Today we’re introducing Mod-Track (from “modular track”) - a new modular model railroad track system for H0, N, Z, and TT gauges that can be used with probably any tracks. What is a modular railroad system and how does Mod-Track work? A modular model railroad system refers to a
Why we started working on Simple DCC DCC works in a very simple way - a command station sends messages to DCC decoders by wires/rails. There are no encryption, authorization, or acknowledgment packets as most wireless systems have. But there are still many difficulties with updating logic on DCC
WCC (Wireless Command Control) is an open wireless system to operate model railways and LEGO® trains. WCC can run on DC, AC, or a battery and includes just 2 components: * Train and layout modules to control trains and layout elements (signals, switches, etc). More info about how WCC modules work
The first development version of our decoders is here. I believe our decoders are the most complex DCC decoders available on the market today. They have some very interesting features and ideas: * Decoder can be used with trains and any layout elements. * You don't need to program decoders
The Loco.Engineering team has huge experience with motor controllers used in e-mobility and of course, we want to get maximum performance and features from drivers for brushed DC motors. If you've ever tried to use decoders with BEMF with PID & Consisting control you know how it&
Finally, yesterday we got working small NFC antennas. Two previous weeks we spent on NFC again trying to figure out what we make wrong with NFC tuning or maybe it's just not possible to get a range of 1+ cm with small antennas. We tried different types of
Great news for everyone - every WCC module will have an audio amplifier. This means that you’ll be able to connect a speaker to any WCC module in N+ gauge locomotives and upload sounds to locomotive modules from the web app. Also, you'll be able to upload
This week we decided to pause our NFC research around antennas and focus on other components. We already have great performance for NFC readers if a reader is placed under rails and an unpowered tag is placed on a train. NFC in Loco.Engineering is used to detect a train&
This week we've worked on the NFC antenna tuning circuit mostly. The whole NFC antenna tuning process isn't as simple as when you connect an antenna to your wi-fi, Bluetooth device, or TV. NFC antennas are susceptible and you should develop 2 circuits (filter circuit and
This Monday we received new PCBs to try new drivers for brushed DC motors. Before we used TI drivers that work with voltage less than 20V and current up to 1.5A. Really it's not bad because the driver's dimensions are just 2 mm x 2
This week we worked on our web app's mockup (schematics with the app's screens and how they should interact with each other). The web app will be used to control trains, cars, and layout elements manually and create layout automation as well. Honestly, after a week
WCC is a modular system based on 3 modules (train, accessory and car modules) and 1 submodule (NFC module). Submodules should be connected to modules using a 4-pin connector because submodules haven't MCU and can only send data to modules. Why did we decide to use such a
NFC (Near-field communication) is the base of WCC (Wireless Command Control, if you don't know what is it and how it works, check this post). NFC includes 2 components - unpowered tags that can be placed under rails, on a road, on a train, etc., and a powered
The first development version of Loco.Engineering platform is here. Let’s skip around 2 years of different experiments and research and check what we have in version 0.1. If you don’t know what we’re developing and why we decide to spend a lot of time and
A few years ago we visited a model railroad layout Kolejkowo in Gliwice, Poland. It’s a well-built detailed layout but with a very limited amount of interactions and automation. Automation in railway modeling is still complex - yes we have DCC, MFX, and other stuff to make our layouts