Hi all,?
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tldr; has anyone switched to a TSC CS-105 on a NCE system to replace the NCE and does this give additional capabilities such as command monitoring to JMRI?
Background:
I have a mid-size n-scale layout (about 65 turnouts and 40 blocks) and am running NCE for most of it. NCE PH-Pro 5amp Command Station, 4x AIU01 & BD20 occupancy detectors, NCE Light-it for signals, SMails for turnouts, etc. I have started to move across to using JMRI mainly so I can manage and control the signal lights on the layout and to potentially use a few old iPads as monitors around the layout. My next project is to add switch panels to control the turnouts and while I could use iPads I also was thinking of making physical switch panels using some NCE Macro-Panels that I have.?
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Issue:
One of the things that I notice, and someone correct me if there is another way to do this, is that if I throw a turnout using the NCE Throttle, it is not reported to JMRI as there is no event raised by the NCE command station that can be read from the serial port. That command is not issued as a DCC command and so is not reportable to JMRI so JMRI does not know the state of that turnout. So for it to work, you need to throw switches via JMRI so it knows the state. This makes using the Macro-Panel an issue as the state would not be reported. (as an aside, I did write some software (not in Java) that allows me to use a NCE Packet Analyzer to detect this and potentially send this to something like JMRI or to some other software I was developing but have subsequently put on the back-burner).?
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Question:
So I was wondering if LCC might support this and wondered if anyone has used the TCS CS-105 as a replacement for an NCE system (maybe still using the NCE PH-PRO as a booster) and does the CS-105 provide any additional feedback via LCC that JMRI can use while still using the existing AIU01 and Macro-Panels via the CS-105 bus? Would switching to a CS-105 (if and when they are available in New Zealand) provide the ability to know if an accessory has been thrown via the NCE throttle or if a turnout has been thrown via a Macro-Panel.?
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Thank in advance,?
Trevor
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