New TCS Depot Version Available - 2.1.1

Train Control Systems - December 2023

In our previous announcement regarding TCS Depot, we outlined several goals for the near-term development of the program. Today, we are happy to announce that many of these goals have been met! The new version of TCS Depot, 2.1.1, introduces the following list of changes and improvements to the program.

Changes and Improvements

• Depot will now auto-detect all TCS devices on your WiFi network.
• Added support for the CS-105 WiFi Command Station.
• Improved automation of many operations, relying less on user input.
• Improved flow of operations for an overall better user experience.
• Fixed and issue with the installer where the program would be flagged by web browsers and operating systems as unsafe for download and/or installation.

Download Depot Version 2.1.1
You can download the latest Version of TCS Depot here.

New Video - Updating TCS Devices with Depot
Check out our new video which guides you through the update process.

Hotfix for TCS WiFi Devices
In addition to the new Depot Version release, we are also publishing a hotfix which addresses a specific issue which was found recently. This issue would cause problems with communications between a LCC Hub running in JMRI and any of our WiFi devices running in LCC mode (such as the CS-105, UWT-100, and UWT-50). Throttle software has been incremented to Version 3.0.1, and CS-105 software to 1.0.1. This update file ONLY addresses this single issue, and is not a required update for users who are not using an LCC Hub in JMRI to interface with our WiFi throttles and your command station.

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Atlas Buys River Point Station

December 2022

Hillside, NJ – Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. is proud to announce the purchase of HO Scale vehicle tooling along with designs for certain previously unannounced products from River Point Station Fine Scale Models of Warwick, RI.  
Vehicle molds acquired include the Expedition EL, F-250, F-350 and more.  A complete list of the acquired tooling is below.

"Previously, in December of 2020, River Point Station announced that they would be streamlining their product line and would cease producing N Scale vehicles and we did not want to see a void left in the market, so we acquired the N scale tooling" said Paul Graf, CEO of Atlas. 

"After a successful launch of N scale models utilizing this tooling, we are happy to announce that we have acquired RPS’ HO Scale vehicle tooling as well and look forward to continued success with the line."

  
River Point Station Fine Scale Models was founded in 2006 by Ron Elsdoerfer to supply HO accessory kits to modelers. In the 14 years that followed, River Point Station grew their offerings to include HO & N Scale Vehicles. Over the past two years, River Point Station announced a scaling back of certain aspects of their business which led to this acquisition.  More information can be found on their website.

Founded in 1924 and incorporated in 1949 as Atlas Tool Co. Inc., present day Atlas Model Railroad Co. produces locomotives, rolling stock, track, and accessories in N, HO and O scales for its Atlas Master, Atlas Classic, Trainman, and Atlas O lines.

Acquired Tooling
FORD F-250 & F-350 SRW REGULAR CAB PICKUP
FORD F-250 & F350 SRW SUPER CAB PICKUP
FORD F-250 & 350 SRW SUPER CREW CAB PICKUP
FORD F-350 DRW REGULAR CAB PICKUP
FORD F-350 DRW SUPER CAB PICKUP
FORD F-350 DRW SUPER CREW CAB PICKUP
FORD F-350 DRW REGULAR CAB HD PICKUP
FORD F-350 DRW SUPER CREW CAB HD PICKUP
FORDF-450 DRW PICKUP
FORD F-350 SRW SUPER CAB SERVICE TRUCK
FORD F-350 DRW SUPER  CAB SERVICE TRUCK
FORD F-350 DRW SUPER  CAB BUCKET TRUCK
FORD F-450 DRW REGULAR CAB SERVICE TRUCK
FORD F-450 DRW REGULAR CAB BUCKET TRUCK
FORD F-450 DRW SUPER CREW CAB SERVICE TRUCK
FORD F-550 DRW SUPER CREW CAB BUCKET TRUCK
FORD F-450 DRW REGULAR CAB HD BRUSH FIRE TRUCK
FORD F-450 DRW SUPER CREW CAB HD BRUSH FIRE TRUCK
FORD F-550 DRW REGULAR CAB HD MINI-PUMPER FIRE TRUCK
FORD F-550 DRW REGULAR CAB HD AMBULANCE-RESCUE TRUCK
FORD SUV EXPEDITION EL CIVILIAN
FORD SUV EXPEDITION EL LIMITED CIVILIAN
FORD SUV EXPEDITION EL SSP (POLICE-FIRE)

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BEMF loop gain(Ki) and “Surging” Consisted Engines (Soundtraxx Decoders)

It doesn’t happen often but it does happen. After consisting several locomotives and running them you notice that one (or more) appears to be bucking or surging. This becomes very apparent if the consist is pulling a load of several cars. The cars appear to noticeably speed up and slow. The first thing to do before troubleshooting anything is to make certain that your track is clean and all the wheels are also clean on all the locomotives. Also check that there is no mechanical binding on any of the locomotives. Lastly check that all the locomotives are properly speed matched. If they haven’t been checked in a while, check them!

Assuming they are properly speed matched, the problem is, almost always, that one of the decoders has the BEMF loop gain (Ki) set too high for consists. This causes the engine to buck (surge) when it tries to stay with the other locomotives. You may have heard that BEMF is like cruise control for an engine when it detects it is moving too slow for requirements it speeds up and when too fast it slows down. How quickly it responds to these errors is controlled by the gain. Too high and it appears to buck or surge.

There are some model railroaders that turn off BEMF completely when dealing with consisted locomotives (except the lead). The author doesn’t do this as he consists and un-consists his locomotives constantly and doesn’t want the additional hassle of having to deal with turning BEMF on and off.

The problem now becomes determining which engine(s) is having the problem. In consists of more than 2 locomotives it’s not difficult. Take the locomotive you suspect to be surging out of the consist and see if the consist now moves smoothly. If not, try another until you find the right one. For 2 engine consists it a little more work but we’ll get to that shortly.

In Soundtraxx decoders BEMF loop gain is controlled by CV 210. The value in the CV usually defaults to 16. Set it to half the value in the CV (if 16 set it to 8). Test it by putting it back in the consist and see if it fixes the problem. If it runs smoother but not completely smooth you'll have to play with the value (lower not higher but not zero). Do not set the value lower than you need to. It will cause the locomotive to drag and not react well to speed changes.

For two engine consists since you have no idea which of the 2 locos is causing the problem, take one and note the value in CV 210. Follow the procedure above. If you cannot get it to fix the surging, set it back to the original value and repeat the process on the other loco.

Every time the author has had surging locos with Soundtraxx decoders this has fixed the problem.

Other decoder manufacturers use different CVs for their BEMF variables and also different values so read their documentation. 

Read about CV210 in the Soundtraxx reference manual here on page 62.

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