Rob… I want to thank you for all of the great tutorial videos that you do with using JMRI and CMRI. Before I found your channel I would scour TH-cam trying to find videos on using servos as turnouts and how to connect block signals etc. There are videos out there but I haven’t found any as comprehensive as yours and honestly you’re Arduino sketches have always worked for me and what I’m trying to accomplish (I can’t say that about others). As I add to my layout I continually refer back to your videos for instruction and I have referred your channel to others for the valuable information contained in them. Thank you again for time you spend making them and I always look forward to your next video.
never occurred to me to hook up an actual mimic panel, very nicely done also you have a 100 ohm resistor for the LEDs, you will likely find a 1K ohm one will work as well, giving you 10 times as many LEDs from the arduino - you are likely over driving the LEDs if you drop to a red one with 100 ohms - 1kk and you are at a tenth of the current which may be better. varies by LED colour. incidentally these videos are excellent and way easier to follow than the JMRI & C/MRI documentation
@@LittleWicketRailway lol, resistor varies by the spec of the LED but for most they are bright enough at 3-4mA, also by the forward voltage of the LED, tends to vary by colour, worth experimenting as even if you have an external power source you need to provide the juice from somewhere. stuck a 5V 5A AC-DC converter in mine to drive Arduinos, of which there are several, probably way too many, and the LEDs. another option is a transistor driver circuit, probably overkill for an Arduino that can drive directly but makes it a lot easier to have a PWM supply so you can vary the brightness of the mimic board, I find the blue and white LEDs especially dazzling where a lot of green ones end up as "is that even on?" you do however have me sold on a mimic board over a C/MRI connection, probably using a Pi Pico MCU as its similar in size to a Nano but has a lot more ram, and I like over speccing things
Great video!!! Given that's it's summertime here in Ohio with lots of outside yard work, I plan to work on a small mimic panel this Fall or Winter. Your video will be my starting point. You're a JMRI wizard!!!
I'm quite pleased with myself Rob: I made it through till 2:26 before my brain is full. There's nothing like watching a multisensorarduino398board video with Rob erudition to realise how stupid I really am. I love your channel :)
Awesome. Thanks for doing this. I've been trying to figure out how to make a button toggle a turnout state. I'll have to watch this a few more times to get the logix to sink in.
Hi Rob thanks for all your help through your videos. I am trying to implement point position microswitches on the MERG servo mount. In the video you say you have delt with wiring the switch elsewhere. I can not find where. Is it just a simple case of connecting ground to signal via the switch? Advice or direction to the appropriate video would be appreciated. Thanks Graham
Hi Graham, sorry it's taken a while to reply. I've just used the signal and ground pins on the Arduino for the servo feedback micro switch. At 2:14 in the video you can see the blue (or purple? I'm colour blind) wire which is connected to ground on pin 7 and the orange wire which is connected to the signal pin on connection 7. At 2:30 in the video you can see that the orange signal wire has come off the centre pin of the switch (oops).
Thanks Rob for all this info on interfacing and so on - it will come in very useful. One central question here about the mimic panel. Newly returning to the hobby I am amazed that otherwise teched-up people are still building physical panels for this kind of thing. Why not use a programmable touch panel instead of physical board with physical components (LEDs switches wiring, mimic diagram that gets to look dog eared after a few months use ....)? Using a product like the ones from Nextion, 4D systems etc (I have no affiliation with any of them) you can design your mimic diagram in multiple ways (using the free designer software) and place virtual indicators on it, in place of using actual LEDs and a virtual button for the point/turnout control. Then, it's just a three wire serial connection back into the Arduino from the panel - simplifying the wiring quite a lot . With proper design, the Arduino can command the panel to change the state of any on-screen element - for example to change the colour of an on-screen LED. You could also dispense with LED emulation and just have the whole track section change colour (or have a train graphic on it) when occupied. In other words the Arduino can command the touch screen elements to change state to indicate what's going on, and it can receive touch events from the touch panel for point change commands - or anything else. Also, if you go the touch panel route, it's ever so easy to change the mimic diagram. So if/when you make changes to track layout in future, it's not a new panel, it's just changes to the design and re-upload the revised mimic into the touch panel's screen memory. These touch panels come in up to 10" sizes, but I think for my layout I will use several smaller panels - one for each major section of my layout.
Hi Alan 👋 I'm not really into physical panels either, I just had quite a few requests for a video on them. I suppose it's a bit more fun to push a button or pull a level than the click a mouse. Also some panels can looks really smart and impressive, McKinley for example. All the additional wiring required is enough to put me off though, maybe once the layout is completely finished (i.e. never) I'll add a physical panel. Just like the system you've described, JMRI lets you create virtual panels from which you can pretty much show anything you want. JMRI needs to run on a computer, but there are ways to connect tablets which will show the panel. I've not heard of Nextion, but I'll check them out 👍
Hi Rob, Just getting into all this Arduino, JMRI and DCC-EX stuff and really enjoying it. Your video's are a great help! However |I'm having a problem with the push button switch, when it is closed it says its Active however when its open it jumps between Active and Inactive, I have tried altering the DeBounce delay but that does not help. I have also tried adding a bounce delay into the sketch, but that makes no difference. Any suggestion? Cheers.
Hi Rob. Id like to do exactly this but I'd like the turnout in panel pro to update its state when the turnout is thrown either by a button or via a sensor. Is that possible?
The turnout in Panel Pro should show whatever the turnout in the turnout table is showing. So when you activate it by pushing the button (or sensor if you want it activated that way) it will change.
Hi Rob, I’m continuing to enjoy your videos. They help me with ideas for my own layout (only in my head at the moment). One question about adding Arduino to JMRI, are they always added as a SUSIC or are there rules determining the type? Many thanks
Hi, thanks so much for all your videos, but I have a one question, can i see the status of my signals? For example you can comfigurate the sensor for can see the status, and de switchs, but i cant se how to see the signals, thanks for answare
So, here’s a challenge, using an RFID reader and chip have two trains running at the same time but have it so that if one enters a siding it is identified and stopped at the end without interrupting the other train. This would be great for automating yards without pulling your attention away from the rest of your track, you just set your turnouts, send your train in, and when the IR sensor is tripped at the end the DCC++ base station detects which engine is in the yard and stops it leaving you to continue other operations uninterrupted.
@@LittleWicketRailway SEEED is a descent company, I’ve ordered a few things from them, MERG also has an RFID set (I became a member after seeing your video on block detection)
Many thanks. It would be great if you could add an additional siding and point to give 3 sidings, then make each siding have a button to select the route to the siding, rather than have a button on each point. Also, what are the options for using an arduino to drive solenoid point motors?
Rob… I want to thank you for all of the great tutorial videos that you do with using JMRI and CMRI. Before I found your channel I would scour TH-cam trying to find videos on using servos as turnouts and how to connect block signals etc. There are videos out there but I haven’t found any as comprehensive as yours and honestly you’re Arduino sketches have always worked for me and what I’m trying to accomplish (I can’t say that about others). As I add to my layout I continually refer back to your videos for instruction and I have referred your channel to others for the valuable information contained in them. Thank you again for time you spend making them and I always look forward to your next video.
Great video! Your videos are my go to "text book" Much appreciated
Thanks Philip 👍
You LITERALLY just saved me hours and hours of headaches!
Comments like this make it all worth it 👍😁
Another great video that helps me with my JMRI / Arduino / Servo layout. This information is priceless, thank you.
Thanks Matt 👍
never occurred to me to hook up an actual mimic panel, very nicely done
also you have a 100 ohm resistor for the LEDs, you will likely find a 1K ohm one will work as well, giving you 10 times as many LEDs from the arduino - you are likely over driving the LEDs if you drop to a red one with 100 ohms - 1kk and you are at a tenth of the current which may be better. varies by LED colour.
incidentally these videos are excellent and way easier to follow than the JMRI & C/MRI documentation
Thanks Dale. Great point about the LEDs I will mention it in part 2 and give you the credit 👍
@@LittleWicketRailway lol, resistor varies by the spec of the LED but for most they are bright enough at 3-4mA, also by the forward voltage of the LED, tends to vary by colour, worth experimenting as even if you have an external power source you need to provide the juice from somewhere.
stuck a 5V 5A AC-DC converter in mine to drive Arduinos, of which there are several, probably way too many, and the LEDs.
another option is a transistor driver circuit, probably overkill for an Arduino that can drive directly but makes it a lot easier to have a PWM supply so you can vary the brightness of the mimic board, I find the blue and white LEDs especially dazzling where a lot of green ones end up as "is that even on?"
you do however have me sold on a mimic board over a C/MRI connection, probably using a Pi Pico MCU as its similar in size to a Nano but has a lot more ram, and I like over speccing things
This is awesome 👍!
Hope your move is done and work on new layout has started!
Thanks. Planning has started on the new layout, but no construction yet.
Great video!!! Given that's it's summertime here in Ohio with lots of outside yard work, I plan to work on a small mimic panel this Fall or Winter. Your video will be my starting point. You're a JMRI wizard!!!
I'm quite pleased with myself Rob: I made it through till 2:26 before my brain is full. There's nothing like watching a multisensorarduino398board video with Rob erudition to realise how stupid I really am. I love your channel :)
It's crazy how many sensors, outputs and wires are required for even a small layout. I hope people are able to follow along.
Awesome. Thanks for doing this. I've been trying to figure out how to make a button toggle a turnout state. I'll have to watch this a few more times to get the logix to sink in.
Logix can be confusing at first because there are so many options, but it's so powerful once it's working.
Great new video today .Like it very much.
Thanks 👍
You’re a star! Thank you
Thanks Edward 👍
Hi Rob thanks for all your help through your videos. I am trying to implement point position microswitches on the MERG servo mount. In the video you say you have delt with wiring the switch elsewhere. I can not find where. Is it just a simple case of connecting ground to signal via the switch? Advice or direction to the appropriate video would be appreciated. Thanks Graham
Hi Graham, sorry it's taken a while to reply. I've just used the signal and ground pins on the Arduino for the servo feedback micro switch.
At 2:14 in the video you can see the blue (or purple? I'm colour blind) wire which is connected to ground on pin 7 and the orange wire which is connected to the signal pin on connection 7.
At 2:30 in the video you can see that the orange signal wire has come off the centre pin of the switch (oops).
Cool video!
Thanks Greg 👍
Thanks Rob for all this info on interfacing and so on - it will come in very useful. One central question here about the mimic panel. Newly returning to the hobby I am amazed that otherwise teched-up people are still building physical panels for this kind of thing. Why not use a programmable touch panel instead of physical board with physical components (LEDs switches wiring, mimic diagram that gets to look dog eared after a few months use ....)?
Using a product like the ones from Nextion, 4D systems etc (I have no affiliation with any of them) you can design your mimic diagram in multiple ways (using the free designer software) and place virtual indicators on it, in place of using actual LEDs and a virtual button for the point/turnout control. Then, it's just a three wire serial connection back into the Arduino from the panel - simplifying the wiring quite a lot . With proper design, the Arduino can command the panel to change the state of any on-screen element - for example to change the colour of an on-screen LED. You could also dispense with LED emulation and just have the whole track section change colour (or have a train graphic on it) when occupied. In other words the Arduino can command the touch screen elements to change state to indicate what's going on, and it can receive touch events from the touch panel for point change commands - or anything else.
Also, if you go the touch panel route, it's ever so easy to change the mimic diagram. So if/when you make changes to track layout in future, it's not a new panel, it's just changes to the design and re-upload the revised mimic into the touch panel's screen memory. These touch panels come in up to 10" sizes, but I think for my layout I will use several smaller panels - one for each major section of my layout.
Hi Alan 👋 I'm not really into physical panels either, I just had quite a few requests for a video on them. I suppose it's a bit more fun to push a button or pull a level than the click a mouse. Also some panels can looks really smart and impressive, McKinley for example. All the additional wiring required is enough to put me off though, maybe once the layout is completely finished (i.e. never) I'll add a physical panel.
Just like the system you've described, JMRI lets you create virtual panels from which you can pretty much show anything you want. JMRI needs to run on a computer, but there are ways to connect tablets which will show the panel. I've not heard of Nextion, but I'll check them out 👍
Great video! Could you share the link to the pushbutton?
Hi Rob,
Just getting into all this Arduino, JMRI and DCC-EX stuff and really enjoying it.
Your video's are a great help!
However |I'm having a problem with the push button switch, when it is closed it says its Active however when its open it jumps between Active and Inactive, I have tried altering the DeBounce delay but that does not help.
I have also tried adding a bounce delay into the sketch, but that makes no difference.
Any suggestion?
Cheers.
Hi Rob. Id like to do exactly this but I'd like the turnout in panel pro to update its state when the turnout is thrown either by a button or via a sensor. Is that possible?
The turnout in Panel Pro should show whatever the turnout in the turnout table is showing. So when you activate it by pushing the button (or sensor if you want it activated that way) it will change.
Thanks!
Thanks Dan much appreciated!
Hi Rob, I’m continuing to enjoy your videos. They help me with ideas for my own layout (only in my head at the moment). One question about adding Arduino to JMRI, are they always added as a SUSIC or are there rules determining the type? Many thanks
Hi, thanks so much for all your videos, but I have a one question, can i see the status of my signals? For example you can comfigurate the sensor for can see the status, and de switchs, but i cant se how to see the signals, thanks for answare
So, here’s a challenge, using an RFID reader and chip have two trains running at the same time but have it so that if one enters a siding it is identified and stopped at the end without interrupting the other train.
This would be great for automating yards without pulling your attention away from the rest of your track, you just set your turnouts, send your train in, and when the IR sensor is tripped at the end the DCC++ base station detects which engine is in the yard and stops it leaving you to continue other operations uninterrupted.
Challenge accepted! I've got the RFID kit from a company called SEEED, just need to find the time to try it out.
@@LittleWicketRailway SEEED is a descent company, I’ve ordered a few things from them, MERG also has an RFID set (I became a member after seeing your video on block detection)
Can you help me please in JMRI i can read/write power on/off but train does not move what might be the problem ?
Many thanks. It would be great if you could add an additional siding and point to give 3 sidings, then make each siding have a button to select the route to the siding, rather than have a button on each point. Also, what are the options for using an arduino to drive solenoid point motors?
I would use two N channel FETs, you could also use relays or Transistors. In JMRI, choose two bits and momentary when adding the turnout.
Did you see these current sensors: SMAKN Electrical Parts 5A Range Current Sensor Module ACS712