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I just converted my first engine to DCC yesterday and started playing with LDCC
1.01. LDCC is fantastic! Thank you, Mark!
I installed an AD330 N-Scale decoder from Model Rectifier Corp according to the
directions on Tom Cook's site. At 0.8 Amps this decoder is just adequate to
provide the reported 750mA drawn by a stalled motor. One deviation for this
decoder is that there is no blue wire. Instead, the common for both light
circuits is connected to the black wire. I was able to accomplish this by
simply leaving the metal wiper for the black wire in contact with one side of
the light power outlet instead of bending the tab or insulating it with an index
card. The white and yellow leads get soldered directly to the other side. I
did not install the noise reduction circuit or any resistors or diodes on the
light circuit.
I also built the acknowledge circuit for LDCC, then promptly forgot which end
was which under the heat-shrink tubing. But as promised, no harm was done when
I connected it backwards the first time.
Things worked strangely until I figured out that my decoder was running in
14-step throttle mode, but once I configured Loco 3 correctly, everything worked
fine. Today I will read up on how to program the decoder into 28-step mode and
how to change locomotive ID numbers and acceleration/deceleration parameters.
One thing that would help quite a bit on the LDCC site would be a summary of
standard control variable numbers as well as a brief description of the meanings
of the different programming modes ("Phys", "Drct", etc.). By the time I had
re-wired the engine, built the acknowledge circuit and downloaded the firmware,
I was far too impatient to re-read the fine print, and a lot of trial-and-error
resulted. I will e-mail you a table of whatever quick-reference information I
come up with while I read up on how to program the decoder.
In lugnet.robotics.rcx, Mark Riley wrote:
> Yep, the input ports still work. I've had suggestions of
> using them for tethered throttles, so you can have more than
> one engineer running the trains. I'm also looking into the
> possibility of using the Manas/Spybot remotes as additional
> throttles.
This would be cool if you supported Rotation Sensors as throttle controls.
Another possibility would be to allow an input to be configured for a train
sensor (Touch Sensor or perhaps Light Sensor input type) which would stop one of
the trains for a short time when it reaches the sensor. This would enable
people to easily simulate a passenger stop by placing a train sensor at each
station all wired in parallel to the same input on the RCX.
I am actually wondering now what it would take to write a program that would
send IR Remote commands to the RCX to automatically start and stop trains under
PC control. I am currently working on a train automation program that I could
definitely add LDCC support to. Hmmm...
Anyway, very nice work with LDCC. You may have just burst the dam wide open
with respect to DCC and LTC's.
- Chris.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: DCC for the RCX
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| (...) LDCC (...) to the (...) to (...) this (...) of (...) index (...) I (...) the (...) Great, Chris, I'm glad it's working for you - and with another brand of decoder, yet! (...) worked (...) mode and (...) parameters. (...) of (...) meanings (...) (21 years ago, 9-Jun-03, to lugnet.robotics.rcx, lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: DCC for the RCX
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| Hi Dryden, DCC sends information to the decoders by flipping the polarity of the power supply in a specific timing sequence. So, it's not like the X-10 protocol. To get more power to run more locomotives, you need something called a DCC booster. The (...) (21 years ago, 31-May-03, to lugnet.robotics.rcx, lugnet.trains)
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