Electronics and DCC

Exactly. When there is no train in the block, the lights do nothing. The unoccupied track is an open circuit.

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker Exactly. When there is no train in the block, the lights do nothing. The unoccupied track is an open circuit.

Bingo!

It's the locos that draw the current. The bulbs really are not a consideration until you get a short or put enough locos on the track that you approach 2 amps. THEN, and only then, do the bulbs enter the circuit as a noticeable load -- and they limit the current to just over 2 amps, and *they become* the load.

It's this current limiting feature of the bulbs that makes them do their magic. For $1 each, it's hard to beat their value for adding load controlling short management to a DCC layout.

TOPIC THIS POST: Programming loco decoders

DCC allows you to independently configure a locomotive decoder with custom settings for that locomotive, so you can literally tune each locomotive to get the best performance out of it..

Loco decoders include the ability to set starting voltage and speed, top speed, configure reverse settings to be different from the forward settings and a whole host of of other options.

This is all done using configuration variables or CVs. While there are some common CVs in the NMRA DCC standard, many CVs are not standard and vary considerably from one decoder manufacturer to another. In order to get the most from a decoder, you can spend hours pouring over complex manuals trying to figure out binary bit settings to get certain features to work as you want.

A free open source decoder programming aid is now available called DecoderPro that alleviates most of the loco decoder programming pain and complexity. You need some sort of PC running either Windows, the Mac OS, or Linux. Using an internet connection, you can download DecoderPro, install it, connect your PC to your command station, and be in point-and-click decoder programming heaven!

The next few series of posts on this forum clinic we'll step through how to download, install, configure, and use DecoderPro to program decoders. Believe me, once you see how easy it is to program even complex decoder settings with DecoderPro, you won't want to go back to doing decoder programming by bit-fiddling with arcane CV's documented somewhere in your decoder manual!


DOWNLOADING DECODER PRO
Navigate your computer browser to this link:

http://jmri.sourceforge.net/

Click on the DecoderPro link on the left, then click on the download link at the top of the page. On this page you will see various versions listed for specific operating systems. In this clinic we focus on Windows, since the lion's share of PC users have that os.


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INSTALLING DECODER PRO
Once you have downloaded DecoderPro, you need to install it. On the DecoderPro main page you will see the install guides listed at the left. Click on the Windows link.


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On this page you can read about what you need to have hardware-wise to install DecoderPro. Your machine must be at least 120MHz Pentium II, have 64MB or more memory, and be able to display 800x600 screen resolution.

You also need to get and install Java. You may already have Java installed on your machine -- you can open a command window on your system and check to see if you already have Java installed. Open a MSDOS command line window and type the command shown here:


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If you have Java installed, you will get a response that lists the Java version, something like what we show here:


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I have Java 1.4.2 installed, which will work just fine – you need to have Java version 1.3.1 or later installed. I'm okay as it is, but for purposes of showing you here how to download and install Java, let's assume I need to download and install it (it's free from Sun Microsystems). Just below the sample “java -version” command you will see the link for downloading Java. Click the link:


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This takes you to a page with a button on it for downloading the latest version of Java. Click the button to download Java:


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Once you have downloaded the Java installer, double click on it, and answer yes to the license agreement. On the next screen, take the typical installation, as shown here:


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Once the install is complete, click the finish button:


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Now if you open the command window and type java -version you should see a version of Java listed. I did have version 1.4.2, but now you can see I have the latest version, which happens to be 1.5.0:


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Go ahead now and double click on the DecoderPro install icon to install DecoderPro itself.


STARTING UP DECODER PRO
With Java installed, you are all set to fire up DecoderPro. Just double click the DecoderPro icon on your desktop. You should see this box come up:


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Notice the programming buttons are grayed out ... that means you need to connect your PC to your command station. We'll cover how to do that in the next installment of this FORUM CLINIC.

TOPIC NEXT POST: Connecting your PC to your command station

You can also access Decoderpro from the www.decoderpro.com web address. One really important point, to head off any installation problems, is to ensure that the correct version of Java is installed BEFORE you install Decoderpro. If you join the JMRI yahoo group you will quickly notice that 90% of problems with installation are as a result of installing the Decoderpro application before Java is correctly installed.

Decoderpro is an excellent application and is well worth supporting. When one considers that this is a volenteer project, made available for free, it is even more amazing.

There is a new version due out soon that will have support for the latest QSI sound equipped decoders. For now, the support for the sound portion of these decoders is very limited.

Thanks, Joe and others, for your very complete and informative answers on my bulb questions. I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier. My 6 year old son has been in the hospital the past four days--just diagnosed with asthma. He is home and doing fine now, but I didn't have opportunity to check back here and respond until today for obvious reasons. Thanks again. I think I have a handle on it now.

Ron

That must have been a scare, Ron! Good to hear that he is okay and you can relax with us again.

Trains are fun, kids are forever. Hope your son is doing much better.

My daughter fought asthma when she was younger (never went into the hospital), but between the hamster dying and her getting older she's doing much better. I hope the same can happen for your son.

Mark in Utah

Hi Everyone, just joined a short time ago and am new to just about all of this. I am currently just doing my homework so as not to make too many 'dumb, didn't do your research' kind of mistakes. You know, the ones that cost $$$? Just been cruising the threads trying to get the feel of things and I am truly impressed with everyones' knowledge of everything RR. The layout photos are awesome. I hope to tap into the huge talent base for info and tips.

Joe- thanks for the clinic. It really helps to hear from someone who has your knowledge and experience. All of the reading on DCC has had me in a fog as to the aspect of wiring the layout. So far this has clarified things a great deal.

Thanks to all
Dave

Dave:

Glad to hear you find this info useful ... that's why I take the time to post it here!

[:D]

Joe, thanks for all your tips.

I'll likely print out this thread and throw it into my MRR'ing notebook. I'm sure DCC is in my future.

Good stuff.

The best part is your info is more up to date than any book could be by the time it's printed!

TOPIC THIS POST: Connecting your PC to your command station

Once you have DecoderPro installed on your PC, you need to connect your PC to your command station so you can program decoders from it.

A note on PCs: Obviously, a laptop will be the most convenient type of PC to use for programming decoders with DecoderPro. If you look on ebay, you can often find used laptops with enough horsepower to easily run DecoderPro for a few hundred dollars. Newer laptops, on the other hand, often don't have a serial port – and a serial port (also known as an RS-232 port) is generally how DecoderPro expects you to connect your PC to DCC your command station. Modern laptops have dropped the older style serial port in favor of newer USB ports.

Fortunately, the loss of the serial port on modern laptops in favor of USB ports has caused USB to Serial Port convertors to become common to address this need. These devices typically cost from $20 - $60. The Keyspan converter, which costs about $50, has been thoroughly tested by the DecoderPro developers and found to work reliably, so they recommend it. Here's a link: http://keyspan.com/products/usb/USA19HS/#otherImages

USB to Serial Port converter

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If you have an NCE system, connecting a PC to your command station couldn't be easier: you just plug in a standard 9-pin serial cable into the command station and off you go.

Connecting a PC to an NCE system is easy (9-pin port in upper middle-right)

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For EasyDCC, which I have, you need to construct your own cable, because the EasyDCC end requires an RJ-11 phone plug. I cover how to build one of these cables in the special features section of my upcoming video on all things DCC.


For Lenz, you need to get the LI computer interface (about $100), and then use a standard 9-pin serial cable to connect your computer to the system.

Connecting a PC to a Lenz system means you need to buy more hardware



For Digitrax, you need an adapter to connect your computer to LocoNet. Your choices are ( in order of preference): LocoBuffer II, LocoBuffer, or an MS-100. Your best bet is to use a LocoBuffer II, which goes for $60 from RR-CirKits.

Connecting a PC to a Digitrax system means you need to buy more hardware


For more details, or to learn about other DCC systems and how to connect to them, go to the DecoderPro hardware connectivity guide at: http://www.decoderpro.com/hardware/

If you want to use DecoderPro to program decoders with an Atlas, Bachman, or MRC DCC system, you are simply out of luck.

Once you have your PC connected to your command station then the fun begins! Inside DecoderPro, go to the preferences panel. This opens automatically the first time the program is run, or you can select it from the "Edit" menu. Select your system from the dropdown box, in my case I select EasyDCC since that's my system. Depending your system, you may have to select a baud rate -- the documentation that comes with your system's computer interface should tell you what to select. You can also go to the DecoderPro hardware link above for more detail.

Click "Save". You'll be asked if it's OK for the program to quit, click "Yes". Restart DecoderPro, and the programming buttons should no longer be grayed out, so you're all set to go!

Let's look at how to program a loco decoder with DecoderPro next.

TOPIC NEXT POST: Super-simple decoder programming with DecoderPro

Just making sure everyone is aware I've posted another clinic installment today.