Version 3.20 of RTC available from web page

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Mark DiVecchio

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Sep 4, 2016, 3:07:59 PM9/4/16
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Version 3.20 of the Remote Train Control program is available on
the web page.

The big addition are Hot Buttons. This a window of 20 buttons that you
can program to perform most any operation, on any engine, on any
TIU or AIU. So if there are functions that you do over and over, on any TIU
or to any engine, you can setup this window to do that function with one
click of a button. You can popup this window and keep it on the screen
to use as needed.

Mark

v 0.3.20.0

1. Added Hot Buttons:

Up to 20 Hot Buttons can be defined. Once defined, a click on the
button will immediately send that command. To open the Hot Buttons Window,
click on the [Hot Buttons] button on the Main screen.

To edit a button, right click on that button. Fill in the fields:
- Button Label that will appear on the Hot Buttons Window. Use
"&&" for "&", ie "P&&LE".
- Command to be executed selected from the drop down Command List
- TIU Number 1-5
- Engine/Lashup Number: Engines 1-99, All Engine Operation 100,
or LashUp 101
- for AIU commands, the AIU Number 1-5 and the Port Number 1-10
- for LashUps, the LashUp String - engine numbers separated by
commas, using a minus sign to indicate Reverse Running.
- for engine sounds, enter the sound number 1-255

Press the [OK] button to accept that command.

To undefine a button, right click on it, press [Clear] and then press [OK].

A special function "Playback of a Recorded File" lets associate a recorded
file with a hot button. When you press the button, the recorded file will
play. You can cancel playback by pressing the [Cancel] button on the playback
popup. You can repeat the playback by checking [X]Repeat.

The program, internally, maintains the Command list. If you want to add
a command, right click the Hot Buttons Window outside of the Hot Buttons
themselves and select "Edit Command List". Each line in this list is a command.
The format is "Command Description"="Command". Press [Done] to save
the edited list. The edited list is saved in the RTC folder with the
name "HotCommands.txt". You can delete this file at any time to return
to the internally maintained list.

2. Moved position of Quick Controls button

3. The buttons for Startup All Active Engines and Shutdown All Engines have
been removed. To perform these functions, right click on the Main Window
and when you get the popup menu, you can select these functions.

4. In the setup, you can select [X]Allow 255 Sounds. This sets the Engine Sound
knob on the Sound Controls window to show sounds 1-255 on the knob. With this,
you can play all 255 sounds in the engine. On the remote, "S01" hot key selects
sound 177, "S02" selects sound 178 and so on. The 1-255 number corresponds to the
index into the sound file as shown by the ADPCM program.
http://www.silogic.com/trains/ADPCM.html

4a. For touch screen users, I added up/down buttons to both the Engine and Idle
Sounds knobs. With a touch screen, the knobs are too hard to accurately control.
The knobs themselves may disappear someday.

5. Totally rewrote the recorded file playback routine. Now when you select
a recorded file for playback from either the Setup window or the Hot Buttons
window, the playback runs as a separate thread. That means you can do other
operations or even other playbacks while the playback is running.

--
Mark DiVecchio K3FWT http://www.silogic.com Rainbow, CA 92028
My Genealogy Web Site : http://www.silogic.com/genealogy/genealogy.html
My Model Trains Web Site : http://www.silogic.com/trains/layout.html

Kevin Rice

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Sep 5, 2016, 12:38:07 AM9/5/16
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After I complete my "track upgrade" consisting of the installation of lionel graduated tressel (garbage), some more wiring for some 30" stuff I put in ... and can actually run trains again -- then I will test this full stop!

On a related note:  I'm pretty much up for battery power at this point.  Anyone, battery power o-gauge?     (note: I have a carpet layout, it is ever changing...)

The other thing I was thinking was wiring every track piece -- basically pre-wire it all.   The idea is that to connect some track, connect the pre-wire ends too.  My thinking is that I can just have redundant power through every piece.  This would alleviate the need for the 'star wiring" I have now which is ungainly, unsightly and well rather a pain really... 

I was thinking I'd use "banana plugs"  -- although maybe there's a better choice.


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Paul Reynolds

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Sep 6, 2016, 5:18:00 PM9/6/16
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Kevin...

   I got battery power working about six months ago and then had to turn my attention to other matters.  I'll be returning to it in another month or two.  In short, it's very doable and seems to work well.  LiPo battery packs have come a long way.  My first attempt used a commercial radio controller and receiver/motor control board.  This fall I'll be substituting a small Arduino, separate motor controller and XBee radio transmitter/receivers in my battery powered engine.  I started with an MTH Railking conventional pair of F3's (one dummy).  The battery is in the dummy.  That's not necessary.  There's room in the powered unit for an Arduino, motor controller, Xbee and battery.  In some MTH PS2/3 engines I expect the battery may have to reside in a second platform (coal car, box car, baggage car etc.).  Anyway, I'm committed to battery because I want to install an outdoor layout and I don't want to have to be dealing with power over that large an area and perpetually cleaning outdoor stuff off my track.

Mark...

   You're amazing.  You've built a first-class product!  I don't know MTH HO very well.  Can RTC control those engines?  I ask because we have a local store owner who does mostly HO layout construction for rich folks in Charlottesville and the area and I'll bet he'd love to use your software in his installations.  I'm going to contact him.  What's your consulting rate? :)

Best,
Paul Reynolds

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Kevin Rice

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Sep 7, 2016, 11:18:05 AM9/7/16
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I looked quite a bit at S-cab.   It's a DCC solution mainly for HO.   DCC is somewhat similar (in my mind) to the DCC concept where the commands flow over the track.  In the DCC case they go (as I understand it) through PWM signalling on track power (not sure about DCS).   The s-cab folks and there may be others that doe the same like airwire -- "snip" track power and put a battery on that input.   Then they have a RF module which receives DCC commands from a wireless controller.   The RF module upon receipt of a command "spoofs" the PWM signalling against the battery inputs so to speak to inject the command in to the DCC decoder's power input pin(s).   The DCC none the wiser, does its thing.

I think it's rather brilliant, not sure who came up with it... 

So are you keeping the DCS engine controller or jettisoning it for something else?   I suppose similar to what I described above could be done with MTH engine controllers but you'd have to break into the DCS track signalling and all that ... which you know, might be possible... 


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Kevin Rice

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Sep 7, 2016, 11:33:01 AM9/7/16
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Just a quick edit:  "DCC is somewhat similar (in my mind) to the DCC concept where the commands flow over the track. "  ---> "DCS is somewhat similar (in my mind) to the DCC concept where the commands flow over the track. "

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