Passenger Information System Software

[St. Simon]

Hi All,

 

I've spotted a couple of articles and videos recently about adding miniature departure screens on to stations.

 

I know that you can use an Arduino etc to do this, and that Traintech have the 'smart screen' device in their range, but is there a piece of software that allows you to not only control these screens in miniature, but also to display a Passenger Information Screen on a large PC screen that is more visible to a layouts audience? If so, could be connected to JMRI or an RFID system and integrated with a Train Describer in a signalling system?

 

Simon

[RobinofLoxley]

Is this an acronym?

[St. Simon]

4 hours ago, RobinofLoxley said:

Is this an acronym?

Honestly didn’t notice until you pointed it! 

 

Simon

[5BarVT]

On 09/08/2021 at 19:46, RobinofLoxley said:

Is this an acronym?

I think that’s why the big railway used to call them Customer Information Systems!

Paul.

[njee20]

Anything is possible. I’ll eat my hat if there’s an off the shelf solution, because your fastidious devotion to prototypical train control is probably unique. 
 

Are you using RFID and JMRI anyway? Unconventional choice of technologies otherwise. JMRI being open source you could code something I’m sure. Mirroring onto a large screen should be easy enough. 
 

The Train Tech ones aren’t actually ‘responsive’, rather they just display whatever you tell it to, so something Arduino based would be my first port of call. 

[WIMorrison]

There are several people using these displays with iTrain to display the same of the trains, destination and time on their layouts. It has been driven by one German chappie but has them working well, so it can be done

[WIMorrison]

Here is a link to the project for you

 

https://github.com/bbernhard1/MobaDisplay_USB_ArduinoNano

 

 

[jamespetts]

I have only just spotted this topic: but in principle, with a lot of user customisation, this should be possible with TrainController (i.e., to display on a full sized computer screen). It is probably also possible with JMRI, but would probably require a very large amount of scripting.

[Alan Kettlewell]

On 02/12/2021 at 14:26, jamespetts said:

I have only just spotted this topic: but in principle, with a lot of user customisation, this should be possible with TrainController (i.e., to display on a full sized computer screen). It is probably also possible with JMRI, but would probably require a very large amount of scripting.

I have a sort of version of this using Train Controller, however it's not on a large screen but displays in a formatted 'text box' which I position on my layout mimic screen.  The text is linked to a couple of 'variables', which in turn displays info about the train which is in turn activated by the schedule the train is running on.  Basically a dynamic info screen.  I mainly use it to display what train is arriving next and what it's planned activities are.  So in my case I'm using it mainly as a working programme for goods trains rather than passenger train information, but the same principal would be used for passenger trains.

 

This perhaps doesn't quite answer the OP's question, but more for interest.  

 

Cheers ... Alan

[KeithMacdonald]

PiHut has a variety of mini-displays that might be suitable?

 

https://thepihut.com/collections/mini-displays-for-raspberry-pi