if you're running your layout on DC and
you would like to go to DCC you're gonna
want to see this video here I'm gonna
show you how you can do it for probably
under 50 bucks maybe even cheaper than
that if you get everything generic so
let's get going right now I'm Tom Kvichak and this is Toms Trains and
Things this channel was created to help
other modelers who are in need of
guidance in pursuing their dream of
building a model railroad in that model
railroad if you would like to run DCC
but you were always afraid because of
the technology or the price of it there
is a simple solution where you can run
your layout from this right here all it
is is Arduino Uno you could even use a
mega if you want and a motor shield I
have an arduino motor shield here I have
a generic uno revision3 here and all you
need is a computer and JMRI I showed
you in a couple of other videos how to
use your cell phone as a wireless
throttle now you could do that with JMRI now there's some technology now that
you could do it without JMRI but JMRI
is a wonderful piece of software that
you could use to program your
locomotives and even run your layout if
you don't have a computer that you could
put in your train room you could do it
with a Raspberry Pi
I picked up this Raspberry Pi B+ for
under $30 it has Wi-Fi it has four USB
ports it has HDMI and it also has a mini
SD card and that's that's all you need
to load JMRI on the SD card and put it
in here and you could hook up a Monitor
this you could hook up your keyboard and
mouse to this and do everything you can
on a computer on this right here the
Raspberry Pi and it doesn't have to be
the B+
but the B+ the chip on the B+ doesn't
get as hot as the older ones YouTube
model builders did two videos not too
long ago Chris Rood did an explanation
of how to hook up the uno with the motor
shield to get you get you going in
DCC++ now DCC++ has been around for a
while maybe five or six years Gregg
Berman developed it for his own use on
his end scale layout now he made the
base station which you could which I'm
going to tell you about right here and
he has the control module which is a
graphical user interface where he
controls his entire layout from that
display through this right here and J
MRI you don't have to use J MRI you
could also use CMR I now that is Chubb
model railroad interface now that was
developed a long long time ago by Bruce
Chubb you could also put that on here
and run your model railroad from that in
one of my earlier videos I talked about
this seed studio motor shield and was
going to use it for the DC C++ project
the only problem I had with it as you
can see where I have this jumper wire
here that's pin 10 and on the arduino
motor shield they use pin 12 and 13 to
drive these outfits on here but on this
motor shield they use pins 10 and 11 and
also on the sketch pin 10 is used as an
analog to jumper from pin 10 to 12 one
of the outputs so that makes this motor
shield unusable unless I could find
we're in the code where he uses pin 10
maybe I could change it to a different
pin I decided not to go that route also
I talked about the V in now this one has
a jumper over here at the V in it closes
off this pin right here which is the V
in pin so there's no connection from
this board going down to the uno now I
know there was a few people that had the
Robo dine motor shield if you have that
one or any other generic motor shield go
ahead and leave a comment down below and
let me know how that worked out if it
worked if you got it to work or if you
didn't get it to work and if you did get
it to work what you found out about it
now the only problem with this is I have
an existing model railroad and I have
Digitrax on here I have some D s60 I
have some DS 64 s on here I have a PM
42 just with the initial test from this
I was not able to find a way to
communicate with the DS 64 and the PM
42 now if there is a way that would be
wonderful but if there isn't that's no
loss because you can still do a lot of
things I mean if you're starting out in
it and you don't have anything on your
model railroad yet as far as automation
you could use servos to automate your
turnouts so this is what's so great
about it is just the this technology
right here and it's very inexpensive you
could get a cheap uno board for under
$10 I'm going to go on the computer and
show you how this thing really works I
was amazed that the first time that I
hook this thing up and how fast it
programs a locomotive when I was using
my digit tracks on there through the pr3
and J MRI it was real sluggish and
sometimes it didn't catch the the
program and sometimes you know you just
had to wait for it
to to chew through two things if you
write your page to the locomotive it
goes all the way down the list and it's
done this thing is super fast the way it
does it and not like the way you do it
with your throttle programming with your
throttle or programming with JMRI through
a PR3 that I have sitting over here now
I have all that disconnected right now
I'm going to hook this up to a section
of my layout that's right next to my
computer so I could show you how this
thing works and how easy it is I got the
JMRI throttle up here I selected the
locomotive
I have everything hooked up I got my
power supply right here set at 16 volts
and here is the uno with the motor
shield on top of it test track and main
track over there so we'll turn this
thing on and I could hear the fan on the
power supply starting and there we go
so to put the bridge up okay there we go
I got my sounds turned down on here so
it's not too loud but anyway you see
that you could use this to operate your
locomotive
I'm going to undo this so I could put
the bridge up and at least we'll be able
to go to the end of the bridge and I
won't have to hold on to it alright so
forward there we go now we'll be able to
watch it come over this way
and I'll use this camera right over here
on the bridge
can't do this with my left hand huh
now that is the main track now let me
put it on the programming track we'll go
back over to the speed table constant
ratio curve we'll use this one here and
we'll show you right changes on sheet
and show you how fast this thing goes
now when I was doing this with the P R 3
and digit tracks it would take forever
and that's it right there now let's go
over to the Seavey's and you could see
right over here where the speed table
information is stored that's the ones
that were changed motor acceleration
rate will change us to 25 and rate
changes on sheet and there it did it
basic that's that roster entry sound
levels will keep the bell volume okay
right changes on sheet boom done so
we'll go over here Stevie's and you can
see which one Stevie's are stored it
works excellent and you don't have to
pay an arm and a leg to get yourself
started in DCC don't forget to check out
all the videos that are available you
got two videos on YouTube model builders
you got Greg Berman's videos he starts
from the very beginning gives you a
demonstration of his layout how it
automatically runs his locomotives he
doesn't have to touch it at all and then
he goes step by step through explaining
DCC and what he did with it and then the
hardware hook up on it and that's where
he left off with that but you
to find the code I'll have the links for
everything in the description so if
you're thinking about it go this way go
this way right here and if you don't
have a computer to put on your train
layout Raspberry Pi the latest model is
the B+ 29.95 at Adafruit power-off close
the program and that's all there is to
it
piece of cake
so if you want to use it go ahead and
watch all those videos like I told you
before and everything will be in the
description below and we'll see Ya.
