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DCC++EX with Aurduino CS--trying to configure servos for turnouts Track and electrical/DCC
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New member 2 posts Reluctant New member 2 posts
Reluctant

Hello to all,

I'm more of a reader than a poster but I am stumped and probably way over my head but, here goes:

I have one Aurduino MEGA with a L298P motor shield as my command station which is running DCC++EX 3.1 through Decoder Pro (I'm just starting to wade into Panel Pro) which runs beautifully on my Mac.  I've added a second MEGA with a 5v powered sensor shield which I have configured as my DCC2 configuration in JMRI. 

At this point I'm not too concerned about having the turnouts activated in JMRI; first I am focussing on getting the servos configured and actuate-able by using the serial monitor in the Aurduino IDE.

When I attempt to configure the servo with < T 10 SERVO 11 200 400 3> for example the serial monitor just comes back with an X.  I've tried different ID numbers and pins, even different servos.  At one point when I queried the CS with < T> it came back with H 10 20779 0...so I think it knew the servo was there?  There is quite a bit of info on using a PCA9685 board (which I may end up going to) but not so much on the sensor shield. I'd like to make it work with the sensor shield rather than buy more parts, if its possible.  I know just enough to get myself into trouble so any help would be greatly appreciated!  

Cheers!

 

 

 
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Steves VR Regular poster 243 posts
Steves VR

Alternatives

Whilst this doesn't directly address your problem, may  I suggest you have a look at Little Wicket Railway on YouTube, particularly CMRI/JMRI and Mardec.

Mardec is my preferred Arduino based accessory decoder.

Cheers,

Steve
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Reluctant New member 2 posts
Reluctant

Yes, Thank you, I stumbled

Yes, Thank you, I stumbled across Little wicket railway in my research(very informative!) and I was thinking of CMRI as an alternative, but, I was attempting to keep it simple by only having to learn ONE system...LOL!...the functionality is built into EX so I thought it would make sense to make use of it.

 

Cheers!
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Geoff Bunza geoffb MRH Author and Moderator 2,500 posts
Geoff Bunza geoffb

@Reluctant

Hi Reluctant (name?),

Quote:

I have one Aurduino MEGA with a L298P motor shield as my command station which is running DCC++EX 3.1 through Decoder Pro (I'm just starting to wade into Panel Pro) which runs beautifully on my Mac.  I've added a second MEGA with a 5v powered sensor shield which I have configured as my DCC2 configuration in JMRI. 

One does not normally connect DCC++ to Decoder Pro for anything other than decoder programming.

Connecting a Mega with a sensor shield sounds like you are using the sensor serial/usb interface to JMRI. Is this correct? If yes, it alone does nothing for servo operation. Are your servos connected to the DCC++ Mega?

The sensor shield Mega will not respond to the DCC++ commands. I don't think configuring it as DCC2 does anything worthwhile.

Last, you might get more definitive responses posting such questions on the DCC EX discord.com site, which will have the DCC++ EX people respond directly.

Best of luck with your project.
Have fun! 
Best regards,
Geoff Bunza

Geoff Bunza's Blog Index: https://mrhmag.com/blog/geoff-bunza
More Scale Model Animation videos at: https://www.youtube.com/user/DrGeoffB
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