TrainController questions


I have a DS100, PR3 and 2 UP5.

I can not bring my track on line if it has been shut down by TC or Decoder Pro.

The throttle goes a little nuts. It keeps going back to the screen you get when you first power up the system.
Then it will act like it is working then go back to the start up screen again.
 
I got my license code today.
I thought good grief this is railroad software not the launch codes for Norad.

I had to enter it about 6 times to get it right.
 
I thought about transferring to my laptop but, I figured after I went to all that trouble it wouldn't work.
So I typed it in.
 
All my RR-CirKits stuff will be here tomorrow.
WOW, talk about speedy service.
Now to figure out what fcwilt has gotten me into. :p
 
rzw0wr said:
All my RR-CirKits stuff will be here tomorrow.
WOW, talk about speedy service.
Now to figure out what fcwilt has gotten me into. :p
Click to expand...

Not to worry, Dale, as long as I am above ground I will be around to help.

Ken and Jerry are up, running and having a grand time - despite my help - so how bad can it be? ;)


A couple of questions.

You already have your track down - Yes?

How are you planning on electrically isolating the blocks on the layout?
 
You already have your track down - Yes?
Yes
How are you planning on electrically isolating the blocks on the layout?
Yes

Please stay healthy. :D
 
rzw0wr said:
How are you planning on electrically isolating the blocks on the layout?
Yes
Click to expand...

:confused: "Yes" is not really the answer I was expecting.

HOW are you going to go about isolating the blocks since the track is already down?

I used insulating rail joiners when I was laying my track.
 
Ohhh.
Gaps filled with plastic or epoxy.
It would not be too hard to use insulated joiners. My track is nailed down.
 
rzw0wr said:
Ohhh.
Gaps filled with plastic or epoxy.
It would not be too hard to use insulated joiners. My track is nailed down.
Click to expand...

So you are planning on cutting gaps in the existing rail and filling the gap with something to prevent the gap from closing. Yes?

Are you planning on cutting gaps in one or both rails?
 
rzw0wr said:
Both rails. I think I will get more insulated joiners.
Click to expand...

Good idea - more work to be sure but a good idea nonetheless.

I get a bit up tight when cutting rail in place - occasionally the saw binds and if I am not careful I end up ripping the rail from some ties.

I'm working on a "tool" made of brass strip to hold both rails securely in place while providing access to the location where the rails will be cut.

Avoid cutting gaps in curved flex track, if you can, as the flex track may want to spring back into straight track at the cut. Ask me how I know this. :p


Looking forward to hearing how you progress.

And to "seeing" your eyes light up as TC tracks the progress of your trains from block to block.


You may want to plan on equipping some or all of your rolling stock with resistor wheel sets so TC can track every car of the train or at least the loco and the last car. Since I knew it would be a while before I had all of my rolling stock so equipped, I decided to buy and equip a batch of cabooses so as to have a easy way to make the end of the freight trains detectable.
 
I finally got the courage to open the box.
They only things I could identify are a CD and the coils.
Happy day, not one instruction sheet to be found.
I think I am screwed.

fcwilt is likely setting in his train room laughing his head off. :p
He is saying " I don't have a clue what that stuff is".
Wish me luck, I will need it.
I think I will just go take a nap and think about this stuff later.
 
rzw0wr said:
I finally got the courage to open the box.
They only things I could identify are a CD and the coils.
Happy day, not one instruction sheet to be found.
I think I am screwed.
Click to expand...

No circuit boards? Unless they have changed there is usually one circuit board with some printed instructions in each plastic bag.

Remember the saying about a journey of a thousand miles beginning with a single step?

A project like this consists of a number of small steps each of which is easy to understand while the project as a whole may at first be a bit overwhelming.

You will do fine if you take it slow and easy.
 
No instructions with boards.
The boards have funny looking plug in thingies.
They also have 2 rows of screw connections, I assume one is input and 1 is output.

I need to go get some CAT5 cable and some more Valium and another case of whiskey. :p

My heart rate is down a little and blood pressure is starting to normalize some. The pain is not near as bad as it was. ;)
The migraine may go on fro a little while but, I have some med for them.

You are still laughing aren't you. :p

BTW, if you haven't figured it out yet I have a weird sense of humor.
 
From your instruction on wiring coils and SSB.

For the Simple Serial Bus (SSB) you could purchase some 3 conductor wire of the appropriate gauge. You might find something at HomeDepot/Lowes. Ask the folks at RR-CirKits what they use.

What gauge are you using?
I am on my way to Lowe's and thought I would see if they had something I could use.
 
No I'm not laughing - that would not be nice.


The two 3 position connectors at the end of the board are for the Simple Serial Bus (SSB). These two connectors should be marked X1 and X3. There also should be markings on the board showing what each connection is.

You can think of these as "SSB IN" and "SSB OUT" although both are the same. Both are connected together on the board and simply provide an easy way to connect the SSB wiring to the board and then on to another board.

The two 8 position connectors on the sides of the board, at the other end, are for the coils. Each coil uses two positions, four coils per connector.

See the diagram in the manual linked below.

The single 10 position connector in the middle of the board is for connecting the 8 "spare" inputs/outputs (logic level) to another RR-CirKits "satellite" board, like the BOD-8. For now you want be using this connection.


http://www.rr-cirkits.com/manuals/WatchMan-manual-a.pdf


Do you have the most recent version of JMRI installed? You will want to use DecoderPro 3 for setting up the Watchman boards.


The first think you will need to do is program each board with a unique address. This is covered in the manual linked above. It is usually only done once per board. This is covered in section 2.0 of the manual.

With their other products I have carefully followed each step and all has been fine. The only time I had a problem was when I didn't read ALL of the steps and missed one.

I setup all of my units on the workbench first and then installed them one by one on my layout BUT I purchased an extra LocoBuffer unit and a SBS Gateway unit to keep at my workbench.


Since I doubt you will be using the other 8 inputs/outputs they can be configured at a later time.


So read the document, look at the units, identify what connects where and see how it goes.

Then ask whatever questions arise. I'll be here for the reset of the day.
 
Thanks fcwilt.

I have the manual and I have looked through it briefly.

The wires for the SSB are 21 to 16 gauge as per the manual.

Am I thinking correctly that the wires will run from the SSB to one Watchman board then from that board to the another board then to the last board.
Daisy chained.

The single 10 position connector in the middle of the board is for connecting the 8 "spare" inputs/outputs (logic level) to another RR-CirKits "satellite" board, like the BOD-8. For now you want be using this connection.

This statement confuses me. I don't use the 2 rows of screw connections?
Using the 10 connector in the middle of the board gives me only 10 blocks.
AM I looking at this wrong?

BTW, all joking aside, I think I am starting to understand how this is working.
It does not appear to be all that confusing after you have explained some things.
We will see as time goes on. All that may change every quickly.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
rzw0wr said:
From your instruction on wiring coils and SSB.

For the Simple Serial Bus (SSB) you could purchase some 3 conductor wire of the appropriate gauge. You might find something at HomeDepot/Lowes. Ask the folks at RR-CirKits what they use.

What gauge are you using?
I am on my way to Lowe's and thought I would see if they had something I could use.
Click to expand...

Well the manual says the gauge can be from 16 to 22. I would use stranded as my first choice. It would be grand if you could some sort of cable with 3 different colors of wire. It wouldn't hurt if the cable had 1 or 2 extra wires, you would just be paying for wire you didn't use.

If you get CAT6 cable (solid wires) you can do what I do and use both wires of a pair as one of the three SSB connections. Since the CAT6 cable will have four pairs you end up with one pair unused.

If you don't have a good wire stripper tool that will handle the small gauge wire as found in CAT5E/CAT6 (22 to 26) you might want to purchase one.
 
rzw0wr said:
Thanks fcwilt.

I have the manual and I have looked through it briefly.

The wires for the SSB are 21 to 16 gauge as per the manual.

Am I thinking correctly that the wires will run from the SSB to one Watchman board then from that board to the another board then to the last board.
Daisy chained.

The single 10 position connector in the middle of the board is for connecting the 8 "spare" inputs/outputs (logic level) to another RR-CirKits "satellite" board, like the BOD-8. For now you want be using this connection.

This statement confuses me. I don't use the 2 rows of screw connections?
Using the 10 connector in the middle of the board gives me only 10 blocks.
AM I looking at this wrong?
Click to expand...

You WILL be "daisy chaining" one board to the next. That is why there are TWO 3 position connectors on the end of the board. One connector will be used for the 3 connections coming to the board. The other connector will be used for the 3 connections "leaving" the board and going on to the next board.


As I mentioned, you can think of one connector as the IN connector and the other connector as the OUT connector, even though both are actually the same.


You WILL be using the two screw type, 8 position connectors on the SIDES of the board. Each connector will handle 4 coils.


For now you WILL NOT be using the 10 position connector in the middle of the board.
 
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