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USER GUIDE - A-Train Systems

1. Rel 2 2 60 March 2000 Addition of Direction Select and Headlight switches requires you to add two wires from each Paddle connecting the switches to pins 1 through 4 of Joystick Port 2 In practice this requires replacement of the Paddle cables and connector since the standard Atari connector does not have all pins fitted The complete circuit diagrams of the original and fully modified Paddles are given below FL OFF s oo 1 Function FL ON FWD DIR oo O 2 Direction REV o O 3 Fire1 o 6 Emergency Stop TRIGGER STOP B coc 9 Position 1 um 9 Speed 0O 7 5V LJ o 7 5V 1M Lin 1M Lin 1M5 8M2 8 OV Ground 8 OV Ground FL OFF 4 3 Function FL ON FWD DR oes O 4 Direction REV E O 4 Fire2 NE O 6 Emergency Stop TRIGGER STOP 5 Position 2 TAA 5 Speed L PVO 7 5V Lj 1 4 7 5V 1M Lin 1M Lin 1M5 8M2 8 OV Ground O 8 OV Ground Original Paddles Enhanced Paddles Rather than carry out such extensive modifications to standard Atari Paddles you may like to consider building your own version of the controllers in a suitable small handheld box Constructional details are somewhat outside the scope of this User Guide but a suggested layout is also shown below C CONTROLLER 1 1297 86 Joystick Port 2 CONTROLLER2 3 4 57 8 e Pin Connections Rel 2
2. A TRACK Network Driver Joystick Extender Cable DCC IN Power Star Connection sooo 610000 9 Joystick Port 2 Looking into Port Example of A TRACK Handheld Controller Network Connections The wired network can have any structure that suits your layout a linear daisy chain a main trunk with branches or a star connection but you should avoid having any loops and Rel 2 2 62 March 2000 no RJ45 socket should be further than about 15 metres 50 feet from the Atari XL XE Low cost 8 core cable can be used as supplied for domestic alarm or telephone systems there is no need to employ the more expensive Category 5 cable designed for high speed computer networks Each A TRACK HHC is fitted with a 2 metre 6 feet cable terminating in a standard RJ45 jack which can be plugged into one of the network sockets Each locomotive that you want to operate in the particular layout scenario is assigned to a specific HHC from the Control Screen as described in Section 6 2 and the individual HHC Speed Control Mode is set to either Directional or Centre Zero select D or C Each of the eight HHCs which can be connected to an A TRACK system has a unique identity which is shown by the coloured sleeve attached to its RJ45 connector and by a similarly coloured stud on the HHC body placed just below the STOP pushbutton see the diagram below The identifying colours are also indicated on the Control Screen next to the H1 H8 c
3. Deletes the currently selected Item Directly equivalent to pressing the DELETE key SHIFT BACKSPACE Inserts one or more Items at the current Item List Cursor position Directly equivalent to pressing the INSERT key SHIFT gt 8 4 COMMAND MENU Item Mode Takes you to the Control Screen from which you may issue commands to whichever Item is currently selected Equivalent to highlighting the left field of the Item and pressing RETURN or clicking on the Item left field Displays a prompt on the Staus Row from which you can select the desired Operational Mode directly by typing C P or V If you select either Program or Verify Mode then you will also be asked to select the required Configuration Variable Access Mode A R P D Broadcast Sub Menu Clear Reset Idle Stop Rel 2 2 Outputs 24 Decoder Reset command packets followed by 16 Idle command packets in place of any current Item command packets Equivalent to answering Y tothe Clear State of All Decoders prompt after loading an Item List This is the standard DCC initialisation sequence before commencing layout control operations After packet output you are asked whether you wish to restore the prior Item command packets consider carefully the likely consequences of full command restoration before answering Y Acts like Clear above but only outputs Reset command packets Acts like Clear above but only outputs Idle command packets Outputs Broadcast
4. Ad Item Address as programmed into the Item Decoder Addresses are shown as 3 or 4 decimal digits Loco Primary Address 001 111 Consist Address 001 111 Accessory Address 001 511 Loco Extended Address 0001 9999 Description Text String describing the Item 22 characters maximum Looking at the List Area you will see that the first 12 characters of the first top Item are shown in inverse This marks the position of the List Cursor The cursor can be moved to select an Item for control or for altering its parameters by using the Left Right Up and Down Arrow keys gt 4 V Unlike conventional Atari usage these operate without having to hold down the CONTROL key at the same time since A TRACK uses the Arrow functions much more frequently than the symbols and If you do want to enter any of these symbols into a text string then you can do so by holding down the CONTROL key and pressing the symbol key The other symbols on the Arrow keys N can be entered as normal with the SHIFT key Pressing the Right Arrow key will move the List Cursor right highlighting the other 28 characters of the Item row The cursor can then be returned to the left Item field with the Left Arrow key The cursor is moved up or down one row at a time with the Up or Down Arrow keys Pressing the TAB key will move the cursor to the last bottom row of the List Area while pressing SHIFT TAB ie pressing TAB while SHIFT is held d
5. as described in Section 6 3 If you select Directional Mode then speed control will only work in the Forward direction with standard Paddles there is no way to reverse the direction of the Loco or Consist It is possible to modify the Paddles and add a Direction Select switch as already provided on the A TRACK Handheld Controllers in order to provide proper directional control Details of this and other modifications are described in Section 11 1 The next set of prompts relates to screen area colour selection The colours are presented for ease of programming by the author rather than to make life easy for you the user as a set of hexadecimal values which you can edit to suit yourself See Sections 5 4 and 7 2 for more details on editing numeric strings on the Status Row Standard Atari colour values are used as given in the list below but the colour descriptions given can be a little confusing since the perceived colour hue depends very much on the associated intensity brightness setting Colour 0 for example called Black is actually bright White at the maximum intensity level of E 14 and this change applies to most of the other colours such as the Blues colours 6 to 9 which tend towards white at high intensity Black 0 Medium Blue 8 Rust 1 Dark Blue 9 Red Orange 2 Blue Grey A Dark Orange 3 Olive Green B Red 4 Medium Green C Dark Lavender 5 Dark Green D Cobalt Blue 6 Orange Green E Ultramarine 7 Orange F Rel 2 2 51
6. copying the contents of the Buffer into the Item List Otherwise if the Buffer is empty or you decline the copy option a single Blank Item is inserted at the List Cursor position The Item which was highlighted by the List Cursor and the Items which follow it move down one row to accommodate the new Blank Item This process can be repeated as often as required until the Item List contains the maximum allowed number 64 of Items See the later Section 7 7 for details of how to turn a Blank Item into one which is properly defined and ready for use on your layout The final Item List editing key is CLEAR SHIFT lt which removes the Item List from memory Note carefully that NO recovery is possible from the Clear operation the Items are NOT moved to the Delete Buffer If the Item List has been changed in any way since it was loaded you will be given the option of saving it to disk Pressing N at this point will erase the Item List immediately whereas pressing Y will result in the current Item List s filename appearing on the Status Row The filename can be edited as explained in the next section to allow you to save the altered List to a different disk file or you may simply press RETURN or the LMB to overwrite the existing file The Item List is then cleared from the computer s memory Pressing ESC or the RMB at any point in the Clear sequence causes the operation to be abandoned and leaves the Item List as it was When the Item List is cle
7. for a Loco or Consist gives you an immediate view of the Item s current speed The speed and direction is also shown as an approximate percentage value prefixed by F orward S top or R everse to the right of the Speed Bar Note that on this initial entry to the Control Screen two boxes are checked None and P014 showing that commands cannot yet be sent to the Item but that speed commands when enabled will be generated with 14 Step Precision ie you may set any of 14 defined speeds between slowest and maximum The Control Cursor is set on Stop with the Speed Cursor the double diamond shape set at the zero speed position on the Speed Bar The P symbol in the bottom right hand corner of the List Area shows that the Item parameters have been edited but not yet sent out to program the Item s Decoder This has no effect on the operation of A TRACK but it is there to remind you that the parameters stored in A TRACK s record of the Item may not match the parameters actually in the Item Decoder at present Commands sent to the Item might therefore be ignored or misinterpreted Setting of Item parameters and programming of Item Decoders is dealt with fully in Section 7 of this User Guide 6 2 ITEM ASSIGNMENT amp CURSOR CONTROL The left hand column headed Assignment allows you to set who is going to have control over the selected Item Setting None as the assigned command source not only prevents commands being sent to the I
8. 2 61 March 2000 11 2 A TRACK HANDHELDS A TRACK supports the use of its own variety of handheld controller HHC which allows you to control all Decoder functions up to a maximum of six for the selected Loco as well as Speed and Direction As many as eight HHCs can be connected to A TRACK at the same time through a wired network of 8 pin RJ45 sockets The network is connected to Joystick Port 2 via a Network Driver unit Power for the Network Driver is supplied from the DCC OUT socket on the left hand side of the DIU looking at its front panel Cables to connect the Network Driver to the DIU and to Joystick Port 2 are supplied with the unit Both cables are simple straight through connections using 5 pin DIN Type B and 9 pin D Type connectors respectively The RJ45 sockets of the A TRACK HHC network are placed around your layout wherever an operator would take up position to operate a train or a yard shunter switcher for example The RJ45 sockets are all linked together pin for pin using 8 core cable and then into the Network Driver as shown in the diagram below A length of cable terminated with an RJ45 plug is supplied with the Network Driver to let you connect it to your network RJ45 Sockets placed around Track Layout seen looking into socket All RJ45 Sockets wired 1 1 2 2 etc Daisy Chain Connection p 8 Core Cable RJ45 Plug DCC OUT Top View to PBUs Branch Connection
9. Program Verify Screen you will see that the Menu Area is the only area of the screen which remains the same as on the List Screen The Item Number is still displayed towards the right end of the Title Row and note there also that the program status indicators now show P for Program Mode The rest of the Title Row now shows that the List Area contains entries for each of 96 definable Decoder Configuration Variables in the format CV Number Current Value In the List Area below the Configuration Variable values are the Item Type and enclosed between and gt symbols the Item Description As on the Control Screen the P symbol in the bottom right hand corner of the List Area shows that the Item parameters have been entered or edited but not yet sent out to program the Item s Decoder The Program Verify Cursor is located over Configuration Variable 01 and the Status Row displays the description relating to that CV which is the Decoder Primary Address Note carefully that although the CV Numbers are shown as decimal numbers 01 to 96 their assigned values are displayed in hexadecimal This is not done to confuse you but rather to allow each value which can range from 0 to 255 decimal to be displayed as two characters on the screen 00 to FF In this example the highlighted CV01 has the value 42 equivalent to 66 decimal For certain of the CVs where individual bits of the 8 bit value are used to control Decoder functions it is
10. Text Case indicators at the right hand end of the Title Row o and 4 that the program is currently set to Overwrite and Upper Case the normal Atari screen editor defaults Hence pressing any letter or number key at this point will replace the D character with the upper case version of the selected key Try it and note that the Text Cursor moves to the right As you type further characters you will see that they replace the existing characters until you get to the end of the string at which point you will start adding new characters and the string gets longer The absolute maximum string length is 34 characters after which any further character input is ignored Depending on where you are in the A TRACK program the permissible maximum string length may be set to less than 34 as for example when entering or editing decoder address values where only 3 4 or 5 characters can be accepted Entered characters can be removed with the BACKSPACE key Used at the end of the string BACKSPACE deletes the last character and reduces the overall string length However if you first move to a position in the body of the string using the Left or Right Arrow keys a press of BACKSPACE still deletes the character to the left of the Text Cursor and moves the Cursor left but it now leaves a Space blank character at the former Cursor position and the string length stays the same Alternatively you can use DELETE SHIFT BACKSPACE to remove the character unde
11. You can always return to the default settings via the Configuration Menu or by restoring a copy of the original ATRACK CFG from the Master Disk Rel 2 2 53 March 2000 10 TRACK OPERATIONS 10 1 CONNECTIONS Having persevered to reach this stage you should have a good idea of A TRACK s capabilities and the way in which its functions operate On the other hand if like a lot of people you have skipped directly to this section then carry on by all means but be prepared to go back and read up on the essential operating details you will have missed The next stage is to connect the DIU to the railroad track and to some decoder equipped locomotives For convenience details of the DIU hardware connections and the method of linking them to the Atari XL XE and the track as described in Section 3 2 are repeated here The DIU has three pairs of terminals fitted to its rear panel Blue 15 Volts AC Transformer Input Yellow Output to Programming Track 250mA Max Current Green Output to Main Track 4 Amps Max Current and a pair of monitoring points Red 14 Volts DC Out Black Power Ground 0V The DIU is supplied with two connecting leads a 7 pin DIN to 7 pin DIN straight through power lead and a 50 way ribbon cable PCB edge connector to IDC header The latter is designed to be connected to the Atari 800XL Parallel Bus Interface PBI port An alternative 50 way cable or an adaptor is necessary to allow connection to the En
12. also a little easier at least for those of us who are familiar with hexadecimal binary conversions to see which bits are set or not from the hexadecimal representation However do not worry you do not have to understand hexadecimal or binary notation in order to use A TRACK since as we will see shortly you can view and enter all data as normal decimal values 7 2 EDITING CONFIGURATION VARIABLES Selection of a particular CV is done either by using the Arrow keys or the mouse as on the List and Control Screens To illustrate this press the Down Arrow key several times and note that as the Program Verify Cursor moves down the message on the Status Row is updated to show the description of the currently highlighted CV Where a particular CV does not have a function assigned by the NMRA such as CV14 the description is shown as NMRA Undefined These CV values are often used by the manufacturers of Decoders to hold parameters relating to unique functions built into a specific Decoder type You will need to refer to the specifications of your own Decoders to identify the functions of all CVs other than the standard assignments You should also be aware that in some types of Decoder the usage of CVs from 33 upwards can differ from the NMRA definitions again check the Decoder specifications carefully When moved by the Arrow keys the Program Verify Cursor wraps around so that for example when you move to the bottom of a column of CV valu
13. command will be indicated by the sounding of the train horn alarm Assigning an Item to Base gives you control over that Item from the computer console via either keyboard or mouse and allows you to send both speed and function commands to the Item There is no restriction on how many Items can have a Base assignment other than the practicalities of you the console operator keeping track of several Items at once and switching to the Control Screen of each individual Item as necessary The next block of eight check boxes in the left hand column allows you to assign this Item to one of up to eight Handheld Controllers providing the use of Handheld Controllers is enabled in the A TRACK Configuration see Section 9 Setting up Atari Paddles as the Controller Type would allow the use of H1 and H2 as valid Handheld Controller assignments whereas selecting A TRACK Handhelds would permit usage of the full range H1 to H8 The two letter abbreviations in the Handheld check box captions indicate the colour coding used to identify a specific A TRACK Handheld Controller H1 Red H2 Yellow H3 Green H4 Blue H5 Violet H6 Grey H7 White H8 Black Only a single Item can be assigned to a Handheld Controller at any one time When you assign an Item to a Handheld a query will appear on the Status Row asking you to specify whether speed control with this Handheld is to be either Centre Zero or Directional Select the default mode of Centre Zero by p
14. derived from the Atari XL XE in order to prevent any damage to the DIU or Atari XL XE circuitry from inductive voltage spikes generated by locomotives or other items connected to the track The metal case of the DIU or PBU is connected electrically to the ground GND or OV of the Atari XL XE The Power Ground Black monitoring terminal on the rear panel MUST NOT under any circumstances be connected to the DIU case or to any ground GND or OV connections of the Atari XL XE or any of its peripherals 2 Since as explained in the Introduction DCC functions by alternating the polarity of the track output terminals there MUST NOT be ANY connections made between the Power Ground or 14V DC monitoring terminals and any of the Main or Programming Track terminals or to any part of the track itself Failure to observe this restriction will lead to the destruction of the DIU or PBU power output electronics At this point you can check that output power is available by moving the Power Switch to the ON position when the Yellow POWER LED should light the Green ACTIVE LED should flash briefly then go out and the Red OVERLOAD LED should remain dark If you have a voltmeter available you can also observe whether the voltage regulator is functioning correctly by checking that the voltage between the Red and Black monitor points is within the range 14 2 to 14 8 volts Return the DIU Power Switch to the OFF position then connect the Green DIU output te
15. displayed on it at high brightness for a long time You can exit from attract mode at any time by pressing a key or by moving the Mouse Cursor vertically You should take care over which key you press because it will be acted upon by the program The safest key is probably one of the Arrow Keys since they have no immediate direct effect on any program functions Rel 2 2 25 March 2000 6 CONTROL SCREEN 6 1 OPERATION SETUP Before continuing with this exploration of A TRACK operation you may find it helpful to restore the displayed Item List to ATRKDEMO ITL most easily done by rebooting the computer so that the examples given will match what is on the screen With the List Cursor positioned over the left field of any Item pressing the RETURN key or clicking on the highlighted left field of the Item will take you to the Control Screen From here you can issue commands to control the selected Item Pressing ESC or clicking the RMB takes you back to the List Screen with the Item List displayed Select Item 003 Loco LMS 0 6 0T Jinty and go to the Control Screen The Menu and Status Areas of the screen remain the same as on the List Screen as does the display of the Item Number and the program status indicators on the Title Row but the rest of the Title Row now shows headings for the three columns of check boxes and their descriptive captions which occupy most of the List Area Below the check box columns is the Speed Bar which
16. if you are making changes then it is a good policy to change only one thing at a time and observe the effects before altering anything else Rel 2 2 40 March 2000 Also when connecting up a Decoder for the first time it is always a good idea to read the CV values programmed into it by the manufacturer BEFORE making any changes of your own then you can at least get back to a known state Reading the current content of a CV is done by performing a Verify operation on the Decoder 7 5 VERIFYING DECODER CONFIGURATION VALUES If you have followed the example based on Item 003 Loco LMS 0 6 0T Jinty through to this point you should be looking at the List Screen with the right field of Item 003 highlighted If the program status indicators at the right hand end of the Title Row show that you are still in Program Mode P then you should first return to Control Mode by checking that the Mode Select switch is in the OPERATE position highlighting the Item left field and going to the Control Screen Then press ESC or the RMD to return to the List Screen in Control Mode C and highlight the Item right field Pressing RETURN or clicking on the highlighted right Item field will now take you through the Program Verify prompts This time select Verify Mode and Paged Access V then P or RETURN to get to the Program Verify Screen The status indicators on the Title Row should now show Verify Mode V and CV01 should be highlighted by the Curs
17. it has no other effect on the operation of A TRACK at all You can expand on this simple start up batch file if you wish to add a ramdisk for example but do not add any utility which takes MEMLO above 1F00 Do NOT use the time date display utility TDLINE COM since its use of interrupts etc will clash with A TRACK On first loading A TRACK is configured to prompt you to load a demonstration Item List ATRKDEMO ITL so that this file should also be copied to the Working disk 3 2 HARDWARE CONNECTION The DCC Interface Unit DIU has the minimum of controls two switches located on its front panel Power On Off to the left and Operate Program Mode Select to the right plus three LEDs to indicate its current status Power On DCC Packets Active and Output Current Overload Connections to the DIU are made via the 50 way Parallel Bus Connector on its front panel the 7 pin and 5 pin DIN Sockets on right and left hand side panels and a set of terminal posts mounted on the rear panel The DIU rear panel has three pairs of terminals Blue 15 Volts AC Transformer Input Yellow Output to Programming Track 250mA Max Current Green Output to Main Track 4 Amps Max Current and two monitoring points Red 14 Volts DC Track Power Black Track Power Ground 0V The DIU is supplied with two connecting leads a 7 pin DIN to 7 pin DIN straight through power lead and a 50 way ribbon cable PCB edge connector to IDC header The la
18. modes only allow you to have access to a very limited subset of the Configuration Variables and are only provided really for compatibility with older Decoders Study of your particular Decoder s specification should help you decide in practice which option to select although the recommendation is to try Paged Access first and only revert to Register Access if that does not appear to work Since Address Only Access only lets you change the Item s Primary Address it is not a lot of use in setting up the operational parameters of your locomotives For now just press P or RETURN to get you finally to the Program Verify Screen If you do not have the DIU connected or have it powered Off or you have the DIU connected and powered On but have left the Mode Select switch at OPERATE an error will result at this point with the display of Error 206 on the Status Row Pressing ESC to clear the error display will then produce the prompt Ignore Further DIU Status Errors As explained in Section 4 3 choosing to ignore errors is allowable for demonstration purposes but will lead to loss of control when you are connected to a real track and locomotives Hence choose Y if the DIU is non operational or set the DIU into the correct operating mode press N and continue Either option will take you back to the Rel 2 2 35 March 2000 beginning of the sequence of prompts to set up Program Verify operations as described above When you get to the
19. of Y or N takes you back to where you were on the Program Verify Screen If no CVs were marked but some change was made to the Type or Description Fields the programming prompt is bypassed and you are immediately prompted to update the Item record with the entered changes The Item parameters are amended if you press Y or left as they were if you press N This query cannot be ignored by pressing ESC RETURN or either of the mouse buttons Whichever response you make leads to a final prompt to check that the Mode Select switch has been returned to the OPERATE position Answering N and leaving the switch at PROGRAM will take you back to the List Screen in Program Mode whereas flipping the switch and answering Y will again take you to the List Screen but this time in Control Mode Note that the Item display reflects any changes you may have made to the selected Item Your choice of action at the prompts will of course depend on what you intend to do next staying in Program Mode lets you proceed directly to update the CVs of another Item for example using the same Access Mode Making an inappropriate response will generate an error message on the Status Row but will not cause any harm to the program the Item List or the computer Going back a stage and assuming that you did change the values of some CVs had them marked with and answered Y to the program prompt A TRACK will attempt to program the Decoder If at this stage you are st
20. on the back of the disk drive each drive will require its own AC Adapter Similarly plug the 7 pin DIN connector of the Computer AC Power Adapter into the POWER IN DC socket next to the ON OFF switch on the rear panel Then plug both AC Power Adapters into suitable wall sockets Plug your TV or monitor into another AC wall socket and switch it on 6 Turn on the disk drive s Both the POWER light next to the ON OFF switch and the BUSY light above the switch will go on When the BUSY light goes off you are ready to insert a disk Your disk drive is now ready to receive the A TRACK Master Disk Itis recommended that you read the next section carefully before proceeding Taking Care of Your Disks Atari disk drives use 5 25 double sided double density DSDD disks which have a nominal capacity of 360 Kbytes However the Atari disk drives only record on one side of the disk at a time and use single density recording so that they store only 90 Kbytes per side in 720 sectors each of 128 bytes The 1050 disk drive can also store at enhanced density which manages 128 Kbytes on each side The surface of a disk is coated with a sensitive magnetic material that stores your data To ensure the long life and reliability of your disks you must handle them properly and with care Each disk is permanently enclosed in a black protective envelope and is normally stored in a paper sleeve Most disks have a small write protect notch on one edg
21. only CV513 to CV521 plus CV541 have defined functions To simplify the display format these are shown by A TRACK as CV01 to CV09 plus CV29 add 512 to get the real CV number Similarly to Locomotive Decoders any of the first 96 Accessory Decoder CVs CV513 to CV608 can be programmed or verified although the response you obtain will depend on the specification of the particular Accessory Decoder being used Again A TRACK displays the two User Identity values CV105 and CV106 CV617 and CV618 as CV15 and CV16 on the Program Verify Screen As an example select Item 007 Turnouts HomeYard 9 12 from the Item List and go to the Program Verify Screen If you move the Program Verify Cursor down the first column of CV Number Values you will see that only CV01 to CV09 have functions defined by the NMRA DCC RP 9 2 2 The only other active CV is CV29 which has the fixed value of 80 128 to signify that this is an Accessory Decoder Although you can set the values held in all CVs from 01 to 09 and any others which might be allocated by the manufacturer of your particular Accessory Decoder you cannot edit CV29 as you will find if you highlight it and press RETURN or double click on it Rel 2 2 42 March 2000 The 9 bit Decoder address for an Accessory is split between CV01 and CV09 with the 6 least significant bits being placed in CV01 and the remaining 3 bits in CV09 Selecting either of these CVs for edit on the Status Row will present you wi
22. return you to the Program Verify Screen As with programming if there is no Decoder connected to the DIU A TRACK will not receive any acknowledgement of the verification commands which it outputs Acknowledgement is only generated by a Decoder if the value presented with the verification command matches the actual value held within the Decoder otherwise it makes no response Hence at this point after failing to verify the value of the first marked CV and changing the separator from to A TRACK will offer you the option of determining the actual CV value within the Decoder Rel 2 2 41 March 2000 If you accept the option by pressing Y then A TRACK will try to match the Decoder CV value by successively sending each of the possible 256 values for the CV in turn to the Decoder and looking for an acknowledgement when the correct value is presented This can take an appreciable time as you will be able to observe If a matching value is found either initially or after successive trials A TRACK changes the separator to and the verified value is shown on the Screen otherwise the separator is set to and the CV value is left unchanged A TRACK then moves on to the next marked CV and the complete process is repeated You can skip the determination sequence by answering N to the prompt and allowing A TRACK to attempt verification of the next marked CV When using Direct or Paged Access you are able to access any of the 96 CVs d
23. setting Pressing ESC or the RMB at any point during the CV29 edit allows you to abandon the complete operation and leave the value of CV29 unchanged For further details regarding the function of CV29 you should refer in the first instance to your Decoder s documentation and then for more general guidance to the NMRA DCC Recommended Practice RP 9 2 2 This Recommended Practice RP 9 2 2 also contains default values for several of the Configuration Variables for Locomotive Decoders These values listed below may already be already programmed into a new Decoder and they are a good starting point for setting up the operating parameters for a new Loco Item Remember that even if you leave all of the other values alone you should reprogram the Primary Address CV01 from the default to some distinct value like the last two digits of the Loco s number before you operate the Loco on your layout This ought to ensure that you do not end up with two Locos with the same address on the same track each responding to commands you are trying to send to the other CV01 Primary Address 003 CV02 V Start 007 CV03 Acceleration Rate 000 CV04 Deceleration Rate 000 CV05 V High 001 CV06 V Mid 001 CV09 Total PWM Period 000 CV25 Cab Speed Step 001 CV31 Configuration Data 2 000 CV32 Configuration Data 3 000 CV66 Forward Trim 128 CV95 Reverse Trim 128 If you delve into RP 9 2 2 you will find that it is possible for Locomotives to have Configuration Variabl
24. string the state of Text Edit Mode is toggled changed to the other state by pressing the INSERT SHIFT gt key Text Case M Upper case letter entry V Lower case letter entry Like Text Edit Mode Text Case is only relevant when editing text strings and has no effect on keystrokes in other parts of the program where the case of a letter key is disregarded The state of Text Case is toggled by pressing the CAPS key when editing text Note that in either state holding down the SHIFT key allows you to enter letters in the opposite case Use of CAPS has no effect on the number punctuation symbol or function keys SHIFT or CONTROL is used with these keys to produce the relevant shifted character or control function without reference to the state of Text Case but see the note in Section 5 1 below regarding the use of the Arrow keys If an appropriate mouse was plugged into Joystick Port 1 on the right hand side of the computer before the Atari XL XE was switched on you will note the appearance of the Mouse Cursor a Mauve arrow towards the bottom left corner of the List Area When A TRACK is performing some function which takes an appreciable time to execute the Mouse Cursor will change to an hourglass shape as an indication that you should wait for the function to be completed Finally on the bottom screen row the Status Area Black text on a Yellow background is used to display messages and prompts to the user and is where you
25. that this does not have a lower level menu and therefore represents an action The action of Quit obviously is to let you exit from A TRACK the only way out in fact apart from switching the computer off and is invoked by pressing RETURN or by clicking on the highlighted Quit with the mouse When you do this a message appears on the Status Row asking you to confirm that you wish to exit from A TRACK preceded if you have changed the Item List in any way by a prompt to save the altered List file to disk as you may have already encountered when using the Clear function in Section 5 3 Note that every time you issue a command to an Item A TRACK updates that Item s record with the changed parameters and thereby changes the Item List hence you will see the prompt even if you have not made changes directly to the Item s Type Description or CV values For now answer N to either or both prompts returning you to the Menu with Quit highlighted Any of the other Top Menu entries can be highlighted again by using the Left Arrow key or by clicking on them You may also use TAB to move to the last rightmost Menu entry or SHIFT TAB to move to the first leftmost Menu entry Select File and then move to the File Menu either by pressing RETURN or clicking once more on File The Menu Area should now show the File Menu on the first screen row Rel 2 2 45 March 2000 with New highlighted and a blank second row indicating
26. the DCC OUT socket on the left hand side of the DIU looking at its front panel and the DCC IN socket on the right hand side of the PBU A further PBU can be added by fitting another 5 way cable connection between its DCC IN socket and the DCC OUT socket of the first PBU The cable lengths between units should not exceed 10 metres 33 feet each The number of PBUs which can be added is ultimately limited by the voltage drop in the 5V DC logic supply from the DIU through all of the extension cables Where a Network Driver unit is connected to the DCC OUT socket of the DIU see Section 11 2 the first PBU connects to the DCC OUT socket of the Network Driver instead of directly to the DIU The only other connections required by each PBU are from its Blue terminals to a 15 VAC transformer and from the Green terminals to the specific section of the track layout it is intended to supply Supply of 5V DC to the PBU logic circuitry is done through the DIU to PBU cable so no direct connection needs to be made to the Atari XL XE power supply Note that output to the track from a connected PBU is disabled when the DIU is switched to Program Mode This prevents Program commands from being sent inadvertently to the main track Where a number of PBUs are chained together from a single DIU any of the PBUs can be switched off without affecting the operation of the others as long as the extension cables remain connected Any fault detected in a connecte
27. the Decoder in the Item in Program Mode or compared to the values already programmed into the Decoder in Verify Mode through the DIU Using Item 003 Loco LMS 0 6 0T Jinty as the example once more select the right field and press RETURN or just double click the right field A message Check DIU Set to Program Mode will appear on the Status Row This is to remind you to set the Mode Select switch on the DIU to the PROGRAM position before proceeding so that the DIU can provide the correct acknowledgement of programming commands Press Y to proceed pressing N ESC or the RMB takes you back to the List Screen A further query then appears asking you to select either Program or Verify Mode For now press P for Program Mode again pressing ESC or the RMB lets you abandon the whole operation and return to the List Screen and proceed to the next query which requests you to select the Configuration Variable Access Mode for the type of Decoder fitted to the Item The options as defined in the NMRA DCC Recommended Practice RP 9 2 3 are Address Only Access A Physical Register Access R Paged CV Access P and Direct Access D Direct Access gives the fastest programming speed but is only supported by the most recent types of Decoder on the market and then not always fully A TRACK therefore defaults to Paged Access since that appears to be the mode supported by the majority of modern Decoders The Physical Register and Address Only
28. to all Items from any place in the A TRACK program by pressing the BREAK key Pressing the BREAK key a second time will disable the DIU output and effectively remove power from the track A TRACK monitors the status of the DIU and after the second press of the BREAK key will sound a two tone alarm if it appears that it has failed to disable the DIU and track power The user is then expected to switch the track power off by hand by moving the DIU Power switch to the Off position At any point in this sequence a press of the ESC key or the RMB will cancel the Emergency Stop All command remove the status error message from the Status Row change the Status Row colour from Red back to Yellow and give you the option of restoring all speed and or function commands which were active when the Emergency Stop All was invoked Restoring these commands needs to be done with due consideration of the consequences such as allowing a Loco to resume maximum speed immediately but offers a quicker option to get the layout back in operation after a minor derailment for example than re entering the command sequence for every Item currently being controlled After completion of an Emergency Stop All command A TRACK will return you to the List Screen If the DIU was switched off during the Emergency Stop sequence then it should be switched back on at this point 5 3 EDITING THE ITEM LIST As mentioned in the Overview the loaded Item List can be edited either to re
29. to operate a Locomotive in the desired manner are loaded or programmed into a Decoder by sending it a sequence of DCC commands However programming commands are not addressed to a specific Decoder but will be accepted by any Decoder which receives them Hence the connection and use of a separate isolated section of track on which to place the single decoder equipped locomotive that you wish to program If programming commands were sent on to the main track then every Locomotive there would receive and act on them not a situation that would be very useful In particular if you managed to program all Loco addresses to the same value it would become impossible to control any Loco individually which would defeat one of the primary purposes of DCC The first step in programming a new Decoder should be to read and record the original parameter values programmed into it by the manufacturer As explained previously this is done by performing a Verify operation from the Program Verify Screen If the new Decoder is already fitted within a locomotive then you will do this by placing the locomotive on the programming track and following the sequences described in Section 7 5 If however the new Decoder has not yet been fitted then the best way of proceeding is to check its operation directly with the DIU before it is connected into the locomotive Looking at your new Decoder you should see that four of the wires emerging from it are coloured Red Bla
30. will enter text and data values to A TRACK when necessary When error messages or alarms are displayed the Status Area colours change to Black text on a Red background Rel 2 2 15 March 2000 4 2 PROMPTS After program load a prompt is displayed on the Status Row offering you the opportunity to load the demonstration Item List ATRKDEMO ITL The file name can be changed as described in Section 5 4 to allow the loading of any other Item List but for now just press the RETURN key to load ATRKDEMO and the banner will be replaced with a display of the first 20 Items from the Item List Do not be alarmed at the temporary disappearance of the colours of the various Screen Areas as the load proceeds This is a quirk of the way in which the Atari XL XE computers handle their input output processes For this first example with no connection from the DIU to the track answer the next three prompts shown on the Status Row by pressing the N key The first prompt to Clear Decoders allows you to broadcast a Soft Reset command to all Items on the track if required setting the speed of locos and consists to zero and switching off all decoder function outputs By pressing N as suggested A TRACK will only output Idle command packets instead of Reset packets The next prompt offers you the opportunity to restore the Speed parameters possessed by Items at the time the Item List was last saved to disk Such a restoration has to be done with care obviou
31. 2 30 March 2000 6 4 FUNCTIONS amp ACCESSORY CONTROL Returning to the Control Screen display the right hand column headed Function allows you to set the states of the Decoder Auxiliary Functions A TRACK provides the facilities to control the full set of Functions defined within the DCC command structure namely FL the headlight Function and Functions 1 to 8 Very few Decoders support all nine Auxiliary Functions so again you will have to check each particular Decoder specification to determine which Functions can be used and controlled A command to a Decoder to set the state of a non implemented Function will just be ignored and will not cause any detrimental effects Functions can be either On or Off The default state is Off and is shown on the Control Screen as an empty check box next to each Function When handling a Loco or a Consist each Function operates independently of the others and is switched On by selecting the appropriate caption with either the keyboard then pressing RETURN or by double clicking on it The adjacent check box is then marked by A TRACK to indicate the state of the Function Switching a Function to Off is done with exactly the same sequence of actions just hit RETURN or the LMB to toggle the state when the required Function is highlighted Functions are controlled through three types of DCC commands Functions F1 to F4 are controlled with a Function Group One command and Functions F5 to F8 with a Funct
32. ACK COM It will ignore any other Configuration File and if it does not find ATRACK CFG it will use the program s in built Default Configuration instead Selection of the fourth Configuration Menu entry Amend allows you to change the current program settings A series of prompts appears on the Status Row beginning with the following two Rel 2 2 50 March 2000 Mouse Selected N Mouse Disabled A Atari ST Mouse C Commodore Amiga Mouse Swap M Buttons Y Mouse Buttons Reversed LMB ESC N Mouse Buttons Normal LMB RETURN Reply to the prompts by typing the appropriate letter key or simply hit RETURN or the LMB to retain the current setting Pressing ESC or the RMB at any time will abandon the amendment of the configuration parameters completely leaving them unaltered Note that if you choose to swap the mouse buttons to make things easier for youself if you are left handed for example then you will have to read RMB for LMB and vice versa throughout this User Guide The third prompt allows you to enable the use of Handheld Controllers and to select their type and mode of speed control operation Handheld Type N Handheld Controllers Disabled P Atari Paddles H A TRACK Handhelds Note that if you connect a pair of standard unmodified Atari Paddles directly to the Atari XL XE Joystick Port 2 you should select Centre Zero Speed Control Mode when you assign them to control a Loco or Consist
33. Buffer appear in the List Area These Items can form the basis of a new Item List and be saved to disk under their own filename Rel 2 2 24 March 2000 Alternatively after clearing the Item List you could load a new Item List This operation is fully described in Section 8 on the Menu but to continue this example press the INVERSE key followed by F and L which will bring the filename you just edited to save the previous changed Item List on to the Status Row You can hit RETURN to reload this Item List or edit the filename to load ATRKDEMO ITL again Once an Item List is displayed on the screen the contents of the Delete Buffer can be inserted into the List at any selected point by positioning the List Cursor there and pressing INSERT SHIFT gt These Delete Insert Save and Load operations can be repeated as often as necessary to generate Item Lists with their content exactly tailored to your specific requirements Experiment until you are happy you have a clear understanding of the process 5 5 SCREEN SAVER ATARI ATTRACT MODE While working through the User Guide with an A TRACK display on the screen you may find that after about 9 minutes without any keyboard or mouse activity 11 minutes on a PAL machine the computer starts to change the screen colours in a random sequence every 8 to 10 seconds This is the standard Atari attract mode intended to safeguard your screen from possible damage due to having a static pattern
34. C compatible power and control signals to the track If the 15VAC supply is not present its absence will prevent some DIU functions from operating correctly and this will be reported at the appropriate time as an error by the A TRACK software see Section 3 3 below IMPORTANT NOTES amp WARNINGS 1 The DCC Output power is totally isolated from the 5 volt logic power derived from the Atari XL XE in order to prevent any damage to the DIU or Atari XL XE circuitry from inductive voltage spikes generated by locomotives or other items connected to the track The metal case of the DIU or PBU is connected electrically to the ground GND or 0V of the Atari XL XE The Power Ground Black monitoring terminal on the rear panel MUST NOT under any circumstances be connected to the DIU case or to any ground GND or OV connections of the Atari XL XE or any of its peripherals 2 Since as explained in the Introduction DCC functions by alternating the polarity of the track output terminals there MUST NOT be ANY connections made between the Power Ground or 14V DC monitoring terminals and any of the Main or Programming Track terminals or to any part of the track itself Failure to observe this restriction will lead to the destruction of the DIU or PBU power output electronics For now until you become completely familiar with the operation of A TRACK do not connect any of the DIU output terminals Yellow or Green to any section of track You sh
35. D indicators the DIU also provides status information to the Atari XL XE for use by the A TRACK software In response to this data A TRACK may display one of a number of DIU specific error codes on the Status Row of the computer screen see Section 4 below These specific error codes comprise 201 Unable to Generate DCC Command 202 Invalid Data Entered 203 DIU Not Enabled 204 DIU PBU Not Active 205 DCC Command Block Not Output 206 DIU Not in Program Mode Rel 2 2 13 March 2000 4 LOADING 4 1 INITIAL SEQUENCE Having connected the DIU to the Atari XL XE as described in the preceding Section set the Mode Select switch to Operate and switch the DIU On Assuming that the external 15 VAC supply is connected the Power LED should light the Active LED will light momentarily and then like the Overload LED should remain dark Before loading the A TRACK program ensure that all plug in cartridges are removed from the Atari XL XE Switch on disk drive D1 insert your Working disk into the drive and switch on the Atari XL XE It is not necesssary to disable the internal BASIC by holding down the OPTION key during switch on since the A TRACK loader will do this automatically Note that the BASIC OFF command in the STARTUP BAT file is only there to tell SpartaDOS that the internal BASIC has been disabled since it cannot apparently figure this out for itself If you are using Atari DOS 2 5 and have renamed ATRACK COM to AUTORUN SYS
36. March 2000 Each intensity brightness setting used to define a screen colour must be an even number ranging from 0 to E hexadecimal 0 to 14 decimal ie there are eight possible intensities of each hue The first two screen colour prompts for the Mouse and Speed Bar Cursors respectively require you to enter two hex digits The first is the colour hue value followed by the intensity value The default values appear as Mouse Curs Clr Value 4C Red Mauve Intensity 12 Speed Curs Clr Value FC Orange Yellow Intensity 12 If you do not wish to change the displayed value then just press RETURN or the LMB to preserve it as it is Otherwise enter your new values deleting or overwriting the old ones Any alterations that you make do not appear as screen colour changes until all the colour choice prompts have been answered which makes it sensible to change just one or two colours or intensities at a time and observe the result before making further adjustments The next series of prompts relate to the Screen Areas and require the entry of three hex digits representing the intensity of the text characters the colour value for the area and the intensity of the background respectively These are displayed in the prompt as the three final digits of the current value The first digit is always zero and should remain so The default values appear as Menu Area TxBk Value 000C Black Text Intensity 00 White Ba
37. S 2 5XL Menu Since you do not need BASIC to handle your disk files or operate the A TRACK program you can prevent it loading by holding down the OPTION key to the right of the keyboard as you switch on the computer press OPTION before turning the Power Switch to ON and keep it held down until text appears on the screen If you do this the DOS Menu will appear immediately loading is complete Boot Errors Loading a program into a computer when you first turn it on is called booting up Ifa problem occurs when booting up your system the prompt BOOT ERROR appears on your screen This can happen for a number of possible reasons The inserted disk does not have DOS on it The disk was inserted incorrectly The disk has been scratched warped or marred In this case use another disk The disk is an enhanced density disk in an Atari 810 Disk Drive 9 9 The following conditions will also cause a boot error but no indication of it will appear on the screen The disk drive was turned on after the computer was turned on The disk drive is not properly connected to the computer console The Power Adapter plug has loosened from its wall socket The Power Adapter plug has loosened from the disk drive POWER IN socket The drive code setting is not correct 9 9 9 9 If you have checked and found none of these problems take the following steps 1 Insert an Atari DOS 2 5 Master Disk or System Disk one with a working co
38. Screen the cursor is moves to the next CV Value When moved by the Arrow keys the cursor also wraps around ie from the bottom of a column back to the top or from the right hand end of a row back to the left end This makes it easier to mark a large number of values or move to any specific value with a lot fewer keystrokes 5 Access to Item Type and Description fields is now disabled in Verify Mode 6 Code to handle the functions of both Enhanced Atari Paddles and A TRACK Handheld Controllers has been added 7 Configuration Amend options have been added to accommodate A TRACK Handheld Controllers 8 Colour coding of A TRACK Handheld Controllers is shown on the Control Screen 9 DIU output is now disabled during Item List File Load and Save 10 Screen cursors are now correctly initialised after loading a new Item List 13 2 RELEASE 2 2 1 Use of A TRACK Handheld Controllers has been improved by allowing the Speed Control Mode Centre Zero or Directional to be set individually for each Handheld Choice of mode is made on the Control Screen instead of during A TRACK Configuration 2 A Network Driver unit has been introduced to obtain reliable operation of A TRACK Handhelds when connected to a cable network Use of either 8 core telephone cable or Category 5 UTP quad unscreened twisted pair cable for the network proved in operation 3 A bug on the Control Screen allowing reassignment of a Loco from one Handheld directly to another H
39. Serial I O Cable 3 You can attach up to four Atari Disk Drives in addition to Atari Printers Program Recorders or other components to your Atari Computer Multiple disk drives and other components are connected to each other in a daisy chain using the Serial I O Cables supplied with each component Connection to a second disk drive is shown above using the two I O CONNECTOR jacks on the back of each disk drive and another Serial I O Cable from the remaining I O CONNECTOR on the first drive to either I O CONNECTOR on the second drive Connect any additional components in the same way Rel 2 2 65 March 2000 4 If your system includes more than one disk drive you must set the drive codes using two small switches on the back of each drive These switches tell the computer which drive you re referring to in your programs and commands To set the switches turn the drives around so that you can see the DRIVE SELECT window on the back of each drive Inside the window is a black switch and behind it a white switch Using a pen or a small screwdriver set the switches in the window to match the patterns shown here for Drive 1 Drive 2 and so forth You must always have one drive set as Drive 1 a faaan Once you have set the drive switches be sure to label each disk drive with its number so that you will not mistake one drive for another when using DOS 5 Plug the smaller end of the Disk Drive AC Power Adapter cord into the hole marked POWER IN
40. Stop command packets bring all Items to a halt at a rate determined by their deceleration parameters As with the other Broadcast actions after packet output you are offered the option of restoring the prior Item command packet sequence 48 March 2000 Emgncy Issues an Emergency Stop All command bringing all Items to an immediate halt Equivalent to pressing the BREAK key see Section 5 2 for further details NOTE It is not clear whether the current actions offered by the Broadcast Menu are particularly useful and they may be revised in future A TRACK Releases Rel 2 2 49 March 2000 9 PROGRAM CONFIGURATION A TRACK provides the facility through the Configuration Sub Menu for you to adjust some of its characteristics to suit your own preferences You can select whether to use a mouse and which type of mouse define whether to use a particular variety of handheld controller and select colours for the various screen areas and cursors Access the Configuration Sub Menu via the keystrokes INVERSE F and C or with the mouse click on the Menu Area on File and then double click on Config This should give you a display on the first screen row of the four Configuration Sub Menu action entries namely Load Save Amend Def lt Leaving Amend aside for the moment highlighting any of the other three and pressing RETURN or pressing any of their initial letters or clicking on the entry with the mouse will
41. a different filename NOTE You cannot copy the files that make up DOS DOS SYS and DUP SYS using either COPY FILE or DUPLICATE FILE Instead use Option H WRITE DOS FILES to copy these files Normally if you wish to put the DOS files on a disk so that you can boot the computer from it you would do this immediately after formatting the disk and before copying any other program or data files to it The easiest way to learn how to copy files is to use the existing files on the A TRACK Working Disk which you should have created as part of the DUPLICATE DISK exercise described previously Which of the two copying options you should use depends on how many disk drives you have and whether you want to copy a file from one disk to another or to replicate it on the same disk From One Disk to Another With One Disk Drive 1 With the DOS Menu on your screen type O for DUPLICATE FILE and press RETURN The prompt NAME OF FILE TO MOVE appears 2 Type the name of one of the A TRACK files say ATRACK COM and press RETURN The prompt INSERT SOURCE DISK TYPE RETURN appears 3 Place the disk containing the file you want to duplicate in the drive and press RETURN The disk drive begins to read the specified file on your source disk Then DOS prompts youto INSERT DESTINATION DISK TYPE RETURN 4 Remove your source disk from the disk drive and insert one of your formatted blank disks then press RETURN DOS writes the file it has read fr
42. achieve the following Load Loads an A TRACK Configuration File from disk and sets the program configuration according to its contents The filename of the most recently loaded Config File appears on the Status Row probably D1 ATRACK CFG and can be edited as required to specify the full filename drive directory if relevant filename of the Config File you wish to load into A TRACK Press RETURN or the LMB to load the Config File or press ESC or the RMB to abandon the operation Save Saves the current Configuration settings to a disk file in the correct Config File format The filename of the most recently loaded Config File appears on the Status Row probably D1 ATRACK CFG and can be edited as required to specify the full filename drive directory if relevant filename under which you wish to save the current Configuration Using the filename extension CFG will help distinguish Configuration Files from other file types but is not mandatory Def lt Sets the current A TRACK Configuration to the program s default values which are Atari Mouse Enabled Normal Mouse Buttons No Handheld Controllers Screen Colours as described in Section 4 Note that you can generate and keep as many Configuration Files as you like perhaps each operator may like to have his or her own but A TRACK expects to find and to load a Configuration File named ATRACK CFG from drive D1 when you boot the computer or load and run ATR
43. an get a bit scrambled With 128 Step Precision set you will see how long it now takes to get to maximum speed forward or reverse although the process can be speeded up by simply holding the RETURN key down and letting the computer s auto repeat function do the work Note that the mouse does not have auto repeat on its buttons The easier way to get to a set speed with any value of Step Precision is to use the multistep Up and Down check boxes U2 U6 D2 D6 These as you can no doubt work out for yourself increment or decrement the Item s speed by the appropriate number of speed steps each time you press RETURN or the LMB Note that A TRACK will not let you go directly from a forward speed to reverse or vice versa in a single operation you have to go via the Stop position In practice due to the inertia of the Locos real or programmed into the Decoders this little trap is not likely to have much visible effect on the Locos movements but it might stop you the operator from doing something you did not quite intend In our example if you reset the Step Precision to 14 Step P0 and experiment a little you can see how this works From Stop U6 will take you directly to maximum speed then D4 will take you back to speed step 6 F48 A further application of D4 would in theory move the Loco into reverse to R24 but it actually brings it to a stop S00 and it takes a further press of RETURN or the LMB to get to reverse s
44. andheld without assigning to None first has been corrected 4 Change of Speed Step Precision can only be done now when the Loco or Consist assignment is None to avoid generation of invalid commands 5 Colour naming of Mauve for A TRACK Handhelds H5 has been changed to Violet in line with standard coding practice Rel 2 2 80 March 2000 14 AFTERWORD A TRACK is still a work in progress Any comments criticisms or suggestions regarding any aspect of the operation functions or useability of the program and the hardware are welcome and will be given careful consideration Terry Chamberlain 9 Coniston Way Macclesfield Cheshire SK11 7XR England Telephone 44 0 162 542 1324 E mail tchamberlain a train freeserve co uk 100116 2152 compuserve com 23 March 2000 Rel 2 2 81 March 2000
45. aracter will generate an error message on the Status Row Error 202 Invalid Data This can be cleared by pressing ESC or the RMB which will return you to the List Area with the selected CV value unchanged It is important to appreciate that A TRACK only checks that the entered values are valid numbers It does not check that the entry is an allowable or sensible value for the selected CV In the case of CV01 for example permissible Primary Addresses range from 001 to 111 01 to 6F and the results of attempting to program any value outside this range into your Decoder are somewhat unpredictable After pressing RETURN or the LMB with a valid data entry even if you did not actually alter any of the digits on the Status Row you will see that the separator character between the Number and the Value of the selected CV changes from to This mark serves as a note to A TRACK that the CV is one whose value should be programmed into the Item Decoder when the programming process is invoked See Section 7 4 below If any of the CV values to be transferred to the Decoder are already set correctly when you enter the Program Verify Screen you can simply mark them without editing by highlighting them and pressing the Space Bar A press of the Space Bar will also unmark any highlighted CV that you have marked or edited in error Rel 2 2 37 March 2000 Note that after editing or marking a CV value the Screen Cursor is moved on to the
46. aracters in the displays While Items can be directly controlled from the computer Base Station the normal mode of operation will be to use the Base Station as a dispatcher and allocate an Item to one of several Handheld Controllers Remote Cabs connected to the A TRACK system via the Atari XL XE Joystick Port 2 This allows multiple users to control selected Items independently of and at the same time as each other and of the central operator or dispatcher at the computer keyboard As mentioned previously before any Item can be controlled its decoder must be given a unique identity address so that it will respond only to those commands directed specifically towards it This is done by sending a special set of programming commands to Rel 2 2 8 March 2000 the Item on its own usually on an isolated section of track A TRACK provides all of the necessary programming facilities from the Base Station and allows the full range of decoder parameters known as Configuration Variables or CVs defined in the DCC standards as well as the Item address to be set up verified and amended as required This is dealt with fully in Sections 7 and 10 Rel 2 2 9 March 2000 3 GETTING STARTED 3 1 SOFTWARE SETUP This User Guide assumes that you are familiar with the normal operation of an Atari XL XE computer and with reading and writing files to and from a disk drive You will still be able to use A TRACK without this knowledge but may fi
47. ared the Delete Buffer and its current contents are left intact These can now be directly inserted on to the blank List Screen to form a new Item List or you may load another Item List from disk and insert the saved Items into it This facility allows you to build up Item Lists containing sets of your defined Items appropriate to whatever operational scenarios you require Although not used for editing there is one other key active when the List Screen is displayed This is the INVERSE key located bottom right on the keyboard and sometimes referred to as the Atari key since it used to carry the Atari fuji logo on the older 400 800 machines Pressing the INVERSE key activates the A TRACK Menu at the top of the screen and gives you direct access to a range of program functions including those to save and retrieve Item List files to and from disk Refer to Section 8 and the Menu description later in this User Guide for detailed operating instructions Clicking on the Menu Area performs the same action as the INVERSE key and reveals the top Menu level In either case a press of the ESC or INVERSE keys or of the RMB lets you exit from the Menu back to the List Area 5 4 EDITING FILENAMES TEXT STRINGS AND NUMERICAL VALUES At various points in the A TRACK program you will have to enter text in the form of a filename or an Item description or numeric values to set an Item parameter All alphanumeric entry is done on the Status Row and severa
48. arrange the order of Items for more convenient access and operation to simply add new Items or delete those which are no longer required or to transfer Items to and from other Lists Note that A TRACK will not permit editing of the Item List when any Items are under active control An Item is deleted from the Item List by moving the List Cursor to the Item s position either field then pressing the DELETE key SHIFT BACKSPACE The selected Item disappears from the display and the following Items move up one row to fill the gap The deleted Item is not destroyed but is moved to the Delete Buffer a reserved area of the Atari XL XE s memory and you are presented with the option on the Status Row to either Append the Item to the existing contents of the Delete Buffer if any or to Overwrite the Buffer contents ie place the Item at the start of the Delete Buffer and lose whatever it contained previously The Delete Buffer can hold a maximum of 16 Items and once it is filled no further Delete and Append operations can be performed No mechanism is provided to empty the Delete Buffer other than the Delete and Overwrite operation which leaves the last deleted Item in the Buffer on its own Rel 2 2 21 March 2000 One or more Items can be inserted into the Item List at the List Cursor position by pressing the INSERT key SHIFT gt If the Delete Buffer contains Items previously deleted you are given the option on the Status Row of inserting
49. can try out the function by looking at the directory of those files Ensure that you still have the A TRACK Master Disk in Drive 1 then with the DOS Menu on your screen type A then press RETURN twice A list of files on the A TRACK Master Disk should appear as follows DOS SYS 037 DUP SYS 042 RAMDISK COM 009 ATRACK COM 033 ATRACK OVL 179 ATRACK FNT 009 ATRACK CFG 001 ATRKDEMOITL 038 REALINITITL 022 337 FREE SECTORS FFF f The three digit numbers in the right hand column indicate how many sectors each file occupies on the Master Disk don t worry if some of the numbers on the screen differ from those above A TRACK and its associated files are being updated fairly frequently The line below the last file description tells you how many sectors remain for storing additional information on the disk The asterisk preceding each file name indicates that the files are locked so that they are protected from being altered or erased but can still be read or copied DOS SYS and DUP SYS are the files that execute the standard DOS functions RAMDISK COM is used if you have an Atari 130XE or an 800XL with additional extended memory to utilise the extra memory as a super fast disk drive lookalike Drive 8 known as a RAM Disk You can use Drive 8 to save and load files more quickly than a real disk drive BUT any files you hold there will disappear as soon as the computer is switched off or its power fails You will have to co
50. ce try erasing the copy you made of your ATRACK COM file Place the data disk containing the file in your disk drive Then follow these steps Rel 2 2 77 March 2000 1 With the DOS Menu on your screen type D and press RETURN The prompt DELETE FILESPEC appears 2 Type D1 ATRACK COM if your data disk is in Drive 1 or D2 ATRACK COM if it is in Drive 2 then press RETURN The prompt TYPE Y TO DELETE appears this is a verification prompt allowing you a chance to change your mind about erasing the file 3 Type Y and press RETURN to erase the file With wild cards in your filespec you can erase as many files as you wish in one operation To try this copy a number of files to one of your disks all with BAK as an extender Follow the same procedure you use to erase one file but when your computer prompts you to enter the DELETE FILESPEC type D1 BAK or D2 BAK if you are using Drive 2 As DOS displays each filename matching your filespec type Y and press RETURN to delete that file When you want to erase several but not all of the files in a group that you specify with wildcards simply type N and press RETURN as the name of each file that you want to preserve appears This operation takes less time than going through the entire DELETE FILE S procedure for several individual files Rel 2 2 78 March 2000 12 3 ATARI ERROR CODES As well as the error codes specific to A TRACK 201 through 206 you may occasionall
51. ch as I have enjoyed creating it BUT While every effort has been made to thoroughly test and verify all functions incorporated into the A TRACK software and its associated hardware please note that it is supplied on an as is basis and without warranty of any kind You use the A TRACK software and any associated hardware items at your own risk The author and designer will not in any event be held liable for any improper operation of the A TRACK system or interference with any other program or equipment nor be held liable for any incidental or consequential damages of any sort arising out of its use Make back up copies of all your important files BEFORE you start to use A TRACK Rel 2 2 5 March 2000 1 INTRODUCTION A TRACK is a program for the Atari XL XE range of computers which implements the Digital Command Control DCC system for the operation of model railroads A TRACK supports the full range of features defined in the DCC Standards and Recommended Practices issued by the National Model Railroad Association and with the addition of a hardware interface box the DCC Interface Unit DIU to link the computer to the track will provide total control over a model railroad layout from your Atari computer keyboard A TRACK also supports the use of remote handheld controllers which will let you operate up to eight locomotives on the track at the same time DCC allows the simultaneous operation of almost any number of model locomoti
52. characteristics which have been programmed into the Locos which will be assigned to the Consist These CV values will be ignored by A TRACK and will have no effect on the control of the Consist Rel 2 2 44 March 2000 8 MENU 8 1 ACCESSING THE MENU STRUCTURE The Menu provides the means to invoke those A TRACK functions and operations which are not otherwise accessible directly from the List Control and Program Verify Screens covered up to this point as well as some that are You can only call up the Menu from the List screen and as mentioned previously in Section 5 3 this is done either by pressing the INVERSE key located bottom right on the keyboard or by clicking on the Menu Area with the mouse In either case a press of the ESC or INVERSE keys or of the RMB lets you exit from the Menu back to the List Area When you access the Menu Area the Top Menu consisting of File Edit Cmnd Quit appears on the first screen row with File highlighted by the Menu Cursor The second screen row displays the next level of the Menu structure in this case the File Menu consisting of New Load Save Dir Config If you move the Menu Cursor progressively to the right by pressing the Right Arrow key you will see the contents of the second screen row change to display first the Edit Menu namely C Vars Delete Insert followed by the Command Menu Item B Cast Mode When you reach the last entry on the Top Menu Quit you will note
53. ck Orange and Grey These are the track and motor connections Any other wires are for connection to auxiliary functions and should be ignored for the moment but ensure that they are kept completely isolated from contact with each other and do not short to the track and motor wires If you do not feel confident making connections to electronic equipment then seek assistance from someone who is competent rather than risk damaging your equipment The normal connections for the Decoder are Rel 2 2 57 March 2000 Red Right Rail Looking in the forward Black Left Rail direction of travel Orange Motor Terminal normally connected to Right Rail Grey Motor Terminal normally connected to Left Rail For test and checking purposes connect the Black wire directly to the lower Yellow PROGRAM COMMON terminal on the DIU rear panel and the Red wire to the upper Yellow PROGRAM terminal THROUGH a 100 ohm 2 watt resistor THIS IS IMPORTANT to protect the Decoder from inadvertent short circuits Connect a load capable of drawing between 50 and 100 mA between the Orange and Grey wires the Decoder normally produces a maximum output of about 12 volts DC across them but this will be reduced in our test rig by the presence of the 100 ohm protection resistor The load can be either an incandescent lamp of appropriate rating or two LEDs each with a 270 ohm 0 5 watt series resistor connected as shown in the diagram below or even an old locomotive motor U
54. ckgnd Int y 12 Title Row TxBk Value 0E76 Ultramarine Text Intensity 14 Blue Backgnd Int y 06 List Area TxBk Value 0ABO Olive Green Text Intensity 10 Green Backgnd Int y 00 Status Rw TxBk Value 00EC Orange Green Text Intensity 00 Yellow Backgnd Int y 12 Error Row TxBk Value 0038 Dark Orange Text Intensity 00 Red Backgnd Int y 08 Make any change you require or wish to try out pressing RETURN or the LMB to enter them or to move on to the next prompt without changes Once all the colour prompts have been presented the screen colours will be updated to reflect any changes you have made and you will be given the option to accept the new colours to cancel the complete edit or to go back to the start and revise your updated values Press the appropriate option key A C or R or hit ESC or the RMB to abandon the configuration process and ignore any changes which have been entered When you are satisfied with your revised A TRACK Configuration you can call up the Configuration Menu again and save the new settings to a Configuration File on disk It is recommended that you do NOT overwrite any existing ATRACK CFG file without saving a copy The new file can subsequently be renamed to ATRACK CFG and copied to your Working Disk so that your revised Configuration is loaded every time you start the program Rel 2 2 52 March 2000 if you do not wish to load it directly yourself
55. co from a Consist to allow it to be controlled individually again is fairly straightforward Return to the Control Screen of the Loco not the Consist ensure that its assignment is shown as None and select Cnst The Cnst check box mark and the Consist address displayed next to the caption should then disappear and you will see from the Status Row that a Deactivate Consist command has been generated Again when operating on a real track once you are sure that the command has been acted upon see Section 10 3 it should be removed by selecting a None assignment Returning to the List Screen will show you that the Loco s individual address has been restored and it can now be controlled as an independent Item Rel 2 2 34 March 2000 7 PROGRAM VERIFY SCREEN 7 1 OPERATION SETUP As with the description of Control Screen operation in the previous section before continuing you may find it helpful to ensure that the displayed Item List is ATRKDEMO ITL reboot the computer if necessary so that the examples given will match what is on the screen With the List Cursor positioned over the right field of any Item pressing the RETURN key or clicking on the highlighted right field of the Item will take you to the Program Verify Screen From here you can edit the contents of all Decoder Configuration Variables for the selected Item set the Item Type and enter or edit the Item Description The edited values can then either be transferred to
56. ctronic topics although it does not deal directly with DCC operation is Model Railroad Electronics Basic Concepts to Advanced Projects Peter J Thorne Published by Kalmbach Books Model Railway Handbook No 37 ISBN 0 89024 146 5 Because the full track voltage of approximately 15VAC is always present when operating a DCC system you may find it useful to fit an indicator across the rails to show that your connections are secure and that track power is actually present The indicator can be either a simple lamp of suitable low current rating 25 to 40 mA or a pair of LEDs connected back to back with 270 ohm 0 5 watt series resistors as shown below Rail A Rail B The overload protection provided within the DIU and PBU is designed to safeguard the internal electronics against an excessive current being drawn from the unit It will not necessarily detect a short circuit across the rails of your layout where the total current taken is less than the trip values 4 Amps on the main track or 250mA on the programming track This can arise for example where the transformer connected to the DIU or PBU cannot supply 4 Amps and maintain its rated voltage or where thin track connecting wires have been used and are causing too great a voltage drop It is worth checking your layout carefully for any short or open circuit connections preferably using a multimeter before Rel 2 2 56 March 2000 connecting the A TRACK hardware to t
57. d Base Station or Cab The program requires only the basic 64K of memory so that any expanded memory can be used as a ramdisk if desired see your Atari documentation for further explanation if necessary Note that A TRACK uses the sound capabilities of the Atari XL XE to generate audible alarms in response to various errors or fault conditions which can occur You should therefore ensure that the audio output of whatever monitor or TV set you are using for the display screen is set to a suitable volume The DIU receives command packets from the Atari XL XE via a connection to the Parallel Bus Interface and translates the constituent command bytes into a series of positive negative voltage transitions to be applied to the track The track power controlled through the DIU is derived from a separate transformer supplying 15 volts AC to the DIU at a maximum current of 4 amps Where this amount of power is inadequate to supply all of the locomotives and accessories that you want to operate simultaneously on the track the layout can be divided into several electrically isolated sections often referred to as power districts One section or district is driven from the DIU and each of the others will be driven by a slave Power Booster Unit PBU Each PBU has its own 15 VAC 4A transformer and receives the stream of bits forming the DCC command packets from the DIU converting them into the required voltage transitions Because the DIU and all PBUs a
58. d and powered on PBU such as an overload or loss of the DCC command stream will be signalled to the DIU and acted on as appropriate by the A TRACK software A DIU can be converted into a PBU by changing the position of two internal jumpers HOWEVER you should only attempt this if you are familiar with handling electronic equipment AND take the correct precautions to protect the circuitry of the DIU against damage by static electricity discharges ONLY open the DIU case when both it and yourself are properly grounded Preferably you should wear a wriststrap connected to ground The jumpers are located next to the DCC IN 5 pin DIN socket on the right side of the DIU PCB looking from the front of the unit and are labelled LK1 and LK2 Move both jumpers from position 1 2 to position 2 3 to turn the DIU into a PBU Connections to the newly created PBU are made as described above Note that once the DIU is converted to a PBU no connections should be made to the Parallel Bus connector to the PROGRAM terminals on the rear panel or to the XL XE POWER sockets on the left hand side of the unit The Mode Switch of the converted DIU should be set to the OPERATE position Rel 2 2 64 March 2000 12 ATARI COMPUTER BASICS 12 1 DISK DRIVES AND OPERATIONS This section of the User Guide is intended to get you started if you are unfamiliar with the Atari XL XE computer systems although you should also read the documentation which came with your s
59. d the restoration of speed direction settings following the Emergency Stop What you SHOULD do in this situation is return all Handheld Controllers to the zero speed position BEFORE cancelling the Emergency Stop Note that where a Direction Select switch is fitted to the Handheld Controller the switch is also effective in Centre Zero mode Switching to the Reverse position makes the speed control work in the opposite direction where the knob is rotated counter clockwise from the Stop position to move the Loco forward and clockwise to move in reverse Whether you regard this as a feature or a quirk to be avoided is ultimately down to your personal preferences A final point to note when Handheld Controllers are in use is that the display of current Loco and Consist speeds in the DS column is not continually updated on the List Screen since this would cause a lot of distracting flicker on the display The speed values are updated however whenever the List Area display is changed for any reason This occurs after you type anything on the keyboard so that the easiest way to check on the current speed and function settings of Items under Handheld control is to press a key such as the Spacebar which has no specific List Screen function assigned to it If you hold the Spacebar down you will be able to see a continuous display of Loco and Consist speeds as they are changed as long as you are willing to put up with the screen flicker Rel 2
60. der SpartaDOS 3 2d Ensure that both write disable tabs are present on the Master disk covering the notches on the edges then copy the files you need to use to a Working disk before attempting to run A TRACK See Section 12 if you are in doubt about what to do The Working disk should already have been formatted by and contain whatever variety of DOS you wish to use Store the Master disk away in a safe place and well away from the magnetic fields of power transformers and locomotive motors The minimum set of files A TRACK expects to find present on Drive D1 for correct program load and initialisation is ATRACK COM System Initialisation and Loader ATRACK OVL Main A TRACK Program Overlays part of Loader ATRACK CFG Configuration Parameters ATRACK FNT Text amp Special Character Font If you are using Atari DOS 2 5 then rename ATRACK COM to AUTORUN SYS in order to allow A TRACK to load automatically when the system is booted Alternatively you may load and run ATRACK COM manually using the DOS Menu L function If using SpartaDOS copy STARTUP BAT to the Working disk as well This gives you a minimal start up file containing the following commands Rel 2 2 10 March 2000 DATE TIME BASIC OFF ATRACK Entering today s date and time at the DATE and TIME prompts is only necessary if you wish to have an accurate time stamp on any files you make changes to then save such as Item Lists or the system Configuration but
61. e connections between the common Paddle 9 pin connector and the Atari Joystick Port 2 which can be done through a simple in line adaptor and the addition of either or both switches requires you to replace the cables between the Paddles and the Joystick Port extra wires are needed to connect the switches With a standard Atari Paddle you will find that you go from stopped to maximum speed over about two thirds of the total rotation of the Paddle knob A larger arc of control can be obtained if the effective electrical resistance of the Paddle control a 1 Megohm variable resistor is reduced by soldering a pair of fixed resistors across the variable resistor terminals as shown in the diagram overleaf The fixed resistor values are 8 2 Megohm and 1 5 Megohm Note that this modification makes the action of the control slightly non linear so that the midpoint of the control range is not at the midpoint of the arc of movement However as long as you identify and mark the control midpoint the Stop position in Centre Zero operation this should not give you any significant problems in actual Operation Normally the Paddle Triggers are connected to Pins 3 and 4 respectively for Paddles 1 and 2 The Trigger connections should be removed from Pins 3 and 4 and both Triggers should be connected to Pin 6 This can be done by wiring up a simple 9 pin D Plug to D Socket adaptor as follows Joystick Port 2 looking into Port Atari Paddles
62. e following 20 screen rows of the List Area Green text on a Black bacground At this point the List Area shows the A TRACK banner and the Title Row shows No Item List Loaded together with towards the right of the screen three characters N o and T representing the status of the following program parameters Rel 2 2 14 March 2000 Operating Mode N None Idle state No Commands can be output DIU may be in either Operate or Program Mode C Control Commands can be sent to control Items DIU should be in Operate Mode driving the Main Track P Program Commands can be sent to program Decoders fitted in Items DIU should be in Program Mode driving the Programming Track V Verify Commands can be sent to verify Decoder CV values DIU should be in Program Mode driving the Programming Track The Operating Mode can be set explicitly by use of the Menu see Section 8 later or automatically by invoking an appropriate action in A TRACK as described in later Sections of this User Guide Text Edit Mode o Overwrite Typed character replaces character under cursor i Insert Typed character is inserted into string at the cursor position and existing characters to the right of the cursor move one place right The state of Text Edit Mode is only relevant when editing strings of text or numbers on the Status Row see below and has no effect on keystrokes in other parts of the program When editing a text
63. e of the black protective envelope By covering this notch with one of the small adhesive rectangular tabs provided by the disk manufacturer you can avoid accidentally erasing or writing over any data on a disk Rel 2 2 66 March 2000 Remember these rules for the proper care and handling of disks Never turn your disk drive on or off with a disk in the drive and never leave a disk in the drive while it s turned off Never wet or wash a disk Use a soft brush or compressed air from a spray can to remove any dust from the surface Do not bend your disks they must turn freely in the protective envelope Handle them with care when loading or unloading Store disks in their paper sleeves standing on edge Store your disks away from your television set or monitor The strong magnetic fields produced by these devices can partially erase the data stored Keep your disks away from electrical devices including the telephone Do not store your disks in direct sunlight Keep them away from any excessive heat Because a disk turns inside its envelope damage to the envelope can result in damage to the disk Do not write on your disks with a pencil or ball point pen The sharp point of a pencil or ball point pen can score the surface of a disk Use a felt tip pen to mark the disk label or write on the label before you put it on the disk Do not use erasers on disk labels Eraser dust is abrasive and will damage disks Do not at
64. e that the constant repetition of the commands sent to the track will most likely result in the the selected Decoder output remaining on continuously until you select another Function pair or as already said you reset the Assignment to None Like a Loco or Consist returning to the Control Screen and changing the Accessory assignment to None will stop the transmission of commands to the Item and will clear the Item record of the current Function states although the state of the Accessory Decoder itself should remain as it was last set until you switch off its power supply Active control can be re established at any time by selecting a Base assignment for the Accessory but note that the initial on screen indication of the Function states may not reflect the actual states of the Decoder outputs as they were left 6 5 CONSISTS Whereas Locomotives and Accessories are reasonably straightforward to deal with some aspects of Consists may be a little more difficult to grasp The main point to appreciate is that a Consist does not actually exist as a physical object in its own right When we talk about a Consist we are really dealing with two or more Locomotives each with its own Decoder and where each Decoder has been programmed with Configuration Variable CV parameters to suit the characteristics of the particular Locomotive Some of these Loco parameters the Consist Address in CV19 in particular are the only physical existence that the Con
65. een shows that it is configured for 14 Step control Select Base to allow us to send commands to the Loco notionally at least since we have not yet connected the DIU to the track then select U1 by any of the methods described above and press RETURN or the LMB if using the mouse You should see the Speed Bar Cursor move to the right and the Direction Speed indicator change to F18 equivalent to the first forward speed step Note in passing that the Status Row now shows that TWO commands are active these are the Set Speed amp Direction command packet to this Loco plus an Idle command packet When you issue a command to an Item A TRACK adds it to its set of active command packets and sends this set repetitively to the track The DCC rules do not allow consecutive command packets to be sent to the same Item so A TRACK will add one or more Idle packets to the set to space out the real commands Once you have more than about six commands active A TRACK can generally sort them into an order which keeps command packets for the same Item separated and avoids the need to insert extra Idle packets Going back to our Control Screen example pressing RETURN again or clicking once more on the U1 caption will increase the Loco s speed by one more step or approximately 6 and you can continue up to the maximum speed displayed as F96 at which point further Rel 2 2 28 March 2000 presses of RETURN or the LMB are ignored Note that the S
66. er Complete the Item initial setup by pressing ESC or the RMB choose to program the Decoder or not as you wish then answer Y to the query Update Item with Changes and check that the new Item parameters shown are as intended Before you quit A TRACK you will also need to save the revised Item List to preserve the results of your editing otherwise all changes to the Item List will be lost Saving files and quitting the program require the use of the Menu and such topics are dealt with in Section 8 which follows 7 8 CONSISTS The setting up and control of Consists has been covered already in Section 6 5 but there are a few points regarding programming which need to be clarified One point of which you should be particularly aware is that DCC commands do not distinguish between Consist Addresses and Loco Primary Addresses So if you are not using Extended Addresses for any of your Locos on the track ensure that their Primary Addresses are all different from any Addresses you wish to allocate to Consists Since a Consist has no physical existence A TRACK will not let you attempt to program or verify its non existent Decoder and therefore only prompts you to update the Item record when leaving the Program Verify Screen Although the only CV which it is necessary to program as far as A TRACK is concerned is the Consist Address CV19 you may find it useful to enter other CV values for your own information perhaps relating to the
67. ertainly before attempting to send it any commands is to allocate it a Type and a valid address Thereafter you will need to set its CVs to sensible values program all the data into the real Item s Decoder and give it a meaningful Description It is probably easiest to follow the sequence of actions if you are working with a real example so with the Item List displayed insert a Blank Item into the List at any convenient point you can always delete it later either to remove it completely or to move it to a different place in the Item List Move the List Cursor to the right field of the Blank Item and press RETURN or just double click on the right field to get to the Program Verify Screen If you are not already in Program Mode you will have to answer the normal set of prompts to select it P and to set the CV Access Mode A R P D Since we are not intending to actually program a decoder at this stage the Access Mode does not matter just hit the RETURN key Set the Item Type first by pressing the TAB key followed by RETURN or by a double click on the Type Field and select Loco Consist or Accessory by pressing L C or A followed by RETURN leaving the Item at None is not a very useful choice This action will move the Program Verify Cursor to CV29 Now for a Loco or Consist press RETURN again or click on CV29 and answer the queries presented on the Status Row As mentioned previously in Section 7 2 if you are uns
68. es numbered from 1 to 512 In practice the only CV numbers greater than 96 that are currently used are CV105 and CV106 which hold the two User Identity Rel 2 2 38 March 2000 values you are free to put any numbers in them that you like to identify the decoder as your own A TRACK actually displays CV105 and CV106 as CV15 and CV16 on the Program Verify Screen since the real CV15 and CV16 are reserved by the NMRA at present and should not be used by the decoder manufacturer or yourself for any purpose This makes the screen format tidy although it has the down side that the real CV15 and CV16 cannot be programmed from A TRACK this has not raised any practical problems to date The example Item chosen LMS 0 6 0T Jinty has not had its CV values other than the Decoder addresses set up properly and CV25 and CV26 contain garbage You may like to tidy them up as a little practical exercise 7 3 ITEM TYPE amp DESCRIPTION As well as letting you set the Item Configuration Variables the Program Verify Screen gives you access to the Item Type definition and allows you to edit the Item Description Press the TAB key once to move the Program Verify Cursor to the Item Type Field then again to move to the Description Field From here another press of TAB will take you back to the Configuration Variable Area at the point you left it or you can press SHIFT TAB to move back to the Type Field and SHIFT TAB again to return to the Configuration Variab
69. es the next Down Arrow key press will take you back to the top of the column This feature operates in all directions and the best way to appreciate how the Cursor moves is to experiment by holding down each Arrow key in turn In addition to speed up selection of a particular CV from the keyboard you can move the Cursor directly to its screen location by typing the two digits of the CV Number Once a CV has been selected via the keyboard or by clicking on it with the mouse you can proceed to amend its value by pressing RETURN or by clicking on it again The CV value is Rel 2 2 36 March 2000 then displayed as three decimal digits next to its description on the Status Row and can be edited using the set of editing keystrokes described previously in Section 5 4 As an example select CV01 the Primary Address and press RETURN or the LMB to display its current value of 066 followed by the Edit Cursor on the Status Row The value can be changed by using BACKSPACE to delete the existing digits and then typing in a new value or you can use Left and Right Arrow keys to move the Edit Cursor over a digit and then type a replacement value The latter works in the default Text Edit Mode Overwrite but if you change to Insert Mode with the INSERT SHIFT gt key and have three digits displayed you will find that all alphanumeric input will be ignored This is because the CV value in this case cannot have more than three digits and you will have to de
70. et Speed amp Direction command to the Loco is simply reissued each time with the new speed value so that the command count reported on the Status Row remains at 02 With the Loco proceeding forward at some speed it can be brought to an immediate halt by selecting Stop and pressing RETURN or by double clicking on the Stop caption or its speed can be reduced by activating a Down value To continue the example select D1 hit RETURN or the LMB several times and note how the speed reduces by one 6 step on each keypress or mouse click with the Speed Bar Cursor moving back towards the left Eventually the speed will reach zero at which point the next press of RETURN or the LMB will start the Loco going backwards and the Direction Speed indicator will change to R18 showing the first reverse speed step Changing speed one step at a time is reasonable with 14 Step or even 28 Step control but it can be a little tedious when 128 Step operation is selected Try it for yourself by first assigning the Loco back to None using the keyboard or mouse then type P1 or use Arrow keys or the mouse to get to the P128 Step Precision check box and hit RETURN or click the LMB You can now reassign the Loco to Base and repeat the Up and Down Speed example given above Note that A TRACK will not let you change the Step Precision when the Loco or Consist is assigned to the computer console or to a Handheld Controller otherwise the command sequence c
71. exercised through a single pair of commands so that the number of active commands will only increase by two plus any necessary Idle commands as you should be able to see from the Status Row If you set several of the Accessory Functions and then return to the List Screen by pressing ESC the left Item Field under the List Cursor will show the Accessory assignment and the state of the Function pairs with or gt symbols showing whether the odd F1 F7 or even F2 F8 Function in each pair is On There are a couple of consequences of the way in which A TRACK handles Accessories that may affect the way you use the system Firstly after an Emergency Stop and particularly if the track power has been cut off for a time if you choose to restore prior Function parameters then you need to be aware that the pair of commands which will then be output to any active Accessory will only restore the states of the last pair of Functions that you changed The states of the other three pairs of Functions will depend on the characteristics of the particular Accessory Decoder A TRACK will not output any extra commands to restore their states to that shown on the Control Screen Secondly A TRACK outputs the current pair of commands continuously to the Accessory until you change its Assignment to None If you have set the Accessory Decoder Configuration Variables to provide momentary fixed duration outputs to the Accessory then you should be awar
72. ey stand for any card you choose Similarly DOS recognizes special wild card symbols that can stand for any character or combination of characters in a filename A major convenience wild cards enable you to refer to a group of files rather than to each one individually The two wild cards recognized by DOS are the question mark which stands for any single character and the asterisk which stands for any combination of characters in a filename proper or in an extender Working with the files listed below for example you could use PROGRAM to specify all the program files including PROGRAMI PIL The file LETTER BUS would refer to all the business letter files but not to the letter to your sister PROGRAM1 BAS LETTER1 BUS PROGRAM2 BAS LETTER2 BUS PROGRAM3 BAS LETTER3 BUS PROGRAM1 PIL LETTER SIS Rel 2 2 75 March 2000 You can now understand the entire default filespec used by DOS in a DISK DIRECTORY procedure When you press RETURN in response to the DIRECTORY SEARCH SPEC LIST FILE prompt DOS understands your response as D1 The D1 as you know is the default device code Disk Drive 1 and the stands for all files on the disk you want to check inserted in Drive 1 Copying Files With the COPY FILE and DUPLICATE FILE options on the DOS Menu you can copy your files from one disk to another You can also make a backup copy of a file on the same disk as the original provided you give the copy
73. f initialisation command packets to reset the state of all Item Decoders see Clear Broadcast Sub Menu below and then to restore Rel 2 2 46 March 2000 Save Dir Config the set of Item speed and or function commands saved with the Item List see Save below This has to be done with careful consideration of the likely consequences as discussed in Section 5 2 with regard to command restoration after Emergency Stops Saves the current Item List to disk The filename of the most recently loaded Item List appears on the Status Row and can be edited as required to specify the full filename drive directory if relevant filename under which you wish to save the current Item List using the filename extension ITL will help distinguish Item List files from other file types Item Lists are saved with a copy of the current active command packet tables and buffers thus preserving the complete operational state of the layout Note also that A TRACK will reload the saved Item List from disk as soon as the write to disk is complete Any errors which occur at any point during the operation could result in the Item List being lost For this reason you are strongly recommended NOT to overwrite the existing Item List either Save with a new filename or to a different floppy disk You should also make back up copies of your Item Lists to guard against accidents and give you some hope of recovery Displays a directory of files on disk The direct
74. f you choose to edit the Item Description via the keystrokes TAB TAB and RETURN or by double clicking on the Description Field you will be presented with the Item Description string on the Status Row All of the text editing keys are active as for the filename edit described in Section 5 4 Note however that the Item Description has a fixed length of 22 characters including any trailing spaces as you can see from the position of the Edit Cursor in our example 4 character positions beyond Jinty and you cannot insert any new characters into the string without deleting some of the existing characters first although you can of course overwrite them When you are happy with the edited Item Description press RETURN or the LMB to accept it and take you back to the Configuration Variable Area at the CV position at which you left it 7 4 PROGRAMMING A DECODER Rel 2 2 39 March 2000 Having set up the Item Type its Description and all values of its Configuration Variables as you require them press ESC or the RMB to indicate that the process is complete Provided at least one value has been edited or marked A TRACK will display a prompt on the Status Row asking whether you wish to proceed to program the marked CVs into the Decoder Answering with Y will generate the necessary commands to transfer each of the marked CV values to the Decoder in turn whereas pressing N will simply bypass the programming stage Pressing ESC or the RMB instead
75. gramming System provided you have not disabled it with the OPTION key in this case re boot the computer C COPY FILE Use this option when you have two or more disk drives and you want to copy files from one disk to another Also use this option to copy a file on the same disk assigning a second name to the copy D DELETE FILE S This option lets you erase a file from a disk increasing the available space on the disk E RENAME FILE Use this option when you want to change the name of a file F LOCK FILE This option can be used to prevent you or anyone else from changing renaming or accidentally erasing a file You will still be able to read the file but will not be able to write to it When the directory is displayed an asterisk is placed in front of the filename to indicate that the file is locked G UNLOCK FILE Rel 2 2 69 March 2000 This removes the asterisk from in front of the filename and allows you to make changes to the file rename it or delete it H WRITE DOS FILES Use this option to add the DOS files DOS SYS and DUP SYS from your Master Disk or System Disk to a disk in any disk drive I FORMAT DISK This option is used to format a blank disk which is necessary before you can record any information on it Be sure you do not have any files you want to keep on a disk before formatting it This option will format a disk in enhanced density provided you are using a 1050 Disk Drive otherwise it w
76. hanced Cartridge Interface ECT of the Atari 130XE The DIU takes power for its logic circuitry from the Atari XL XE Power Supply Unit Hence with your Atari XL XE computer its disk drive and the DIU all switched off unplug the power in connector from the rear of the Atari XL XE next to the power switch and plug it into one of the 7 pin DIN power sockets on the left side of the DIU looking at the DIU front panel either socket can be used Now connect the power lead supplied with the DIU from the other 7 pin socket to the vacated power in socket at the rear of the Atari XL XE Next using the 50 way ribbon cable supplied connect the DIU to the PBI or ECI port at the rear of the Atari XL XE computer Note that the connector which plugs into the DIU is polarised a bump at top centre so that it can only be inserted one way The ribbon cable should then be kept flat and not twisted from the DIU to where it plugs into the computer port The ribbon cable can be bent or folded to position the DIU at a convenient position above and behind the Atari XL XE so that its switches are accesssible A 15 volt AC supply of up to 4 amps capacity should now be connected to the Blue terminals on the DIU rear panel This powers the DIU output circuitry supplying DCC compatible power and control signals to the track Rel 2 2 54 March 2000 IMPORTANT NOTES amp WARNINGS 1 The DCC Output power is totally isolated from the 5 volt logic power
77. he BUSY light goes on as the drive begins to format the disk When the prompt SELECT ITEM OR RETURN FOR MENU appears formatting is complete You can now store files or write DOS Files on the formatted disk Now repeat the procedure with another disk Naming and Referring to Files To manage your files with DOS you have to give each file a distinctive filename You also have to use a device code to tell your computer what part of your system for example Disk Drive 1 you want to handle the file at any particular time Taken together the device code and the filename that you specify make up a filespec short for file specification Here is what a typical filespec looks like D1 DEMO129A ITL Device Name Device Number Optional Required Colon Filename Up to 8 Characters Period Required if Extender Used Extender Optional Up to 3 Characters Defaults For your convenience DOS 2 5 provides default responses to several of its own prompts Since most DOS users have only one disk drive for example one of the more convenient defaults in DOS is D1 Disk Drive 1 of your computer system You have seen how DOS defaults to this device when you press RETURN in response to a DIRECTORY SEARCH SPEC LIST FILE prompt DOS also defaults to D1 as a source and destination device Rel 2 2 74 March 2000 provided that you press RETURN in response to the appropriate prompts when you are using most other DOS functions If yo
78. he information from your source disk on your destination disk first formatting the destination disk When the prompt SELECT ITEM OR RETURN FOR MENU appears the duplication process is complete Label your new copy of A TRACK clearly something like A TRACK Working Disk Attach a write protect tab to it folded over the notch in the edge of the disk to prevent your disk drive from writing information over any of the files that you have just copied there then use it as your working copy of A TRACK from now on Store your original A TRACK Master Disk in a safe place well away from any stray magnetic fields The DUPLICATE DISK function is sometimes confused with the COPY FILES function of DOS The COPY FILES function copies only the files you specify from a source disk The DUPLICATE DISK function is more efficient when you want to make complete backup copies of data disks containing several files Formatting a Disk Unless they re preformatted the disks you buy to store your files must be prepared to record information from your computer This process is called formatting or initializing a disk Formatting organizes the surface of a disk into tracks and sectors so that your computer can store and retrieve information on it in an orderly way CAUTION Formatting a disk erases any information that may already be recorded on it Never format your Master Disk or a data disk that contains valuable files The DOS 2 5 Menu offers you two opt
79. he track it can save a lot of frustration and time later on A momentary overload will light the Red OVERLOAD LED on the front panel of whichever DIU or PBU is affected Provided the short circuit across the track is removed in less than 2 seconds the DIU or PBU should recover on its own the OVERLOAD LED will go out and normal operation will be resumed However if the overload condition persists for longer than 2 seconds the affected DIU or PBU alerts the Atari XL XE and an Overload Detected error message will appear on the Status Row of the screen accompanied by a continuous two tone audible alarm to ensure that it gets your attention Your first action should be to switch off the DIU and or track power then press the ESC key or RMB to cancel the error message Once the source of the short circuit has been removed you should then be able to switch the DIU back on and resume track operations bearing in mind that A TRACK will still be sending out the same set of commands that it was when the fault first occurred Note that an overload condition like recovery from an Emergency Stop All command can only be resolved at the Atari console or the DIU and not remotely through any handheld controllers Switching off the DIU will disable output to the track from any and all connected PBUs without having to switch each PBU off individually 10 3 PROGRAMMING DECODERS amp CONSISTS As covered in earlier Sections the parameter values required
80. heck boxes H1 Red Identity Code 0000 H5 Violet Identity Code 0101 H2 Yellow 0001 H6 Grey 1000 H3 Green 0010 H7 White 1001 H4 Blue 0100 H8 Black 1010 The HHC Identity Code is set by a set of link jumpers on the printed circuit board internal to each HHC and can be changed where necessary for example to replace a faulty unit HOWEVER you should only attempt this if you are familiar with handling electronic equipment AND take the correct precautions to protect the circuitry of the HHC against damage by static electricity discharges ONLY open the HHC case when you are properly grounded preferably by wearing a wriststrap Where the identity code is altered the colour of the connector sleeve and the plastic stud should of course be changed to match Each active operator plugs his or her HHC into the most convenient network socket and has then full control over the assigned locomotive Speed is controlled through the rotary knob and functions by the switches FL F2 and F4 and pushbuttons F1 F3 and F5 as shown in the outline diagram alongside There is also a Direction switch on the right hand side of the HHC primarily for use when Directional mode D is selected it reverses the rotary control when in Centre Zero mode The large red STOP pushbutton when pressed initiates an Emergency Stop All command which will bring all Locos to an immediate halt COCO As each train progresses around the layout the o
81. ill format in single density J DUPLICATE DISK This is the option you choose when you want to create an exact duplicate of a disk This option will automatically format the destination disk K BINARY SAVE With this option you can save the contents of specified memory locations to a disk file Used when developing assembly language programs L BINARY LOAD This option lets you retrieve an object file from a disk It is the reverse function of BINARY SAVE Used when developing assembly language programs M RUN AT ADDRESS With this option you can enter the hexadecimal starting address of an object assembly language program after it has been loaded into memory RAM with a BINARY LOAD and start it executing N CREATE MEM SAV This option allows you to reserve space on a disk for the program in RAM to be stored while the DUP SYS file is being used Amongst other functions DUP SYS is responsible for the display of the DOS Menu you are currently viewing on the screen This option is not required with DOS 2 5XL which uses an otherwise wasted area of memory to hold MEM SAV 0 DUPLICATE FILE This option enables you to copy a file from one disk to another even if you have only a single disk drive P FORMAT SINGLE Use this option when you want to format a disk in single density using a 1050 Disk Drive Prompts and Responses The questions and requests that DOS displays on your screen are called prompts The answers you
82. ill working your way through the examples and do not have the DIU connected to a programming track or directly to a decoder then A TRACK will receive no acknowledgement to its programming commands and will change the mark to before continuing with the next marked CV as you should be able to observe on the Program Verify Screen Having tried and failed to program all of the marked CVs A TRACK will ask you whether you wish to try again Without any Decoder connected this would be somewhat pointless but in a real situation you would probably want to check that all your electrical connections were secure then answer Y to the prompt If the program commands are successfully acknowledged this time then the CV mark will be changed to otherwise it will remain as Once you complete the programming exercise or decide to abandon it the Item Update prompt will appear as described previously so that you can transfer the new CV values into the Item record and finally return to the List Screen Note that when you return to the Program Verify Screen of this same Item none of the CVs will be marked in any way The marks are not stored in the Item record and you cannot tell which CV was changed during the previous programming exercise Hence if you are experimenting to find the best CV values to use with a specific Decoder Loco combination you will have to keep your own record of the original and trial values As with most things
83. inary File Disk Bad or Write Protected 181 Invalid Address Range 145 Read After Write Error 146 Function Not Implemented 147 Insufficient Memory 201 Unable to Generate DCC Command 148 Not SpartaDOS Disk 202 Invalid Data Entered 149 Not SpartaDOS 2 X Disk 203 DIU Not Enabled 150 Directory Not Found 204 DIU PBU Not Active 151 File Directory Already Exists 205 DCC Command Block Not Output 152 Not Binary File 206 DIU Not in Program Mode Usually the cause of the error is fairly obvious equipment not connected or switched on no disk or the wrong disk in the drive disk not formatted or a simple typing error in the filename etc and can be easily rectified However if a careful check of connections followed by a system reload does not fix the problem you should check your Atari equipment on its own running some other known good software to try to identify whether it is the Atari kit or A TRACK which is at fault before looking for further assistance Rel 2 2 79 March 2000 13 CHANGE HISTORY 13 1 RELEASE 2 0 SINCE RELEASE 1 2 1 All Item Addresses are now displayed as decimal values on the List Screen so you can relate them directly to your locomotive cab numbers 2 Consist Address is displayed as a decimal value on the Control Screen 3 Function states are now updated immediately on the Control Screen when the displayed Item is under Handheld control 4 After editing or marking a Configuration Value on the Program Verify
84. ion Group Two command Function FL is controlled via the Speed amp Direction command if 14 Step Precision is selected but via the Function Group One command when you use 28 Step Precision Hence with our example Loco if you already have a 14 Step Speed command active activating FL will not generate an additional command try it and see On the other hand activating F2 and F7 will result in two extra commands being generated Since in this example all the commands are being sent to the same Item they will be separated by Idle command packets so that the total number of commands reported on the Status Row should be six 06 Accessory Decoders operate in a slightly different fashion Although Functions may still only be On or Off they are considered to work in pairs ie F1 and F2 F3 and F4 etc as shown by the link symbols to the right of the Function column These pairs of Functions are generally employed to drive such devices as turnout motors with F1 for example connected to move the turnout in one direction and F2 to move it back in the other The allowable states of each Function pair are therefore both Off or either one On but not both On together Hence if you switch F1 On for example and then proceed to turn F2 On A TRACK will automatically switch F1 to Off to prevent a possible conflict at the Decoder The easiest way to demonstrate this Accessory operation is to try another example yourself Leave the current Loco Contro
85. ions for formatting disks When used with a 1050 Disk Drive Option I FORMAT DISK will format the disk in enhanced density If DOS finds when executing this function that the drive you have specified for formatting is an 810 it will proceed to format the disk in single density Option P FORMAT SINGLE formats only in single density It should be used when you want to format a disk in single density on a 1050 Disk Drive Note that the A TRACK Master Disk is formatted in single density so that it can be read in any Atari drive You can copy its files to and use them from an enhanced density disk if you so wish without any problems To get acquainted with the formatting procedure with the DOS Menu on your screen format two blank disks to use when doing the exercises described below as follows Rel 2 2 73 March 2000 1 To format in enhanced density on a 1050 Disk Drive type I and press RETURN OR to format in single density type P and press RETURN The prompt WHICH DRIVE TO FORMAT appears 2 Type the number of the disk drive in your system in which you want to format the disk The prompt TYPE Y TO FORMAT DISK n where n is the number of the drive you specified appears This gives you a chance to make sure that the specified drive contains a disk that you want to format remember formatting erases any files already contained on a disk 3 Place the disk to be formatted in the drive you have specified Type Y and press RETURN T
86. isk If You Have One Disk Drive 1 With the DOS Menu on your screen type J and press RETURN The prompt DUP DISK SOURCE DEST DRIVES appears 2 Type 1 1 and press RETURN The prompt INSERT SOURCE DISK TYPE RETURN appears 3 Place the disk you want to duplicate in the drive in this case your A TRACK Master Disk and press RETURN The disk drive begins to read the information contained on your source disk Then DOS prompts you to INSERT DESTINATION DISK TYPE RETURN 4 Remove your source disk from the disk drive and insert the blank disk formatted or unformatted then press RETURN DOS writes the information it has read from your source disk to your destination disk first formatting the destination disk How many times DOS prompts you to insert your source and destination disks in your disk drive will depend on how much data is recorded on the source disk and the amount of RAM in your computer system When the prompt SELECT ITEM OR RETURN FOR MENU appears the duplication process is complete Rel 2 2 72 March 2000 If You Have Two Disk Drives 1 With the DOS Menu on your screen type J and press RETURN The prompt DUP DISK SOURCE DEST DRIVES appears 2 Type 1 2 and press RETURN The prompt INSERT BOTH DISKS TYPE RETURN appears 3 Place your source disk in Drive 1 in this case your original A TRACK Master Disk and a blank disk formatted or unformatted in Drive 2 then press RETURN 4 DOS duplicates all t
87. isplayed by A TRACK However in Address Only and Register modes only a limited set of CVs are accessible Only CV01 is valid in Address Only mode whereas in Register mode you can access CV01 through CV04 CV07 CV08 and CV29 for Loco Decoders or CV01 CV07 through CV09 and CV29 for Accessory Decoders In these modes if you attempt to verify or program any of the other inaccessible CVs A TRACK will take no action other than to change the separator from to x After verification and or determination of all marked CVs has been completed you are first given the option as described previously of retrying the complete command sequence if any marks are set at and then of updating the Item record with the verified values Obviously with an actual Decoder connected to the DIU or in a Loco on the progamming track where you are trying to aquire the data you would attempt verification again after checking connections etc but for our example you can answer N to both prompts when they are presented and return to the List Screen 7 6 ACCESSORY CONFIGURATION VARIABLES Accessory Decoders contain a different and smaller set of Configuration Variables from those Decoders intended for fitting to Locomotives although they are set up in exactly the same way via the Program Verify Screen Within the NMRA DCC Recommended Practice RP 9 2 2 Accessory Decoder Configuration Variables are actually numbered from 513 to 1024 although
88. l Screen and return to the List Screen by pressing the ESC key If you had the Loco in motion with some Functions turned On then you will now see its assignment direction and speed and function state displayed under the List Cursor and the Status Row continuing to show the number of active commands Move the List Cursor down to Item 005 an Accessory described as Turnouts HomeYard 1 4 and press RETURN when the left field is highlighted or simply double click on the Item left field to get back to the Control Screen It looks much the same as for the Loco but note that although the Control Cursor is over the Stop caption none of the Speed or Step Precision check boxes are marked since they do not apply to an Accessory and there is no Speed Bar Cursor Enable control by changing the assignment from None to Base until you do that you will find that none of the Functions can be activated Rel 2 2 31 March 2000 Now select F1 and switch it On by pressing RETURN or the LMB then do the same for F2 and observe how F1 is then switched to Off again If you now switch F2 Off by just pressing RETURN or the LMB it changes state quite happily but this time does not affect F1 You can try the sequence in reverse by switching F2 On first followed by F1 and seeing F2 being cancelled The same thing will happen when you activate any of the other three pairs of Functions Regardless of the number of active Functions control of an Accessory is
89. l editing keys are available to make the process as easy as possible The best way to understand the operation of the various keystrokes is to work through an example Let us assume that you have the demonstration Item List ATRKDEMO ITL on the screen Delete some Items by selecting each of them in turn and pressing the DELETE SHIFT BACKSPACE key Selecting the Append option when you are prompted will ensure that the deleted Items are all saved in the Delete Buffer Now insert the Buffer contents back into the Rel 2 2 22 March 2000 Item List at a different place from where you performed the deletions just so you will be able to recognise the Item List as different from ATRKDEMO by moving the List Cursor and pressing Insert SHIFT gt Answer Y to the Insert from Delete Buffer query Now press Clear SHIFT and answer Y to the prompt Item List Changed Save File The Status Row should now show Save D1 ATRKDEMO ITL followed by the Text Cursor a black block character The Text cursor can be moved with the Left and Right Arrow keys to highlight any character in the filename string but note that it cannot be moved beyond the start or end points of the string Pressing SHIFT TAB moves the Text Cursor to the start of the string and the TAB key moves it back to the end of the string Now move the Text Cursor left into the body of the string to highlight the D of ATRKDEMO for example You will see from the Text Edit Mode and
90. le Area Selecton can also be done as usual and probably more conveniently in this case by using the mouse and clicking on the required Field A click of the RMB or pressing ESC will return you from either Field to the Configuration Variable Area Pressing RETURN with the Type Field highlighted or simply double clicking on it displays a prompt on the Status Row offering the option of selecting the Item as a Locomotive Consist Accessory or None by typing the appropriate initial letter Pressing ESC or the RMB takes you back to the Type Field without making any changes Note that Item Type None is only included for completeness and serves no useful function other than preventing you from sending control commands to the Item If a Type is selected then it is displayed in the Type Field and you are returned to the Configuration Variable Area but with the Program Verify Cursor highlighting CV29 rather than the CV at which it was positioned before you selected the Item Type Depending on the Type allocated the value of CV29 may have been changed to identify the corresponding Decoder type and CV29 is marked for programming or verification Having possibly changed the Item Type if for example you are editing an existing Item definition to produce a new Item entry you can then press RETURN to amend the other bit settings within CV29 to match the requirements of the new Item and then proceed to update any other CVs which are affected I
91. lete one or more before you can add new digits to the string It is probably easier to leave the Text Edit Mode in Overwrite for numeric entry Editing of the CV value can be abandoned at any time and the original value preserved by pressing the ESC key or the RMB CV values can be entered to the Status Row in either decimal or hexadecimal digits Hex values are specified by making the first digit of the string a character most easily achieved by using the SHIFT TAB key to move to the start of the string and typing followed by the two required hexadecimal digits Hex digits A to F can be entered in either upper or lower case Note that you do not have to enter a full string of three characters it is quite acceptable to enter one two or three characters to make up the desired value although entry of a cleared or empty string will be treated like ESC leaving the existing CV value intact When you are happy with any edits you wish to make press RETURN or the LMB to enter the new value A TRACK then checks that the value is valid in either decimal or hexadecimal format since during the edit on the Status Row the program will actually accept any letter or symbol key as input Decimal values greater than 255 will be converted modulo 256 ie multiples of 256 are subtracted from the entered value until it is less than 256 Any character in the string which is not a valid decimal or hexadecimal digit including if it is not the first ch
92. ly quicker than using cursor control keys followed by RETURN but you may still find it easier to double click on the desired entry with the mouse Experiment to establish your own preferences Having explored the available Menu structure we can now look at what happens when you select and execute a particular action 8 2 FILE MENU New Clears the current Item List after offering you the opportunity to save the List if it has been changed If you are given the option to save the Item List then you can abandon the whole operation by pressing ESC or the RMB otherwise the Item List is cleared instantly Note that you cannot clear the Item List if any commands are currently active since you would instantly lose control of the active Items Load Loads an Item List from disk after allowing you to save the current List if it has been changed The filename of the most recently loaded Item List appears on the Status Row and can be edited as required to specify the full filename drive directory if appropriate filename of the Item List you wish to load into A TRACK Press RETURN or the LMB to load the Item List file but note carefully that pressing ESC or the RMB at this stage will result in any current Item List being cleared from memory without a replacement Item List being loaded as will also happen if any error occurs If the Load is successful you are presented with a set of queries to answer You can choose or not to issue a set o
93. nce the Locos are running as you require proceed with the Save operation by entering or editing the filename on the Status Row A TRACK will disable command output from the DIU which effectively cuts power to the track and brings all Locos to a halt but will not otherwise disrupt the current operation of the software The Save operation and subsequent reloading of the Item List can then proceed safely with the DIU being re enabled once Item List loading is complete A similar sequence of events takes place when you choose to Load a new Item List Rel 2 2 47 March 2000 Even if all Locos are stopped before File operations are undertaken it is still possible for spurious or corrupt DCC commands which could cause a Loco to move off unpredictably to be generated You can add a further level of protection against such problems during File operations by setting the DIU Mode Switch to the PROGRAM position This positively prevents any output from the DIU to the main track To be absolutely safe you should switch off and restart the Atari XL XE DIU and A TRACK program after any Save operation 8 3 EDIT MENU C Vars Delete Insert Takes you to the Program Verify Screen via the usual set of queries to set the operational modes to edit the Configuration Variables Type and Description of the currently selected Item Equivalent to highlighting the right field of the Item and pressing RETURN or double clicking on the Item right field
94. nd some of the descriptions and explanations a little difficult to follow Refer to your Atari computer documentation for guidance on basic operating procedures a summary of the sequences which may be required during A TRACK operation can be found in Section 12 towards the end of the User Guide A TRACK will operate with either the Atari DOS 2 5 disk operating system or any of its derivatives or with SpartaDOS Since the program makes only legal calls to the inbuilt ROM operating system and to DOS it should work with any other DOS such as MyDOS for example without any problems providing the DOS does not occupy too much of the computer s memory space The address of the bottom of free memory MEMLO must be kept below 1F00 hexadecimal 7936 decimal the address at which the A TRACK program loads A TRACK is written entirely in Assembler machine code since BASIC would be far too slow to handle the generation and output of DCC commands in real time The program also uses all of the machine s available memory from 1F00 to BFFF including that normally occupied by the built in XL XE BASIC language interpreter The A TRACK Master disk contains a complete set of files necessary to load and run the program and to demonstrate its various features and operating modes Side A contains the files in DOS 2 5 format and a copy of DOS 2 5XL which loads the DUP SYS file into the RAM under the OS ROM and Side B holds the same files formatted un
95. next CV position This makes the editing of a sequence of CV values a little easier and allows you to mark consecutive CV values simply by holding down the Space Bar Most of the Loco CVs have like the Primary Address single byte values An exception is the pair CV17 and CV18 which contain between them the Loco s 14 bit Extended Address Selecting either of CV17 or CV18 will give you a 5 digit numeric string to edit on the Status Row You can enter up to 5 decimal digits or up to 4 hexadecimal digits preceded by the character then press RETURN or the LMB and leave it up to A TRACK to sort the value out between the two CVs Again the entered value is checked to confirm that it is a valid number but not that the value lies within A TRACK s allowable range of Decoder Extended Addresses ie 00001 to 09999 0001 to 270F In all cases A TRACK will set the top two bits of CV17 as required by the defined DCC address format and will mark both CV17 and CV18 The most important Configuration Variable is CV29 in which each bit controls a different feature of the Decoder s operation To help you set things up correctly when you select CV29 to edit its value A TRACK presents you with a series of questions to answer regarding the desired modes and features and then constructs the necessary value automatically If you are unsure whether to answer Y or N to any question then simply press RETURN or the LMB to retain the default or previously edited
96. ntroller H1 to H8 The intricacies of setting up Consists is dealt with later in Section 6 5 6 3 SPEED CONTROL The function of the centre column headed Speed is obviously to allow you to control the speed of a Loco or Consist which has been assigned to Base using the keyboard or mouse It also gives you control over the Item s direction which is perhaps not quite so obvious As you can see on initial entry the Item is stopped and its speed is zero In line with DCC Standards the speed of an Item can only be set to one of a number of distinct values or steps and depending on the capabilities of the Decoder fitted to the Item you can have 14 28 or 128 speed steps with the latter giving the smoothest control With A TRACK you pick a number of steps by which to change the current speed setting Up or Down ie to increase it or to decrease it From stopped selecting Up steps will make the Item move forward and you can continue to apply the selected Up value until the Item reaches the desired speed To slow the Item you would then select a Down step value by which to decrease the speed and eventually bring the Item to a halt However continuing to apply the Down value will make the Item go into reverse and to increase its speed backwards In order to bring the Item progressively to a stop once more you would then select an Up value again and send it to the Item until the speed reaches zero The Loco example on the Control Scr
97. oes T ROCK USER GUIDE RELEASE 2 2 Copyright 1997 2000 by JT Chamberlain CONTENTS 1 2 INTRODUCTION SYSTEM OVERVIEW GETTING STARTED 3 1 SOFTWARE SETUP 3 2 HARDWARE CONNECTION 3 3 OPERATING STATUS LOADING 4 1 INITIAL SEQUENCE 4 2 PROMPTS 4 3 ERROR HANDLING LIST SCREEN CURSORS KEYBOARD AND MOUSE 5 1 GENERAL OPERATIONS 5 2 EMERGENCY STOPS 5 3 EDITING THE ITEM LIST 5 4 EDITING FILENAMES TEXT STRINGS AND NUMERICAL VALUES 5 5 SCREEN SAVER ATARI ATTRACT MODE CONTROL SCREEN 6 1 OPERATION SETUP 6 2 ITEM ASSIGNMENT amp CURSOR CONTROL 6 3 SPEED CONTROL 6 4 FUNCTIONS amp ACCESSORY CONTROL 6 5 CONSISTS PROGRAM VERIFY SCREEN 7 1 OPERATION SETUP 7 2 EDITING CONFIGURATION VARIABLES 7 3 ITEM TYPE amp DESCRIPTION 7 4 PROGRAMMING A DECODER 7 5 VERIFYING DECODER CONFIGURATION VALUES 7 6 ACCESSORY CONFIGURATION VARIABLES 7 7 SETTING UP BLANK ITEMS 7 8 CONSISTS MENU PROGRAM CONFIGURATION 10 11 12 TRACK OPERATIONS 10 1 CONNECTIONS 10 2 WIRING amp OVERLOADS 10 2 PROGRAMMING DECODERS amp CONSISTS HARDWARE OPTIONS amp EXTENSIONS 11 1 PADDLE CONTROLLERS 11 2 A TRACK HANDHELDS 11 3 POWER BOOSTER UNITS ATARI COMPUTER BASICS 12 4 DISK DRIVES AND OPERATIONS 12 2 ATARI DOS 2 5 12 3 ATARI ERROR CODES 13 CHANGE HISTORY 14 13 1 RELEASE 2 0 SINCE RELEASE 1 2 13 2 RELEASE 2 2 AFTERWORD DISCLAIMER I hope you will like A TRACK and enjoy using it as mu
98. of the Text Cursor in the string does not matter or press ESC or the RMB to abandon the entire operation Any error conditions which might arise because the disk in the drive is full or write protected or not there at all are reported on the Status Row and can be cleared by pressing the ESC key or the RMB This also results in the Save operation being abandoned As the Item List file is being saved you will probably observe that as when loading an Item List the colours of the various Screen Areas disappear and all text appears in the same colour as the List Area This happens because the way in which Atari screen colours are manipulated would otherwise interfere with the handling of the disk drive for the technically minded Display List and Timer interrupts are temporarily disabled Screen colours are restored as soon as the disk operations are completed See Section 8 2 for more details on saving and loading Item List files After the changed Item List is saved to disk the Clear operation is completed and the Items disappear form the List Area You are presented with the option to Clear State of All Decoders which would be appropriate if you were connected to the track since you can no longer select an Item to control it but for this example just press either Y or N to clear the prompt Now press INSERT SHIFT gt answer Y to the prompt Insert from Delete Buffer and note that the Items you previously put into the Delete
99. om your source disk to your destination disk How many times DOS prompts you to insert your source and destination disks in your disk drive will depend on how large your original file is Try copying a large file like ATRACK OVL to see the effect be careful not to get source and destination disks confused If you do manage to swap source and destination disks at any stage you will appreciate the precaution of placing a write protection tab on the source disk When the prompt SELECT ITEM OR RETURN FOR MENU appears the copying process is complete Rel 2 2 76 March 2000 From One Disk to Another With Two Disk Drives 1 With the DOS Menu on your screen type C for COPY FILE and press RETURN The prompt COPY FROM TO appears 2 Type the complete filespec for the file you want to copy a comma and the filespec for the copy itself To copy the practice file ATRACK COM you could type D1 ATRACK COM D2 ATRCKCOM CPY or simply use the same filespec for the copy 3 Make sure that the disk containing your original file is in Drive 1 and the disk to which you are copying is in Drive 2 Then press RETURN DOS copies the specified file from the disk in Drive 1 to the disk in Drive 2 When the prompt SELECT ITEM OR RETURN FOR MENU appears the copying process is complete Backing Up a File on the Same Disk Whether you have one drive or two you use the COPY FILE option on the DOS Menu to make a backup copy of a file on the same di
100. on your Working disk then A TRACK will load automatically Otherwise you can load the program manually from DOS by typing DOS at the READY prompt then selecting option L Type ATRACK COM as the program to load and press the RETURN key Using SpartaDOS 3 2 with a STARTUP BAT file as described should also load ATRACK automatically but you can load it manually from the D1 prompt by typing BASIC OFF RETURN followed by ATRACK RETURN The A TRACK Loader will display an initial banner on the screen while it loads the main A TRACK program Any errors which might occur during the loading phase are reported on screen using the normal Atari error codes If an error does occur you then have the option to restart the boot process by pressing the RETURN key or to return to DOS by pressing BREAK After a successful load A TRACK displays its operational screen format where the screen is divided into a number of areas each with their own function and each consisting of one or more screen rows The top two rows form the Menu Area which as you might surmise is used to display a series of menus providing access to most of the program s functions After initialisation the Menu Area just shows the program name description and version number Black text on a White background Below this is the single row of the Title Area White text on a Blue background which will be used to display captions relating to the Item data shown below it in th
101. or Cursor movement and CV selection both operate in the same way as in Program Mode Note that it is also possible to change Mode directly through the Menu system as will be described in the next part of the User Guide Section 8 and so reduce the number of keystrokes you have to make The primary purpose of Verify Mode is to allow you to check that the CV values held within the A TRACK record of the Item are the same as the corresponding CV values currently stored in the Item Decoder without necessarily changing either set of values In Verify Mode you cannot edit any of the Item record CV values and if you press RETURN you will note that its effect is only to mark the highlighted CV changing the separator between Number and Value from to The Space Bar can also be used for this purpose as in Program Mode Note as before that pressing RETURN or the Space Bar over any highlighted and marked CV removes the mark You may also note in passing that you cannot edit either the Item Type or Description in Verify Mode neither clicking on them with the mouse nor pressing the TAB key has any effect Once you have marked the CVs whose values you wish to check against the Decoder contents the next sequence of actions is very similar to that described in the previous section on Program Mode Press ESC or the RMB and answer Y to the request to verify the marked CVs pressing N will skip the verification process and ESC or the RMB will
102. orward or Reverse set by the position of the Direction Select switch This switch is built into the A TRACK Handhelds but a suitable toggle switch will have to be added to Atari Paddles in order to use them in directional mode Details of this and other useful modifications are described in Section 11 Note that if you have not fitted such a switch to your Atari Paddles then you should not try and use them in Directional mode unless of course you only ever want the assigned Locos to move forwards In Centre Zero mode the Stop position is around the midpoint of the control knob s rotation from which the knob is rotated clockwise to move the Loco forward and counter clockwise to move in reverse There is a dead band built in to allow you some latitude in selecting the Stop position and the nominal zero speed point is marked on the A TRACK Handhelds When using Atari Paddles you should place marks on the Paddle knob and on the body to align at the zero speed position Knowing the zero speed position of the Handhelds in either mode is important after an Emergency Stop is activated either to an Item via ESC or broadcast to all Items via BREAK or a Handheld Emergency Stop or Trigger button since as soon as you return to normal operation the A TRACK software will resume the generation of speed commands based on the control knob position to any Loco assigned to that Handheld The Loco will therefore move off again even if you cancelle
103. ory to be displayed is defined by the current path which is set to D1 by default The path is displayed on the Status Row and can be edited to specify whichever path you require The edited path then becomes the default path which will be displayed in future Press RETURN or the LMB to display the first 18 lines of the directory listing in the List Area If there are more than 18 lines in the listing press RETURN or the LMB again to display the next 18 lines ESC or the RMB can be pressed at any time to abandon the directory display and return to the Item List When the directory listing has been completely displayed a further press of RETURN or the LMB allows you to edit the path again to look at another directory Press ESC or the RMB to end the operation See Section 9 Whenever a Load or Save operation is performed it is necessary for A TRACK to suspend its normal generation and output of DCC commands to the track All of the Atari XL XE computer resources have to be dedicated to servicing the transfer of data to or from the disk drive and as has been noted previously in Section 5 4 you will see the normal screen colours disappear temporarily Because command output is disrupted the best course of action is not to have Locomotives on the track during File operations This does not mean that you cannot Save an Item List with active Loco commands in order to preserve the operating state of a layout for display purposes for example O
104. ou with a clean slate on which to enter a new character string If you wish to input lower case characters you can either press the CAPS key to toggle the Text Case the indicator changes to W or simply use SHIFT with the letter key For filename entry characters should be in upper case for Atari DOS although SpartaDOS 3 will accept filenames in either upper or lower case For those DOS types such as SpartaDOS and MyDOS which allow the use of subdirectories the maximum string length of 34 characters lets you enter pathnames including at least two levels of subdirectory should you wish to do so To return to our current example once you are happy that you understand the ways the editing keys operate edit the displayed filename to something like D1 ATRKEDIT ITL You can of course enter any valid filename you like or change the disk drive number but do not leave it at D1 ATRKDEMO ITL unless you really want to overwrite the demonstration Item List Remember to preserve the correct format which is D disk drive number colon File Title period File Type where the File Title can have up to eight letters or numbers but must start with a letter and the File Type consists of up to three letters or numbers Here ITL is used for the File Type to remind you that the file is an Item List but you can use any letter number combination that you wish Now press RETURN or the LMD to write the revised Item List to disk the position
105. ould also ignore the 5 pin DIN sockets on either side of the DIU These are used to connect the DIU to auxiliary Power Booster Units or to other DIUs configured as slave units and to supply power to a Network Driver unit used in conjunction with a set of Handheld Controllers and such operation will be dealt with fully in Section 11 Rel 2 2 12 March 2000 3 3 OPERATING STATUS As described in Section 3 1 above the front panel of the DIU has three LED indicators to show the status of the hardware The Yellow LED next to the Power On Off switch shows that power is available to the DIU from the external 15 VAC transformer It is assumed that 5V DC power to the logic circuitry is present if the Atari XL XE is operational and the DIU Power switch is On The Green LED labelled ACTIVE indicates that the DIU is functioning and that DCC data commands are being passed to the DIU power output stages The Red LED labelled OVERLOAD shows when the maximum output current for the selected mode Operate or Program has been exceeded Once an overload has been detected and the Red LED lit the DIU reduces the output voltage to limit the track current to a safe value Removing the cause of the overload from the track may allow the DIU to recover on its own if the remaining load is sufficiently low otherwise it will be necessary switch the DIU off briefly then back on to resume normal operation As well as displaying its immediate status on the LE
106. ow If the 15 VAC supply is present then the Green Active LED should also light in response to the Idle command packets which are now being output by the DIU to its Main Track terminals Rel 2 2 16 March 2000 4 3 ERROR HANDLING If the DIU or the Atari XL XE detects some fault during the above or subsequent sequence of events such as the DIU not being connected it will be reported as an error at this point The error code or an explanation will be displayed as Black Text on Red on the Status Row and a beep will sound to attract your attention The error display is cleared by pressing either the Escape ESC key or the Right Mouse Button RMB after which you will be given the opportunity to ignore further DIU error and status reports by answering Y to the next prompt Ignore Further DIU Status Errors BE WARNED that if you decline the invitation to ignore errors at this point in the program by pressing the N key it is likely that the next time the DIU reports a status error you will be presented with a continual stream of error messages on the Status Row Switching everything off and restarting may then be the only option available For demonstration purposes ignoring DIU errors and status is acceptable but the situation should not occur during real operation when connected to the track If the query does appear in this situation then you will need to check carefully that all parts of the system are connected and or set up co
107. own brings it back to the first top List Area row If the cursor is on the last row of the List Area the Down Arrow key will cause the Item List to scroll up by one row to reveal the next Item in the List Alternatively pressing TAB when the cursor is on the last row will scroll the Item List by a complete page 19 Items so that the bottom Item now appears on the top row of the List Rel 2 2 19 March 2000 Area SHIFT TAB has the opposite effect to the TAB key Note that the number of the Item under the cursor is displayed on the Title Row The best way to understand the action of the cursor control keys is to use them youself to move up and down the demonstration Item List You cannot do any damage to the program or the computer by pressing any of the keys mentioned so far In general A TRACK will not accept any keystroke other than those defined as valid for the section of the program currently being executed The worst that can happen if you press a valid but inappropriate key combination is that the Item List in memory gets corrupted and it is easy to recover to the last saved version by means of the Menu File functions see Section 8 for details With the List Cursor placed over the left field of any Item pressing RETURN will take you to the Control Screen with the ESC key returning you to the List Screen Similarly pressing RETURN with the cursor over an Item right field will bring up the Program Verify Screen after replying to a
108. peed step 8 R60 From here D4 will produce maximum reverse speed or U5 will bring the Loco back to a halt As an aside the speed step precision for any Loco is determined primarily by the capabilities of the fitted Decoder The setting of Bit 1 in the Decoder Configuration Variable Number 29 determines whether standard Speed amp Direction commands should be interpreted as specifying 14 Step Precision Bit 1 0 or 28 Step Bit 1 1 and you can set this up when programming the Decoder See Section 7 which follows A different Advanced Speed amp Direction command type is used to send 128 Step speed commands and these may not be accepted by all Decoders so check the particular Decoder specification before using the 128 Step option Rel 2 2 29 March 2000 If you assign the Loco to a Handheld Controller you can control its speed directly by rotating the control knob without having to worry about the number of speed steps Up or Down to select The operation of the speed control knob of all Handhelds can be defined for each Handheld Controller individually as either Centre Zero or as Directional to suit your personal preference The selection of operating mode is made as described in the previous section when a Handheld is assigned to an Item In Directional mode the Loco speed is zero Stop with the control knob rotated fully counter clockwise Speed is increased by rotating the knob clockwise with the direction of the Loco F
109. perator can unplug the HHC and move it to any other network socket as convenient The assigned locomotive will continue at the speed and function settings active when its HHC was disconnected until the HHC is plugged in again to resume full operator control Plugging and unplugging of each HHC should be done smartly to avoid spurious electrical transients on the cables These can cause an unintended Emergency Stop to occur which as in all such cases intended or otherwise has to be cancelled at the Atari XL XE keyboard Rel 2 2 63 March 2000 11 3 POWER BOOSTER UNITS Where the 4 Amp capability of the DIU is inadequate to supply all of the locomotives and accessories that you want to operate simultaneously on the track the layout can be divided into several electrically isolated sections often referred to as power districts One section or district is driven from the DIU and each of the others will be driven by a slave Power Booster Unit PBU Each PBU has its own 15 VAC 4A transformer and receives the stream of bits forming the DCC command packets from the DIU converting them into the required voltage transitions Because the DIU and all PBUs are synchronised locomotives can travel between layout sections without any restrictions and without any interruption of control PBUs are connected using a 5 way cable fitted at each end with the appropriate 5 pin DIN Type B plugs straight through connection Pin 1 to Pin 1 etc between
110. py any files you wish to preserve on to a real disk before Rel 2 2 71 March 2000 switching off If you have only a normal 800XL or do not wish to use a RAM Disk then you need not copy RAMDISK COM to your A TRACK Working Disk The other files listed are associated with the A TRACK system as described in Section 3 1 REALINIT ITL is an A TRACK Item List containing actual DCC Decoder parameters used by the author for program development Duplicating a Disk With the DUPLICATE DISK option on the DOS 2 5 Menu you can create an exact replica of a disk This function copies everything from your original or source disk onto another or destination disk It also formats your destination disk CAUTION The DUPLICATE DISK function erases or writes over any information that may already be on a destination disk Never use a destination disk that contains valuable files To learn how the DUPLICATE function works make a duplicate of your A TRACK Master Disk This is also an important safeguard You should use your duplicate as your working copy of A TRACK and keep the Master Disk itself as a backup copy Then you can use A TRACK without worrying about accidental damage to your working disk As your destination disk use a new blank disk and to prevent accidents ensure that the write protect tabs the small self adhesive foil rectangles attached to the edges of the disk near the label are firmly in place on the Master Disk but NOT on the blank d
111. py of DOS 2 5 which you should have received with your Atari system into Drive 1 and reboot the system Rel 2 2 68 March 2000 2 Remove the DOS disk 3 Reinsert the problem disk and save any accessible files on another disk using the process for copying files seeC COPY FILE later in this Section 4 With the problem disk in Drive 1 use the D DELETE FILE S function to erase all the files 5 Try using the disk again If this fails the disk will have to be reformatted see I FORMAT DISK later in this Section or discarded The DOS Menu Once you ve loaded DOS into your computer and if necessary typed DOS and pressed RETURN the DOS Menu appears on your TV or monitor screen The menu presents a list of DOS functions The prompt below the menu invites you to make a selection You choose the function you want to use by pressing the letter corresponding to your selection and pressing RETURN DOS then asks you for the information it needs to proceed see Prompts and Responses later in this section The DOS 2 5 Menu options presented on the screen have the following purposes A DISK DIRECTORY This option allows you to call up a complete or selective list of the files on a disk showing the filenames extenders if any the number of sectors allocated to each file and the number of free sectors still available on the disk B RUN CARTRIDGE This option allows you to return control of your system to the built in BASIC Pro
112. r the Text Cursor Now all the characters to the right of the Cursor position move one place left to fill the gap left by the deleted character and the string length is reduced by one character Pressing DELETE at the end of the string has no effect on the string or its length If you change the Text Edit Mode from Overwrite to Insert by pressing the INSERT SHIFT gt key changing the Text Mode indicator to i you will find that BACKSPACE used within the body of the string now operates differently by removing the character to the immediate left of the Text Cursor and moving the rest of the string characters left to fill up the gap thus decrementing the string length The operation of the DELETE key remains the same as in Overwrite mode You can see which Mode you are in at any time by looking at the program status indicators on the Title Row In Insert Mode pressing an alphanumeric key while positioned within the body of the character string puts the selected character into the string at the Cursor position moves the rest of the string one place to the right and increments the string length unless this would take the length beyond the set maximum value In this case the character input is ignored The only way then to insert new characters into the body of the string is to delete some of the existing characters first Rel 2 2 23 March 2000 The CLEAR SHIFT lt key will erase all of the string characters on the Status Row and leave y
113. re is to generate a fresh Blank Record for a Loco with a Description to suit the locomotive in which you are going to install the Decoder then Rel 2 2 58 March 2000 continue the Program procedure by setting at least the Primary Address CV01 to the required value You can set up any other CV values as well if you want to alter the default values using the documentation supplied with the Decoder for guidance then start the Program sequence As each CV value is transferred to the Decoder you should see the test setup lamp or LEDs flash briefly Again if this does not occur check your setup carefully before you yell for help You can if you wish Verify that the Decoder contains your new programmed values otherwise fit it into a locomotive and proceed to track operations If the Decoder is already fitted in a locomotive then you can go through exactly the same process of verification and programming but this time on the programming track which should be connected to the DIU Yellow PROGRAM terminals as described If you listen carefully to the locomotive when you initiate Verify or Program operations you should hear a short click or buzz from the motor as each command is acknowledged and the locomotive may jerk forward slightly on the track If the Decoder is connected to the locomotive headlight or other lights then these may flash briefly as part of the acknowledgement Additionally if the locomotive motor draws a high current at start up
114. re synchronised locomotives can travel between layout sections without any restrictions and without any interruption of control A TRACK works with a software list of Controlled Items where each Item contains a description and operational parameters for one of the locomotives consists or accessories to be controlled on the model railroad layout The user can view the Item List and select any individual Item in order to control it or to amend its operational parameters Item Lists are loaded from disk and when updated can be saved back to disk for future use This ability is a major advantage of A TRACK over current commercial DCC systems where the operating characteristics of your locomotives are stored within the equipment itself and there is generally no provision for maintaining a back up copy of all the parameters Each Item List may contain a maximum of 64 Items but by use of the editing facilities in A TRACK Items can be added or deleted from one Item List and moved to another for example to give you the right set of Items you need for a particular operating session or simply reordered for more convenient access Selection and control of an Item is performed using either the computer keyboard or a mouse or a combination of both The various screen displays show the results of any action and the current state of the selected Item s A TRACK uses its own character font to improve readability and to allow the use of several special ch
115. ressing C RETURN or the LMB or press D to select Directional mode The differences between the two modes are explained in Section 6 3 which follows Using standard Atari Paddles with A TRACK will allow you to control only the speed of the assigned Loco or Consist However if the wiring from the Paddle Trigger buttons to Joystick Port 2 is altered by connecting the Paddles through the simple adaptor described in Section 11 pressing either Trigger button will activate an Emergency Stop All command A switch can also be added to each Paddle to control the Item Function FL normally used to control locomotive lights see Section 11 for details Rel 2 2 27 March 2000 A TRACK Handhelds provide you with direct control of up to six Item Functions FL and F1 to F5 as well as the Items s speed and direction and are fitted with an Emergency Stop button Further details can again be found in Section 11 Regardless of the type of Handheld Controller used Function states for Items assigned to Controllers can all be set or reset from the computer console by selecting the Control Screen for the particular Item and then selecting the appropriate Function check box This gives you dual control over the Item Functions from either the Handheld Controller or Base At the bottom of the left hand column is a final check box labelled Cnst This allows you to assign a Loco to a Consist provided it has not already been assigned to Base or to a Handheld Co
116. rminals labelled TRACK to an appropriate point on your main track layout and the Yellow DIU output terminals labelled PROGRAM to a section of track isolated from the main layout It is not important which terminal goes to which rail but note carefully that the lower TRACK and PROGRAM terminals are linked together within the DIU labelled COMMON If the isolated section of track to be used for programming your locomotive decoders is physically connected to the main layout then you should ensure that the common TRACK and PROGRAM terminals go to the same rail left or right so that a locomotive running across the isolation gap does not cause a disruptive short circuit across the DIU outputs Once the DIU is connected to the layout if you have locomotives on the track with or without DCC decoders then it is recommended that the DIU Mode Switch is set to the PROGRAM position before the DIU Power Switch is turned back to ON This prevents the normal switch on power surges from causing your locomotives to jerk into motion momentarily Once the Green ACTIVE LED has gone out you can return the Mode switch to the OPERATE position then load and operate the A TRACK software as described earlier in Section 4 10 2 WIRING amp OVERLOADS Since the current which can be drawn from the TRACK output is up to 4 Amps make sure that the guage of wire you use to connect to the track is sufficient to avoid a substantial voltage drop the larger the
117. rrectly as described in Section 10 answer N to the prompt and try again Choosing to ignore DIU status will prevent command packets being output correctly and control of any locomotives or accessories will be lost Rel 2 2 17 March 2000 5 LIST SCREEN CURSORS KEYBOARD AND MOUSE 5 1 GENERAL OPERATIONS A TRACK can be operated entirely through the keyboard but also offers the option of using a mouse Either an Atari ST or Commodore Amiga mouse can be used plugged into Joystick Port 1 on the right hand side of the Atari XL XE and the program automatically detects whether a mouse is present although it cannot determine the mouse type The default configuration is for an Atari mouse and use of aCommmodore mouse requires the A TRACK Configuration to be altered see Section 9 of this User Guide Note that neither a PC Serial nor PS 2 mouse is usable with the Atari XL XE ports For those users familiar with normal Atari computer keyboard conventions note that A TRACK incorporates its own keyboard handler which deals with some keystrokes in a slightly different way from normal Atari operation in order to provide an easier interface for the selection of command and control functions As you have already seen the RETURN key operates in its normal fashion to complete an action such as loading a file Generally the ESC key performs the opposite function allowing you to cancel or abandon an operation If for example the ESC key had been pre
118. se auxiliary functions is totally independent of the locomotive speed Lights for example operate at constant brightnesss even when the locomotive is stationary There is provision within the DCC Standards to operate one conventional locomotive not equipped with a decoder on the track at the same time as the DCC compatible locomotives This is done by lengthening either the positive or negative part of a 0 bit cycle to give a net positive or negative voltage across the track rails and thus drive the conventional locomotive forward or backward However the benefit of this feature is difficult to justify in view of the additional complexity required to implement it and it is not incorporated in A TRACK The same decoders fitted to locomotives can be used to control static trackside accessories such as signals and turnouts However specialised accessory decoders with multiple switched outputs are normally employed for this purpose unless of course the accessory a turntable or crane for example requires control of an electric motor A TRACK and the DIU are designed to be fully compliant with NMRA Standards and to work with all makes of commercial decoder To date the system has been successfully tested with Digitrax Lenz Model Rectifier North Coast Engineering Wangrow System One and ZTC decoders Rel 2 2 7 March 2000 2 SYSTEM OVERVIEW A TRACK requires either an Atari 800XL or 130XE fitted with a disk drive for use as a Comman
119. set of prompts queries shown on the Status Row The functions and operations associated with both Control and Program Verify Screens are described in Sections 6 and 7 later in the User Guide Press ESC to return to the List Screen Instead of using the keyboard the cursor can be moved with the mouse assuming that you have it plugged in and operational if not and you wish to use the mouse then plug the mouse into Joystick Port 1 and either reboot the computer or change the A TRACK Configuration via the Menu functions see later in Sections 8 and 9 for details to enable mouse operations The List Cursor can be moved to any selected Item field by positioning the Mouse Cursor an arrow shape over that field and pressing the left mouse button LMB This operation of positioning the Mouse Cursor over a screen field and pressing the LMB is commonly referred to as clicking the mouse or just clicking Clicking on the selected inverse text field will then and in most other cases perform the same function as the RETURN key taking you to either the Control or Program Verify Screens The action of clicking once to select a field then again to invoke an action is usually called double clicking In the same way as the LMB acts like the RETURN key the right mouse button RMB generally mimics the action of the ESC key Try it and see but note the comments in the next Section on Emergency Stops There are a couple of special
120. sing a lamp or LEDs will allow you to see the response of the Decoder to Verify and Program commands No connections to other wires from Decoder Decoder Orange wyo 022 wyo 01Z LED 2 DIU PROGRAM Sy Terminals Na lt Flat on LED Body In accordance with the NMRA DCC Recommended Practice RP 9 2 3 Decoders are designed to acknowledge receipt of programming commands so that you can verify that they have been received correctly In the case of a Loco Decoder acknowledgement is made by turning on the Loco motor for a brief period and allowing the DIU to detect the momentary increase in current consumption from the track In our test setup the lamp or LEDs should flash briefly Setup a Blank Item with a Type of Loco and a suitable Description for the new Decoder see Section 7 7 then follow the Verify procedure described in Section 7 5 marking all 96 CV values and letting A TRACK determine the actual values in the new Decoder This can take a fair amount of time just be patient If there are any problems and there is no indication from the lamp or LEDs then check that all your connections are sound and that you have followed all the A TRACK and DIU setup instructions correctly then try again Once the process is complete you can update the new Item record with the extracted CV values and save it with the rest of the Item List on to disk for future reference if necessary The next stage of the recommended procedu
121. sist enjoys at all If we remove the Consist Address from each of the Loco Decoders then that Consist disappears immediately from the track Rel 2 2 32 March 2000 Nevertheless within A TRACK an Item defined as a Consist can be dealt with in exactly the same way as you handle a real Loco Item issuing commands to it from the Control Screen just as described in the preceding sections Before you attempt to assign two or more Locos to form a Consist you will first have to set up the Consist as an Item in its own right The method of doing this is described in Section 7 but to let you see how things work ATRKDEMO contains several example Consists ready for use Looking at the Item List press ESC to exit from the Control Screen if necessary these are Items 008 012 and 020 Fountains Express Manchester Pullman and Old Lancastrian As an example we will assign Items 013 and 014 Locos GWR 28XX 2 8 0 and GWR Manor Grange to the Consist Item 012 Manchester Pullman So that you can see exactly what is going on stop the generation of any other command packets by selecting any currently active Items and setting their assignments to None The Status Row should then indicate that zero 00 commands are active Back on the List Screen note the addresses of the three Items for our example Consist L2306 L2613 and in particular C 033 Go to the Control Screen for Item 013 Loco GWR 28XX 2 8 0 and select Cnst as the Item s assignment
122. sk Follow the steps outlined above for the two drive copy but type the same drive code for both the FROM and the TO filespecs and remember to give the file a different name in the TO filespec For example if you are copying the file ATRACK COM on Drive 1 you might type D1 ATRACK COM D1 ATRACK BAK Using Wild Cards to Copy a Group of Files Suppose you want to make backup copies of all four of the A TRACK files ATRACK COM ATRACK OVL ATRACK FNT and ATRACK CFG You can use wild cards to copy all four at once a time saving alternative to copying them one at a time To use wild cards to copy all your practice files follow the same procedure you use to copy one file on your system but use wild cards when typing your FROM filespec when using COPY FILE or your NAME OF FILE TO MOVE when using DUPLICATE FILE To copy all four files for example you would type ATRACK as the name of the files to be copied using the to stand for the extenders in all four filenames If you are using the DUPLICATE FILE option DOS will tell you as it copies each file Erasing Files You can erase a file from a disk with the DELETE FILE S function on the DOS Menu Erasing out of date files of course opens up space on your data disks for storing more information After a file is erased from a disk its filename disappears from the directory for that disk CAUTION Use the DELETE FILE S function with care it may be permanent For practi
123. sly since commands will be issued immediately to all locos or consists setting them to run at their saved speed values A similar operation offered by the third prompt to restore Function parameters can be particularly useful where turnouts are controlled by accessory decoders and you wish to issue commands to set them all to a known saved position The demonstration Item List ATRKDEMO ITL does not contain any saved parameters so that pressing the Y key in response to the prompts in this case will not cause any problems The fourth and final prompt asking you to confirm that the DIU is set to Operate Mode appears at this point only if you answer N to the Clear Decoders prompt otherwise it appears as the second prompt in the sequence It should be answered by pressing the Y key after checking that the Mode Switch is in the correct position You will find that this particular prompt is displayed fairly frequently during A TRACK operation whenever the program wishes to output a fresh set of command packets and has any reason to expect that the DIU Mode Switch might have been changed to Program Mode After pressing Y note that the Operating Mode indicator on the Title Row changes from N to C signifying Control Mode If the DIU is operating correctly with or without its external 15 VAC supply connected pressing Y should also result finally in the message Status OK 00 Commands Active being displayed on the Status R
124. ssed at the prompt to load ATRKDEMO ITL the file load would not take place and you would be presented with a blank List Area and the Title Row continuing to show No Item List Loaded Assuming that the ATRKDEMO Item List has been loaded and displayed you will note that each screen row in the List Area contains an Item which is either a Locomotive a Consist or an Accessory The displayed parameters for each Item are identified on the Title Row as follows A Assignment Source of Commands for this Item B Base Console 1 8 Handheld Controller tem Emergency Stop Activated at Console Item Assignment is only shown when commands for that Item are active DS Direction and Speed Current Value for Loco or Consist F Forward R Reverse Stopped Digits indicate Speed as an approximate percentage of maximum speed Range of values displayed depends on number of Speed Steps being used by the Item Decoder 14 Step 18 to 96 Step 6 28 Step 15 to 96 Step 3 128 Step 01 to 96 Step 0 75 Rel 2 2 18 March 2000 L1234 Function States Current Setting for Item For Loco or Consist shows states of FL and F1 F4 only On For Accessory shows state of Function Pairs F1 2 F3 4 F5 6 and F7 8 in columns headed 1 4 Fa On where Fa is F1 F3 F5 or F7 gt Fb On where Fb is F2 F4 F6 or F8 T Item Type L Locomotive C Consist A Accessory M Locomotive Assigned to Consist
125. tach paper clips to your disks Never touch a disk where it is exposed through the disk envelope Fingerprints can damage the magnetic medium Most disks come with labels already affixed to one corner of the black protective envelope or with a set of labels that you can attach to each disk Be sure to label every disk on which you copy or store programs and files 12 2 ATARI DOS 2 5 Your Atari computer s memory retains the information and instructions you enter through its keyboard However the computer s memory is limited in size and without a storage device like the 1050 Disk Drive its contents are erased each time you turn off the computer Your disk drive enables you to store and manage large amounts of information in separate files on disks Through the disk drive you can call up your files by name copy or erase them and manage them in many other ways To store information on disks you need software that allows your computer and disk drive to communicate with each other about your files That is where the Disk Operating System DOS pronounced doss for short fits into the picture DOS is a program that enables your computer and disk drive to work together in storing retrieving and otherwise managing your disk files DOS itself is organized in two files contained on the A TRACK Master Disk DOS SYS and DUP SYS DOS must be loaded into your computer before it can work with your disk drive This is done automatically
126. tem but also cancels any commands which are currently addressed to it Since there is a limit 64 within A TRACK on the number of commands which can be active at any one time assigning None also effectively makes space for commands to be sent to other Items In particular if an Item Emergency Stop command is being sent to an Item assigning that Item to None even if it already has that assignment will stop further output of the command to the Item Selection of an Assignment or a Speed or Function state for that matter is done by moving the Control Cursor to highlight the appropriate check box caption using the Arrow keys or the mouse in the same way they are used on the List Screen and then pressing RETURN or using a double click to complete the selection The adjacent check box is then marked by A TRACK to confirm your choice Rel 2 2 26 March 2000 An alternative way to select a check box caption is to type the first character of the caption or the first two characters if the initial letter is not unique to a single check box RETURN is then pressed as before to complete the selection If when you set the Item Assignment to None a Speed amp Direction command is active for the Item not really good operational practice then the command is changed to an Item Emergency Stop to reduce the Item s speed to zero before the command is cancelled and removed from the output command list As usual the output of the Item Emergency Stop
127. th a four digit value for amendment 0103 in the case of our chosen example As before you can enter from 1 to 4 decimal digits or a symbol followed by 1 to 3 hexadecimal digits as the desired address then press RETURN or the LMB A TRACK then automatically assigns the address bits between CV01 and CV09 and marks both CVs to show that their values have been edited Remember however that A TRACK only checks that your edited value is a valid number and not that the address lies within the allowable range for an Accessory of 0001 to 0511 001 to 1FF For details of the meaning and usage of the other Accessory CVs you should refer in the first instance to your Decoder s documentation and then for more general guidance to RP 9 2 2 In the latter document only CV09 is defined to have a default value 000 Editing of the Item Type and Description and then exit from the Program Verify Screen initiation of the programming or verification sequence and update of the Item record is handled exactly as for Locomotive Decoders as described in Sections 7 3 to 7 5 above 7 7 SETTING UP BLANK ITEMS When a Blank Item is inserted into the Item List using the INSERT key SHIFT gt as described in Section 5 3 you will see that its Type is None it has no valid address address 00 is reserved for broadcast commands to be sent to and acted upon by all Decoders and its Description is Undefined The first thing to do with it therefore and c
128. that New is another action If you check the other File Menu entries by moving the Menu Cursor to them you will find that they are all actions except the last Config which presents its own lower level menu Load Save Amend Def lt Details of this Configuration Menu which allows you to set up some A TRACK features to suit your own preferences are dealt with separately in Section 9 Press ESC to return to the Top Menu with File highlighted If you select the Edit Menu by moving the Menu Cursor right and pressing RETURN or by double clicking on Edit you will find that all three entries are actions Press ESC again to get back to the Top Menu this time with Edit highlighted and showing how the ESC key or the RMB lets you retrace your steps up the Menu structure and repeat the exercise with the Command Menu In this case Item and Mode are actions but B Cast brings up the Broadcast Sub Menu which you will find if you press RETURN gives you another five actions Clear Reset Idle Stop Emgncy Back out of the depths of the Menu structure with the ESC key or RMB with the final key press removing the Menu display and returning you to the Item List on the List Screen Whenever the Menu is activated by the INVERSE key or by clicking on the Menu Area you can use the initial letter of any entry shown on the first screen row as a short cut to invoke that action or to display the next lower level menu This is certain
129. tter is designed to be connected to the Atari 800XL Parallel Bus Interface PBI port An alternative 50 way cable or an adaptor is necessary to allow connection to the Enhanced Cartridge Interface ECT of the Atari 130XE The DIU takes power for its logic circuitry from the Atari XL XE Power Supply Unit Hence with your Atari XL XE computer its disk drive and the DIU all switched off unplug the power in connector from the rear of the Atari XL XE and plug it into one of the 7 pin DIN power sockets on the left side of the DIU either can be used Now connect the power lead supplied with the DIU from the other 7 pin socket to the vacated power in socket at the rear of the Atari XL XE Next using the 50 way ribbon cable supplied connect the DIU to the PBI or ECI port at the rear of the Atari XL XE computer Note that the connector which plugs into the DIU is polarised a bump at top centre so that it can only be inserted one way The ribbon cable Rel 2 2 11 March 2000 should then be kept flat and not twisted from the DIU to where it plugs into the computer port The ribbon cable can be bent or folded to position the DIU at a convenient position above and behind the Atari XL XE so that its switches are accesssible At this stage it is desirable although not essential to connect a 15 volt AC supply of up to 4 amps capacity to the appropriate Blue terminals on the DIU rear panel This powers the DIU output circuitry supplying DC
130. type into your computer are responses DOS always prompts you for the information it needs to carry out your wishes You will soon become familiar with the most common DOS prompts and since DOS requires the same kind of information for many of its functions it won t be long before many of your responses become almost automatic As you Rel 2 2 70 March 2000 use each function of DOS the program lists its successive prompts and your responses on your screen as you proceed After typing a response into your computer you must press RETURN to confirm your response Pressing RETURN only in response to certain prompts tells DOS to supply a preselected or default response as explained below Many prompts require a simple yes or no answer To answer yes type Y and press RETURN To answer no type N and press RETURN If you make a mistake while typing in a response press DELETE BACKSPACE to erase the error then type in the correct information To delete an entire response before you confirm it press SHIFT and DELETE BACKSPACE simultaneously Looking at a Disk Directory Each disk you use to store information has a disk directory that keeps track of the files stored on the disk how much room they take up and how much free space is left on the disk for storing more information The DISK DIRECTORY selection on the DOS Menu allows you to check what files you have on your disks Since your A TRACK Master Disk itself contains files you
131. u have only one disk drive you do not have to specify a drive number when entering the device code for it DOS understands D to mean Drive 1 Filenames Each file stored on a given disk must have a unique filename otherwise your computer system will not know which file you want to work with Filenames may be up to eight characters in length followed if you wish by a period and an extender of up to three characters Except for the period that separates the filename proper from the optional extender all the characters in a filename must be letters or numbers not punctuation marks or other symbols Hence you could use These filenames PROGRAM 6J But not these PROG 6J BAS ACCT4321 ACCOUNT4321 LETTER1 If you try to enter an invalid filename DOS refuses to accept it and displays ERROR 165 on your screen Extenders sometimes called file types or extensions can be useful when you re naming related but distinct files that you might want to manage as a group see Wild Cards below For example you could use BAS as an extender when naming all programs you write in Atari BASIC eg PROGRAM1 BAS PROGRAM2 BAS and so on You might use LETTER BUS to identify a business letter and LETTER SIS for a letter to your sister If you were writing a book with a word processing program you might store the various chapters on disk as CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 and so forth Wild Cards In a game of poker wild cards are valuable because th
132. ue to send it Function commands Just assign it to Base and activate the desired Functions although any attempt to set its speed directly will be ignored The DCC Recommended Practices also provide for the Decoder to be set up such that Item Functions can be controlled by sending commands to the Consist address by programming Configuration Variables CV20 and CV21 appropriately but you will need to check the specification of your decoder s to see if this feature is supported Adding the second Loco Item 014 GWR Manor Grange to the Consist is done by going through exactly the same set of steps as for the first Loco resulting in a change of its displayed address also to M 033 Control of the Speed and Direction of the two Locos is now performed from the Control Screen of the Consist Item 012 Manchester Pullman just as for any single Loco Control of Rel 2 2 33 March 2000 Functions on the Control Screen also operates as for a single Loco although the effect of the commands will depend in practice on how the Loco Decoders have been programmed It will also be necessary in real track operations to program the speed characteristics of the two Locos to be as identical as possible This matching operation is likely to require a fair amount of experimentation with the various Decoder parameter values when installed in specific Locomotives unless of course the Locos are of the same type and have an identical build state Removing a Lo
133. ure of the correct answer to any question you can just press RETURN or the LMB to assign the default value A TRACK will then set the appropriate value into CV29 Next set one or more valid address values for the Item bearing in mind the allowable address ranges quoted previously and the need to give this new Item an address which is different from other Items in the List For a Loco you need to enter a Primary Address to CV01 and if Extended Addressing was enabled in the setting of CV29 an Extended Address Rel 2 2 43 March 2000 value in CV17 and CV18 A Consist only requires a Primary Address in CV19 see Section 7 8 below while an Accessory should have its Address loaded to CV01 and CV09 Once these steps are completed the Item is safe in that commands can be sent to it without risk of interfering with other Items under control You can then set up those remaining CV values required to operate the type of Decoder fitted to the Item itself whenever is convenient and with reference to the maufacturer s documentation You can also edit the Undefined string to give the new Item a proper Description It is not necessary to program the set CV values into the Decoder straight away again this can be left to a convenient time but note as mentioned previously that the CV marks are not preserved when you leave the Program Verify Screen and you will have to mark the relevant CVs again before they can be transferred to the real Decod
134. usages of the mouse buttons on the List Screen You can click the LMB on the Status Row to scroll the Item List up by one row to reveal the next Item on the List Conversely if you click on the Title Row the Item List will scroll back down by one row unless of course the first Item is already shown on the top row in which case the action is ignored Clicking with the RMB rather than the LMB on either the Status or Title Rows acts like the TAB or SHIFT TAB keystrokes respectively scrolling the Item List up or down by a complete page 19 rows Rel 2 2 20 March 2000 5 2 EMERGENCY STOPS As you may already have discovered by accident pressing the ESC key or clicking the RMB while on the List Screen will generate an Emergency Stop command to whichever Item is highlighted on the screen provided of course that the Item is either a Loco or Consist As an indication that an Emergency Stop has been activated a train horn alarm sounds and if the Item is not currently assigned to a command source an asterisk is displayed in the A column With an Accessory selected the keystoke is ignored The Item Emergency Stop command is sent to the Item as a standard Speed amp Direction command and will remain in effect until cancelled or superceded by another Speed amp Direction command sent to that Item See Section 6 which deals with the Control Screen for a description of how this is done An Emergency Stop All command can be broadcast
135. using either the keyboard or the mouse as described previously A prompt will then be displayed on the Status Row requesting you to specify the desired Consist Address For the example this is 33 or 033 which you should enter at the prompt after deleting or by overwriting the displayed value of 000 then press RETURN The entered address should now be displayed next to the Cnst check box caption Press ESC to return to the Item List and note that the displayed address of Item 013 is now M 033 instead of its previous value showing that this Loco has been assigned to a Consist Multiple Unit with address C 033 Note also that the Loco s assignment is shown as indicating that command packets are being sent to it as you can also see from the Status Row which shows Status OK 02 Commands Active Ina real situation with the DIU connected to the track and sending commands to an actual Loco once you are sure that the Consist assignment has been accepted see Section 10 3 output of the Activate Consist command can and should be stopped by returning to the Loco s Control Screen and selecting an assignment of None The Cnst check box remains selected and the Consist address remains displayed next to the caption but the Status Row should now show that no commands are active As far as Speed Control is concerned the Loco Item 013 will no longer respond to commands addressed to its own address E2306 but you can however contin
136. ves on complex track layouts without the use of conventional block switching ie each locomotive does not have to be controlled within a single section of track allocated specifically to it The speed and direction of each locomotive can be set independently regardless of where it is on the track a feature naturally which has to be used with care Control can also be exercised over multiple locomotives treated as a single unit MUs or consists and over accessories such as lighting signalling and points turnouts The basis of DCC is to supply power to the track in a form which also contains coded information to control the model locomotives and accessories A fixed voltage nominally 14 volts is applied to the track The voltage polarity is continuously reversed electronically between positive and negative such that the time periods between polarity reversals represent the required control data A period of 58 microseconds positive followed by 58 microseconds negative represents a binary 1 bit while consecutive positive and negative periods of 116 microseconds represent a binary 0 bit Defined sequences of bits are used to represent commands to change speed for example and by how much and to identify which locomotive should respond to each command Since the polarity of the applied voltage is positive and negative for equal lengths of time the net voltage on the track as seen by a normal non DCC model locomotive is zero especiall
137. when you switch the computer on with a disk containing the DOS files loaded into the disk drive DOS performs many essential tasks such as preparing blank disks to store your files for example and to make backup copies of important files and disks Rel 2 2 67 March 2000 At this stage you should have your Atari system connected up with the TV or monitor and the disk drive switched on and with the BUSY light off CAUTION Never insert a disk into your drive or remove a disk from it while the BUSY light is on Turn the latch on the front of whichever disk drive is set to be Disk Drive 1 to the open horizontal position Remove your A TRACK Master Disk from its protective paper sleeve and insert it in your drive with the label facing up and toward you until it clicks into place Then turn the latch clockwise to the closed vertical position The drive will make a whirring sound and the BUSY light comes on After a few seconds the noise should stop and the BUSY light go off Turn on your computer The disk drive s BUSY light will come on again as DOS loads into your computer and the drive makes a clicking sound If you turn up the sound volume on your TV or monitor you should hear a series of beeps as DOS loads If all goes well you will see the READY prompt appear on the TV or monitor screen showing that the Atari BASIC programming system is active Now type DOS three letters on the keyboard and press RETURN to bring up the Atari DO
138. wire diameter the better within sensible limits of course This is not quite as important with the PROGRAM connections since the current here is limited to 250 mA one quarter Amp Rel 2 2 55 March 2000 A layout intended for DCC operation has all of its rail sections energised continuously instead of only when a locomotive is required to travel through a particular section This should not cause any trouble with normally wired layouts but care needs to be exercised with the connection of turnouts Here the metal wheels of locomotives and rolling stock can short across the vee rails beyond the frog which unlike the usual situation on a conventional layout will both be live and of opposite polarity A momentary short circuit will be ignored by the DIU but if it is prolonged by a slow moving train for example will probably bring operations to a halt The easiest solution is to isolate the vee rails from the main track and only energise one of them via the point blades or a switch linked to the tiebar Further detailed advice on the wiring of DCC layouts is beyond the scope of this User Guide but most of the information you will need can be found in Digital Command Control the Comprehensive Guide to DCC Stan Ames Rutger Friberg and Ed Loizeaux Published by Allt om Hobby in co operation with the National Model Railroad Association ISBN 91 85496 49 9 Another book you may find useful for its coverage of electrical and ele
139. y as the polarity reversals are occurring at around 6000 times a second and the locomotive will remain stationary WARNING While most model locomotive motors will not react to the DCC track voltage other than by making a buzzing noise in some cases the motor will become very hot and can fail It is recommended therefore that non DCC locomotives are NOT placed on a track where DCC is in operation Unlike a normal model locomotive a locomotive intended for DCC contains a decoder unit which performs two functions The decoder picks up and rectifies the alternating voltage applied to the track and makes it available as a direct voltage which can be applied to the locomotive motor The decoder also interprets the stream of bits encoded in the track polarity reversals as a set or packet of command bytes a byte is a group of 8 bits and acts upon them to apply an appropriate proportion of the rectified track power to the motor making the locomotive move forward or backwards at the required speed Each decoder is given a unique identity or address and will only act on command packets which have that address value encoded into them Rel 2 2 6 March 2000 As well as controlling locomotive speed decoders normally provide several auxiliary outputs which can be used to drive locomotive lights or sound units when activated by receipt of an appropriate command packet Because power is always present on the track when using DCC operation of the
140. y see some errors on the Status Row reported directly by the Atari XL XE operating system particularly when performing File operations or during the load of the A TRACK program itself A full list of the error codes which can be generated by the more common Atari disk operating systems Atari DOS 2 5 MyDOS and SpartaDOS are given below with the A TRACK codes for completeness 003 Last Byte of File 160 Invalid Drive Number 128 Break Abort 161 Too Many Open Files 129 Input Output Control Block IOCB 162 Disk Full Already Open 163 Read Fail Illegal Wildcard 130 Non Existent Device Specified in Filename 131 File IOCB Write Only 164 File Link Fail Erase Protected 132 Invalid Handler IOCB Command 165 Invalid Characters in File Name 133 Device File Not Open 166 Invalid POINT Command Request 134 Invalid IOCB Number 167 File Directory Locked 135 File IOCB Read Only 168 Invalid Command IOCB 136 End ofFile 169 Directory Full Disk Write Locked 137 Truncated Record 2256 Bytes 170 File Not Found 138 Device Timeout No Drive Found 171 IOCB POINT Invalid 139 Device Not Acknowledged 172 Duplicate File Directory Name No Disk Wrong DOS 173 Disk Bad Format Fail 140 Serial Framing Error 174 Directory Not Found 141 Cursor Out of Range Duplicate Filename 142 Serial Bus Data Frame Overrun 175 Directory Not Empty Bad Load 143 Serial Bus Data Frame 176 Incompatible Format Checksum Bad 177 DiskStructure Damaged 144 Device I O Error 180 Not B
141. you may also observe that the Red OVERLOAD LED on the DIU front panel flashes briefly as commands are acknowledged this will be ignored by A TRACK unless the overload condition persists for more than 2 seconds When you have a Loco on the main track and assign it to a Consist you will find that it also generates an acknowledgement of the assignment command You should be able to hear its motor clicking or buzzing intermittently When you are sure that this has occurred you should remove the Assign to Consist command by selecting the Loco assignment as None as described in Section 6 5 before proceeding to operation of the Loco as part of a Consist A similar sequence of operations will be required when you remove the Loco from the Consist and return it to individual control Rel 2 2 59 March 2000 11 HARDWARE OPTIONS amp EXTENSIONS 11 1 PADDLE CONTROLLERS Although you can use standard Atari Paddles as A TRACK Handheld Controllers they provide a somewhat limited degree of control Their operation can be improved by a few relatively simple modifications which provide the following Smoother speed control extended over a larger arc of rotation Emergency Stop All command via the Trigger Fire Button on each Paddle Direction Select switch Headlight On Off switch The four modifications are independent of each other so that you can choose which to add or leave out but note that the Emergency Stop facility requires you to alter th
142. ystem Before applying power or connecting up any of the A TRACK components you should ensure that the basic Atari system is connected together correctly and operating properly The minimum set of items you require is Atari 800XL Computer or 130XE with Parallel Bus adapter Atari 1050 Disk Drive it is possible to use the older 810 drive as well Atari AC Power Adapters for the Computer and Disk Drive Atari Serial I O Cable to connect Computer to Disk Drive TV or Monitor with appropriate cable to connect to the Computer Follow these steps to connect up the system 1 Make sure the Power ON OFF switches of your Atari XL XE Computer located on the rear panel towards the left side seen looking at the keyboard and of the 1050 Disk Drive located on the front panel are in the OFF position 2 Plug one end of the Serial I O Cable into the jack marked PERIPHERAL on the rear panel of the computer console Then plug the other end of the cable into one of the two jacks marked I O CONNECTOR located on the back of the disk drive as shown in the diagram below WARNING Your Atari 1050 Disk Drive should be placed 12 inches or more from your television or monitor Your TV creates a strong magnetic field that could affect the information recorded on your disks Atari 1050 Atari 1050 Disk Drive Disk Drive Atari 800XL Computer co OB E p IE Farallel Bus TV OF Power Select Power Select Power t to DIU Monitor J y T Serial I O Cable

USER GUIDE - A-Train Systems

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