ESU LokPilot Micro v4.0 Programming [SOLVED]

[C855B]

The "no sound" (DC) TurboTrain will take the ESU 54686 decoder straight into the DC jumper socket at both ends and runs great straight out of the box. IOW, the rear motor is wired backwards, so it is not necessary to set the reverse operation bit. HOWEVER...

...the lights are wired the same front and back. The rear lights operate as if they were the front, and when in "reverse", both ends display the red EOT light. F1 controls the gyralight at both ends regardless of direction, wired to AUX1 from the decoder. Is there a way to keep motor operation as-is but make the lights think they're reversed? And turn off the gyralight automatically on the "rear" end of operation?

I'm using JMRI Decoder Pro, and cannot find anything that hints at configuring this scenario. All I get from the ESU manual is a headache.

[jdcolombo]

Hi Mike.

You will have to use JMRI to set up the Function keys to operate the way you want.

ESU decoders use a programming logic to control function keys.  What you want to do is set F0 so that the correct headlights come on in the right direction of travel.  So put your Turbo on the programming track, open JMRI, select the LokPilot v.4 as the decoder, then open the comprehensive programmer and do a READ ALL SHEETS command.  Now go to the Function Mapping sheet, and see what you have for F0.  Note that for a LokPilot, the function mapping sheet will be a table with 40+ rows and several columns.  Each "cell" of this table will have a drop-down box to specify the behavior you want.  The first row, first column cell of this table probably will say something like Forward, F0.  Go to the next column, and see what Physical Outputs are enabled for this.  Probably, the Physical Output will be "Headlight[1]".  Change this to "Rear light[1]".  Now go to the next row.  The first cell in this row probably will say something like "Reverse, F0".  Go to the next cell, and you will probably see that the Physical Output is "Rear light[1]".  Change this to Headlight[1].

Now write your changes and test the engine to see if your lights are working the correct way.

To fix the Gyralight, you do something similar.  Put the Turbo back on the programming track, and go back to the Function Mapping table.  The third row of the table probably has an entry in the first cell that says "F1".  This row specifies the behavior of the decoder when F1 is on.   To modify this behavior, click the Change button, and a drop-down box should appear.  At the top of the list in this box should be an entry for "direction".  Click on the down arrow next to the Direction box, and select "Reverse".  Write changes.  What this should do is make the Gyralight come on ONLY when the locomotive is running in "reverse" (which is really forward, since the motor is wired backwards).  When you change directions, the Gyralight should go out.

I have a PDF document that explains how to do function key programming for the LokSound/LokPilot decoders and gives examples.  You might find it helpful.  If you want a copy of this, e-mail me directly at jdcolombo at gmail.

John C.

[peteski]

I have a PDF document that explains how to do function key programming for the LokSound/LokPilot decoders and gives examples.  You might find it helpful.  If you want a copy of this, e-mail me directly at jdcolombo at gmail.

John C.

John,
PDF files are a valid file type for attachments on TRW.  You could upload it here (or create a separate thread) and upload the PDF to the post for ease of distributing it.

[C855B]

Hi Mike.

You will have to use JMRI to set up the Function keys to operate the way you want.

ESU decoders use a programming logic to control function keys.  What you want to do is set F0 so that the correct headlights come on in the right direction of travel.  So put your Turbo on the programming track, open JMRI, select the LokPilot v.4 as the decoder, then open the comprehensive programmer and do a READ ALL SHEETS command.  Now go to the Function Mapping sheet, and see what you have for F0.  Note that for a LokPilot, the function mapping sheet will be a table with 40+ rows and several columns.  Each "cell" of this table will have a drop-down box to specify the behavior you want.  The first row, first column cell of this table probably will say something like Forward, F0.  ...

Ah, perfect, John. This is what I was looking for, thank you. I pored over the Function Mapping page, which on JMRI is a blank canvas unless you do that one step of reading from the decoder first. With no other reference as a starting point it was easy to see the cause of all of the wheel-spinning.

With this afternoon and evening shot to heck with a concert and prep thereof , I'll be on top of this tomorrow and git'r'done. Thanks again.

[jdcolombo]

John,
PDF files are a valid file type for attachments on TRW.  You could upload it here (or create a separate thread) and upload the PDF to the post for ease of distributing it.

OK.  Here it is.

John

[jdcolombo]

Ah, perfect, John. This is what I was looking for, thank you. I pored over the Function Mapping page, which on JMRI is a blank canvas unless you do that one step of reading from the decoder first. With no other reference as a starting point it was easy to see the cause of all of the wheel-spinning.

With this afternoon and evening shot to heck with a concert and prep thereof , I'll be on top of this tomorrow and git'r'done. Thanks again.

Yeah, with JMRI you MUST do a "read all sheets" or at least read the sheet you want to change (e.g., the Function Mapping sheet) BEFORE you do anything else.  Since ESU decoders use logic programming for function keys, there is no "standard definition" that can be loaded into JMRI to start with.  You have to read the decoder to see what's there first, and then you can make changes to the programming logic.  This is a much different system than other decoder manufacturers use for programming function keys. 

John C.

[peteski]

OK.  Here it is.

John

THANKS!

[C855B]

Worked like a charm... other than the enormous amount of time it takes to upload the parameter tables. I don't know exactly how long - I started "read all sheets", fiddled with things on the layout for about a half-hour and it wasn't done, so decided to go to lunch and run errands. I returned about four hours later and it was done. So somewhere between 30 minutes and four hours.

Once the function table was loaded it was a breeze to configure lights to run as expected. I promised Jason I would document the process, so I will revisit DecoderPro tomorrow and get that taken care of.

Thanks, John!

[reinhardtjh]

Yeah, a Read All Sheets of a LokSound decoder will take between 30-45 minutes depending on which brand command station or programmer you are using.  I think the Digitrax is slightly slower than NCE but I could have that backwards.  It's got to do with which mode the command station uses.  If you don't need all the CV values, such as if you just want to program the function outputs, then you cut the time a bit by just reading certain JMRI panes.  But not much in this case as the function output CVs make up a good portion of the 600-1000 CVs read.