RudyB Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 01 Install and Drive a Train Traincontroller 10 was released September 2022. It seemed like a good moment to start a new series of videos. Video 1 shows how to download and install TC, how to get a license code and activate it, how to connect your Digital System and how to control a train with a Train Window. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 01 Install and Drive a Train 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 02 Switchboard with Turnouts We'll create a small layout on a switchboard, with a couple of turnouts, and we'll see how we can give the turnouts their DCC address and operate them. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 02 Switchboard with Turnouts 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted October 8, 2022 Author Share Posted October 8, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 03 Blocks and Sensors for Train Detection So far we can drive a train (video 1) and we can switch turnouts (video 2), all manually. To enable automatic train control we’ll need to create blocks. Similar to a real railway, trains drive from block to block and they’ll be halted by a red signal if the next block is occupied. At the entry of a block a track sensor detects a passing train (reed switch) or the presence of a train (current detection). Each sensor has an address. Traincontroller continuously monitors the sensors, at all times it knows which train is in which block on the layout. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 03 Blocks and Sensors 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share Posted October 14, 2022 (edited) Traincontroller 10 Gold 04 Automatic Driving There are a handful of different ways to drive trains around on a layout, whereby TC switches the turnouts and signals and accelerates and decelerates the trains fully automatically: - Autotrain by Drag & Drop. Drive from A to B - Spontaneous Run. TC decides randomly where the trains will go. - Autotrain Toolbar. Drive from A to B with more options, among which to store the Schedule for later use - Schedules. User-created paths that can have multiple departure- and destination blocks. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 04 Automatic Driving Edited October 14, 2022 by RudyB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 05 User Interface The TC user interface can be modified to your personal preferences in many ways: - Overall color scheme - Menu and toolbars - Window sizes and floating / docking / tabbed behavior - Use multiple monitors Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 05 User Interface Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted October 29, 2022 Author Share Posted October 29, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 06 Customize the Switchboard The switchboard can be customized to our personal preferences by modifying background- and track colors, track widths, grid, highlighting of turnouts and reserved routes and more. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 06 Customize the Switchboard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted November 23, 2022 Author Share Posted November 23, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 07 Customize the Train Window The Train Window can be customized. Colors can be changed and sliders and buttons can be sized or hidden. The gauge can be made ‘sensitive’, which means it can be clicked and the train will accelerate or decelerate to the speed that was clicked. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 07 Customize the Train Window Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 Traincontroller 10 Gold 08 Classic User Interface By default the User Interface is ribbon style. The ribbon menu was introduced years ago by Microsoft, in their Office suite. While it offers a multitude of clickable links per ribbon, I find the drawback to be that things are harder to find and a change to another ribbon is needed more frequently, rendering more mouse clicks instead of less. Luckily tho ‘old style’ UI still is available. This has the classic toolbars with clickable icons. The big plus is that icons out of different menus / ribbons can be combined in one toolbar, which leads to less mouse clicks overall. It is My preferred way of working. The video shows how to enable the Classic UI and how it can be modified. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 08 Classic User Interface Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 09 Schedules Trains can be allocated to a specific trajectory, called a Schedule. To create a Schedule we have to select the blocks and the routes between the blocks that we want to be part of the Schedule. We also define the Departure and the Destination blocks and we can add planned waiting times at specific blocks, like at a station. Trains might stop at other blocks too, but that only happens if the route or block ahead is reserved by another train. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 09 Schedules Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted January 12, 2023 Author Share Posted January 12, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 10 Schedule Types and -Successors Once a train has reached the destination block of a Schedule, it will be taken out of the list and the trains will come to a stop. If we want the train to repeat the Schedule, or to start a different Schedule, we have to change the Schedule Type, or add Schedule Successors. The video shows how. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 10 Schedule Types and _Successors Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted January 27, 2023 Author Share Posted January 27, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 11 Schedule Rules Schedules have a set of Rules that prescribe if the Schedule starts, how the trains behave and if and when routes and blocks ahead are reserved. This video is about the first half of the set of Rules. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 11 Schedule Rules Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 12 Schedule Rules part 2 Schedules have a set of Rules that prescribe if the Schedule starts, how the trains behave and if and when routes and blocks ahead are reserved. This video is about the second half of the set of Rules. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 12 Schedule Rules part 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share Posted February 17, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 13 Simplified Speed Profile. We want our trains to have accurate stop positions in the blocks, and to drive around with visually pleasing accelerations and decelerations. To accomplish this we have to calibrate the loc in Traincontroller. In many cases the Simplified Speed Profile works fine. It uses three sliders, min speed, max speed and 40 km/hr. To work well with TC first we have to program the DCC decoder in the loc. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 13 Simplified Speed Profile Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 14 Request Yellow. Instead of limiting the max speed in a block, which influences all trains that drive through the block, 'Request Yellow' is an alternative method to slow down trains in the block before a scheduled stop. If we place this request yellow in blocks that belong to the schedule, it won't influence trains on other schedules; these can drive through the block at a higher speed. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 14 Request Yellow Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted March 3, 2023 Author Share Posted March 3, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 15 Pushbuttons and Switches. Pushbuttons and switches can be added to a Switchboard to control many different kinds of operations. This video shows how a Schedule can be started such that trains start to drive when a switch is flipped. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 15 Pushbuttons and Switches Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted March 16, 2023 Author Share Posted March 16, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 16 How to Stop Trains. Trains that drive on a cycle- or shuttle schedule with repeat count 0, as well as trains on schedules with successors, will keep driving indefinitely. There are multiple options to stop the trains. Immediate stops: The Freeze button (Esc on the keyboard) stops the trains, but keeps the schedules in the list. Power On (Ctrl Shift P) will start the trains again, exactly where you left off. Perfect for a coffee break, or as an emergency stop when something unexpected happened. Stop Layout (Ctrl Shift O) stops the trains, removes the schedules from the list and switches the track power off. Terminate all Schedules stops the trains, removes the schedules from the list. Track power stays on. Terminate Schedule stops the selected train / schedule and removes it from the list. All the above methods stop the trains immediately. They may have come to a halt on a turnout, which makes these methods not preferred for neatly ending a driving session. If the next session TC decides to start a train on another schedule, a turnout may switch while a train is on it, which will lead to problems. The following methods lead to a controlled stop: Lock all Blocks makes the trains stop at the stop marker of the block that has last been reserved by the train. The schedules stay in the list. To start driving again, toggle Lock all Blocks off again. Lock all Schedules makes the trains stop at the stop marker of the end block of the schedule and it takes the schedules out of the list. These controlled stops are the safe ways to end a session. To use the on/off switch that we created to start the schedules we place the ‘on’ state of the switch in the Condition tab of the schedule. If the switch is off, this condition is not met, which means the schedule will not be restarted once the train reaches the end block of the schedule. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 16 How to Stop Trains. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 17 Signals. The easiest way to control signals is to give the signal inside the block a DCC address. These signals now follow the block signal colors. If you desire different switching logic for your signals, you will have to place separate signals on the switch panel (they can be placed on the track), give them a DCC address and specify a logic function for each aspect of the signal. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 17 Signals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted April 6, 2023 Author Share Posted April 6, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 18 Send Trains to Specific Tracks If a schedule has multiple destination blocks, like say a multi-track station or yard, a block gets chosen randomly. There are a few ways to change this randomness and send trains to specific blocks: - Use train lengths and allow trains only into blocks in which they fit (Schedule Rules) - Allow only specific trains in a block (Block Properties, Trains tab) - Send the first train to block 1, the next to block 2, and so on. (Block Properties, Condition tab) Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 18 Send Trains to Specific Tracks 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyB Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 Traincontroller 10 Gold 19 Level Crossing TC has a “crossing gate” function. The gate closes when the route on which the crossing is placed is reserved, it opens again when the route is free. In case this route triggering for the gate is too soon or too late we can build our own level crossing, where we can use physical sensors or action markers coupled to already existing block sensors. This also has the benefit that the crossing also works if we manually control trains, in which case routes are not reserved. Link to video Traincontroller 10 Gold 19 Level Crossing 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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