I tried 3 different power supplies I have. both 15 VDC/5A yields between 9 - 10 VAC at the outputs. While the 12 VDC/4.1A produced 7-8 VAC. is there a suggestion to where shall debug to see where the power lost is? the wire I used to connect PIN-2 and PIN-13 is #20 gauge . According to the Motor shield PDF documentation, I only need to connect #2 to #13 on the motor shield. Again, to re-iterate, I can run n-scale locomotive on the main track fine. I can read CVs on programming track fine. I just can NOT write any CVs on the programming track. I tried to write "10" to CV1 and it also failed. Using DCC++'s own controller, JMRI, and the Ardiuno's Serial monitor by manually sending <W1 10 22 33> command, from the serial monitor tool, it returned -1 (negative one) always.
i wonder if the programming signal is being affected by the LED on the Arduino board on pin 13. For the sake of diagnostics, what material is pin 13 on the motor shield made of? IOW, can it be bent out of the way without breaking it? that way there is no interference with the pin-13 LED when you plug in the jumper wire. Also, do you have any other shields plugged in with the motor shield that could be interfering? ~Travis
Texas Tim, Aiiyiiyii! When it's complicated... it's just plain old complicated. When it don't work, it don't work. Sorry about that but I'm not the one who should be apologizing. In a grumpy mood so don't mind me. However, I share this experience you are having with you. You'll get it figured out and everything back up and running.
hi Rick, No need apologize. This is part of the venture doing unconventional things and also part of the fun and reward when there is light at the end of the tunnel Do most here use Mega or just the Uno? I just ordered an Uno and see.
I tried two Ardiuno UNO boards (1 authentic, 1 clone) without any luck of writing any CVs. I am waiting for my order of the DigiTrax PS514 70W AC Power Supply to arrive. Hopefully, that PSU would solve this problem.
Oops. did I read the spec wrong? : 7 selectable output voltages, 12V, 13.8V, 15V, 16.8V, 19V, 20V, 24V DC output here is the full spec sheet on the PSU: http://www.digitrax.com/products/power-supplies/ps514/ I found this thread and it seemed the Ardiuno motor shield would cause a voltage drop: http://electronics.stackexchange.co...-when-using-the-official-arduino-motor-shield Here is the spec on L298: http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/389/CD00000240-76770.pdf Travis, I have also tried you suggestion on "avoiding the on-board LED interference at PIN-13", but still unable to write. I am curious to learn what power supply forum members here use for this DCC++? Travis, which PSU do you use? Please share the part name/number and where to get it. Thanks!
if it has DC output, that is fine. i was going off the statement: and i assumed you ment it had AC output. i use a 16Vdc switching power supply i got off eBay from China. when i finish my morning cup of coffee , i will see if it has any part numbers on it. Mine is pretty high current as i plan to eventualy power a lot of accessories from track power (20 something amps output). but i also use a much higher current motor driver as well. ~Travis
CORRECTION: mine reads 15.1Vac with a 16Vdc track power supply. Not sure where "16.9Vac came from... ~Travis
I am afraid that CV writing issue is NOT PSU related. I found a 18 VDC and tried with my setup, The output still only have 12 VAC to program and main track, but still NOT able to write. What setup do most members here have in their DCC++ setup, Would any member share their experiences that made their solution worked: what board? Mega, or Uno. Authentic or clone? Which motor shield, part#, authentic or clone? what PSU? What model train scale? What gauge of the wired? I am currently have: Board: 1 original Ardiuno Mega, 1 original Ardiuno Uno, and a cloned Uno, Motor shield: Ardiuno motor shield (from Amazon, seller Ardiuno.cc), just ordered another one from Digi-key, and also just bought one on ebay to test out PSU: 12VDC/4.1A, 12VDC/5A, 15VDC/5A, 18VDC/4A Wire: pre-made wires (male-male) jumper wire. also 20 gauge wire from Homedepot None of these combinations fix the CV write problem. Anyone could shed some light and help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
is this the gauge wire feeding power from your PSU to your motor driver, and/or from the motor driver to the track? just curious. BTW, in post #30, i wasn't saying it was a PSU problem, i was mearly correcting a typo in a previous statement. ~Travis
Travis, the wires were jumper wires for the motor shield PIN#5-13, PIN#10-12, I did not take PSU was the problem. I am just trial and error here to see if I can isolate what could have caused the issue. I think I eliminated the board (tried both Mega, 2 Unos) problem, eliminated PSU (tried 4 PSUs) problem, eliminated wires (tried 2 different size wires) problem. The only is the motor shield which I have 2 on the way. If it still issue, then I might get "pololu". do you mind to share exactly what your setup is? I am pretty much out of idea . Thanks!
conveniently, my setup is all on my GitHub: https://github.com/travisfarmer/DCCpp I have an Arduino MEGA 2560 with an Arduino Ethernet Shield (Genuine, both) on top. My motor Drivers are IBT_2 (BTS7960) from eBay, connected as shown in the schematic PDF on my GitHub. My PSU is a 16Vdc 20A Switching Supply (18Vdc adjustable, trimmed down to 16Vdc) i ordered from china off eBay. My code is exactly what is on my GitHub. I use JMRI to control it all. Hope it helps. ~Travis
is the IBT_2 this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-pcs-Doubl...185863?hash=item3391aa3fc7:g:99IAAOSwFL9TtWOF
Did you get two units of this. 1 for main track and 1 for program track or 1 unit can do both main and program? Sorry, I do not know how to read schematic .... From your diagram, it seems to illustrate two units or two chips, but in 1 unit ...
two units. The parts labeled IBT_2 Main, and IBT_2 Prog are the pin headers on the IBT_2 units. I just noticed the reference pin numbers are reversed though, but the pins that go to 5V and GND at the top of the connectors are the reference points to the connections on the IBT_2 units. The important thing is the transistors and resistors wired in logic inverter configuration (Q1 and Q2). the IBT_2 units have two pins labeled LPWM and RPWM, and for DCC++, these pins must be direct inversion of each other. this can be done with a logic inverter IC, or the transistor-resistor circuit in the schematic. i am not used to people that can't read schematics i guess (not your fault). i just assume everybody can read them. ~Travis
I have attached a breadboard pictorial representation of the schematic, though it doesn't show my Ethernet shield, it just stacks on top of the Arduino. the resistors are all 1Kohm, and the transistors are small signal NPN. Hope this helps. ~Travis
hi Travis, Thank you very much again. I am more a software guy than hardware guy . I compared your git repository with a version that I downloaded previously and notice, this version no longer need the CURRENT_GAIN? Couple question, in the schematic file, there is a RESET (S2), but I could not seem to find it or is it the reset button form Mega? I assume the wires to main or program track will be connected to the output marked in RED rectangular in this picture (b+/b-, m+/m-) ? Where is the external power source connect to? I will order this and see if I can put them together. If I do not have the Ethernet shield, do I just change this in Config.h to zero: #define COMM_INTERFACE 0
