Train Thing Development Documentation
4 - 10 Apr '22
- Track cleaning, IR sensor sensitivity tweaking.
- Started in the beginning with Laptop to TrainThing communications:
- Run two JMRI scripts from the Laptop connected directly to Arduino Base Station v USB cable. (See Grand Tour under videos.)
- After finding a syntax error in one of the Raspberry Pi python modules, Laptop JMRI 'talks' to the Base Station through the Raspberry Pi.
- Run the JRMI scripts from the Laptop connected v WiFi to the Raspberry Pi connected to the Arduino Base Station v USB cable!
- JMRI of course does not understand any of the added commands to or status replies from the Raspberry Pi. Therefore no signal controls.
- The communication plan is:
- Build dumb communication modules for the Laptop to send status request to, receive return status and display traffic.
- Add a "throttle" to control the/a train.
- Add simple scripts to package similar to the two JMRI scripts (run loco, wait for sensor, change turnouts) using DCC++ commands.
- Add added commands to control signals, and monitor turnout status ~ not just wait and hope turnouts are in place.
- Redo Grand Tour video with signals.
- Make new video showing signal "wake" and "bow wave" around loco running a big figure-8.