User Friendly Decoderpro??? I am thinking of acquiring an interface for my NCE SB3/Powercab system and have already downloaded the Decoderpro to assist in programing and speed matching. Problem is it does not seem very user friendly, at all. Does it make more sense when it is actually plugged in and reading a decoder? Maybe I am not able to see the entire process until then and am jumping to conclusions. Is it just me or am I in need of some research on how to utilize this tool? I only intend to spend my small amount of money on things that will impact the layout the most and if this has a very high learning curve then I may not dive in. Please advice or redirect, thanks.
You'll need the NCE USB to connect your Powercab / SB3 to your computer. This is the only current available computer option for the NCE starter systems. There has been a lot of work done by NCE and the JMRI community (Decoder Pro) to get this to work. I use Decoder Pro a lot for my decoders, although it's through a serial interface to my Powerhouse Pro, and find it very easy to use - the hardest thing is getting started. I'd suggest joining the JMRI users group on Yahoo - there is a LOT of help available there just for the asking, also some video is available on model-railroad-hobbyist.com which would be helpful as well. Regards Tim
IMHO, Yes and yes. No offence to the people who built it and offer it free for us to use, but it looks to me like an example of a 'nerdy tool' that has become a general use program (there are plenty of other examples ). It thus suffers from an interface that's been somewhat bolted on afterwards and lacks the intuitive feel of software that's been written 'the other way round' so to speak. So it does take a bit of getting the hang of, but I think you'll find it worth the effort.
DecoderPro works much better when it is connected to the controller, and makes more sense. The learning curve is small and worth the effort to learn how to use it. It is the only way I program my decoders.
I've got the PowerCab, with USB Interface, and use decoderPro. I don't think the interface is that bad. The only part I don't like is where you pick your decoder.. the list isn't very well sorted. The problem with user interfaces is that everyone has their own opinion of what's easy, and what makes sense. Once you use it a couple times, you'll have no trouble at all.
SPidge, I can sympathize with you, as I started out with DecoderPro just 3 months ago too. You can see what it does, for either evaluation or getting started purposes, via online free videos of DecoderPro clinics given at the 2008 NMRA convention. Go to Joe Fugate's (of HO SP Siskiyou Line layout fame) Model Railroad Hobbyist web site URL below.... Joe filmed and has posted, for free download and viewing, the NMRA 2008 Convention clinics on DecoderPro (both Basics and Advanced). Go to: Intro to DecoderPro - MRH Theater | Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine You'll find the clinics great, the info easy to follow, you'll soon know exactly what DecoderPro does, how to use it, learn if it's right for you. I think you'll find that DecoderPro is one of the greatest things since sliced bread. As was stated before, you do need to purchase the NCE USB card in order to connect your PowerCab and DecoderPro computer. You can find this card online from many sources, because of the function and value of DecoderPro, this card is well worth it's approximate street price of around $40. Here's picture of the NCE USB card: You would connect the black end of the card above to the PowerCab PCP panel using the supplied 'coily' cable that came with the PowerCab. The other silver-colored end will be connected using a standard USB cable (that you buy yourself at any store), to your computer's USB port. Do some reading and education on this, and you'll find that you will download for free, the drivers for this USB card and install those drivers on your PC. At Fugate's web site, there is also the Advanced DecoderPro Seminar (given by no less than Bob Jacobsen, the Univ of Cal - Berkeley PhD physicist who heads the JMRI and DecoderPro open source projects) at the above web site as well, at: Advanced DecoderPro - MOVIE MONDAY Feature | Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine Once you've played with DecoderPro and seen it's power and usefulness, it'll be hard to remember how you got along without it. The fact that it's *free* is just a superb gift. As was stated before, after seeing the above videos, you'll enjoy also seeing the following Yahoo Groups which talk about and discuss and support you in using DecoderPro: jmriusers : JMRI users There is also the NCE Yahoo User's Group, which will help you with NCE-specific issues when using DecoderPro: NCE-DCC : NCE-DCC There is also this great web site that discusses all things DCC, and has a bunch of good NCE and DecoderPro info on it: Marcus DCC for Dummies Finally, among the really cool things about DecoderPro, in addition to the decoder programming, is all the other tools that come with it. For example, you get a 'Throttle' tool, for running your trains from your PC - the DecoderPro Throttle application writes it's commands directly and does not take up a cab address on the PowerCab, so you can have multiple DecoderPro Throttle windows open, even on the PowerCab. Hope this helps, enjoy.
I knew I came to the right place for my querry. You guys are full of some good info, thanks. I did order the NCE USB today and look out for more questions. Thanks for all the links. I did see the Joe F website and watched some of the videos but I guess I will have to gain some hands on experience. Its frastrating how many of the electronics/computer stores around me want $20+ for a usb a/b cable, but I will shop around before I commit to that. My question was mostly around the user interface, or the lack there of. They left out the fact that many folks that may be looking to utilize the program do not think like computer programers. Thats ok, I will dig into it and see what I can do. It sounds like many have gone through the same proccess of uncertainty. Thanks again and I intend to post here how things pan out.
You're welcome, SPidge. One more thing you might want to check - the JMRI team just came out with DecoderPro 2.4 just a few days ago. This is a 'production-ready' release that incorporates a whole bunch of goodies and enhancements since the previous production release. If you downloaded DecoderPro more than 1 week ago, you should go and download the 2.4 version, then just install it - the install process will overlay the older release nicely (the JMRIUsers Yahoo Group had specific question on installing 2.4, and the answer was just as I stated... just download and install 2.4 and it'll overlay your older release without any problem). I did exactly this and my DecoderPro 2.4 works great without any problems. I was on 2.2. Enjoy - you're going to find DecoderPro is good stuff, I trust.
Thank you John, I did download the updated program as suggested. I will leave it be until I get the usb hooked up. I plan to mostly use it for speed matching and light controls so should I just hook it up to the layout to speed match there? I have read about people building a small oval of track to speed match, but I would like to handle the locos as little as possible. Will a windows 98 system be sufficient for this software? Would I be able to plug it into the front of one of the fascia panels temporarily or will I need to wire it through the back and leave it wired up. I do not intend at this point to utilize it for layout automation, but with time, who knows.
Some people connect it to the layout but using an issolated track that can be turned from programming to layout power with a DPDT switch. Personally I'd rather not take the chance of by accident having the engine bridge the gaps and end up reprogrammming everything on the layout so I have a seperate programming track and just move the loco back and forth as needed to speed match. Might seem like a pain but when compared to re-programmming everything not so much.
depends on how fast your PC is. It's a java based program, so it will run on windows 98. But you'll have to download the java JRE(java runtime environment) first. That allows it to run on your machine. you can find it here: Java SE Downloads get java JRE 6, not the JDK 6. I think once you program a loco with it, you won't want to go back to using the powercab to do so I didn't want to... that's what I do with mine, just hook it up when you need it.
Hi, SPidge, Go see segment #3 of the "Intro to DecoderPro" video from the NMRA 2008 Convention on the Joe Fugate Model Railroad Hobbyist Theatre: Intro to DecoderPro - MRH Theater | Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine In that 19 minute segment, the speaker (Dave Duchamp) goes thru a nice step-by-step of how to speed match two locos. That should help greatly - after seeing that, I think you'd be able to decide for your particular situation, whether you'd want to speed match on your layout, or on a test oval. Hope this helps!
Ok, I viewd all 4 videos and it looks like the reason it seems so problamatic is if there is no decoder to enable anything in the program then I won't get a menu. Thanks for the suggestions.
John: Like any software DecoderPro will take some time to master. There is definitely a learning curve. Take your time and you'll enjoy using the program. It will make speed matching and decoder programming an enjoyable task. Have fun.....
You should be able to run through ll of the different screens by manually selecting a decoder type. The "Open Programmer" button won't light up until a decoder is selected. If you go back to that screen, you will need to select another decoder to get the button to light up. Mine works in "tutorial" format on the preferences panel. After saving the preference's, I can open the programmer window, select a decoder from the drop down lists and open the any of the listed programmers. The comprehensive programmer will show you all the bells and whistles. All of the above done with no connection at all to any DCC equipment or track. Martin Myers
Well, I had a program track but removed and replaced it with, I brought it into the kitchen to utilize my XP desktop. I see what you guys mean buy getting some time with it under my belt. I loved speed matching the locos using the oval. I am far from good at it but with some more tinkering and support from you and the yahoo groups I may end up an ace yet. I was able to reprogram all the locos except a TCS CN and CN-GP, but later found a thread in the JMRI yahoo group where they explained the M1 selection will do just fine. So I still need to complete those locos. I was able to see all the things I missed using the Powercab alone. Like short address, turning analog off, setting kick rate/dither, etc..... Thanks again.
There is a config file now for the CN decoders in the yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jmriusers/files/Decoder%20files/TCS%20decoders/TCS_CN_Series.xml Just put it in your JMRI\xml\decoders folder and restart decoderPro.
DiezMon, unfortunately the link did nor work. I am looking at the yahoo group and cannot find it. Is it under a particular file?
