That's awesome! I wonder where NCE and Digitrax are on LCC? TCS' CS can deploy NCE throttles (and other throttle bus clients?), which can then control LCC peripherals, etc. RR-Cirkits provides an LCC-Loconet gateway, but with significant restrictions*. It would be nice to see more support from NCE and/or Digitrax for the NMRA standard LCC bus. Yeah, I know, LCC competes directly with Digitrax' Loconet, but it's time to move out of the trenches. *If I understand it correctly, the LCC-Loconet gateway allows LCC nodes to access Loconet peripherals (in lieu of Digtrax CS), but it does not allow Digitrax Loconet throttles to access LCC clients, or LCC throttles to control a Digitrax CS. It basically provides a path to replace a Digitrax CS & throttles with an LCC CS & throttles.
That's possible but I seem to remember some sort of discussions along these specific lines where a LocoNet gateway device would handle the translation to/from the LCC traction spec. I don't remember now if it was with Dick (RR-CirKits) or someone else now though.
I think a future SW version for the LCC-Loconet gateway might translate between Digitrax Loconet throttles and LCC, but IINM, it is NOT part of the current version. I seem to recall one of the groups.io forums' messages from Dick to that effect, at least WRT the current capabilities lacking Loconet throttle conversion to LCC. IMHO, Dick is very cautious speaking about future capabilities (and rightfully so.) I remember a discussion I had on groups.io about using inexpensive Adafruit DC motor driver boards, controlled by RR-CirKits' Tower LCC board to control Unitrack track switches (turnouts.) Dick was (rightfully so) cautioning about the unintended use of the Tower LCC, and I discovered a potential ground loop problem if using the same DC power supply for motor driver boards controlled by different Tower LCC boards, causing stray ground currents in the LCC CAN Bus ground conductor. Thus no more than one Tower LCC's controlled set of motor driver boards should be supplied by the same isolated power supply. And do NOT use non-isolated power supplies for the motor drivers, period!
Dick came to the MRC booth to see what we had to show and we discussed a few topics around this, my take away from it was that the LNGW should allow transparent translation between LN and LCC. But that may be in a new beta firmware that hasn't been posted publicly yet, so you are very likely correct that the current public firmware does not support this out-of-box. I'll send Dick an email to confirm my understanding on this.
Isn't in fun trying to keep up with new products, especially ones that translates between protocols, one of which is also new?! My information is several months old, so it may very well have been overcome by events.
A lot of fun! I've been trying (mostly successfully) to keep up on various new bits on the LCC side and trying to ensure the new hardware supports all of it via software updates only if I can. Last year at Amherst there was a demo using LN, NCE and LCC throttles all controlling the same loco with each throttle staying in sync regardless of which made an update. I'm waiting on further confirmation from the software dev but it looks like it should be working now with an LCC CS "controlling things". I've asked about if the LNGW will work with a UT4 that I have sitting in a box on a shelf, if it will work then I'll be ordering one and doing some demos with it controlling a prodigy system
I bet keeping the throttles in sync is a whole lot easier when the throttle knob is on an encoder vs on a potentiometer... Otherwise, you need a motor to physically rotate the throttle knob to coincide to what someone else set the loco speed. LCC is yet another brave new world, full of challenges and opportunities!
It's actually quite simple as long as the throttle has a display. Basically what happens is a packet is sent on the bus (LN, NCE, LCC) and the throttle reacts to that and updates the display accordingly. Prodigy seems to stand out in this regard right now, the throttles don't pick up updates from the bus and only react to the base unit sending them ack/back and not much else. I've also heard back from Dick that LNGW supports translation in both directions for LCC traction protocol. There are some jumpers and CDI setting to update for it to work though. I'll be ordering one and seeing what it takes and then integrate it into a demo layout
But that would mean the pot throttle just lost either the upper or lower range of its throttle knob. Say your pot throttle is set at 0, and somebody else sets a different throttle at 40. The loco speeds up to 40. So far, so good... But 40's too fast for your liking, so you try to slow it down. Except you can't, because your pot knob is already at zero, and the pot won't go any lower than that! I don't have a pot throttle, so maybe I'm wrong, and they only have a detent at zero, instead of a hard stop. While less drastic a limitation, it still destroys the relationship between zero speed and the detent position. I would think this might spell the end of pot throttles (or at least those with hard stops or detents).
Possibly yes, but most newer throttles use an encoder without hard end stops (with or without detents). I'm not sure this is a bad thing entirely. I haven't used a pot / rheostat throttle except with DC control.
I tend to agree. Quality potentiometers are also likely more expensive procure, filter & sense (compared to an encoder's pulse-counting scheme, performed in SW, on a processor already needed to handle UI, comms, etc.) Though some microcontrollers have one or more ADC channels, it's best to reserve them for battery state-of-charge monitoring, recharging control, etc.
There are also multiple grades of encoders. The UWT-100 encoder (that is in mine still) can wear out prematurely, this is why they offer an upgrade to a magnetic hall effect encoder (similar to the ones used in various analog stick replacement kits for game consoles). The encoders appear to build up gunk on the pads / contacts and start skipping steps, something my UWT-100 started doing while at Amherst.
From my limited tests so far there are no issues observed with the Elite and Nexxt Gateway. I also visited the CCC On30 club who also uses an Elite and four multiple 8A boosters (large modular club) and we did some initial testing on their mini setup, I'll be heading to the Great Train Show in San Jose at the end of this month where it will be in use on the full layout in a show setting. I still have the Elite base unit and will be continuing some additional testing with it this weekend using the new Throttle and testing with my collection of On30 locos (including upgrading the built in decoders)
Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but I found it while doing a search for information on the NEXXT system. Just wanted to share that I also have and use an MRC Prodigy Elite 10A system and the MRC Wifi module works just fine with my example. I currently use it with my iPhone and a TCS UWT-50 throttle. Not sure why this combo works for me and not others...
Not really an issue, feel free to ask any questions you might have on the system as a whole and I'll answer what I can and share latest updates. It generally should work fine for almost all users, however, there were a few noted exceptions in the documentation around using the WiFi module with the Prodigy Elite 10A base station. It's not clear to me why there was a note regarding that specific combination exactly, but I believe it may have been due to an earlier software version on the base station that may have been fixed before the Prodigy Elite 10A system was replaced with the newer Prodigy Advance2 / Express systems. But I can confirm that the Nexxt Gateway works really well with the Prodigy Elite 10A system (I have one that I used for testing this and confirmed with the CCC On30 club in San Jose CA who also uses one). This combination has also been tested with the Nexxt Gateway (in place of the WiFi module!). The UWT throttles can operate in either WiThrottle or LCC mode with the Nexxt Gateway. With the older WiFi module it is only possible to use WiThrottle mode.
And a quick update on the products... Nexxt Gateway has completed FCC certification testing and is in the early phase of production assembly. There are a couple product features being worked on at this time that will be made available shortly after product release as a software update that can be applied by the user(s) and not require sending it back to MRC for updates. Nexxt Throttle has been augmented to support WiThrottle mode in addition to LCC mode. Unfortunately the production timeline has been extended due to testing taking a bit longer than anticipated. Nexxt CS that was taken to Amherst for demos has been updated with new software enabling additional features that were not ready for demo at Amherst. Prodigy Booster Adapters will be made available alongside the CS being released, this will allow the existing boosters to continue being used alongside the new CS and new Booster (not yet publicly announced but in development). While I will not be in attendance to the NMRA convention in Long Beach (Aug 4 - 11, info) I've made arrangements for the Nexxt products to be available for live demos alongside a number of LCC enabled products (TCS CS-105/B-106/UWT and Nexxt Gateway/Throttle/CS) and some that are not (ESU MobileThrottle II, NCE WiFiTrax, XpressNet throttles, LocoNet Throttles) but will work seamlessly. I do not know where this setup will be exactly but it will be quite interesting to see and hear feedback from the people who see what is being demoed, many of which have not seen this collection of products all working together.
Absolutely! It's also very awesome that the products will be seen alongside other products this coming week at Long Beach. I'll also be bringing them with me in March to the NMRA PCR convention in San Luis Obispo (info), I'm hoping to have at least part of my RGS Telluride branch in tow which will use the Nexxt products and more that are not yet announced.
