Hello All! I am looking for the Hex File to bring my LocoIO board firmware up to a better level than 1.35.
Hans posted his HDL support software runs from 1.41 or better?
Does anyone have that listing I could use to load my 16F873 PIC Chip with?
Thanks! Ron N3BXL@Velocity.Net 5/15/2014
You may want to try the LocoNet Hackers group on Yahoo, if you haven't already:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/loconet_hackers/info
Thanks, I will give it a try!
Ron
I think there was a conversation on this a few months ago. I don't know that anyone has done a newer version for the older chip. Ever since Hans has switched tot he newer PIC chip, he hasn't released the code for a DIYer to load on the chip. Pretty sure the old one will do what I need though, which is good as I have a box full of 16F873 and 876 variants I got for free with the intention of building a bunch of LocoIO boards to handle my control panels. Though I've since switched to using servos and the Tam Valley QuadLN has the same local control on/off feature I was building myself using LocoIO and JMRI - basically on the CTC panel the DS would have a local power switch whichw ould enable or disable the control panel buttons for a given turnout, to allow a local crew to operate it for switching moves. I was accomplishing this using the LocoIO to read the panel buttons, and had it generate switch requests for 'fake' switch numbers - not the address used by the actual stationary decoder. using logic in the panel, if the lever was set to local control, it would then issue a switch command to the actual address. If it was not set to local control, nothing happened.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks Randy, you give me hope I can proceed to build my interfaces as planned. For you see my 16F873's arrived today, four of them and I am going to build two Loco Buffer circuits and two Loco I/O boards on a "breadboard" arrangement to see if they are all cracked up to do what I need. This passed month I got my JMRI CTC-Panel working on my layout. JMRI's Panel Pro runs fine out my Comm Port at 19.2K to my "TnT" (By Robert Rydman) computer that runs the DCC Packet stream. All my LocoNet protocol routines run in "TnT" and I have a nice CTC-Panel on two screens. I need to take it further for a true LocoNet sensor array and expanded turnout controls in JMRI. If I can get the Loco Buffer to run on my 873's on LB1632.HEX I'll have my network, then the Loco I/O experiments follow on the LIO135.HEX. Again, Thanks for the information, full-speed ahead! Ron
My DeLoof version Locobuffer is probably 10 years old, works just fine. I also have a PR3, but that is attached to a shelf board with a dedicated program track. The Locobuffer is the layout interface using a USB to serial adapter. In the train room I have a SFF Intel Atom system running Linux with both devices hooked up at the same time (newer versions of JMRI allow this. When I open the programmer, it communicates via the PR3, when I use a computer throttle, or use the WiThrottle server, it communcates via the Locobuffer.) Way back when, I also put together another DeLoof Locobuffer for another forum member. I don't think they have really changed much, other the rewriting the code for a different PIC as the 16F873's are really end of life, plus the new version has a USB interface option using a second PIC. The LocoIO I built about 6 years ago, I have no idea what happened to the one I built back when I built the Locobuffer, but it was back then with an old version of JMRI that I uncovered a bug in JMRI that has since been fixed - the conditional logic on my internal sensor representing the local power lever was actually being ignored, so pretty much no conditional logic, at least using internal sensors, was working. This was WAY back, version 1.something. I have a test panel set up witht he logic I keep testing with new versions, and it's been good and working for years now. As for the LocoIOs, the only thing you miss out on using the old code and the 873 are some of the new features for different I/O types. If all you need are basic inputs and basic outputs, and even a little of the flashing and alternating stuff, the old version has that. There's also an alternate configuration program floating around to do the setup on them.
Randy, You were 100% correct, I have had "wonderful success" with the 16F873 and RRCntl software! Once I got my Loco Buffer Q to run on LB1632.HEX and my Loco I/O on LIO135.HEX, it was just a matter of working out the Digitrax registers (hex) and up it came! I even made a second set or 16F873's and tried it all on my layout PC under JMRI. Again super success! I have expanded my semaphore and block sensors to an unlimited state. I then workied on the "standalone" LocoNet concept and made up a Loco I/O circuit with four turnouts with "feedback" to JMRI which left me with four sensors left over. Once you get the idea, the Loco I/O circuit itself is the key to it all! I have even gotten around the "snap-type" turnout current problem by using 556 timers to act as "one-shots" to a 2N2222 transistor to "pulse" the switch. Thanks for your input! Ron
Randy, Since I wrote you last over my LocoIO firmware for an 873, (that would work under LocoHDL) well.... I found LIO149.HEX. I have used LocoHDL on my WinXP machine to setup several Loco I/O circuit arrangements including my own BDL-168-like LocoNet chip! It works very well and I'm experimenting now with my own sensors which has turned out to be a lot of fun! I'm working with a Hall-Effect device now. I have since done a simple dis-assembly of the 16F873 of LIO149.HEX and I have both the .ASM I made and the .HEX file if you ever wish to try your hand at that box of 873's you have, to make them compatable to LocoHDL? Let me know! Ron 8/28/2014