Apple to Android as part of the "DCC Theatre" setup in preparation for the Warley show. (So, if you want to play with a Z21, come to Warley armed with your tablet/smartphone ).

 

- Nigel

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  • RMweb Gold

There is a "transfer stuff" feature in the tablet/smartphone Apps. It works, I've copied Z21 stuff from Apple to Android as part of the "DCC Theatre" setup in preparation for the Warley show. (So, if you want to play with a Z21, come to Warley armed with your tablet/smartphone ).

 

- Nigel

Interesting it failed for differing devices  before so maybe the bug was fixed in the last update? Will try mine again :)

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There is a "transfer stuff" feature in the tablet/smartphone Apps. It works, I've copied Z21 stuff from Apple to Android as part of the "DCC Theatre" setup in preparation for the Warley show. (So, if you want to play with a Z21, come to Warley armed with your tablet/smartphone ).

 

- Nigel

Thanks for the invite, but I couldn't wait. Thanks to a wonderful service from Scograil (no connection other than as customer), I already have a Z21 up and running. What a simple controller to set up and use. My old ZTC511 is not going to get much of a look in now. I have loaded a few locos on the android, and controlled from there. I found that you can export to the android device on board card or to email. Using email I was able to send the layout file to my wifes email on her iPad. I could then open the attachment and it loaded straight into Z21 for iPad HD, no problem at all.

 

I decided to try the other way around and set up a trial layout on the iPad with a few locos. I then emailed that to the account I use with the android. When trying to open the z21 mail attachment on the android, it told me there was no compatible app, but instead I detached the file and saved it in the on board card. I then found I could locate the file in the file manager, still in the download area. Clicking the file started up the z21 app and imported the layout from the iPad just like that.

 

So I can easily transfer from device to device, albeit by using the inbuilt email facility within the app.  Excellent. Now to invite some friends to play.  Thanks again for the initial answers and for those sharing their experiences in this thread.

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Thanks for the invite, but I couldn't wait. Thanks to a wonderful service from Scograil (no connection other than as customer), I already have a Z21 up and running. What a simple controller to set up and use. My old ZTC511 is not going to get much of a look in now.

If all the Z21 features are working, you should be able to connect the ZTC to it. There is a "sniffer" port on the Z21, which (in theory) means any DCC system can connect there. Also, the Z21 claims to support Xpressnet, which is the throttle bus protocol of Lenz, which is what ZTC is supposed to use.

 

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Yes Nigel the sniffer port looks interesting. I may try that once I have very thing cabled up neatly. Just been using a test track so far. The Xpressnet is not quite so straightforward as ZTC decided to use a different connector. I have a wiring diagram for the conversion, but I will only consider it if I feel I need to use the ZTC handsets. The function handling of the Z21 is so much better than the ZTC handset.

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Yup, super system the Z21, if you like your gizmos.  Our home N gauge layout uses it, regularly transferring loco/track updates via email between our plethora of iOS and Android devices.  Also have an Fleischmann Profi-Boss attached to the back of the Z21, as sometimes it is just nice to use a 'real' rotary throttle!

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  • 1 month later...

PLEASE HELP! I bought a Model #: 41513 (Starter set with z21) today and spent whole day trying to set it up. The Router is working (all the lights are on or blinking). Track is connected and shows a constant voltage of 7 Volts. Z21mobile app is downloaded. Samsung Tablet is connected to the router via WLAN. z21 unit is connected to the Router via LAN cable provided (green light at the base ofthe plug is on and the yellow light sometimes blinks). The icon of the computer screen with the number on the router is on and sometimes blinks. But! The wireless icon on top right corner of Z21 interface is crossed with red X, in the "info" window it says "z21 mobile OFFLINE" even thought the tablet is connected to the Internet via same router, and the switchboard doesn't respond. Please give me advice!

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Not sure if this helps but . To run z21 internet is not needed after downloading the app, I have a Samsung Tablet and if I have used the tablet away from the Z21 the home internet connects itself, and I then need to check the WLAN settings to switch channels back to the z21 reading [it should still be on the list of internet settings].

Not sure if your solution is this simple, but sometimes the obvious can be missed.

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Thank you both for your replies. I was working hours trying to solve the problem at no avail. Good news: my z21 works with MultiMouse. I was able to program the decoder of my new Loco and to run it. Bad news: there's something wrong with the IP address of z21 or with the unit itself. http://192.168.0.111is not available. Z21 maintenance tool (http://www.z21.eu/en/Z21/Downloads) doesn't connect to this IP address. I tried different addresses that I was able to scan with the Angry IP Scanner (0.1, 0.4, 1.1, 1.100, 1.101, 2.101) - no results. I tried different way of connecting the cables (with the Internet and w/o, via new router(TP-link) or my home router (Belkin)) - z21 still shown "offline" on the "z21 mobile" interface. I have very limited computer knowledge and don't know what to do next.

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As far as I know Roco only change the transformers for US current when they send the set to the US. The router is the same TP-link TL-WR740N. I will try connecting it again (without Internet)< but doubt it will work: 192.168.0.111 is still dead.

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No, but a have 3 different LAN cables and I tried switching them around. The dealer tried to help me but he never played with z21. He invited me to his house next Sunday (even though he is a mail-order dealer). Said he will exchange the z21 if nothing else helps. The 2 problems are: he is far (2 hours each way) and Sunday afternoon is far - I wanted to play so badly...

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Suggest connecting laptop, by cable, to the Roco supplied router, and then interrogate what IP address is issued to the Laptop by the router.   

 

Then work from there.   It is possible that the router is mis-configured, or its possible that the z21 is somehow wrong.  I don't know if the z21 is shipped with a fixed IP address (so router needs adjusting to match z21), or whether it uses DHCP and gains its address from the router.   I suspect it has a fixed IP address.

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