Nigelcliffe

First question - what type of point motor ? There are a lot of different ones available, needing different power and switching arrangements. Second question - why the LEDs ? Switch position would show which way things are pointing, the LEDs seem an unnecessary over-complication, particularly as you seem unsure about a lot of fairly basic electrical switching. I'd advise to make things clear without them. Third question/issue. Labelling of switches. No idea whether your switch terminals are "correct" (though I think diagram B, is likely wrong, not sure what diagram C is expecting to achieve). Usually, but by no means certain, SPDT toggle switches, and DPDT toggle switches are have the C=Common in the centre of the three pins, with the other two connecting to the Common depending on switch position. But which arrangement of terminals depends on the switch maker's diagram/specification sheet.

UF5404 is readily available (including Rapid on the industrial estates in Colchester if they still have a local sales counter). Officially they're 3A rated, but should be OK for the use you're giving them - only going to see full current briefly in a short circuit situation. I'd also recommend a power district current limiter to reduce the track maximum current; I run most of my stuff with a MERG cut out built for 0.75A at the track. We run Burntisland (4mm scale) with them set to 1.5A (there's over half a dozen of them dividing up sections of the layout). There are some fairly cheap ready to use types, I think the NCE one is fairly cheap - Kevin at Coastal DCC in Ipswich could say what's available, and their current options. - Nigel

You could drop the track voltage with a string of diodes. One pair of back-to-back diodes in one of the track feed wires will drop about 0.7v. So, three pairs would drop things to 14.9-2.1=12.8volts. Fast rectifier diodes, and 4A or 5A rated given your DCC system's output.

Only where "power" = AC. Nothing happens with DC.

Though take care with the Screwfix range. The £8.99 model lacks "continuity buzzer". The £9.99 model has it. The continuity buzzer is worth a lot more than £1 - its probably my most used function on model railway work.

Buy yourself a multi-meter. Ideally one with a "continuity buzzer". Doubt you need to spend over £25 from UK sources. It makes testing so much simpler and safer than shorting things on the hope nothing goes burns out. If the switch is not a DPDT, then its shoddy documentation. Without access to it, I can't work out how it is wired. - Nigel

From the wiring on the Ali-express page, the 6 pins are in two columns. Labelled "C" = common, "NO" = normally open "NC" = normally closed. So, if it is a DPDT switch, with a meter on "continuity", I'd expect: no contact from one C to adjacent C, no contact from one NO to the other NO, no contact from NC to other NC. Then, switch in one position, should show: C to either NC or NO on the same side. Identical on the other column of three. Switch in other position, should show C to the other of NC or NO. Identical on other column of three. Then, wiring is a matter of - input to the "C" common. Output from the NC. Crossed wires from NO to NC (ie. left NO to right NC, and right NO to left NC). If that isn't how it works, then no idea how the documentation lines up with the description. ( I repeat, the Tortoise does not need a centre-off, and if anything centre-off can be a disadvantage as the motor can relax from its end position ).

Those switches with LEDs usually have a single pole switch, plus contacts to work the LED. But what was the specification you bought ? The diagram isn't clear on that. Why do you need the LED, compared to the standard toggle switch ? The toggle position indicates which way. Or, if wanting rotary to line up with a track diagram, then normal rotary switches (multiple pole, break-before-make types) are pretty cheap from UK suppliers. Why do you want centre-off ? Tortoise is a stall motor and expects to be constantly driven, after it has reached end of travel.

Think you're on the wrong addressing for the Java applications, see https://pi4j.com/documentation/pin-numbering/ And use the WPI numbers. If using a switch to ground, then need to set the "pullup" within the JMRI sensor . The sensor will report "Active" if the switch is "open" and "inactive" if it is closed to ground. You can "invert" this with the checkbox if needed. This is WPI 4 and WPI 5 (GPIO 16, and 18). The above is from my PI today. The JMRI running on that PI is fairly old (4.26), and I ought to update it. - Nigel

Yes, I've used the GPIO as input and output from JMRI. Yes, put things in sensor table (inputs) or turnout table (outputs), as GPIO elements (rather than whatever your other system may be). The Pi4J website has a table relating GPIO pins to the numbers used in Java code. You don't actually need a button, just connecting two pins with wires on the GPIO will do, just be sure you connect the correct ones, and not something else. And, yes, you're a bit on your own. That's the case with lots of odd corners of JMRI. Written by a bunch of enthusiasts in their spare time. Support is on groups.io .

For about the same amount of money, someone who is up to unsoldering surface mount parts, could probably put together a DCC-EX system - keep the costs down by using a 12v supply rather than needing two voltages. That has a proper programming track. - Nigel

Start from the websites produced by the Raspberry PI foundation. Look at those aimed at teachers for school projects - they cover a lot of basics, and cover them thoroughly as the teacher has to learn how to explain it to a class of children.

The MX618N has been replaced with an MN180. The price is somewhat higher, so the old stocks of the Bachmann are probably the cheapest.

Typically with Raspberry Pi GPIO you connect a device (or switch) between ground and GPIO pin. The device then pulls the GPIO pin either "low" or "high". I recommend some time looking up basic Raspberry PI tutorials (not model railway ones) on how to use those pins before applying it to model railways. Your call on which system to use. CMRI, once working, will have far more pins than the two-dozen on the GPIO, and also allows things to be distributed around a network, so reducing cable lengths for each device. But GPIO may be up and running quicker for "proof of concept". Generally for a detection system you'd be putting a layout control bus device (CMRI/LocoNet/CBus/etc) reasonably local to a few sensors (say four or eight) and from there the data is on the layout control bus back to the computer running JMRI. ( There are also various wireless networking methods, such as using WiFi for the device with a handful of sensors, and reporting via various network methods back to JMRI. MQTT and Websockets are probably the two most common. MQTT would work for this application; eg: a RaspberryPI Pico processor with, say, eight track sensors, making MQTT reports back to a broker. That's fairly simple to code in either C or Python on the Pico. ).

You need some sort of input channel, or network, defining. With a PI you may be able to use the GPIO pins as inputs (they are usually available within JMRI), but it depends what pins the Pi-Sprog has used up. DCC is one-way, command station out to track (excluding RailCom which you don't have). Input has to come over a different arrangement. Typically that's done over a layout control bus, so LocoNet, CBus, CMRI, etc... If experimenting with the GPIO, I suggest you start with a push-button over the relevant pin to ground, and see that register as a sensor message within JMRI. Then move on to trying to hook up the devices you have. Note the voltage limits on a PI, go above them and stuff goes "pfff".

The diode allows full current to flow from capacitor into decoder during "discharge". The limit on current will be the max current draw of the decoder (ie. the same current that it draws when running normally on DCC power). If you don't have the diode, but only the charging resistor, then the maximum current is limited by that resistor. If the voltage on the capacitor were, say 15v, and the charging (and now discharging) resistor 100ohm, your discharge max current is 0.15A. As quite a few motors need 0.2 or 0.3A, or more, there's not enough current to move the motor, which kind-of defeats the point. Better decoders (people keep mentioning those :-) ) allow for settings in the decoder to say "1 second without a DCC packet, then stop running because we've lost track signal". Inferior decoders don't and just run-away until the capacitor empties. Better decoders can tell the difference between "DC from the track for DC running" and "DC from a capacitor for stay-alive" and respond accordingly, others can't so you have to disable analogue (DC) running in those decoders. Buy yourself one Zimo decoder and see what it does: some of them come with the charging circuit built in, so all that's needed is an appropriate capacitor. Others you add the circuit yourself. All of them are documented by the maker.

Other suggestions a) cheap "mini PC" (aka "NUK") running Windows 10 (should be able to get one for under £100), and use the server capabilities which I think the Lenz software offers. b) depending what software is in use under Windows 11, a Raspberry PI, and connect the Lenz to that. Then connect your regular software to the service on the PI. (I am optimistic that JMRI could do this, but if not using JMRI, then who knows) Search Ebay for the newer Lenz ethernet+USB device. I picked up one for the local group (lots of Lenz kit) in the summer for £70. Search Ebay for a newer LZV200 command station; friend of mine picked up one for way under £100 (yes, really!). Looked like it had never been used. - Nigel

But chances are that your home network does have one, and you need to arrange the network to reach the layout. The laptop then connects via its WiFi. Or, as Iain suggested, an ethernet-USB adaptor.

Both types mentioned in the thread above work well. I have the CK version of the Toolstation (top of thread) device, used it for years. The pistol style can be quicker to use, but can't easily do "pull insulation back in middle of wire". The CK/Toolstation types can vary in how well they cope with fine wire, there is some limited adjustment in the design which can help, but some of it will be down to manufacturing differences. I also have a set of the traditional "plier/scissor style" cutters with a diamond shaped cut-out and a screw adjuster for depth of cut; I use those for very fine work. I also look after them carefully: stored closed, not abused on the wrong material, etc... Of course, if you're worried about data loss, you must put special green ink on the wire to stop the bits falling out of the sides of the cut wire. - Nigel

If you can't work out the drivers (which may be the case, Win11 is tighter on security), then the options are (a) new device, but Lenz' own ethernet product is reassuringly expensive, or (b) running the Lenz interface on a different hardware device, such as a Raspberry PI. Whether (b) works for you depends on what software you're using on the PC, and whether it can remote-connect to the Pi.

The "old way" to tell about phasing was to use a short burst of DC, and observe the cone move. If both cones moved the same way (in, or, out), then things are in-phase, if they moved opposite ways, they are out-of-phase. But tiny modern speakers may not be suitable for such approaches. - Nigel

Well done. As they are a fairly heavy small metal brick, that's very little after posting costs. Add some decent on-off-on switches and you're in business.

DCC-Ex (current production version) works fine. I have a cut-track on the motor shield, cut following the guidance on the DCC-Ex website. Official Arduino Motor shield, and an Elegoo Arduino Mega. That requires two different voltages supplies so the Arduino voltage regulator isn't overloaded, which I get by a) 16v DC, to the motor shield. b) same 16v DC, via a DC-DC converter to approx 7 volts, which feeds the volts-in barrel connector of the Arduino. The power pins on the stack of shields is therefore powered from the Arduino and its on-board regulator. This works fine with JMRI/DecoderPro, including programming track, via USB connection. I've also added a Hans Tanner "IoTT stick" to the stack (own home-made shield, with a M5-stick in a header), which gives me WiFi control via LocoNet-over-TCP/IP from a computer running JMRI. That mostly works, with one very specific bug in the programming track reads, which I've reported to Hans (I think its in his LocoNet code, as the IoTT stick programmes correctly via an Engine Driver App connection, so the correct data is getting from programming track, through the DCC-EX and into the IoTT stick, just getting lost when the data exits as LocoNet-over-TCP/IP ). - Nigel

They can, and they do differentiate between track-power and stay-alive power. Read the Zimo manuals :-). There are settings for "run time without DCC signal", which would be sensible to set quite low in most situations. I'd expect any decent decoder design to include run-time settings for stay-alives. The benefits of a large stay-alive are two-fold. Firstly, the voltage won't decline by a significant amount in normal use, and secondly (on Zimo only), should the loco come to a stop and as it stops it looses track power, then the decoder senses the loss of DCC and deliberately nudges the loco a bit further until DCC is restored or it is out of power. Moving a motor from stop takes a lot of current. Any reasonably decoder should respond to an E-Stop signal (which is the emergency stop on many systems), and stop instantly. - Nigel

probably not. There are many reasons why some decoders are cheap. Reduced features is one "benefit".