Large Scale Central

Doing it a different way.

Electronics Power and Sound
#1

Since the ZIMO handhelds are a bit pricey - they can do (almost) anything except brew tea - and I need a few “simple” throttles I decided on 7" tablets (to be used by the operators/engineers). TrainController (Railroad & Co) supports ZIMO’s MX1 and using +SmartHand Mobile (up to 31 cabs) the dispatcher can assign an engine to a cab. No newbie mistakes possible, just straight forward running of that one engine with the basic F-functions. Using Däppen-Sound with the ZIMO sound decoders means switching on the sound does most of the rest.

It is truly KISS and keeps the learning curve down.

#2

Are you using the "Smart Hand”? At $39.00 USD, that’s not a bad price, if you already have the cell phone or tablet. I wonder if it will work with Airwire?

#3

HJ,

Check out the blog posts from Trevor Marshall. He’s been using a app that allows a Iphone to work as a throttle for the Lenz DCC system. Might learn something?

http://themodelrailwayshow.com/cn1950s/?cat=86

#4

Steve Featherkile said:

Are you using the "Smart Hand”? At $39.00 USD, that’s not a bad price, if you already have the cell phone or tablet. I wonder if it will work with Airwire?

Yes but to make it work one also needs one of the Train Controller version. I have TC Bronze, it will do whatever I require i.e. I had no intention to either silver or gold plate the Dispatcher’s equipment.

#5

Craig Townsend said:

HJ,

Check out the blog posts from Trevor Marshall. He’s been using a app that allows a Iphone to work as a throttle for the Lenz DCC system. Might learn something?

http://themodelrailwayshow.com/cn1950s/?cat=86

Would do me little good, I don’t do Lenz or MAC and iAnything.

There’s an app for Android, too, but it is an almost full implementation of the ZIMO cab. However that’s not what I was looking for.

With +SHM there is no app to install, TC (TrainController) has a built-in web server. In the remote throttle (just about any gizmo that provides a browser) you call up the IP of the computer running TC, which starts +SHM. You log in and depending on how your cab is set-up in Smart Hand Manager and which engine is assigned this is what you’ll see.

(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/P1a/SmartHand01_s.jpg)

A speed control with three input possibilities a) tip (stylus will be provided) anywhere on the speedometer scale and the engine will accelerate to that speed tip on a lower value and the engine will slow down to that point - both according to the values programmed in the decoder of that particular engine. The speedometer scale takes the top speed of the engine into account e.g. Krok 413 has a top speed of 55 kmh - a scale that is divided to 1km increments is displayed.

b) slider to increase and decrease speed

c) up and down arrows for the same purpose. the increments on each tip can be programmed.

At the bottom are the extra functions e.g Light 1 = Headlight and cab light; Light 2 is the single tail light (lower right side), first whistle = engine whistle; second whistle = conductor’s whistle.

And there are a “few more” to be added, couplers and pantos; but all in all uncluttered and easy to understand.

That was the display in Portrait mode, turn it to Landscape and you have the track diagram, zoomed for easy operation.

(http://www.rhb-grischun.ca/P1a/SmartHand02_s.jpg)

That will also show where that train is, what’s coming the other way etc.etc. etc.

As I said it will do everything required and restrict the engineers to just their consist i.e no goof ups or resetting values.

#6

Okay, I wasn’t too sure what you were interested in or what you had as I’m DCC illiterate! :wink: Looks like you have everything figured out regardless.

#7

Glad you are finally up to the level us other users have been for years with JMRI and Engine Driver for Android, and WiThrottle for iPhone.

Nice there is finally something for Zimo, since they are one of the standout systems that JMRI did not support.

Of course we have been doing this for years and all free.

:wink:

#8

Greg Elmassian said:

Glad you are finally up to the level us other users have been for years with JMRI and Engine Driver for Android, and WiThrottle for iPhone.

Nice there is finally something for Zimo, since they are one of the standout systems that JMRI did not support.

Of course we have been doing this for years and all free.

:wink:

I looked at a variety of “solutions” and picked the one that suits my skills i.e. there are still so many other items on my list that need to be done I took the easy way out. As in: minimal work (that I can handle), minimal cost (relatively speaking).

JMRI, Rocrail and a few others looked like headache inducers.

#9

Unless I am mistaken, Zimo is not supported by JMRI so you had no choice there.

JMRI is very simple to use with Iphone or Android and free, but it can do a lot more than a throttle.

Happy you found something that works on Zimo, was just busting you for finally joining those of us who can easily use a smart phone.

Of course since I use NCE, I also have a choice of inexpensive throttles as well as the full blown one.

Glad you have found some less expensive alternative to the pricy zimo throttle.

Greg

#10

While having control to your engines using your smart phone is great on your personal layout with track power. It still is an issue for folks who use their engines on club layouts or using wireless transmitters. Be nice if there was a RF add-on for my android that would allow me to then use JMRI software to wirelessly control my wireless QSI decoders in my engines.

#11

We use wi-fi from our androids to a cheap laptop running JMRI and DCC track power.

You want a different wireless solution direct from your smartphone to your QSI on 900 mhz?

Something like that could be made pretty easily, especially by some of the guys who post on this site, but I think you want something more sophisticated than the interface AirWire designed, it’s too constrained by frequencies, speed, networking.

Designing a wi-fi board to connect to the AirWire port would make more sense, and again, it should be pretty simple for some of the developers posting here.

Would it be cheaper, nope, and that’s why it does not exist, basically, but soon… soon…

Greg

#12

Well be nice to have a wifi receiver in the engine. The picture I failed to paint earlier is that hard to use WiFi when it is on others layout who do not have track power or not setup with DCC and you can’t bring and connect up all the stuff to run WiFi. That is why be nice to have something directly from the phone to wireless receiver in the engine itself.

#13

Actually, you can do this off the shelf for not much in terms of hardware.

I have this working on my bench. It’s a SparkFun WiFly module plugged into an Arduino compatible microcontroller.

The WiFly module looks like another network on your tablet or phone. Just connect, run an app and you can send ‘socket’ messages to the micro and it will move servos or motor controllers etc.

I put this on the back burner because it will only control one locomotive, it’s doesn’t really network with anything else.

But if there is interest I’ll revisit and post my results?

#14

Exactly!

Thanks Martin, hoped I could encourage you to post on this thread…

Joseph, this is exactly what I was talking about, not a wifi network, but “wifi direct”

(of course they make tiny wifi access points so you COULD bring a small network)

Greg

#15

Martin, That does sound interesting just with the huge draw back of only being able to run one engine because it would only be one network. Sounds like software would need to be written to assign a network to and engine so that when you are using the command software on a phone it would know to send commands to the network of the engine you are trying to control.

You know with all these projects and concepts people come up with there should be a separate section just for concepts.

#16

Since you connect to the device as an access point, all the (wifi) traffic from your phone goes through it. Just set the SSID on the wifly to the name of your locomotive and it appears in the list of available networks. The Wifly will do DHCP so you can get the gateway from it in your app if you want too. I don’t bother, I just hard code it to 10.20.10.1. I only have one right now, they are $35 a pop from Sparkfun. I’m not sure you couldn’t get more of them working together, perhaps you can. I’ve just not experimented with it enough to be sure one way or the other. Personally, I don’t like wifi for moving vehicles and prefer 802.15.4 xbee. Just too much traffic flying around for my tastes in 802.11 but then again, I’m a minimalist With the Xbee you operate at a lower level in the protocol and I’m just more comfortable with the timing and predictability I’m seeing. But then again, you do have to add the 802.11 layer if you want to do phones/tablets. To me, it just seems prudent to having nothing on the control network but control data. But it may be that I’m just old and cranky. ha.

#17

Yeah again draw back is only single engine control. I would just like to see someone create something that allows you to run multiple engines with a smart phone without having to have the middleman of a wireless router and PC hooked up to the line as it is not a practical system for those of us who run on different layouts.

#18

Martin Sant said:

… but then again, I’m a minimalist

That’s a good thing Martin. Could you imagine how fast and awesome today’s PC’s would be with supper efficient OS and Apps? In the early days you could do a Graphic OS in 32K with floppy disks (OS9). Today thy are hard pressed to write code for just a button that would fit in 32K!

#19

Hmm. Interesting design problem. I’ll see if the wifly can possibly talk to other wiflys. I’m not sure it can’t. It has other modes besides access point mode.

Anyhow, the xbee design will do multiple locomotives. How about a router sized box powered by a wall wart (or batteries for that matter) but no laptop needed? Turn it on, then turn on your phone and connect to one network to run multiple engines. No wires.

That’s what I envisioned with the Xbee design.

#20

Some of the guys on several German fora have been playing with that for some time. A commercial gizmo/system is supposedly just around the corner … however I remember how it worked with WinNT so I’m not holding my breath.