Ultimate DCC Hand-Held Throttle

Рет қаралды 3,617

2 жыл бұрын

Basically the “Ultimate DCC Throttle” I made over six years ago, in a hand-held version that controls a model locomotive on my layout facilitated by a locomotive simulation software running on my layout’s Windows 10 computer.
The locomotive simulation software forces a DCC model locomotive to operate prototypically based on the physics of a real EMD F7A locomotive.
This includes and not limited to:
Dynamics simulation of the effects of mass from locomotive and number of cars connected.
Available traction motor current based on diesel engine conditions.
Diesel engine RPM simulation based on loading conditions.
Available wheel traction effort based on conditions.
Pneumatic simulation of air reservoir and brake-pipe volume (including continuous leakage).
Braking effects based on pneumatic conditions and locomotive and rolling stock dynamics.
Simulation of locomotive wheel slip.
Simulation running at 10 millisecond intervals on an Intel NCU i7 4.7 GHz computer. LocoNet DCC command updates clamped to 100 milliseconds. Graphics clamped to 41 millisecond updates.
Utilizes custom programmed ESU Loksound V5 DCC decoder for custom sound effects from model locomotive on track in-sync with simulation.

Пікірлер: 47

@alcopower5710 2 жыл бұрын

I swear you are always innovating……your content is absolutely 1st class and I for one certainly appreciate you sharing your knowledge and creativity. 👍

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Alco for the comment.

@SFRATON 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting Bruce and nice to see your new layout - thanks rake care - Kevin

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Kevin for the comment.

@moogman1978 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent work Bruce! Very nice seeing this all in motion! Wish all layouts had these amazing features

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Moog-Man for the comment.

@crownironman 2 жыл бұрын

it seems that this is the way future throttles will have to work if we want that ultra real operation, which is to do it like this and have a computer get the inputs from the throttle to tell the DCC how to operate. I think that for a steam locomotive to operate like the prototype it will require this same method, maybe even requiring a two person crew so one could monitor the fire and boiler pressure. Also, for a steam locomotive the computer will need to show fuel (coal and water) levels so refueling can be planned. excellent work, thanks for posting

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment Crownironman. If you look below, a comment from Mark Stafford on a steam version he's been working on.

@florianstephan5745 8 ай бұрын

Bruce, this is awesome! A real masterpiece of engineering!

@BruceKingsley 8 ай бұрын

Hi Florian, thanks for the comment!

@darktrooper4 5 ай бұрын

Love to see this simulation, I wish all decoders and the new proto throttles came like this so you can program it that way. Thats my only complaint about the proto is the sound and notches are great but they dont match the rate of speed climb that a real Loco would have.

@BruceKingsley 5 ай бұрын

Hi Darktrooper4, Thanks for the comments. One important thing that make this possible is the decoder the the locomotive is setup to have no dynamics such as acceleration, de-acceleration and linear speed-step curve so the simulation software can properly perform the emulation without the decoder messing with it. As far as the sound, the decoder is all so custom programmed to enable extended DCC functions that the simulation software can tell the decoder exactly what notch number sound to produce. Bruce.

@MIKES0029 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome 👏

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mike

@tavo313able 4 ай бұрын

Awesome!

@gregoryamer 2 жыл бұрын

Wow! I really hope this is the future of model railroading. Very realistic.

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Greg, thanks for the comment!

@jakobhovman 2 жыл бұрын

"UHT"...Ultimate Hand Throttle...! Bruce, Good of you to donate your Ultimate Cab and to know, it is working on display...! Great to have you back, in a new studio. Brilliant Solution, to pick "Train Modellers POV". Combining the present and realistic simulations. A very clever idea, new, but still "Very Hands On "project. Will also make for good realistic "Cabin Ride" videos. later down the track PS: Did you consider a tinyl screen, "on top" of Throttle, showing cab panel and instruments, or cab view, when Movin' round the leyout...? ...(Phone)...? Looking forward to more... Greetings from Denmark

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jakob for the comment. Yep, it's been a long time...

@ACLTony 2 жыл бұрын

Wow! How cool it would be if you could have this produced and marketed! I'll buy one!

@budjamison2149 Жыл бұрын

I am totally inspired by your layout! It looks amazing! We need a layout tour! Keep posting! Thanks!

@BruceKingsley Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment Bud! This project wasn't as popular as I thought I might be.

@budjamison2149 Жыл бұрын

@@BruceKingsley I thought the ultimate throttle was amazing! You could really play trains, realistically! But I also love your modeling and weathering! Keep the videos coming!

@danielbanks7500 2 жыл бұрын

Wow!! Are you going to be producing these? If not I would love to see how you shrank the ultimate cab into a hand held throttle!

@Le_Comte_de_Monte_Felin 2 жыл бұрын

Hello again! Eureka! You did it! :) This is a real game changer for those times you simply want the challenge of dealing with 'real conditions'. Is there a 'learning' or 'basic' mode where a novice can run trains without every detail being engaged? Can you preset the grade for different areas of track so that trains always experience the same track conditions at the same location? Now if this integrates with JMRI... and has capacity to run a camera with an engineer's screen (like your original throttle)... Well done, Bruce! Take the rest of the day off! You've earned it! :).

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Dwayne, thanks for the comment. I might do a quick follow-up video as I've received some of the same questions from others. Bruce.

@FHollis-gw4cc Жыл бұрын

Absolutely outstanding! You have captured the complete experience of running a train! And! Stuffed it into a computer! I can't imagine the hours you spent gathering the information needed to create such a thing! Being able to pry all the little innuendos of what happens when this happens out of railroad people has to be a talent that few can appreciate! As someone who made their living doing what you simulated, with the equipment you used, watching this was astounding! It's almost like you were/are an engineer. I know you're not though. A real engineer would not have built that throttle with the reverser above the throttle, or with the throttle backward! 🥴 But you certainly got the software right! I've subscribed to this site in the hopes you may decide to make this software available. I'll even buy a Windows computer if you won't cross compile for a real operating system 😇

@BruceKingsley Жыл бұрын

Thanks F Hollis for the glowing comments! As I stated, this was built on the full cab version I made years ago (see Ultimate DCC Throttle Part 9 video). Funny you brought up the backwards throttle, my cab version is not "backwards", but on the handheld version I decided to change the direction as "controls" move to the right (or CW) for more of something (like sound volume controls) and didn't want it to be confusing to use. This software really needs to be run on a dedicated computer with a decent GPU due to all simulation threads and heavy 4K real-time graphics and animations. I made it just for the challenge, I don't think many model railroaders would want to run their locomotives this way (even I now never use it), plus the locomotive decoder needs to be specifically setup with most control features turned off. Bruce.

@dynamicloco2186 2 жыл бұрын

OMG TAKE my MONEY!!!!

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment Dynamic Loco!

@TeNBeeS7 2 жыл бұрын

WAOU YOU GOT SKILLS BEYOND GOD:-):-).. I FOr one LOVE u 4 this -.AWESOMNESS..AND IT ALL WORKS TOO... HAHA I'M RIGHT BACK IN RUNAWAY ¨TRAIN¨ W THE OVER ACTOR AND J VOIGHT

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Terrence for the comment

@TeNBeeS7 2 жыл бұрын

@@BruceKingsley 🥰🇺🇲🚂+🥰👨‍🔧

@TrophiHunterSeth 7 ай бұрын

Once I build my Layout I want to have my trains behave in this way too, how did you make this? Are you going to open source your code so we can get an idea of how you did it because I really want this, I am building a Japanese train layout, it will have freight, passenger and Shinkansen ops, I also have a usb train controller for the switch, densha de go, (A arcade game for driving trains) but the controller is a semi realistic train controller, its got 5 power steps and 8 brake + an emergency brake step. I would love to get that working for controlling some of my trains. Could you maybe steer me in a good direction to get started. Thanks for your time.

@BruceKingsley 7 ай бұрын

Thanks TrophiHunterSeth for the comment. I have no problem providing the software, but you should be aware of some details. 1. The main software runs on a Windows 10 or 11 PC. 2. The PC need to be powerful and have a good GPU. 3. The software was written for a 4K touch-screen monitor (a mouse will work for must functions). 4. The software was written around my layout plan. 5. The PC software was written using c# (.NET) and would require you to have MS Visual Studio 2019 or greater. If you don't know c# well, you will find this very, very difficult. There's no documentation as I never planned on making it for public use. If you want more info, you can email me at brucek5 "at" charter.net Bruce

@markstafford5586 2 жыл бұрын

Bruce I’d like to talk to you about steam controller that we have been working on for the last three years

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Mark, do you have link to your project or a contact?

@markstafford5586 2 жыл бұрын

Did my email address come through ok? We are attempting exactly the same functionality but with vastly different hardware

@BruceKingsley 2 жыл бұрын

@@markstafford5586 Mark I didn't. I don't want to post my email because an internet robot will pick it up., but I'll give you the two parts, brucek5, second part @charter.net

@crownironman 2 жыл бұрын

@@markstafford5586 I really think that adding a computer between the throttle and the DCC system is the way to go for a steam throttle. The computer should monitor how much steam is used and the current boiler pressure. The operator should be responsible for keeping the pressure up, and if they don’t then the computer should make the locomotive slow and maybe stall until pressure is raised. It could have the option of “enhanced” operating or “limited” so some features could be controlled by an AI fireman. In the enhanced mode it could be made to use a second operator acting as a fireman/break man.

@markstafford5586 2 жыл бұрын

@@crownironman Yes your quite correct Mr Crown Iron Man. Once you introduce a computer between the controls and the DCC system you can track anything you want via a physics engine. We do in fact track steam use and how it acts to move a train. But we determined years ago that doing the fireman side was very very code intensive and so we have focused on the driver side and assumed the fireman is mister perfection. That is not to say it could not be done. It most certainly could. But I think our hardware is stretched with just doing the driver side of things. But with the right hardware for sure!

@RonStanek 4 ай бұрын

Is this like, RailPro?

@BruceKingsley 4 ай бұрын

Hi Ron, no it is not, and don’t know of any product that performs actual locomotive physics simulation. Though RailPro is a nice heavy duty throttle and I would buy one if they had a more seamless integration with DigiTrax.

@RonStanek 4 ай бұрын

@BruceKingsley kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p8mYaLOmtr-1iZ8.htmlsi=K-qWzgCgeb5o4Rvk If you could combine something like your system and the RailPro "Locotrol" system into one designed like a Katron belt-harness controller? I know it wouldn't be everything yours has, but it could be like "the best of both worlds"???

@RonStanek 4 ай бұрын

@@BruceKingsley RailPro compatibility with DCC. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p8mYaLOmtr-1iZ8.htmlsi=yoCzb9dzf7QAG9L8