Hi,
I have a combined railway and roadway layout. Currently configured using 1 x RM-C, 1 x UCCI, (with 2 x SWDEC controlling 16 x reed switches), 7 x TM44s and 3 x OC32s. The first two OC32s provide switching of turnouts on the railway, the third OC32 is (being) configured to provide 4 x servos through an SP04R for the road layout. iTrain is used for the combined operational control of both road and rail circuits.
I am having problems trying to configure the 4 servos in my MCC road system. The third OC32 is identified as Module 3 (Starting at 1).
Having configured pins 1 to 4 as servo devices and (with “Dinamo TunneIing activated), written each of these to the module, I get no response from any of the servos either when testing through OC32 config. or attempting to switch the servos using iTrain. I have now tried two different OC32 modules and two different SP04R boards.
I have a number of areas of confusion. The SP04 manual suggests that power and ground should be supplied from the OC32, whereas the OC32NG manual appears to suggest that a separate power supply but with ground linked to the OC32 being used for the signal wires, should be used.
I have tried both methods without success.
I tried scouring the dinamouser forums for possible help and found one post suggesting that the SP04 unit contained a yellow light indicating that power was supplied. I have not seen such a light however I have measured a voltage above 5V on the power pins. (Is there a light on the SP04R)?
I have placed 220Ω resistor arrays on all four sink driver receptacles of the OC32 and as this module is in the middle area of the network I have removed the terminator clips. All OC32s have the same firmware (version 3.20). In OC32 config (also release 3.20), I have ensured that none of the boxes are ticked in the Hardware Config area (i.e. configured as Resistor Array).
I have tested all the servos remotely, using direct power from a 6V battery and a servo tester. These work as expected.
Whilst I am confident that the white cable to the servo is the signal wire and this is the one closest to the green screw terminal block on the SP04R, I have tried reversing the connector with no success.
I have successfully tested continuity of wiring from the power supply (both external and through the Vp and GND ports of the OC32) through to the connector on the SP04R. Similarly I have successfully tested for continuity from pins 1 – 4 of the OC32 through to the SP04R.
I am assuming I have overlooked something (probably quite basic) in the programming of the OC32. I have experienced problems in the past with addressing, but on this occasion whilst I have selected DIP switch settings for the OC32 to give me Dinamo module #2 (i.e. the third OC32 module) I have ticked the “Start numbering at 1” box in OC32 Config so as to match iTrain. So, when selecting pins 1 – 4 with the servo device definition, OC32 Device configuration (for Module 3) provides me with address 3.1 – 3.4. These are the addresses I have used in iTrain. Is this correct?
Any help will be gratefully received.
Many thanks
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Have you configured the servo output as servo (OC32 Device Configuration tab). And pressed Set Config after that?
Have you set the Range for the servo?
Kind regards Leon
Hi Leon,
Sincere thanks for your response. I am currently using OC32 Config Release 3.20. I have Generic 2015/06/10 definitions loaded, and from this I selected "(1) Srv. Servo Turnout" and then pressed Load Device. I then pressed Write Device and waited for the "Working - Please Wait" message to disappear. At this point I tried the Test button on both Aspect 0 - Straight (no response), then Aspect 1 - Thrown (again no response). Following this I tried playing around with the Range options. I changed the Range from "Off" to "L", pressed "Set Pin Config" then pressed "Write Device" and waited for the message to clear, then pressed the Test button again trying both aspects. I tried moving the slider but still saw or heard no activity on the servo.
Having exhausted the options available to me ("S", "M", "L" and "XL") I decided to check if the pin I had selected, (pin 4), was active. To do this I looked in the manual and noticed that an LED used a resistor array and a single I/O pin, so I rigged up an LED and plugged it (randomly) into pin number 24. I then configured pin 24 as an On/Off device and tested it. It worked perfectly! I then re positioned the LED onto pin 4 (the position of one of the servo devices I have been trying to configure), re-named this pin as an On/Off device and tested it on this pin and was again rewarded with success. (I even went one further by adding this as a light on my iTrain layout and it worked perfectly, proving that 3.4 is the correct address in iTrain for this pin).
I am at something of a loss to know what to do now. The OC32 is obviously working and I have tested the servos remotely (including through the SP04R).
I have not changed any settings on the General Tab, so Baud Rate is set at 9600, 7 bits, no parity, 1 stop, and all the Hardware config options are empty as required for the resistor arrays.
Going forward, one change I would like to consider, but I am worried about the possible consequences is to take the power for the servos from the Vp1 socket to the SP04R,rather than using an external supply.
I also wonder if there is an alternative device setting I could try. Perhaps one of the other servo options designed for use with a relay?
I apologise for taking up your time and hope I have not given you a headache!
Kindest regards
Andrew
Andrew,
Post a zipped version of your OC32.dat file here so we can see if anything is wrong there.
To be sure that what you post is actually in your OC32:
- Load your saved OC32.dat file in OC32config
- Verify by OC32Config that this is the real, actual OC32 configuration
Kind regards, Leon
Hi Leon,
Thank you once again for your help. I have attached a zip file as requested. This file is the one that only contains four servos on pins 1 to 4 (0-3). The LED I was playing with yesterday was never saved to this OC32 data file, so should not appear.
Kind regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I don't see anything wrong in your configuration.
It should not be the problem, but you could untick the "suspended" box in Pin Settings. FYI: If this is set, the servo waits for the first instruction before it becomes active. If clear it will be active as soon as the OC32 starts.
It should not be the problem either, but to be sure, put your RM-C in "transparent mode" (can be done by OC32Config) and control the OC32 without using tunneling.
Just to be sure, load you config file in OC32Config and perform "write all".
Assuming all this won't help, the problem must be hardware/wiring. You must be overlooking something, but I cannot see what. If possible, ask someone to have a look with you, or better, have him/her do the servo installation/configuration from scratch.
You asked about power: You cannot take 5V from the OC32 to feed the SP04. You must use a power supply of at least 7.5V DC to power the SP04. This may be the power supply you use to power the OC32 or another one. If it's another power supply, the minus pole of that power supply must be connected to the minus of the OC32 or minus of the OC32 power supply.
In any case, the power for the SP04 should be fed-in somewhere near the OC32 driving the SP04. The reason is that the power and ground wires should follow the same physical trace as the signal wires between OC32 to SP04 to avoid electromagnetic interference on the wires.
King regards, Leon
Hi Leon,
You will be pleased to hear that with help from my brother I have managed to resolve the problem and all four servos are now working. I have been able to configure them through the "Range" and "Slider" elements in OC32 Device Config, so all servos move within the desired arc at a suitable speed. I have also confirmed that the link to iTrain works perfectly.
Our solution, which may not be elegant, but works, was to bypass the SP04R on the signal line. We separated the signal lines from the three pin plugs used to connect the servos to the SP04R. We plugged in the remaining two power lines from the SP04R to the servos as normal, but joined the signal lines direct from the servos through to the I/O pins of the OC32.
Once again, thankyou for all your help.
Kind regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Glad for you it works.
However, in 15 years and thousends SP04's I know nobody that has ever run into this problem and has solved it this way.
Kind regards, Leon
Hi Leon,
Please don’t think I been critical of the SP04R. I am convinced that the problem I experienced was probably a consequence of the layout and configuration I have been creating over a number of years.
I am firmly of the opinion that Dinamo is by far the best product on the market for the purpose it is designed for. I first started using Dinamo products around about 2016 when I decided to upgrade my (then 20 year old) analogue railway layout to digital. I was sold on the idea that I could still use my existing analogue locomotive stock and upgrade them to digital as and when I could afford to. Ten years later I am still running all my original locomotives in various analogue and digital configurations side by side. I have also added the MCC road system for further enhancement. The sheer power of the OC32 to handle such a vast array of accessories is phenomenal and as I develop the scenery of my layout I shall keep on making full use of the capabilities of the OC32 to add further light, sound and movement wherever I can.
Sincere thanks for your all help and encouragement.
Kind Regards
Andrew