Control of the DC-Car system

The system can be controlled in various ways. That immediately makes it more complicated, which makes it difficult for newcomers to immediately understand the possibilities

Therefore, below a (short) explanation of the different ways.

Control can be done in the following ways:

1. Independent control without external influence
2. Independent control with b.h.v. the automatic functions in the DC-Car decoder
3. Independent control with influence by means of existing Faller Car System control components
4. Short-range infrared control with DC-Car Function blocks
5. Short-range infrared control with a DCC central unit and a possibly connected PC
6. Control by long-range infrared with the DCC Booster, a DCC central unit and possibly a connected PC
7. Control by long distance infrared with the PC transmitter and a PC with Widigipet software

1. Independent control without outside influence.

This is the simplest way to create realistic road behavior with multiple driving cars. The cars can drive completely independently without influencing the outside. If correctly set with a not too great mutual speed difference, the cars will be able to find their way without collisions. It goes without saying that there is no security at intersections, and we are considering talking about steering without external influence.

2. Independent control with b.h.v. the automatic functions in the DC-Car decoder.

If you want more variety and certain vehicles can also perform functions independently, you can use the built-in automatic functions such as the automatic bus stop or the fire brigade automatic. For this, the relevant vehicle must be equipped with the HG1 Hall sensor option. The functions are introduced by means of two magnets hidden in the road surface. At the bus stop automatically this means that when passing the first magnet the right turn signals turn on and the speed is reduced. When the second magnet passes, the bus stops for a time programmed in the decoder. After this time has lapsed, the left turn signals turn on and the bus will depart again. The fire department automatically works in the same way. Naturally, these automats can also be used for other vehicles, such as a garbage truck or a courier service.

However, if you already have a Faller Car System track which is equipped with the famous FCS control components such as the stop coil, then we come to the following option:

3. Independent control with influence by means of existing Faller Car System control components.

The operation is as outlined above, however, by using the standard Faller stop coils and circuits, which activate the reed contact in the car, we can influence the cars. The braking is abrupt, but the brake lights light up. Acceleration is delayed with the acceleration set in the decoder. If a car is parked on a stop coil, the traffic behind it will stop behind the predecessor due to the Anti-Collision System. If the predecessor drives away, the traffic behind will also neatly accelerate one by one, as it actually happens

This already gives realistic road traffic, but it could be even better ....

4. Control by means of short-range infrared and DC-Car Function module.

The cars are standard equipped with infrared receivers on the front. These receivers "look" forward to see if there is a predecessor and at what speed it is being controlled.

Via these infrared receivers it is also possible to use infrared transmitters (LEDs) to command the cars. These LEDs must then be placed within reach of the receivers. This can easily be done by the side of the road in parked cars, road marking posts, garbage bins, etc. The range of the receivers is several centimeters.

Claus Ilchman has developed a Function building block that broadcasts the DCC commands for certain functions. So we can turn on the turn signals at a certain location, reduce the speed or operate another desired function. The function is independent of the address of the car and therefore applies to every car. The IR transmitter LEDs can be switched on or off by means of circuits, so that selected commands can be sent. The handling is extremely realistic because the Anti-Collision System is fully utilized. The cars can brake slowly (by sending different speed commands) and accelerate slowly (also adjustable by CVs.>

5. Short-range infrared control with a DCC central unit and a possibly connected PC.

It goes a step further with direct control from a DCC central such as the Intellibox. With the DC-Car System this is already possible with an investment of only a few Euros. By the infrared LEDs, By connecting a resistor and a diode to the rail output of the Intellibox, for example, it is possible to control the cars individually, ie individually. This makes it possible to control the speed and functions via the DCC control panel. The cars then react just like locomotives or trainsets. And can therefore also be operated simultaneously in a mix of train and car. It will be clear that we have to choose different addresses for the cars than for the traction material on the railway.

However, there is a problem with this way of steering. A DC-Car decoder can receive conflicting orders in this way of control. For example, the vehicle in front slows down the speed, while the DCC control panel might just indicate increasing speed. In this case, the signal from the vehicle in front takes precedence. This means that at that moment the car can no longer be operated via the DCC central.>

In this way of steering, it is also possible to have a PC connected to the DCC central control road traffic. Absolutely great .... !!

6. Control by means of long distance infrared and DCC Central.

Even better would of course be if we could send the cars with 1 or only a few IR diodes mounted above the track. This would significantly simplify the construction of the system. Well now, this is also possible with the optionally available Infrared receiver TSOP7000 that is built into the cars.

You may wonder why another IR receiver if one is already built in as standard. Well, that can be explained as follows:

The standard IR receiver works with an uncoded signal. Infrared light is light with a certain wavelength and also occurs in nature in the form of sunlight or light from fluorescent tubes and (halogen) lamps. These light sources therefore act as a kind of jammer for the standard IR receivers. That is why the range of these IR receivers is only short. And that is exactly what is required for the application as an Anti-Collision System in our model cars. However, this also shows that direct sunlight or a strong light source at a short distance from our car traffic can throw a spanner in the works. Control with an uncoded signal over a longer distance is therefore not recommended.

By now using coded / modulated IR signal, as is done with the remote control of your TV set, we can significantly increase the range. After all, your remote control of the TV also works over a considerable distance and also has little trouble with ambient light. Well, the TSOP7000 is a receiver with a built-in decoder / demodulator. By incorporating these into the cars, we will therefore be able to drive our cars over a considerably greater distance. However ...... there must be coding / modulation of the signal, because the TSOP7000 will not be able to receive and transmit our DCC commands untranslated. Claus Ilchmann has developed the DCC Booster for this. The DCC Booster encodes / modulates the DCC signal to a signal that the TSOP7000 can receive. By connecting one or more special IR transmitter LEDs to the DC-Car Booster and hanging them above the layout, we are now able to control the cars over a range of several meters with a few IR LEDs.

In this way of steering it is also possible to have a PC connected to the DCC central control road traffic.

In fact, a beautiful piece of technology that is at our service as model builders.

But it is also possible without a DCC central ........

7. Control by means of long distance Infrared and PC with software.

Model builders who do not want to purchase an (expensive) DCC central unit and still want to drive a computer with a PC can use the PC transmitter.

The PC transmitter is controlled directly from the PC and ensures that the signal is ready for the TSOP7000. The operation is the same as the method described above, however the DCC control panel is "cut out". The decoder works with the Infracar protocol. As a control program, Windigipet from version 8.5 (free demo version for a limited number of vehicles: www.windigipet.de) can serve or self-written programs.