First off, this is British humour at it's best. Sprog, a derogatory term for a rug rat:  "People who make sprogs should be locked up in a room full of sprogs ".  In New Zealand it is a Nelsonian inbreeding rib.

Or it could be that Perl GUI  " machine " language that runs under Linux.

That said, the Sprog in question is the creation of  Andrew Crosland and based on the MERG programmer. A  small, stand alone, programmer with the possibility to run a SMALL layout on the 1.2A  it has. That means about 3 or 4 low current draw locos and no accessories. Don't try and run 3 trains pulling 30 box cars each.  It requires you install Java JRE  and  JMRI to use the SPROG, no physical throttles are availlable for the Sprog.   Best place to get the low down is in the manual : 

   2.1.7  SPROG II Users Guide 

By the way, the Sprog Users Guide has a nice presentation on DecoderPro and PanelPro to get you started.

You can run a few locos at once using JMRI throttles.  You can control stationary decoders by adding a second Sprog II. Adding a third Sprog you could program decoders also on the main.  All this via JMRI.  Sprog can not run and program at the same time.  This also requires you run multyple instances of JMRI, one per Sprog.

One niggli bit is the price of 110$ per.  For 300$ you can get alot of command station that will do 3A,  run the layout and accessories plus program on the main without a hickup and still let you program on the program track.  There are plans to add boosters, but they are not there yet as per the 2.1.7 guide

But as a stand  alone programmer it is handy ( as is the Digitrax PR3 ).  If you are the ' hands on ' type, you can build your own Sprog, they supply the source code, schematics

Marc Fournier, Quebec

If you want a "real" system that will work well, try looking at JMRI http://jmri.sourceforge.net/  You will need a control system to provide the power, but the JMRI can't be beat, especially for the price (Free!)

Rick

Rick, That is exactly what he is looking at,  using a Sprog as the command station.

Marc Fournier, Quebec

Thanks guy's for the input!!

You're very welcome!  I hope you'll post your progress (with pix) so we can enjoy the ride!

Rick

I do have a Sprog II. I use it mostly for programming. It works as an interface between JMRI running on my computer and a programming track.

When you load up JMRI, you have to choose at each session whether you are using the SPROG to program or as a throttle. It's not hard to go back and forth. You are not going to run a major layout with 1 A, and I wouldn't consider this a replacement for an entry level DCC system like the Zephyr or equivalent systems from other companies, but I could see this running a little test track or maybe a small layout at a show.