Sprog v USB-Serial Connection to command station

[Pete the Elaner]

I have read various references & recommendations for a Sprog & its use with JMRI.

 

I use a PowerPro & connect my PC or PI directly to this by serial. I understand you can get a USB board for using with a PowerCab & believe that most decent DCC systems/command stations provide the same functionality.

With this, I can read/write all CVs from the programming track to store them in JMRI's roster. I seem to have sessions of doing this just to store them in the roster. Once there, I can adjust/write them either to the programming track or on the main without interrupting any running.

 

What advantages would a Sprog provide?

[Nigelcliffe]

For a lot of people, they seem to equate "Sprog" with "JMRI", when the two are different.  JMRI is a software package which will work with most, but not quite all, DCC systems on sale.  The developers make a fair amount of effort to get coverage of systems.  The Sprog is one piece of DCC hardware, which needs a computer to do anything. 

 

 

In the case Pete outlines above,  Sprog vs Serial connection to PowerPro,  I think the issues are:

 

 

PowerPro + Serial lead - advantages: cheap if you already own the PowerPro system, provides full layout control (ie. anything the PowerPro can do is available in the computer).  Disadvantages:  requires PowerPro system to be there (so not very portable), and stuck with limitations of PowerPro programming abilities (programming track power can be low, so may need "programming booster" for some locos, and there is a high number CV mess in PowerPro's which has a work-around provided within JMRI to get things to behave). 

 

Sprog:   Advantage:  Portable, self-contained.  Ideal for a test/programming setup away from a layout (ie. laptop + Sprog + power socket to power the Sprog).  Good at reading just about any decoder.    Disadvantages; self-contained, so doesn't connect to other systems.  

 

 

So, unless you need a portable test system, the Sprog doesn't offer much over your current arrangements.   The software is the same, the roster (etc) can work on both. 

 

 

- Nigel