DCC++ Basestation and Railmaster

[Telo]

Hi guys and gals,

I have just built a DCC++ basestation using an Arduino Uno and a motorshield. I am trying to get it to connect with Railmaster. It seems to read it using the Elite setting but somehow it turns the track power off. Do any of you out there know if:-

a) they are compatable?

b) they can be compatable?

c) can they be made compatable?

Cannot find any YT videos about this.

Regards

Terry

[Chrissaf]

So far, nobody has raised any posts on this forum to confirm successful compatibility between RailMaster and any non Hornby controller. The protocol running between RailMaster and eLink / Elite is proprietary to Hornby and not published in the public domain.

.

So if you do manage to get it working, then perhaps you would be kind enough to update this thread with the details for the benefit of future readers.

[96RAF]

If it is turning the track power thenit is broadcasting the universal all stop code. Ref NMRA spec and see if your code is sending this binary.

Your best tell about what is going on is the RM log.txt file In the RM folder. This lists all events from RM startup to close down.

[Telo]

So far, nobody has raised any posts on this forum to confirm successful compatibility between RailMaster and any non Hornby controller. The protocol running between RailMaster and eLink / Elite is proprietary to Hornby and not published in the public domain.

.

So if you do manage to get it working, then perhaps you would be kind enough to update this thread with the details for the benefit of future readers.

 Thanks. If I do manage it I will put it on here

[Telo]

If it is turning the track power thenit is broadcasting the universal all stop code. Ref NMRA spec and see if your code is sending this binary.

Your best tell about what is going on is the RM log.txt file In the RM folder. This lists all events from RM startup to close down.

Thanks. If it tells me that something needs to be amended I will post on here.

[RB51]

As far as I know, the control element of DCC++ can only be handled via a PC or a Raspberry Pi running JMRI. R-

[St1ngr4y]

Hello Terry,

 

1.

Did you download instructions on how to build your Arduino from the Internet ? If so, then presumably there was also some software which needed to be downloaded onto the Arduino to provide the DCC++ basestation environment. Are you familiar with the content of this software, and would you be able to "tweak" it to be compatible with Railmaster?

 

2. 

Railmaster uses a protocol called XpressNet to communicate with Hornby Elite and eLink controllers. This leads to my next question - is this the same protocol used by JMRI to communicate with an Arduino running DCC++?

 

3.

In the three-part scenario Railmaster/Controller/DCC Layout, you are attempting to replace the Controller element by a DCC++ Arduino. I have done something slightly different in that I have replaced Railmaster by my own pc program written in Visual Basic 6. Although this language is no longer supported by Microsoft, it is believed that this is the language in which Railmaster is written. In doing this I have become familiar with the XpressNet protocol used by Railmaster to control both the Elite and eLink. In order to discover this protocol, I downloaded from the Internet a piece of software which was able to monitor the packets of data being passed between Railmaster and the controllers, and to replicate these packets in my own program.

 

My advice to you would be to try to install a similar USB monitor, and then use it to try to identify the packet of data being sent to the Arduino by Railmaster which causes the Arduino to switch off the power to the track. If you can do this, and let us know by posting on this thread, then maybe we can understand what is happening, and hopefully, provide further advice.

 

Ray

[Telo]

Thanks for your reply Roger. It works perfectly well with JMRI on my PC except that you can only program locos and run them, not accesory decoders, which can be done by the Arduino. I have yet to find out how.

Terry

[Telo]

Thanks for your reply Ray/Stingray. I am not very good at understanding programming/coding and reading it, let alone amending it. As regarding protocol and packages.......... 🫨 So at the moment I will not be able to inform anybody of anything.

Sorry for being a dummy on this. I need basically face to face teaching and being told letter by letter.

Terry