Choosing a future controller.

[AndrueC]

So I've currently got a PowerCab and it's great. It served me well on my first layout with the train controlling being perfect. But the layout currently under construction has a lot more turnout motors and they control more complex routes. I can set macros up on the PowerCab but it's a bit of a pain. It also seems to me that a visual representation of the track would also be beneficial. I might also eventually get around to installing block sensors and taking a look at automation so a live display of trains and their positions would be good for that.

 

What are the current alternatives?

[AndrewC]

No doubt others will be along shortly to add to the confusion useful comments but....

 

It really depends on what you are after. Want to be driver and signalman? If you have access to a laptop, you can use JMRI (free) to create a mimic display which in turn can be operated from the laptop, or with the addition of a cheap router (who doesn't have an old one kicking about these days after upgrading their broadband) you can, for a massive sum of £5.99 get your layout diagram to display on a smart phone or tablet. (WiThrottle) This would let you keep your existing DCC investment for little outlay. JMRI also lets you write macros for some automation. I use routes so that if I want a train from staging 1 to main track 1, I just select point 101, et voila the route is set. With a bit of simple scripting this can become similar to an entry exit function where you click one track then another in order to set the route. 

 

If you want to go whole automation hog then Z21 or ECoS with iTrain would be the way to go. That gives you wireless throttles if you want, along with full blown automation. That would be Mr Morrison's specialist subject. 

[Nigelcliffe]

Track panel with push buttons or switches to operate turnouts - NCE "MiniPanel".   Each MiniPanel takes 30 buttons, so can control 15 turnouts (two button equivalents), or trigger 30 macros.   

 

As soon as you say "automation", then whole different ball game around track sensor choices, layout feedback mechanisms, and choice of control software.    

 

 

Just now, AndrewC said:

...for a massive sum of £5.99 get your layout diagram to display on a smart phone or tablet. (WiThrottle)

 

Or £0.00 if your chosen phone/tablet runs Android rather than Apple's offerings.   Even for Apple, the track diagram should be £0.00 as it can be in the browser window, but the full features of the throttle may require purchasing an App.     

 

 

 

- Nigel

 

[grriff]

You may find some of the chapters in the free book 'Electronics for model railways' available from www.merg.org.uk useful in considering the alternatives. 

There are many options which depend, to some extent, on how willing you are to embrace computer control. 

[AndrewC]

1 hour ago, Nigelcliffe said:

Or £0.00 if your chosen phone/tablet runs Android rather than Apple's offerings.   Even for Apple, the track diagram should be £0.00 as it can be in the browser window, but the full features of the throttle may require purchasing an App.     

- Nigel

 

I was thinking more along the lines of all in one app. Yes you can use the browser for free. Engine driver for Android is free as is WiThrottle lite. The £5.99 for the full version though is well worth it. I've played with Engine Driver, Z21, and WiThrottle. My preference is for the latter as it is smart enough to pick up the loco information from Decoder Pro, so your mapped functions are all there. It is also the easiest for consisting locos. 

For Freemo meets my module has an iPad available for the conductor/switcher while the driver uses what ever throttle he/she wants. More interesting than finger poking the track. Another Freemo modeller uses a touch screen laptop running JMRI for switching. 

[KingEdwardII]

3 hours ago, AndrueC said:

What are the current alternatives?

My approach (only one amongst many, to be sure) is to connect from my controller (a DR5000) to a computer running JMRI and then drive most things via the computer and attached devices. There are alternative software packages to JMRI that you could use - but JMRI is open source and free. Which software is best for you depends on what you are trying to do.

 

I have a large touch screen with a diagram of the layout, which can be used to control locos, turnouts & signals. I can drive trains from my Android phone (note: my phone has a large screen, which makes this easier) - and this is "free" in the sense that I already have the phone and I use the free EngineDriver app.

 

If you want to go down this kind of path, then they key is to have a DCC controller with a good computer interface. The computer you use can be quite cheap (e.g. Raspberry Pi) - but large touch screens can be expensive, by contrast. You will also need to make your turnouts and signals controllable from the computer - I use DCC for this, although there are other possibilities.

 

 

Yours, Mike.

[AndrueC]

Great input, guys, thanks all!

 

I'm not at all frightened of computers (I've spent the last 30+years programming the damn' things) and as I'm about to start a retirement programme it would be fitting to switch to programming for a hobby :)

[RAF96]

Having become disillusioned with Hornby Railmaster and its unreliable timed events and the very long wait for their loco detection system still yet to appear, my layout is now automated by the use of reed switches on the track, which is regular DCC and continuous using my normal Hornby controller connected to a PC - i.e. no block sections or power districts.

The reed switches are connected to a game controller emulator (simply a BBI-32 switch box) which passes an on/off to the PC when a train passes a sensor.

These pulses are used by a bespoke VB6 program written by a friend of mine to control a sequence of events. The program lists what I want the train to do - run at speed and direction, use functions, toggle signals, perform interlocking or clearing of routes, etc - and these events are held until a sensor allows the next step to happen. 

The beauty of the system is if a train derails nothing happens until it is rerailed and gets to the next trigger sensor. 

These individual programs of events are then assembled into a schedule to run several trains between several stations with interlocking to prevent collisions. Simple to write the programs as they are essentially lists of events. The sensors need no reworking of the track bus for blocks, etc and the whole hardware cost was less than £50.

There is no plan by my friend to market his software at present.

 

[JST]

I went round this loop and like RAF96 became disillusioned with Hornby Railmaster. In the end I learned that:-

1 Decent kit costs

2 you should always plan for future expansion.

 

In the end I wound up with Roco Z21 stuff and iTrain and have never looked back. You pays yer money and........