Matthew And Alec Herman Both Leave ESU LokSound

From Jurgen Lindner on LokSound.groups.io:

Hi! This is the first time I comment in this group. I am not an experienced Facebook user, as  most of the time I am busy running both ESU companies.

It is true that both Matthew and Alec Herman left ESU earlier this week. As I can not go into much details why this happened, please rest assured that it was not an easy decision I had to take. Being responsible for the teams in Germany, USA and even China, I have to make sure that processes running smoothly and our customers - both consumers and OEM partners - will get the service and products they deserve.

Operations in the US will continue as before, we do have new stuff doing tech support and will have a new General Manager soon also. So there is nothing to worry about. We try to overcome the chip crisis to make sure more products can be made to meet the demand. I am aware that many customers have been waiting for products for many months, but the global chip crisis is the worst I have ever experienced in my 22 years of running ESU. 

I want to thank you for your trust in our products and your strong support. I will be personally available at the Amherst show in Springfield, MA this weekend and are ready to answer all questions you may have... 

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Another Model Railroad Lubrication Discussion

Yes, I know, another lubrication topic, sheesh! This one, however, is different. It discusses what you should use (as they all do) but it also discusses lubricants you should NOT use! Some of which were thought to be safe for a long time. This article was written for large scale trains but it definitely applies to smaller scales.

Images of problems caused by these lubricants are also included and several of these were suprising. It caused this author to throw out a bottle of one of these that has been laying around his layout for years. 

The article is located here. There are also many articles on this site that are well worth reading concerning various topics that are discussed by model rilroaders every time there is a get together.

Take a look, undoubtedly you will learn something.

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Changing the LNWI Password On Protected WIFI

The default password (on LNWI networks with WPA2 enabled) is "digitrax1234". To customize your LNWI passcode perform the following: 

1. Enter Option Switch mode on the LNWI. (Connect a Digitrax throttle to one of the LNWI’s Loconet connectors, press the OPS buttom. The Green ID and Red OPS indicators should start alternating blinking ON).
2. Set OpSw 17 = closed.
3. Set OpSw 18 = thrown.
4. Exit option switch mode.
5. Use DigiGroupSetup to set the password key as XXXX where XXXX is a 4digit numerical code of your choice or use a Duplex Radio Super Throttle and a UR92 to set the password key to XXXX.  For UR92/DT602 combinations follow the directions in your throttle's utility menu or UR92/93 manual to change the passcode setting.
6. All active connections will close, and you will need to reconnected to the LNWI.
7. The LNWI network should now show up as a secured connection, the WPA2 password is “digitraxXXXX” where the XXXX equals the number you set in step 5.

Note: If OpSw 18 = closed the passcode will always be “digitrax1234” regardless of customized settings.  Customized passcodes are stored until they are changed, OpSW 18 = c simply forces the LNWI to use “digitrax1234”. If key is set to 0000 WPA2 security will not be active.

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Exporting a JMRI Roster to a CSV File

Quite a few people have asked the author if it is possible to export their roster to a CSV file so they can import it into a spreadsheet and if so how do they do it? Each one has their own reason for doing this but almost always insurance purposes is the main reason and that is alright but one important thing is missing from the CSV file, a picture of the locomotives(s) along with the purchase price and date purchased. Insurance representatives will want that. Pictures could be added to the file after importing into Excel but it is a LOT of work (depending on the number of locomotives involved). How long ago did I purchase that engine?? What did I pay for it (remember the insurance representatives)?? So, for insurance, the author feels JMRI itself is the best method. We will discuss adding columns to your roster soon in a future post.

Fortunately, thanks to one of the JMRI developers, Matthew Harris, it is now possible to easily export your roster to a CSV file. Open Decoder Pro. From the roster screen open the Actions Menu and at the bottom of the list select Run Script. See figure 1.

Figure 1 Run Script selection

This will present you with a window containing the Jython scripts included with your JMRI installation. Select RosterCsvExport.py and select Open. See figure 2.

Figure 2 Selecting RosterCsvExport.py

You will then be presented with a location for the generated file. Select the location you want and the name of the file. By default it will be saved to the same directory your roster is located in and named roster.csv. See figure 3.

Figure 3 Name of generated file and location to save to

Click Save and in few seconds the file will be generated. You can now import it into Excel or whichever spreadsheet you have.

Unfortunately, if you would like different information in your CSV file you will have to modify the script or have someone do it for you.

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