OK, how did you get the volume to work?  I didn't get any change when I punched Aux1 and 1 or 4 on my rig.  Since couplers, horn, bell, etc worked, it can't be a connectivity issue.

 

Given your comment on the switches, I'm assuming that nothing that uses the serial connection would function, like TPC's, accessory controllers, etc. right?

Got my adapter yesterday. 

 

A minor release 1.2 is available on the bluetrain yahoo group.  It fixes the bug which did not throw switches, has some extra notifications for bluetooth connectivity, and changes the Aux1 & 2 keys when in switch or accessory mode.

 

I checked the engine volume & smoke and had no troubles with them.  Let me know if you still have problems with them.

Is there some reason you don't post it here as an attachment to make it more convenient?

I don't know what's different, but the previous version refused to control the smoke on my engine, I'm using a Legacy base and the engine was a Legacy steamer.

 

I see two things that still need work.

 

When I select a TMCC locomotive, it quickly assumes that the first digit is the whole address.  So, trying to select #62, I kept getting a 6.  I finally did a "quick" 62, and after a few attempts, I beat it to selecting the engine.  I think you need to do something different there.  How about at least a second or two timeout on the entry, or if a non-numeric key was hit, then make the tmcc selection.

 

Also, when I move, sometimes the display flips to the side, and of course, it compresses and scrambles it so it's unusable.  Since it's only usable in portrait mode, I suggest locking it in that mode and not changing based on device position.

 

OK, three things.  I'd put the stop key on the keyboard, not have the quirky "shake the device and yell at it" method.

 

It's getting better.

 

Thanks for the response John.  Yea I sped up the timing on the keys because I usually hit the eng or tr buttons to just get back to the previously selected one.  I will see what I can do about that.

 

Locking in portrait sounds right, but it might be better in landscape on a tablet.  Maybe a setting to handle that.

 

Halt key could be an issue from accidental touches.  I wish I could intercept the phone's on/off switch to do the halt.  What about the fixed search button of the phone, though I was thinking of having that be a shortcut to select an engine.

 

Also, to be effective, the halt button has to always be there.  If its a soft key, it would have to be added all over the place.   Got to think this through.

 

I think maybe a set key or timeout, something so you can actually type the two digit number in without bionic fingers would be nice.

 

If you just made a setting that locks it in either mode, that would be nice.  Right now, if I go to landscape mode by tilting the phone, the buttons all run together, clearly that's not desirable.  This is on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, it has a 5.5" screen.  I don't think I'd want landscape if it looks like this.

 

I haven't thought about how the halt key would work, just not sure I'm that big a fan of the current method.   Maybe two keys that you'd have to hit together with two fingers?

 

Here's what landscape mode looks like now.

 

 

OK John, got a portrait lock in and slowed down the timer for number keys.  That might be all I can do for a while, hope this solves any immediate needs.  I uploaded the app in the normal place, and have tried attaching it here too.

Sounds good, I'll give it a spin.

Hi Bob and all, the wife and I are building our latest two level layout. The top layout will be a surface route with potential of three train operation. We would like to be able to use TMCC however being that we are both visually impaired (she is legally blind and I am totally blind) we cannot see the LCD on the CAB1. Big problem there. I have been looking for an alternative solution that would work for us. We both have used Apple iOS devies (IPads and iPhones) using the bu9ilt in text to speech and wish there was something like what you have created for the Apple products. However in the mean time Android does have some limited accessibility in its built in screen reader called TalkBack. I wonder if your app could work with Talkback on something say like a Nexus 7 tablet?? Also is there someone out there that would be willing to build a 3v power adaptor for the BT adaptor mentioned in this topic and sellme the completed BT adaptor with the power supply added? Would be willing to pay for time effort and materials of course.

thanks

Frank

 

There is no LCD on the CAB1, so I would assume that would be a better choice for your use than the Android option.  The Legacy does have the LCD display as well as the "live" keyboard that changes depending on the type of engine or accessory selected.

 

Got my adapter yesterday. I'm having trouble pairing it with the phone.

Is the red light on the adapter supposed to keep blinking?

Is that button near the end of the 4 pins supposed to be pushed?

Thanks for the help.

 

I had a 4 pin plug from my K-Line cruise upgrades. Thanks for the tip John.

The red light blinks until a connection is made.  The device name is something like linvor.  Once you have bluetrain running and connection is established, the light is on steady.

 

You don't have to push any buttons I know of, my device has no buttons.

John,

 

Not being a wise guy here but why would I want to run my trains with my Android phone?  Although the screen is large it would still be hard to run don't you think? 

 

Now if it was my iPad then that may be a different matter. 

 

Dave

Thanks John. It's working now. I had to go into settings in Bluetrain and select linvor.

 

Well Dave, what makes you think that running it from an iPad would be better?  How many buttons do you need?  I have very good usability on a 5.5" screen on my Galaxy Note 2 with this application.  Since you see no utility in the application, why bother to post?

 

Glad you got it working Steve.  Yes, you have to actually tell it to pair.

John,

 

Don't  take my question so personnel, I only learn by asking.

 

i just saw this thread and I have a interest in running my trains thru something like a iPad But any type of tablet would be ok. 

 

My Android phone also has a 5.5 screen but I just think it is too small to be of any use for me. 

 

I have a 9" android tablet with Bluetooth that I intend to use for this purpose.

Glad you got it working Steve.  Yes, you have to actually tell it to pair.

 

I'm new to smart phones so it's learning experience. In the phone settings it said it was paired but in the Bluetooth Settings it was set on VCAB-1.

Thanks again.

Well, it was the tone of the "question" that got to me, rather dismissive. 

 

What is missing that makes it hard to run trains from this screen?

 

Dumb question. as I run a lot in a public atmosphere will jon public be able to get this app and run my train?

Only if you have the BlueTooth adapter jacked into your command base.

 

He'd also have to know it exists.

 

OK thanks!

Glad you got it going Steve, and thanks John for helping people out on this.  I'm doing a bit of traveling, so email is inconsistent for me.  One thing I have in for the next release, will be having the number keys change to function names when a train or engine is selected.

 

If you are concerned with someone taking over your trains there are two things to stop it.  One is that your bluetooth adapter can only connect to one device at a time, so someone else cannot get to it when you are connected.  Second, you can give the device a security code that you have to know to pair up with it.  You would have to find how to set the security code for your device (it should be a standard command set, but its not in the documentation with that low cost device).

You can also simply unplug the BT from the command base when you're not using it.

bkbob,

 

I'm impressed!  Just got my BT adapter, fired it up, and it works!

 

Background: I'm an MTH guy... just got a NH Legacy SD70 because I liked the looks of it!  I have no idea how TMCC works.  Got a TMCC base off the 'Bay, connected it to my ground bus on the layout, plugged in the BT adapter, and.......

 

IT WORKS!

 

As a fellow software guy, I have to say, I like what it does and it does it well.  Now I'm intrigued as to the commands you send to get it to work, and how you developed the program and BT communications, but that's another whole discussion!

 

I'll be keeping an eye out for further updates and info.  I probably should figure out what the commands in TMCC are.  Not sure what the number pad does yet.

 

Thanks,

 

Ed

Ed, check this thread.

 

TMCC/LEGACY REFERENCE MATERIALS & MANUALS

 

I just posted the link to the Lionel book that has the complete TMCC command structure, the Bible for this kind of activity.

Ed, glad you got things going!  Love to hear words like "got it working", instead of how do you get this darn thing to work.  Be happy to have an off-line conversation on how it woks when I get back.  Just made the Niagara-curry website:

 

http://www.niagara-curry.com/index.html

 

What a great place!  If any of you train heads are in the Tokyo area, you have to stop in!

 

I'm having trouble reading the materials on that site, care to translate this?

 

I wish I could read it, but here's a couple of links about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhSMFaUbj3k

http://medmonds.com/niagara-cu...ain-restaurant-tokyo

 

Your food & drinks arrive by train!

Good info guys...

 

So if I want to blow the horn on my Loco that has ID=1, I would send these two bytes to the loco:

 

01000000, then 10011100

 

which translates to Ascii 64, then Ascii 156

 

right?

 

Ed

 

 

Why are you expressing this in ASCII?  I'd represent it in hex, much easier to decode and visualize the command structure.

 

I find it curious that they're stating the bits are transmitted MSB first, as it's normal in serial communications to transmit LSB first.  That almost has to be a mistake in the documentation.  All commercial UART chips work that way as well.  Serial data will have a start bit, a variable number of data bits (LSB first), optional parity bit, and one or more stop bits.

Well I finally got the time to put the pieces together. Hooked the Bluetooth-to-serial adapter into the "Serial Comm" port on the TMCC-to-Legacy cable, paired it up with my phone, and I was off to the races. Bought two -- one for home and one for the club so we can do testing more easily. For now, it's running on a pair of AA batteries. Using the serial comm connection allows the Cab 1 remotes to work while the unit is running, so it's transparent for regular TMCC use.

 

This is a lot less expensive than trying to track down a replacement TMCC Cab-1.

Just a note to let you know I'm using my android phone to run my trains now. Thanks for all the posts. I was able to get this working on the 2nd try. No sleep tonight.........

Bob K:

 

You did a great job with this app. This, coupled with a recent project at the office, seems to be re-awakening the tinkerer in me.

John,

In IE 9 or 10, just right-click the page and select "translate with Bing".

It gets everything but the photo captions.

Moonman, it was a joke.

Really glad to hear things are working out for you guys, and thanks for the feedback.  It will give me more motivation to continue on with more features once I get some time.

sorry guys id been gone for awhile,..was in the hospital..need to know what do I need to get to run my trains off of my new samsung galaxy S3...I dont have any TMCC equipment,like cab1 stuff...was planning to maybe put EOB in my S1? im still up in the air about it..Id tried to read this forum but got lost in it..