After reading the Model Railroader article I became interested in using a computer signalling system on my new layout (currently in design stages). I think I’m going to buy a Digitrax Zephr for it, but am hesinate to the use their system due to mixed reviews. I am also hesinat to use the system listed in MR before checking my options since the person who wrote the article made that system. I have been doing research, but was wondering what fellow modelers thought. Thanks!
The author of the Signaling made easier article is Bruce Chubb. I have never met Bruce, but I have read many of the model railroad electronics articles he has written over the years. Bruce created/wrote the CTC16, CTC16e - both an early version of DCC, and the Computer/Model Railroad Interface series (see back issues of MR). If you like his system, try it. I believe he knows what he’s doing. However, I’d wait until I have read the whole article series before deciding.
I do agree with Bruce, that using the computer and a computer program to set up the logic for the signals is the way to go. I have been thinking for some time about doing the same thing, only I was thinking about possibly using Digitrax DS54 stationaly controllers as they can accept input signals (such as switch position) as well as control turnout motors, lights, relays, etc. I hope to be able to use DS54s, BDL162s (block detector) [note plural], combined with the Digitrax Loconet, the MS100 computer interface to Loconet and KAM’s TrainTools software for my Signal System. I’d be writing my own computer program in Visual Basic to control the signals. KAM’s traintools basically is an API interface to Loconet. (It will also interface to Lenz, and other DCC systems). My program would simply call KAM’s API to send and receive messages through Loconet. For example: instruct a DS54 to turn on a red light, and turn off the green light on a specific signal based upon input signals from BDL162s and/or DS54s. The computer would do all the work - monitoring the layout and changing the signal aspects as necessary. The DS54 and the BDL162 would be my “Nodes” as Bruce refers to in his article. I should mention that I am a computer programmer so the programming would come fairly easy for me, though I have never written a program to interface with something like a model railroad. That’s why I decided to use KAM’s API so I could focus on the application and not the loconet interface software.
I’ve been too busy bui
I agree with Dale B. I have many years experience in creating software (from a managers point of view) and while it is always exciting for the programers to do there own thing, the final product is always better, more robust and more reliable when it is based on an exiting supproted platform. I am looking for a visual basic based interface to the loconet through the digitrax hardware interfaces. There is a lot of reasons why I thing VB would be the best choice and would be glad to share them if anyone is interested.
However, at this time I would like to find a VB based tool. Does anyone know of one??
Vern P
Thanks for the info! I i am almost positive that i am going to use a Zephyr, and am planning on using a computer system. I know a bit of java, and this will be a great project to work on. One thing is that i think transpoding may be higher on the list than Signalling since it is going to be layout with a modern commuter theme. I know most do not model this since is seems to get boring. Thjis would probably be true if it were a conventional layout, but since i prefer the role of the dispatcher i am planning to model the theme very realistically with trains radomly breaking down (with the computer) and possible even automatic trains around the one i am operating. Think about it, the possiblitlies are endless. Another issue is cost, i think a decoder for every signall would be very expensive.