MOD 10277 Train signals

[JopieK]

Apparently the Swiss have a complex signaling system for their train lights called the "Schweizer Lichtwechsel". I hope I have analyzed it well enough from the € 3500 Märklin set (see this video).

I added a light to the front and the tail in the middle. The original engine has has at least two lights at left / right. At least the left light has two colors (white / red). The right might have that as well but it is not needed for typical functioning of the Swiss system I guess, so for now I left out the red LED. Another improvement might be to add warm wide LEDs instead of those really white LEDs.

I already soldered the second pcb for the other side of the train. Next challenge will be to get the perfect main microcontroller and a way to power everything, maybe I'll tap it from the second port of the PU box or something.

For the tech folks:

I created a custom tiny pcb (circuit board) with a tiny1616 8-bit microcontroller (more than powerful enough for light control). I use it also for track side signals. The main microcontroller can send commands over i2c (some data interface) to the light controller, for testing I used an UNO but for the final version I will use probably something like a SAMD21 (32-bit Cortex 0 Microcontroller) and connect it over either WiFi or BLE.

N.b. I don't show all the possible combinations but I for now programmed these commands:

#define allOff            0x00
#define topRed         0x01
#define topWhite      0x02
#define threeWhites 0x03
#define leftRed         0x04
#define leftWhite      0x05
#define rightWhite    0x06

Switching off lights uses the 0x00 command and then right after one could send e.g. a left white lamp.

[Merlict]

That is really clever. Do you have a shortlist of what the different light signals mean?

[JopieK]

It seems to be difficult to find it exactly but here is at least part of it (from moba-hgh.de):

• Top: normal train operation (engine only).
• Second: both looks have an engineer (I think the second lok should have 3 white front lights as well).
• Third: front engineer only and controls both engines, loc behind pushes.
• Fourth: engine at the back is linked to engine at front.
• Fifth: loc behind pushes, both locs are not linked together and both have their own engineer.

This is for a train that is in 'pendel' operations (across a line back and forth).

• Above engine is at front.
• Below engine pushes at the back.

There is a cabine / driver stand at the other end in which the driver can control the locomotive.

Other combinations, this is for a train entirely built of locomotives.

The person from moba-hgh also added his/her interpretation for a single locomotive, three whites at the frond and behind a single red light.

For shunting operations:

• Top is in a shunt yard.
• Bottom is on a main line.

And then emergency signals:

So I guess I need to solder that red LED anyways to the other bottom position too :)

Even though when international trains are used that can't show the upper red, they still can show both reds at the bottom.

For the Be 6/8 lenses are used for red as you can see here:

 

I added a red light also to the right side and built the PCB into the front:

I also added all the source code and Eagle PCB schematics and board I created to GitHub.

Edited July 21, 2020 by JopieK
Updates

[zephyr1934]

That's some crazy detail and equally crazy that you can fit it all on a tiny chip. Nothing like a Vic20.

Great work