All my layout controls (Command Station, Booster, BDL168s, SE8Cs, UP92, UP5s, and PR3Xtra) are plugged into a single power strip. I can turn on and turn off everything at once with a single toggle switch.
The PR3Xtra is connected to my laptop, and even though the power strip is turned off it gets some power from the laptop via the USB cable. Is there any harm in this arrangement? I power down the laptop completely every once in a while (to get updates and whatnot), but it sometimes stays on for days at a time. When I close the lid, it goes into sleep mode, but that must be a shallow sleep because the lights on the PR3 continue to blink. After about two hours with the lid closed, the laptop does seem to go into deep sleep and the PR3 goes dark.
I don't want to have to plug and unplug the PR3 repeatedly, mainly because it isn't just a matter of pulling the plug, I have to click-click on the little USB icon and wait a few seconds for the system to acknowledge the request and then pull the plug. But if I am somehow damaging the PR3 or shortening its useful lifespan, I'll change my startup/shutdown procedures.
Thanks.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
Leaving it connected isn't going to hurt anything. Constantly pulling the USB cable is just going to wear out the USB connector
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker Leaving it connected isn't going to hurt anything.
Mine is powered 24/7. Although I use a desktop PC with the USB plug in all the time. I agree with Randy, no harm in leaving it powered.
Regards, Ed
For years, my PR3 was** always powered by an 18 VDC regulated power supply, and was always plugged into my always-on layout PC. Only when I planned on being out of town for days or weeks would everything be powered down.
Other than supposedly helping to deplete the ozone layer, leaving it powered all the time by both external and USB power never caused any issues.
** "Was", because I recently replaced my PR3 with a PR4. But now the PR4 is always powered by it's PS14 power supply, and is always plugged into my always-on layout PC. Only when I plan on being out of town for days or weeks will everything be powered down.
Mine was the opposite, my dedicated railroad computer was shut off when I left the train room, like everything else in there. All layout power, adn all workbench power were killed by a master switch (not hard wired since it was an apartment adn ic ouldn;t reqire it, I used some X10 modules). Only my downstairs (old layout was in a bedroom) main computer stayed on 24/7, unless I was leaving for more than overnight. Doubt I will do anything different this time, other than the layout and railroad computer being inthe basement. Since i AM redoing the electrical configuration, there will be a master switch with pilot light at the top of the stairs to kill everything that powers the layout. Only some ceiling lights will be on a different circuit with their own switch so you can go to the basement and then to the garage without firing up everything on the layout too.
My current main computer (this one) is connected to my layout and sits on what will one day become the dispatcher's desk. I had intended to connect my previous main computer to the layout (and I did for a while), but it runs Windows XP and as such could not be connected to the internet. I was able to install an older standalone version of JMRI on that computer, but in order to get the latest version of PanelPro and DecoderPro (with up-to-date listings of current decoders) I needed access via internet. Now my previous main computer sits forlornly on the shelf and is dragged out and powered up only rarely. It still has plenty of life left, but nevertheless . . .
The current setup is not much of an inconvenience, and I suspect that one day soon this computer will become my previous main computer and another will occupy the prime position. When this laptop sat on the desk in my office, I generally left it on 24/7 and simply closed the lid when not in use. I still continue that practice, but I was a little nervous seeing the red and green lights on the PR3 flash even though the layout was entirely shut down. Based on the sensible advice and info I received in this thread, I will continue to do so. And be a lot less nervous about it.
Thanks for the help.
ROBERT PETRICK I was able to install an older standalone version of JMRI on that computer, but in order to get the latest version of PanelPro and DecoderPro (with up-to-date listings of current decoders) I needed access via internet.
I was able to install an older standalone version of JMRI on that computer, but in order to get the latest version of PanelPro and DecoderPro (with up-to-date listings of current decoders) I needed access via internet.
Robert,
You can download the off-line Java installer** and JMRI install files onto any Internet-connected machine, then copy them to a thumb drive to install on your no-internet-access computer. Lots of folks do that.
** Java 1.8.0_151 is the last version that will install on XP since they "fixed" the installer to address a vulnerability. But that's current enough to run the latest JMRI releases, and should be good enough for some time yet.
Stevert Robert, You can download the off-line Java installer** and JMRI install files onto any Internet-connected machine, then copy them to a thumb drive to install on your no-internet-access computer. Lots of folks do that. ** Java 1.8.0_151 is the last version that will install on XP since they "fixed" the installer to address a vulnerability. But that's current enough to run the latest JMRI releases, and should be good enough for some time yet.
Hey Steve,
That is just what I did, and it worked fine. I used it for a couple of months. I was able to map my layout in PanelPro, identity all the detection blocks and signal heads, communicate with the BDL168s and SE8Cs, and create a simple signal logic to drive the whole shebang. Using DecoderPro, I could create a roster of all my engines, change or set addresses, fiddle with speed tables to match engines for MU consisting, and do other ordinary tasks.
But then I got four new engines and four new TCS decoders (my new favorite brand). They were not listed in the file and could not be identified when I clicked the 'Identify' icon of DecoderPro. I e-mailed tech support at TCS and the tech guy looked at his JMRI screen and said that they were listed. He also said I could choose one of the generic decoders on the list, but recommended that I go ahead and connect my main computer and upload the latest version of JMRI with the up-to-date decoder chart. So I did.