Hi, I’m trying to get a DS54 to operate a Tortoise using a manual switch and send a message back to my JMRI panel to update it with the moved turnout posiition.
I can move the Tortoise with Digitrax cab, JMRI panel or the manual switch, no problem. When i use the mouse on the panel, or a DIgitrax switch command, the JMRI panel updates with the changed position. When I use the switch, it doesn’t.
I’ve tried many different settings for messages from Switch or Aux inputs and outputs with no joy.
ANyone else had problems with this? any ideas?
Hey there,
I have about 56 turnouts hooked up to DS-54’s like this. But I use RR&Comp to automate everything.
You need to enable feedback on your DS-54 inputs. They support either simple or exact feedback. I use simple, works fine. On your tortoises you will need to use one of the internal DPDT switches to connect the red and the green (common) wires on the switch output cable. (The 4 conductor flat phone cable that comes with the DS-54. Solder them onto the toroise so that they will short when the switch is in the closed position. Whenever the DS-54 “sees” this it will change the turnout position on loconet and whatever pc software you’re using.
To set up the DS-54 for manual switch control and turnout feedback, you have to set the following CV’s: (note these are for cell A, you’ll have to set them for all cells that you want to use feedback on).
CV03 - x20
CV33 - x00
CV34 - x11
CV41 - x01
CV42 - x02
Hope this helps,
Lister
Many thanks for the feedback. I’ll go check my CV settings but it looks like we are doing the same things, so I suspect it is somethign in my JMRI configuration
cheers
Rob
One thing, I don’t know if you’ve come across this but I have. When programming the CV’s on the DS-54’s a few of them “didn’t take” when I first programmed them. I had to go back and do it again. So maybe just try reprogramming one to start.
Lister
Thanks for the info, we got it working. You helped us get the DS54 settings right, and we also didn’t have the JMRI sensors configured right
Rocking now!
This is so cool. We’ve got Tortoises being controlled by:
- CTC panel on a PC using JMRI connected via Locobuffer to a Digitrax Zephyr
- Digitrax throttles in Switch mode
- A momentary-on pushbutton on the fascia which toggles the position, ie only one button per turnout. We also wired back-to-back LEDs in series with the Tortoise which gives turnout position indication, and slows the Tortoise down a bit too!
It was expesnive and a lot of messing about to get it to work but I love it now.
The only problem I have now is that I tend to protrude a bit above belt level these days, and i keep pressing a turnout button with my belly while reaching into the layout. So next step is to relocate the fascia controls onto a “hardware” CTC panel suspended above the layout, like the ones on Bruce Chubb’s Sunset Valley that I fell in love with as a kid. Some 25-strand computer cable should do it I hope without upsetting the DS54s over the cable length… we’ll see. Any thoughts anyone?