Pete
The number is, as you guessed, used with DCCExt. This allows you to use a single address to make complex signalling done because the decoder does the work rather than you creating a (sometimes) complex matrix in iTrain get all the aspects correct and the changing of the aspects.
A three aspect signal with a feather would need four addresses in a 4x4 matrix to operate traditionally, whereas with aspects it could be one address for by an aspect number.
Be aware that not all command stations can operate DCCExt.
Hi Iain and Oldngrey,
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Many thanks for your earlier replies.
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Well I dived in and bought 7 x YD8116, and the USB to ES link (FTDI) adaptor, and I've had one on the bench and been playing. Thanks goodness for DCC concepts (and others I'm sure) putting instructional videos up on Youtube. The manual for these things is as good as useless. It doesn't even tell you about the link adaptor or the fact that you can program it with only the USB connection. No external power needed untill you want to run something.
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If I was running points (switches in American) with it then I would indeed, as Iain says, need two outputs per point, and I would have 8 set of points controlled. The default button press to set addresses supports this well by creating 8 consecutive addresses for the points.
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As I will be using these modules for signals, the suggestion by Oldngrey about the adaptor sorted the comms issue. I am talking to the module via the USB adaptor and the Yamorc configuration software. This means I can set any address to any output, use preset signal configurations, and so on. Sometimes the interface is a bit clunky, and I even managed to crash it when it got grumpy about USB port assignments....... I couldn't get it to respond nicely until I did a restart on my Windows 10 PC. It also sits there with the little blue swirly circle for far to long on start up, but it eventually gets there.
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I really like the ability to be able to set a custom or simple output. This means I can map an out to an input, set fade, etc, for all 16 channels as needed. Which was the crux of my original question. So with a simple on-off output, set to fade as it switches, I can assign the addresses for a 3 aspect UK signal completely out of normal sequence, and even across multiple YD8116's, enabling me to use the spare outputs that are left over. After all, it's just a data bus with many outputs! So if my understanding is correct, you could run for example, 5 x 3 aspect signals, leaving one output spare, then that output could then be combined with another 2 outputs from another YD8116 to run another 3 aspect signal. All I do is tell iTrain what the addresses are for each aspect and it should just do it. To iTrain it is just another address and so it doesn't matter where it is physically.
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I do have one more question though (only one.... yeah right....) and that is the column in Device Properties showing the aspect number. These can be changed only in the custom setting, and I'm really not sure what they do. Is it something to do with DCC EX?
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Best
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Pete S.
