home built mini-dcc

I got to spend a couple more hours on it and I'm just about finished with my first prototype. I still have to add the circuitry for overload detection and lockout. That didn't stop me from testing what I have completed so far. I get in a hurry like that sometimes. ;-)

After verifying that things looked reasonable, I hooked it up to a piece of test track and lo and behold it worked beautifully. :-) I ran my DCC converted Athearn back and forth at slow speeds. I also was able to turn the headlight on and off. I haven't tried programming yet, but I see no reason for it to not work.

As it sits right now, the circuit with PIC, LCD display and h-bridge operating draws just under 20mA, not counting anything on the track of course. I expected it to be higher since the h-bridge datasheet specs it as using ~15mA quiescent current by itself.

Too small for me, I have to check every solder joint with a loupe as it is. I don't relish the idea of working with parts that can be accidentally inhaled. ;-) That goes for locomotive decoders anyway. I plan to try my hand at trackside accessory decoders though.

Have a look at

We have a full DCC system including several mobile decoders, a combined command station/booster with up to 8 handsets and a bunch of accessory decoders and encoders. Dr. Mike Bolton and myself as well as many other MERG members are working on new designs. We are working on a new standard "Layout Control Bus" (LCB) which is based on CAN, a popular bus in the automotive industry (we call it CBUS). This will allow you to connect equipment (handsets, detectors, accessory control devices, command stations ...) using a single bus. We also intend to develop interfaces to commercial busses like Loconet (Digitrax) and XpressNet (Lenz). We sell kits to MERG members at cost, and if you are interested in DIY MR electronics this is one group you should definitely join!

Regards,

Gil Fuchs MERG #1146

On Fri, 4 Jan 2008 09:10:58 -0800 (PST), I said, "Pick a card, any card" and snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com instead replied:

I've often wondered why this hasn't happened already. I've also been giving this lots of thought. Perhaps I'll join MERG and see what's going on so far. CAN is the ideal solution as an alternative to DCC.

-- Ray

Interesting, we've been looking at eCAN (I presume we are talking about Controller Area Network??) to solve some problems with a project on our layout.

Just might do that. Thanks for the heads up.

Paul

I think I'll do just that. :-)

That is about the description (and even the name) of a project I participated some 10 years ago. We never finished, mainly because of the too high demands.. some needed to incorporate video, and too much bandwith demand, while others opted for then available technologies.. Among the participants I notice being still around here was Chuck Davis, who played the coordinating role in the project, and kept it going.

------------------------------- life is about interfacing.. Groet, salut, Wim van Bemmel

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The trouble with MERG is that there is a lot of information and discussion available on the Internet for zero cost, and MERG is a real organization with a newsletter on that outmoded and environmentally destructive medium, paper (remember that?) and they charge money for membership. At $40 for the first year for US members, if I got the figure right, it's an amount that you will notice. Worth it to some people, no doubt, but I'll pass.