Hi all, I have a "Gregg" base station and a Bodnar wireless throttle with HC12. I really need wireless, so just returned to using it after some time with a Digitrax Zephyr. Today I remembered, the hard way, why I abandoned it some time ago; All of a sudden the loco looses all control, and just runs off at seemingly random speed, the only way to stop it is shorting the rails, that works fine, but then it powers up again..... I seem to remember the throttle code sends "track power on" when the throttle issues a speed request, that could be removed and made manual (like on the Digitrax for that matter), but what could cause the runaway behavior ? It never happened with Digitrax, so shouldn't be decoder malfunction. Any ideas on the problem, or indeed a clever fault isolation method, are most welcome ! /Peter, in Sweden
What decoder(s) is(are) it(they) Is it a DC/Analog capable DCC decoder? They can cause runaway. You can turn that off DC in the CV (i think CV29) that does that in the decoder. Is this a Bachmann? Known issues with them that is an easy fix. Are you adding anything to the track with the power on? Is it a steam loco? I'll try and give it some more thought. We are all working on DDC++ EX and sorting through updates and all that on another thread.
Thanks FlightRisk, I have been following the efforts by you and others to simplify DCC++. Re my own problem, the decoder is Digitrax, I think a DH163; it is installed in a Proto2000/Lifelike GP7 diesel. Not sure if it's DC capable, one easy thing to check anyway. This is my only active loco, at least for now, so I have no comparison material. I may have rerailed the loco on some occasion, can't tell if the runaway behavior occured after that. Based on the overall DCC++ project, is there now changes/updates to Gregg Berman's original code ? Just wondering if this is worth a try. /Peter
We still have to incorporate the changes into the original code. I'll do that this week. As for your loco, check bit 2 of CV29. These are great articles since that CV is a bit of a pain because it doesn't just hold a value, it is an 8 bit toggle. So you have to do a little binary to decimal conversion to know which ones to turn on (1) and which ones to turn off (0). You may already know this, but I think it should solve your runaway train issue. https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201493195-CV29-explained https://www.dccguy.com/?p=5568
What would I do without this great forum.... I did not know about this seemingly important CV value, reading the articles you provided I think it may be my problem. My layout is still in a build-up phase so I'm still struggling with track maintenance; a perfect environment for CV29 problems..... Will check it asap (i.e. setting up good old Digitrax again). Many thanks !! And a couple of general curiosities: there's not much talk about throttles, are you all running trains with the JMRI throttles on computer screens ? (a few while-on-the-line issues here, sorry) Since Raspberry PI is highly rated on these pages as a standalone solution for JMRI, is it a suitable replacement for a laptop or desktop PC ? I would buy an RPi mostly to get WiFi capability for a remote throttle, but by adding a screen and a keyboard/mouse I could use JMRI CV programming too ? My laptop is a bulky slow XP machine; a small screen and keyboard could be tucked away between sessions. Thanks again, keep up the good work ! /Peter
I've been really happy so far running JMRI on a Pi. http://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/DCC/page-2.html I ran a chartplotter on a Pi on the sailboat and loved that also. I use the JMRI screen throttle on my test track and have also used the phone throttle using the Pi's WiFi. Like them both but bought the parts to build one of Dave's wireless throttles as I think I'll like the feel of it better than the phone throttle. I'll be interested to hear if the CV change fixed your problem. How do you like his throttle other than the problems you are having? What did you do for a case? Any pictures? I just got a 3D printer with hopes on making a case with it down the road. Sumner
What Sumner said Here is what I use with my Pi: https://www.amazon.com/Eyoyo-Monitor-1024x768-Resolution-Portable/dp/B01FHDL1DE If I replace it, I am thinking about a touch screen. But there are so many options of how to put the pieces together. I am making notes for our future documentation to show pictures of some of the main setups. Right now I can use my cell phone with the Engine Driver Throttle app for Android. It uses the WiThrottle Server part of JMRI to wirelessly connect to JMRI on the Pi. Your monitor can just stay flipped under your setup until you need to interact with other parts of the JMRI software. I also thought of using a 10" tablet and VPN to wirelessly connect to the Pi. This lets you remote into the Pi itself. Now you can walk around with a touch screen that gives you an image of the desktop of the Pi. You don't need anything else. I do think I need to build a physical throttle, though. I just like knobs
Sounds great, I want one of these PI:s too ! I have checked CV29, and, as expected, DC conversion was turned on. Changed that as per the links supplied by FlightRisk. The difficult part is knowing if the problem is gone, I'll just have to run trains as much as possible, rerailing, shorting etc. Will tell later how it turns out. "Of course" another issue popped up; I tried to check CV29 with JMRI(which means running JMRI on an XP laptop with external WiFi unit), but no, my cell phone seems to connect, shows in the WiFi throttle window, but can't choose a loco. Also "New throttle" is unlit, so can't run that either..... This setup has worked before, so -looks like I am missing something obvious ? On the Bodnar throttle then, I agree buttons and knobs are more user-friendly. Mine has the rotary encoder, but feel I should change to potentiometer to get a visual on the setting. Also this sketch is fairly easy to grasp. My throttle case is made the hard way... If you saw Dave Bodnar's laser cut acrylic sandwich, mine is the same pattern but sapelli, sort of mahogany plywood, and of course hand made. HC12 radio and two cell phone batteries. On one picture is a small board with two transistors, as it turned out the HC12 output didn't switch a full 0-5 volts so this is just a level changer. Have seen a couple of used RPi:s on the net, would like to run a working JMRI first though. What I see is a wireless throttle like Bodnar's, possibly with some new features, and the DCC++/JMRI combo to handle CV:s and loco roster. The next logical step would be a wifi throttle without touch screen, something like what Geoff Bunza created; buttons and a speed knob, and entirely up to the user to design a suitable GUI(and several users have described that on his forum). Tried to post pictures, what do you do to squeeze them in ? I have ordinary cell phone ones, they are around 5 woo woo woo, and this forum accepts 2. Will check further... /Peter Quite an interesting monitor, but $60 price and $346 shipping etc to Sweden makes it a bit difficult….. Used RPi:s can be found here for around $ 30-40 ,so that's a possibility. And my XP laptop could handle other JMRI functions, if I continue using the Bodnar throttle. That is, if I get JMRI to function, it connects to my cell phone, but that's all, "New throttle" doesn't work either. A second possibility is to go on with the Bodnar throttle, which connects directly to the BS serial input(over radio) and add coding for CV programming. HC12 is two-way communication so showing data on a throttle display should be possible. But now I'm getting off this thread, possibly. Will report how my corrected loco works over time. As I said in answering Sumner I also tried including photos, but they are too big. /Peter
