NCE has retired (discontinued, dropped) their Packet Analyzer, so I'm looking for a replacement.

Purpose: periodically connect to DCC Track bus and send packet data to laptop for capture, display, and review, primarily as an educational tool to illustrate what the command station is putting on the track in response to command input from a throttle.

Maybe even an Arduino / Raspberry PI solution - RPi might allow for connecting up to the JMRI module that reads from the NCE analyzer (if the outputs are nearly identical).

Thanks!

/Walt

Hi Everyone,

I'm getting ready to wire up my staging yard.  Are there any potential issues with leaving decoder equipped locomotives on the track while feeder wires are being soldered to the rails?  Same question applies to my command station / boosters.  My own thoughts are to remove everything but just thought I'd ask.

Thanks, Dennis Drury

Dayton, NV

I apologize for asking a question that I'm sure has been asked a million times, but I've searched and tried the solutions I found and I'm still stuck, or rather, not stuck, actually speeding along the track high-ball style. To add insult to injury, I think I've solved this problem myself before, but its been long enough that I don't remember what I did. Its a cold and snowy night here, so maybe somebody else is stuck at home that can help me out. 

I am preparing to install my first two Tortoise switch machines, controlled by the NCE Switch 8 Mark II.  This particular pair of switch machines will throw a pair of turnouts whose diverging routes connect, such that either both should always be aligned straight or both should be aligned diverging.