On Wed, Jan 22, 2020 at 04:13 PM, Frank in Houston wrote:
i have a remote dispatcher computer located in a different room from the railroad and my DCS240 command station. With this computer using a loco buffer-usb, connected to one of the ports on the the command station DCS240 (using a long telephone wire), I control the turnouts on my railroad using Panels I developed using JMRI?
Frank, I have been investigating a similar arrangement for our use at TSMRI.? I had originally planned on connecting the remote PC (in the other room) with a long LocoNet cable (about 40') and a PR3.? Then, I subsequently looked at merely using Web Pages on the remote PC to control the layout laptop running WiThrottle and WebServer.? While testing this one day (and worrying about the load on the layout laptop and the lag), I remembered an old message that talked about LocoNet over TCP/IP, which as I recall, was described as a way to do a connection to an off-site PC.? That is what I will be testing next at the Club because tests at home worked great!?
On the layout/Command Station connected PC/laptop:
- I clicked on the *"LocoNetOverTCP Server"* option shown in? the *LocoNet* Menu,
- note the Port number (I leave mine as default of 1234),
- note the WiThrottle IP Address published on the WiThrottle window.
On the remote PC (which is connected to the same WiFi router):
- I start JMRI,
- either add a new Config Profile or merely modify my connection in Preferences to show the System Connection as *"LocoNet over TCP"*,
- set? *"IP Address/Host Name"* to the IP address of the WiThrottle server (and I will leave the default port of 1234),
- save Preference and restart JMRI,
- I usually verify the connection with the LocoNetOverTCP server by opening a Throttle on the remote PC and turning track power Off and On (but only if no one else is on the layout).
I had been concerned about the length of LocoNet cable I was planning to need, and was not satisfied with the WebServer method (since I would have to have all the panels that I needed remotely to be running on my layout laptop). Now, I plan to test? this setup with new panels for my Dispatcher to view on the remote PC (no control needed for my Dispatcher as we run TT/TO Operations although that remote PC has the capability).?
Others who have used or already tried this may have more to add, but it seems like a great way to connect.?
Phil in gorgeous Young Harris, Georgia, USA
