RFS

If you've got Traincontroller connected via the LAN, and start running a schedule, then the data light should surely start blinking. Is your version of the CV Editor the latest 1.2 version? That replaces the one that comes on the 23151 CD. Having gone into the setup page and selected COM4, you then need to go back to the first page and click connect on the top button. I have a siding near the my operating position that is isolated with two IRJs. Feed is either from the main or via the 23151 and is selected via a DPDT switch. In this way I can drive a loco onto the siding, change the switch and then use 23151 + CV Editor. There's no need to shut down TC whilst I do this as both can be up at the same time. The CV Editor and TC both appear to the Lenz as separate throttles (like the LH100). What you can't do is have both the 23151 and TC up and running at the same time with both using the USB interface.

I know how you feel. Recently I spent an hour trying to determine an unexpected short when I turned my Lenz system on, only to discover I'd left my Kadee coupling height gauge (the metal one of course!) sitting on a siding track ....

First of all you can change all the addresses in TC to use the LAN connection with a single operation - just tried it in simulation mode with no problem. When you change the digital connection, TC will come up with a list of addresses that need to be changed. Highlight them all (select the first then go to the bottom and highlight the last with the shift key pressed) and it will do a multiple change for you. (Best to save a copy of your TC file before you do that though just in case!). If TC is using the USB link then you can't use it at the same time for the CV Editor. That's why I use the LAN connection for TC.

I have the 23151 configured to the PC with the LAN connection as I have no need of a router or wireless connection. The connection is done so that Traincontroller can do its thing with automation. It's also connected via USB and I use that for the CV Editor 1.2 so that I can use that on a dedicated programming track without having to stop TC or put the Lenz into programming mode. The orange data light is on mainly because TC is using it a lot. What PC software are you using? I have Windows 10 and the 23151 USB driver is installed automatically. Having configured the setup page you then have to go back to the start page and select "connect" at the top.

The Lenz program has functions that are not available elsewhere, such as being able to do firmware updates on Lenz decoders.

The CV Editor instructions are in this manual starting on page 15. And on the 23151 CD there are D, E and F (German, English and French) versions in the "Doku" folder. EDIT: This manual is for the earlier version that comes with the 23151. The German-only manual is for the new 1.2.0 version that came out last year. For this I think you may have to rely on the help sections.

As you're running DC then the Gaugemaster DCC80 is not what you need. Instead you need a single Gaugemaster GM500 (see http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=GM500&style=main&strType=&Mcode=Gaugemaster+GM500 ). This is a relay with two built in changeover switches designed to be switched in conjunction with a solenoid point motor. You need to wire each frog separately to its two switches. The GM500 is then wired to be switched by the point motor that controls the route over the crossing. On the link I gave above, there are further links to wiring diagrams for various uses.

The English version is here - http://www.digital-plus.de/pdf/b_23151_e.pdf

Assuming your point motors are not taking power from the bus, then 5A is more than adequate. It's capable of running many more trains simultaneously than you can keep track of. On my layout I have about 70 locos on the track, plus with DCC automation (RR&Co Traincontroller) I can sometimes have 10-12 trains running simultaneously, and some of these are several EMUs in consists. My Lenz 5A system copes with this with no problems at all. I would suggest it's a good idea to have your layout in sections for fault finding. You don't need circuit breakers on every section - an on/off switch for each will work just as well. Having a CB on each section means a short circuit will only power off that section leaving others running. But is that what you want on a home layout? I originally did that but quickly found that whenever a short occurred I needed the whole layout to stop so that I could deal with it. Therefore I see keeping the electrics simple is a good idea!

Also try browsing here - http://railphotoprints.uk/p897720223

One of the key issues with Railcom and occupancy detectors is that vehicles with lighting or resistor wheelsets will turn on a detector, but then there's no decoder id to retrieve. For example, take my M7 + push-pull set: the rear coach has resistor wheelsets to trip the detector when the set is being propelled, thus ensuring train tracking via RR&Co Traincontroller works accurately. Although Railcom will have its uses, I cannot see how you could use Railcom reporting to replace routine train tracking in an automated environment.

You can download any version of Traincontroller (Bronze, Silver or Gold) and run it in evaluation mode. The product has an excellent simulation feature, and you can run this indefinitely on a PC where there is no connection to the layout. If you want to test for real, you can do so connected to the layout, but you are limited to 15-minute sessions. And you can only do this for a limited number of days. JMRI and Rocrail are free anyway so there's no need to worry about evaluation limits.

There's more than one protocol. Lenz, for example, use the RS feedback bus and therefore you need feedback modules that support that. That's why I use the LDT RS8. There are other protocols such as S88 and LocoNet. Have look at the documentation here - https://www.ldt-infocenter.com/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=en:dl_rs_8 - in particular the sample connections document. It will give you an idea of how the RS8 is wired. Occupancy detectors from other manufacturers for different protocols will follow similar lines. (It's an old Lenz diagram showing an LV101 and LZ100 which have since been superseded by the combined LZV100). The RS8 feeds back to the Lenz command station and its events are broadcast on the RS bus so that listeners can see the events, listeners being things like LH100 handsets as well as PC connections such as the Lenz LI-USB which connects to your PC. This is how Traincontroller sees the events from the detectors.

Each block is electrically isolated from others (and turnouts between blocks which are not normally part of blocks). So when a train enters a block, the occupancy detector comes on and the RS8 signals this change to the DCC system and to TC, and TC does the rest by its tracking logic. Same when an detector goes off. A schedule is a series of routes. Each route is a pair of blocks so a train scheduled to run from, say block A though B, C and end in D will allocate routes A-B, B-C and C-D. When the train leaves A the detector will go off (usually when the engine leaves). However block A will not be released (nor turnouts in between) until the software has calculated that the train is fully in B. With Traincontroller this is done by dead reckoning, but other software (eg Rocrail) will need a second sensor to tell it the train has fully entered the block. If you pick up a train from one block and place it in another then the software won't understand. The original block will remain allocated to the train, and the new block will be marked occupied by an unknown train. You have to tell the software you've done this. With TC you can simply drag the train's icon from the old block to the new.

I use Traincontroller Gold version 9. With this software, the only detection required is an occupancy detector. In my case, with Lenz LZV100 command station, that's the LDT RS8 which manages 8 blocks. Each block is fed from a port on the RS8 and is isolated from adjacent blocks via an IRJ, with the feed from the RS8 being to one rail only. The other rail is connected directly to the bus. Like other automation software, TC works via simple train tracking. In other words it knows the starting position (ie which trains are in which blocks and which direction they're pointing). When you run a train via an automated schedule, or manually through the software, TC is able to track the trains round the layout because it knows which way the points are set (and sets them itself for automated schedules) so when an occupancy detector goes on it knows which train it is. With automated schedules, one of the hard tasks is bringing a train smoothly to a stand in a block either for a scheduled stop (station etc) or unscheduled stop (red signal). TC profiles all your locos by a process that runs the loco back and forth over a measured block at various speeds so that it then knows the speed profile of the loco. With this information it's able to being a train to a stand at an exact point by simple dead reckoning. You will have defined the stop points as well as the brake markers (ie tells TC when to start slowing down).

Starting with the Creators Update 1703, major updates to Windows 10 will now remove unsigned drivers. Hence my advice to update the Lenz driver by getting Windows to do it. My experience that it then keeps the driver across major updates because the latest version is a signed version. My understanding is that it's FTDI who provide the authentication and not Lenz. The documentation on the Lenz LI-USB CD for the FTDI drivers is dated April 2004, and the driver versions are from the same date.

The new Lenz interface, 23151 LAN/USB, uses a different serial->USB chip which is manufactured by Microchip Technology. The driver for this is integrated into Windows 10 which means you just plug it in and it works.

Off topic! This thread is not a Windows vs Apple/Linux argument. Unsigned drivers are a security exposure.

When you update Windows 10 now it will remove unsigned drivers. The latest drivers as supplied by Lenz are unsigned. The LI-USB has an FTDI chip and it's the FTDI driver you are installing. So what you need to do is follow the Lenz procedures (including the unsigned driver bit) to install the driver which is quite an old version although it works. Once it is up and running, go into Device Manager (as an administrator) find the device (it will be in COM and LPT) and then from properties select "update driver". Windows knows about FTDI drivers and will find the latest version for you from the web, which by now will be a signed version. Once you have done this, future Windows 10 updates will not remove it. That's what I have done.

I've updated Windows 10 from its first release right through to the current Creators version 1709 and have never had to re-install the Lenz drivers. I now use the newer LAN/USB interface 23151 which uses a different manufacturer's chipset, one that is known to Windows and hence its driver is part of Windows 10. But I still have a 23170 Decoder Programmer which uses the same driver as the LI-USB and it's always worked right after each of the big updates.

Lenz have added Windows 10 drivers to their download site - http://www.digital-plus.de/download.php . These are now 64-bit versions if that's what your Windows 10 system needs. Scroll down to the entry "23150 USB Interface - Treiber WIN 10 / Driver WIN 10 / Le driver WIN 10" If they're not signed drivers you can override Windows to get them to install. Just Google "windows 10 install unsigned drivers" and you'll find the process.

Although the majority of my locos have Lenz decoders, I have had a couple of problems with them. Firstly, the Bachmann EMUs: 2-EPB especially and 4-CEPs to a lesser extent. There seemed to be interference causing them not to properly recognize the DCC signal at times, especially with 2-EPBs running as a pair. After much investigation the conclusion was the interference was coming from the units themselves, probably the lighting circuitry. All units now have Zimo decoders and run perfectly. Secondly, some Hornby locos caused interference in others whilst running perfectly themselves. For example, a pair of 2-BILs would work perfectly individually, but once in a consist one unit performed abysmally (very jerky). Fortunately a simple answer - remove the capacitors. But it was the unit running perfectly that needed its capacitor removing to fix the problem with the other. I now take capacitors out wherever possible. However, some locos (Bachmann EMUs as above) require complete dismantling to get their 3 caps out and I've only done it on a couple, as having done so there was no perceived benefit. All remaining locos with Lenz decoders work extremely well with no problems.

With your new 36-557 decoder you'll be able to independently turn off the head code light on the end facing the 33/1.

I would suggest having a look at the values you can specify for EMF and motor types in CV 50. The manual for the Standard+ says the following: "The decoder also has what we refer to as a EMF switch which makes it possible to further adjust the decoder to different motor types. Depending on the motor type used, it is possible that a digitally controlled locomotive cannot reach an adequate maximum speed compared to a locomotive in conventional operation. If this is the case, activate your EMF switch by setting Bit 6 in CV 50. The locomotive will then reach a higher maximum speed while the minimum speed is also slightly increased." Are your decoders the latest + versions as these replaced the older versions about 7-8 years ago.

That had crossed my mind, but the prongs are not in contact with anything so perhaps are only adding a bit of weight to the bogie? Nevertheless I've noticed the pickups are causing me a problem with automation (Traincontroller) as when the train leaves the station, and the engine enters the next block, the occupancy detector goes off and this triggers the signal to return to red. But the coach bogies are turning the detector back on momentarily which is causing the signal to go back to green a couple of times! However it looks as though fitting a resistor will be very simple, and it should be possible to simply wedge one on the underside of the bogie. This will make a resistor wheelset out of the bogie and eliminate the problem, although now the signal won't go back to red until the whole train has passed.