DCC/CTC type display questions

[Devin M Jackson Mesquite Belt RR]

Thanks in advance for all the help!

I have finally reached the point to add in my Digitrax BDL168's & SE8C's to the layout, and have the locobuffer up and running...(My 15 yo tech savy son is helping the old guy with technology)

Here is what I want:

a CTC style 3 panel dispacher console, with LED's showing train movement across the layout (20'x40') with locobuffer driven comuterized CTC panels also.  The idea is the old technolgy is being replaced with the new computer displays.

This is where the uncertainty shows up; will the BDL 168's or SE8C's drive the LED's on the old CTC panels to show occupancy in the blocks or what else do I need to power the LEDs on the "old school" CTC panels?

 

Thanks again!

Devin Jackson, Mesquite Belt RR

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[jrbernier]

Devin,

  I am assuming you have JMRI on a PC attached to your Digitrax Command Station.  At this point, use the Panel Pro application to 'build' the CTC panel on the PC screen for now.  Once you have that mastered, you can add the actual hardware/interface cards to feed the output to your physical dispatcher panel.  If you have not already done so, join the Yahoo JMRI Group.  A lot of folks with experiance there, and many times they will offer to assist you in setting up the panel coding.

Jim

[gandydancer19]

When you got your BDL-168, there should have been a little circuit board with 4 or 5 LEDs on it to use as a troubleshooting aid that shows block occupancy.  It might be called an LT4, although I'm not sure because it has been a long time since I had to use mine. 

You can use this and replace the LEDs on it with wires going to remote LEDs to put in your old style panels.  This would be the easiest way.  Or you could make up your own to plug into where the LT4's go on the 168.  You may be able to use the same type header plugs and ribbon cable that you use with the SE8C for connecting the signals. 

Look in the instruction manual of the BDL-168 or on the Digitrax web site to see if you can find a wiring diagram for the LT4.  It should be there somewhere.

[rrinker]

 The 'easy' way to do this is use completely seperate boards for the physical CTC panel. Take a look at the products from RR-CirKits, particularly the Tower Controller, and the CML DTM30 TowerMaster. Or if electronically inclined, the LocoIO DIY boards from Hans DeLoof.

 The various lights on the CTC panel connect to outputs on these boards. The lever switches connect to inputs. Depending on how many segments you need, you may need more than one board per CTC panel. The whole thing plugs in to the Loconet like the rest of the equipment. JMRI handles the logic, so that when you set switch lever 12 to allow traffic west, and line switch 12 to the passing siding, the block occupancy from the BDL168 combined witht he lever positions on the CTC panel will produce the proper signal indication via the SE8C.

 There's actually an example on the RR-CirKits web site of using the Tower Controller to interface a REAL CTC panel - using the original lamps and all. I would love to do somehing like that, but most likely, by the time I get to that point, I will use modern switches and levers from Rix or CTC Parts to build the physical machine.

 You can start with JMRI and build a virtuial CTC panel - one that mimics an original US&S type CTC panel, not the modern dispatching panels. It would have the levers, the code button, the track diagram, and indicator lights just like a physical panel, but you click on the lever instead of physically controlling it. This would let you get the logic all sorted out before building a physical panel and adding an additonal set of addresses to the mix.

                   --Randy