Jason, I really like your 'basic' throttle concept. Are you suggesting the RS485 between multiple Mega boards rather than i2c? I'm planning a Mega on each section/module that will handle all the local turnout/signaling/detection with a second Pololu motor shield aboard one of them to provide two additional power districts. I will need a bit of help to connect everything. Thanks, Dave
Thanks I know this can be done with the components I mentioned in my previous post. Of course, we can eliminate all of the DCC power generation components. It's really a remote terminal that can send/receive commands over the RS485 buss. Sort of. I'm proposing a "LocoNet like" data buss that all of the throttles, boosters, ect. would plug into. This would be just like LocoNet or NCE's cab buss. In this case though, the standard would be open to anyone who wanted to develop their own throttle, booster, ect. RS485 is bi-directional and is not as subjected to noise and attenuation as I2C, SPI or straight RS232 serial is. I suggest start off with the single DCC++ command station, add the RS485 buss to carry all of the "housekeeping" control data. Additional UNO or Megas could be programmed with DCC++ and set as booster stations. They would essentially listen to the cab buss, looking for commands, generating DCC for the sections of track they are connected too. Any command would of course be encoded onto the tracks. This concept is no different from Digitrax or NCE architecture. I'm just proposing a fully open standard that anyone can develop hardware for.
Sounds a bit like LCC. From some of Gregg's earlier comments I am planning on the second Pololu motor shield to get the DCC signal from the Master Mega. All other Mega boards would be like an 'accessory bus' handling only servo/signal/detection, not actual boosters per se. Throttles would go directly into the Master Mega? Dave
No, I would still suggest the throttle be on the RS485 cab buss. That way you can be plugged in anywhere on the buss, not tied directly back to the Mega/Uno's digital I/O pins.
And all you would need to do is dialup the loco id just like any other DCC system...Throttle/Cab IDs were used in the very primitive Command Control days
TwinDad will like this. It was recently announced that the Uno Wifi will be out soon. This is an Arduino Uno with wifi capability built in. I'm glad that I didn't go through the trouble of trying to integrate it into the interface board. I think the Uno Wifi will become the new standard for DCC++ ...just a guess!
I'm trying to find out more about the Uno Wifi all in one....my search on the Arduino.cc forum is coming up empty....all I can find is the Arduino Wifi Shield
My Google search didn't turn up much either. I originally found this post at Hackaday that talks about the Uno Wifi: http://hackaday.com/2016/01/04/new-...interview-with-federico-musto-of-arduino-srl/ That led to a basic page at arduino.org: http://labs.arduino.org/Arduino+UNO+WiFi
Scott, It has to due with the split between Arduino LLC (Arduino.cc) and Arduino SRL (Arduino.org), two different forks of the original Arduino organization. More info is available on Hackaday. The second company makes the Uno WiFi. Dave
Good news about new Arduino combined WiFi boards ....... I am set up with a working DCC++ set up and an Arduino WiFi shield ........... but am waiting for the code to access a working WiFi solution to access WiThrottle/Digitrains. Did I miss it?????? Steve
Hello Gregg and All, Mega 2560 landed this morning, all up and running with controller interface in about 10 minutes. Your set-up instructions are spot on Gregg. Many Thanks. Just need the Motor Shield now to do the real world tests. Steve L.
No, you haven't missed it. It's still under construction and delayed because (a) I am having trouble getting my hardware platform working, and (b) busy stuff at my job. I'm hoping to get a cleaned up test version of the code published this weekend so that folks who *do* have working hardware can test it for me.
Hi everyone! First off, Gregg, thanks so much for all of your hard work. My sons have gotten into model railroading recently, and we'd rather spend money on trains, track, and scenery than controllers. This seems like a great way to do that, while at the same time letting me scratch the "I really should check out that Arduino stuff" itch. I found your video on YouTube and was amazed at how much you have done. Then I found this thread and was amazed at how many others are contributing to the cause. However, all this contribution, while great, has also led to a 26 page thread! I'm working my way though it, but wanted to ask if anyone has put together a summary of current best practices. For example, there have been a lot of comments about different shields for HO layouts, is there one that everyone has settled on? Is there a place I can skip ahead? Again, I can't tell you how excited I am about this. PM
Hello PM_, I am currently using HO Scale with an Arduino Uno and Pololu motor shield with a separate power supply to handle the higher load. Has been working well. The java controller works well with it too. I am coding my own GUI controller and am waiting for the new Uno Wifi to come out so I can try that.
Hello PM_, I am currently using HO Scale with an Arduino Uno and Pololu motor shield with a separate power supply to handle the higher load. Has been working well. The java controller works well with it too. I am coding my own GUI controller and am waiting for the new Uno Wifi to come out so I can try that.
Gregg and w8one are working on building a web page (integrated with the Github repository) which will incorporate how-tos and best practices. I'm helping out a little bit, but not really enough to take credit. I'm not sure whether it is published yet, but it is well underway and should be available soon if not already.
