Digital DC Train Controller System

Official Digital DC Site

Welcome to the Digital DC (DDC) Project. DDC is a new model railway control system built using off-the-shelf DC powered electronic components and modules. The software that enables the DDC system is available to download for FREE under the GPLv3 Open Source License. Unlike proprietary systems, DDC enables you the railway modeler to play with the code and contribute code changes back to the project. The goal of the DDC project is to not only provide a new state of the art model railway control system but to enable the system to be used as an educational tool for electronic and software engineering, whether you are 13 or 93!

You can find more information and tutorial videos on our website at https://oorail.co.uk/digital-dc

DC and DCC ready locomotives should run fine with this system. We do not recommend using DCC chipped locomotives with this system, even if they support DC operation. There is a risk that the L298N module could damage your DCC chips. Supporting DCC is in our roadmap, so please check back in the future for support.

A new release is made available to everyone on the first Tuesday of the month.

To help fund this project, a private beta release build is issued to subscribers on the second, third and forth Tuesdays of the month. If you are interested in supporting this project with a paid subscription please click here.

You can find the necessary components at our Amazon Shop, if you are looking for 3D printable components you can check out our Trackside3D Shop.

Shop at oorail to Support this Project

• Track Module 1.0.0 Demo

All of the Hardware components below can be found via our Amazon Shop

Hardware Components:

• 12V DC Power Supply
• L298n motor driver module
• ESP32 Module
• USB cable (depends on USB connection on your computer and ESP32 module)
• Jumper Wires (male/female or female/female + male/male)
• Breadboard (optional but recommended)

Software Components:

• Arduino IDE
• oorail-system

Follow the instructions on the Arduino IDE website (linked above). Once installed follow these steps:

• Unzip the oorail-system zip file for the release you are using
• File -> Preferences -> Settings Tab
• Add Additional Boards Manager URLs

Add the following:

https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json,http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json

• Select OK
• Tools -> Board -> Boards Manager
• Type ESP32 in the search box
• Install ESP32 by Espressif Systems (note: we used version 1.0.4)
• Select Close
• Tools -> Board -> NodeMCU-32S (note: if your board is specifically listed, select it)
• Plug your board into the USB port
• Tools -> Port -> Select your USB serial port
• Check the other settings in Tools (speed, frequency etc)

• File -> Open -> Select modules/oorail-ddc-tm/oorail-ddc-tm.ino
• Select the verify icon (check mark)
• Check for errors (errors are setup related)
• Check versions and google search any errors
• Once it verifies clean move to step 3

• Unplug ESP32 from USB (power down)
• Plug the ESP32 module into the breadboard

On the L298N board attach:

• Power Supply 12V V+ -> Vin (L298N)
• Power Supply 12V V- -> GND (L298N)

Track A:

• L298N OUT1 -> Track (+) (polarity depends on whether its UP or DOWN line)
• L298N OUT2 -> Track (-) (opposite polarity to OUT1)
• L298N ENA -> ESP32 Pin 19 (GPIO)
• L298N IN1 -> ESP32 Pin 18 (GPIO)
• L298N IN2 -> ESP32 Pin 5 (GPIO)

Track B (optional):

• L298N OUT3 -> Track (+) (polarity depends on whether its UP or DOWN line)
• L298N OUT4 -> Track (-) (opposite polarity to OUT1)
• L298N ENB -> ESP32 Pin 4 (GPIO)
• L298N IN3 -> ESP32 Pin 17 (GPIO)
• L298N IN4 -> ESP32 Pin 16 (GPIO)

Note: You should wire Track A and Track B with the SAME polarity. The software will manage direction.

• Tools -> Serial Monitor in the Arduino IDE
• Plug the ESP32 into the USB port again
• Update the sketch with your WiFi information

/* WiFi credentials */
const char* ssid = "REPLACE-ME-WITH-YOUR-WIFI-SSID";
const char* password = "REPLACE-ME-WITH-YOUR-WIFI-PASSWORD";

Change the above two lines, replace REPLACE-ME-WITH-YOUR-SSID with the SSID (wifi network name). Change REPLACE-ME-WITH-YOUR-WIFI-PASSWORD with your wifi password.

• Select verify (check mark) and make sure there are no errors
• Verify the serial monitor does not show brownout detection
• If brownout detection error is displayed - use a powered USB hub, shorter cable, different USB port
• Turn on the 12V power supply to power the L298N
• Check there is no obvious problems (smoke, burning smell etc)
• Select Upload (arrow pointing right)
• Watch the status screen (Below the code) to make sure its uploaded properly

You should see something like this:

note: Ignore the L283d references, this is a typo/cosmetic error, should say L298N (fixed in 1.0.1).

01:01:24.091 -> 

01:01:24.091 -> oorail-track-module, version 1.0.0

01:01:24.091 -> Copyright (c) 2020 IdeaPier LLC (oorail.co.uk)

01:01:24.091 -> 

01:01:24.091 -> For additional information visit:

01:01:24.091 ->  https://oorail.co.uk/tech/ 

01:01:24.091 -> 

01:01:24.091 -> License: GPLv3

01:01:24.091 -> 

01:01:24.091 ->  * Initializing Profile 

01:01:24.191 ->  * Connecting to WiFi... 

01:01:24.689 -> .

01:01:24.689 -> Connected to wifi-oorail

01:01:24.689 -> IP address: 10.20.30.40

01:01:24.689 -> MDNS responder started

01:01:24.689 ->  * HTTP server initialized 

01:01:24.689 ->  * Initializing L283d module...

01:01:24.689 ->  * Initializing Track A...

01:01:24.689 ->  * Initializing Track B...

• Note the IP address displayed in the serial monitor
• If there is no IP address, check your wifi settings
• Put a loco on the track (hint: use one you can easily replace)
• If you are using Linux or MacOS X you can use curl to test in a terminal
• Replace 10.20.30.40 below with the IP address displayed in the serial monitor
• Replace /api/1/tm/profile/hornby with the manufacturer of the loco (see code or docs)
• Note: only hornby, heljan, dapol, bachmann will work in 1.0.0

If you are using curl (example uses Heljan Class 35)

If you want to use a web browser, just use the URLs above, but change 10.20.30.40 to the IP address displayed in the serial monitor for your ESP32 board.

Note: The manufacturer profiles are intended to be starting points to play around with the system. You may need to modify the settings as some manufacturers vary loco to loco.

For example, the dapol settings work great with the Class 52 Westerns, but when used with Dapol Class 68s they run too fast. Similarly some HST units can run fast with the Hornby settings.

We will make per locomotive settings available in an upcoming release.