DCC++ Hardware - Throttles

KE4NYV Jan 25, 2016

  1. Steve S

    Steve S TrainBoard Member

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    In case anyone is interested, I found another enclosure that should work well for this throttle. At $14 it's more expensive than the Hammond enclosure, but this Takachi company does CNC cutting on the enclosure to your specifications. If you don't have access to a laser cutter or CNC machine it may be worth the extra cost to have them do precision cutting for you. I'm not sure what they have in terms of a minimum order, but you could always send them an email.
    http://www.takachi-enclosure.com/data/c15/c15_193410210410.pdf
    For $25 they've got a nice looking enclosure with colorful rubber side grips...
    http://www.takachi-enclosure.com/data/c15/c15_18102.pdf

    Here's a video of their CNC in action...

    They can also do inkjet printing directly onto the case (though it might only work on white plastic.) Here's a video...


    Steve S
     
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  2. Travis Farmer

    Travis Farmer TrainBoard Member

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    Pretty quiet here in the DCC++ section...
    Anyway, thought I would post about a project I am working on that may or may not interest others.
    I decided that rather than a walk-around throttle, I will continue to use JMRI, but I am building a board that goes between the computer, and wirelessly connects to the DCC++ base station via an Xbee. this way I can move my computer and control board around with only a power cord tethering it.
    I will be using a 20 X 4 char I2C LCD for basic telemetry from the base station, such as current, volts, and track power status. I also have a 4.3" Nextion display on the way, and I will use that for more advanced functions and telemetry, as well as configuring buttons on the control board that will function like macros. for example, I can have a button that can be configured to toggle a turnout.
    I have made a slight change to the Base Station code so that it sends a burst of telemetry every 500ms.
    This is still all in the brainstorm and rough prototype stage, but I hope to have a stable working prototype soon.
    My base station is actually being built into a 4U rack-mount server case, as it has a cooling fan to keep the MD boards happy, and the case should help keep dust off of the circuits. besides, it will look cool mounted under my layout. :)
    I also have some DC-to-DC converters that handle up to 36V input, so I can run my Arduinos and other logic right off the track power source.
    I hope to eventually build the board into a desk of sorts that can hopefully roll under the layout to get it out of the way when not in use.

    ~Travis
     
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  3. UK Steve

    UK Steve TrainBoard Member

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    Travis,

    This all sounds like you're in danger of reinventing the wheel.
    A decent 7" tablet and a well written android app or Html page, connected via the wifi to a cheap wifi shield on Base Station, Job Done !
    I've already documented such work as proof of concept, it's cheap and it works.

    Steve.
     
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  4. Travis Farmer

    Travis Farmer TrainBoard Member

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    isn't DCC++ itself re-inventing the wheel? ;)
    the fun lies in the process of creation from what one has. all my ideas tend to be needlessly complex. not sure why, it just happens. I think what it amounts to is I have tons of electronic gadgets that were purchased for various abandoned projects, and the fun is trying to figure out the many ways I can make use of them. the control board may not pan out, but that is why I am in the brainstorming/rough prototype stage. besides, I just noticed JMRI has panels for layout control. I will likely still use the Xbee wireless though, just so my laptop isn't dragging a cord around.
    Other than the cost, I have had good luck with the Xbee modules. they are easy to configure, and easy to swap out the modules if I need more range for some reason.

    ~Travis
     
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  5. Scott Eric Catalano

    Scott Eric Catalano TrainBoard Member

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    DCC++ is a cheap and inexpensive way of getting DCC done without having to purchase the off the shelf expensive DCC systems.....I've started assembling DIY dcc decoders to keep it even more on the cheap side...lol
     
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  6. Travis Farmer

    Travis Farmer TrainBoard Member

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    I will likely do the same for my stationary decoders. I found a good Arduino library, "NmraDcc" that I plan to use. I have even entertained the thought of mounting an Arduino Micro inside a box car, or something. though I am not sure what I would program it to do yet. just a brainstorm.

    ~Travis
     
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  7. Simon Mitchell

    Simon Mitchell TrainBoard Member

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    I have looked and failed to find an answer...so am seeking help. On my steam locos, I'd like to include a servo to operate the lifting link for the
    Walschaerts
    valve gear.

    I haven't found a spec on how a DCC throttle would command this. It appears to me that all the function keys are Boolean only. The 'regulator' appears to be the only option for variable values?
     
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  8. DougL

    DougL TrainBoard Member

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    Consider a setup similar to DCC coupler actuators.
    http://www.precimodels.com/en/8-products/1-dcc-uncouplers
    The open and close motion is provided by a micro motor and fine threads. This is very similar to the desired motion of a Walschaerts lift link. The green auxiliary wire can be used for one coupler or the single lift link.

    There is the problem of latching. Latching requires a second control line. Two binary signals, one open, one close.

    You want to keep the link in one position or the other for many minutes. The coupler design is kept open only when power is applied.

    A tiny worm gear or solenoid would keep it in place and release on command.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2016
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  9. Simon Mitchell

    Simon Mitchell TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Doug, but that is not what I'm after. Micro servos can be had for AUD4 and are far more sophisticated. The question is how does The DCC protocol control a servo, or is it just binary?
     
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  10. DougL

    DougL TrainBoard Member

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  11. Simon Mitchell

    Simon Mitchell TrainBoard Member

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    I'm planning on using an arduino as a decoder, so the decoder side of things should be OK

    I guess on the throttle/DCC++ side I can just use a set of 4 functions to get a range of values. Then use that on the decoder side to control the servo.

    I wanted to check if there was an NMRA protocol for this before I went ahead and made up my own story..
     
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  12. HVT

    HVT TrainBoard Member

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    Simon,

    Geoff Bunza has built a DCC decoder to control up to 17 servis using the Arduino Pro Mini for under $5. You may want to check out his work over on Model Railroad Hobbyist at
    http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/20739 or the next version at
    http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/24316

    Regards,
    Dave
     
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  13. Simon Mitchell

    Simon Mitchell TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks Dave. I'm under way hijacking DCC functions, I'm quite surprised that DCC is boolean. Starting to think it's well past it's time. Anyone want to buy a bunch of ESU Loksound 3.5 and 4.0 decoders and ZTC controllers!
     
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  14. PGW

    PGW TrainBoard Member

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    I have completed Dave's Nextion example and wanted to share some modifications I made: I have added to the screen an increase and decrease speed button as well as a scrolling text box to display speed, added logic to the arduino sketch to handle those. In addition I made some modifications to the original arduino code, mostly moving repetitive operations to more generic functions and creating a "struct" to reference all the LOCO information.

    Dave I have updated the code since I last sent it to you while the board was down.
     

    Attached Files:

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  15. esfeld

    esfeld TrainBoard Member

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    PGW ...... Can you give us a few pics (or possibly video) of the changes that you've made? I've gone thru the code but a picture is worth a thousand lines of code. :) Thanks
     
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  16. PGW

    PGW TrainBoard Member

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    Sure thing I'll also upload my Nextion file. I simply added a "-" and "+" button with a Scrolling Text object to Dave's base. I did this mainly because I currently have the hardware uncased and was a little hard to operate the encoder and it also added another option for controlling speed.
    upload_2016-11-15_12-21-50.png
     

    Attached Files:

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  17. esfeld

    esfeld TrainBoard Member

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    Thank you, I wondered why you needed an additional speed control ... that explains it.
     
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  18. esfeld

    esfeld TrainBoard Member

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    With all the followers on this thread, I find it rather sad that it has pretty much come to a halt ....... is anybody else using or advancing the two very excellent throttles that have been developed? Oh well Happy New Year to all.
     
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  19. esfeld

    esfeld TrainBoard Member

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    When my research indicated that there was no accurate way to read the battery state of our throttles thru software, I combined one of these small voltmeters and a JST connector and I can now check the battery charge state of the throttle thru the charge port. The voltmeters are available from Banggood for $1.85 each with free shipping. Problem solved.
     

    Attached Files:

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  20. Matt Lipscomb

    Matt Lipscomb New Member

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    Hey Dave, I stumbled upon your wireless throttle design and I was looking through the schematic and have become confused. When wiring in the LCD display it shows that 1 goes to ground, 2 goes to 5 volts and 3 and 4 goes to A4 and A5 respectively. Problem is there is no A4 and A5 on the arduino. So where do these connect to? I would prefer not to use a circuit board.



    The other thing I was confused about, when it comes time to program cv's can I leave the throttle connected to the dcc++ module and just connect my computer via usb? Or must I disconnect the throttle? Also do you see any future capability to add cv programing capability to the handheld throttles?
     

    Attached Files:

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