DCC EX Turnout Control OLD VERSION - SEE UPDATED VERSION

[@philnewman1110]

That was probably one of the best tutorials on this subject that I have seen, I will be looking out for more of these. Well done indeed and thank you.

[@robbhalverson7725]

Wow....I dont know how to thank you. I was able to set up several turnouts, program them and have them working....thanks to your very helpful videos. Keep them coming. Great job!

[@Terryhd1]

I appreciate your time in making this video. It is very informative and helpful!!

[@Hal-Zuzzu_Model_Railway]

That was excellent. I will be viewing this a few more times when my boards arrive. I do have questions but I will ask them when the time comes. Appreciate your work. Thanks Joe Conti

[@matthewesler8379]

Who makes the board

[@SPKPRR]

They are available from multiple manufacturers. I got mine from Amazon, just search for PCA9685.

[@user-lp6tu2kp4k]

This helped me sooo much to get things together!!! GREAT work! Thanks a mill!!!

[@stevewelton9936]

So everything is in the way you described, when compiling get error msg, myTurnouts.h file not found, have a tab for it, look in files and it's there also, how do I get the compiler to see it Update As it turned out had some small syntaxes mistakes, got them found , works great, thanks

[@prav1n73]

Appreciate your efforts and it is very helpful indeed to setup servos on my layout. I am thinking of using relays to switch frog polarity at the same time when turnout is thrown/closed. It will be great if you provide any direction on using PCA9685 to fire the relay. Thanks

[@SPKPRR]

The PCA9865 probably won't work to fire the relays, but a MCP23017 i/o extender may work, depending on the relays.

[@prav1n73]

@@SPKPRR Based on your suggestion, I checked the MCP23017 however before committing to MCP23017, I did some more research and experimentation. I am glad to let you know that PCA9685 worked and it can fire the relay. Keep your videos coming, they are very informative. Thanks for creating them.

[@bretkuehn3348]

Steve, Great tutorial! Best I've seen on adding and controlling Turnouts in DDC-EX so far. I'll tinker with coding, but I'm not the guy who can create it. Your coding explanation was easy to follow and I'm excited to apply this to my layout. I feel confident I can modify the sketch for my layout (at least 120 switches). My next question is...have you thought about a video on controlling Turnouts with push buttons? The ability to control a Turnout from a panel push button is more appealing than controlling Turnouts in Engine Driver (or a DIY miniThrottle I plan to build for the grandkids). I've subscribed to your channel....look forward to your next video.

[@SPKPRR]

I have been away from the workshop all summer. I haven't considered a push button control before now, but if I can fit it in, I think a push button control would be cool too.

[@lestaylor7767]

Steve - great video and very helpful. Do you plan to do more video's as your instructions are nice and clear. Maybe extending what you have done with the turnouts into signals etc

[@SPKPRR]

I do plan to add more automation stuff like signals and scenery. Next video will be adding push button to servo turnouts...coming soon.

[@SPKPRR]

Yes, that is on the list

[@scentgrasslakerailway]

Thanks, awesome presentation and so very helpful! Did you make that screw terminal board (aka header board as referred to in the video). If you purchased it, can you tell me from where, an item listing or part number please?

[@SPKPRR]

It issomething I made, had the board fabricated by JLCPCB. As I redo and update my current videos over next few weeks, I will make the gerbers and parts list available.

[@donaldkormos5529]

Thank you so much for a great tutorial on DCC-EX and servos!! Started exploring with the original DCC++ and now use DCC-EX. Waiting for Version 5 to investigate EX-Rail. Question: Is there ... or will there be ... control for stepper motors? Servos are great for turnouts but steppers are nice for scenery automation, perhaps a rotating gas station sign. Servos with continuous motion are another option but don't know if DCC-EX will support a continuous servo motor. Thanks for your attention ... all the best!!

[@bobbyboy1962]

EXACTLY what i was looking for. I have had 20 servos running with 9685 boards that i did with dcc++ about 3 years ago and have just came back to it after a long time away. This is a huge leap ahead. Question, what are the outside extremes for servos with regards to the active and inactive numbers is there a median . Regardless, thanks so much for this, Bob

[@SPKPRR]

Well, since different servos have different pulse durations, it's hard to give exact numbers, but typically in the range of 105-495

[@stevewelton9936]

Sorry for stupid question but ! You talk about open and closed angle, what is that relative to ? To me my mind says a angle can be up to 360 degrees, you suggested to start with open at 300 and closed at 450, just having a hard time reconciling those degrees to my limited knowledge, thanks in advance

[@SPKPRR]

Hi Steve. If I said Open and Closed in the video, I apologize, it is reference to Thrown or Closed position. If you think about a turnout, when it is set for a train to continue straight, this is considered the "Closed" position. IF the switch is set for the train to take the diverging route, this is the "Thrown" position, so the first two numbers in the servo definition refer to the position of the servo for the switch to be in the "Thrown" and "Closed" position. The angles set by the servo definition is not referring to a degree radius, rather a PWM position. A standard, positional servo like a SG90 servo has a 180 degree range of motion, not usually a full 360. This results in the PWM range of about 110 to 490. If you go to this link, scroll down about 3/4 of the way and look for the section on "Technical Discussion for Engineers" and read through that too. dcc-ex.com/reference/hardware/servo-module.html#gsc.tab=0 The 300 and 450 are just sample numbers I used for the video, you will need to determine through trial and error what the range you will need for your setup. That is where the EXtoolbox comes in handy.

[@stevewelton9936]

@SteveBegnaud thanks for the info, and reference, haven't wrapped my mind around pmw except to understand it's a waveform and that if you take one side off you have a form of dc, back to studying somemore.

[@richardmarkham8369]

What is the limit on cable length for I2C to work? Is there a way for the servo board to be a DCC decoder/receiver?

[@SPKPRR]

Typical I2C length is 9-12 ft. There are range extenders (Adafruit for one) that claim 50-100ft, although I have not tried them yet. No way I know of to use servo board fott dcc decoder/receiver. It does not process the dcc signal.

[@skeeterweazel]

Hello. I'm considering using DCC-EX to control turnouts on an outdoor layout that uses air valves to throw the turnouts. Can the software be used to basically provide an on/off signal? Thx. Marty

[@SPKPRR]

Yes. The SET(pin) sets a pin to high. The RESET(pin) sets the pin to low. You can assign available pins on the arduino or use pins from an i/o expansion board

[@skeeterweazel]

Thx for reply. How do you "link" the pin in arduino to the cab software? In the myTurnouts.h folder would i do this: If this is the format: SERVO_TURNOUT(id, pin, active_angle, inactive_angle, profile[, "description"]) Is this close to be correct: SERVO_TURNOUT(5, 12, HIGH, LOW, instant , "yard entrance") Thx.@@SPKPRR

[@skeeterweazel]

Can you tell us where you got that header board? That looks handy. Thx.

[@SPKPRR]

It is a header board I created in Kicad and produced by JLCPCB.

[@repeters1]

Steve, I am just getting into the DCC-EX system and I have a couple of Elegoo Mega M3 boards and a few 9685 boards. Just would like to know what the shield and motor controller models are that you used. Thanks for a great video.

[@SPKPRR]

I am using one of the many Mega clones, Geekstory ESP-01 wifi and a diymore motor held. All purchased off Amazon. I do have a BTS-7960 high current motor driver to get 5amps. I am using Hans Tanners shield for connecting the BTS to the system.

[@SPKPRR]

Just checked, mine is the Elegoo Mega too.

[@usahobbies9067]

I need the same thing but with PCF8574, 8 or 16 relay shield, and dual control switch machines. So need about 32 relays for 16 track switches. I would love led's and a separate push button control panel in addition to Android remote control. Thanks for any suggestions.

[@SPKPRR]

I have not looked into the PCF8574. It is i2c addressable, but I don't know how it addresses or controls attached devices. Maybe something to look at down the road

[@espen379]

Great video. What kind of servers did you use there?

[@SPKPRR]

Just some cheap sg90 servos I found on Amazon. Many different ones available. Next time I will look for a better quality, although hard to know until you get them.

[@rickcald1661]

Steve are you located in Colorado?

[@stevewelton9936]

My 9685 is a shield piggy backed on my motor shield on my mega.

[@bobbyboy1962]

im getting this when i verify the new file with my servos , any idea

[@SPKPRR]

???

[@bobbyboy1962]

@@SPKPRR sory, tried to paste an error with the message, i guess i cant do that on here. I followed your video on the servos, 20 in total but when i try to verify it gives me an error message of compilation error: RMFT.h: No such file or directory. Its in the DCCEX.h tab, line 20 to 22

[@SPKPRR]

@@bobbyboy1962 Bob, I have replied to you on the DCCEX facebook group. It looks like you need version 5.0. I have NOT found a good way to do advanced customizations through EX Installer, I think you still need IDE for this. Once you get 5.0 working, then try the servo_turnout commands. I'll keep watching to see if this works for you.