Model Railway Forum

Part 1 - Download & Install Windows Software

Model railroad hobbyist friend Nico Teering took the Arduino DCC decoder software to a whole new level. A wealth of functions are combined all into one Arduino sketch for multi-purpose DCC control of 16 pins.

In a joint effort with Sergey Kopachevskiy a new PCB has been designed, which combines the Arduino and a power- and optocoupler circuit into one. Software is available for free and the units can be acquired on a non commercial basis against cost price plus shipping.

Link to DCCNEXT - Download & Install Windows Software

ArCoMoRa MARDEC - Configure an output port to swith an accessory on/off.

Now that the MARDEC sketch is uploaded to a DCCnext or to an Arduino, we can start to configure the 16 available ports.

In this video we are going to configure port 1 to become a standard on / off accessory signal that we want to switch via DCC address 8.

Link to USB Configurable Arduino DCC Servo & Accessory Decoder - ArCoMoRa 02 - Switch an Accessory

MARDEC software has the option to switch 2 ports via 1 DCC address.

A 'double flash' comes in very handy when for instance we have 2 inverse blinking lights, like with a railway crossing,

A 'double one shot' is used to switch a solenoid turnout that has two coils. One port gives a pulse when the DCC address switches to HIGH, the other port gives the pulse when it switches to LOW. FET modules can be used to power the coils of the turnout.

The video shows both applications.

Link to ArCoMoRa 3 - Double Port Accessories

ArCoMoRa 4 - DCCnext - Configure and Tune Servos

We're going to attach a servo to the DCCnext or Arduino and configure the MARDEC software to control this servo. To make the application work the first thing to do is tune the 2 servo angles for the DCC ON and OFF state. Maybe we also have to inverse the port.

Link to ArCoMoRa 4 - DCCnext - Configure and Tune Servos

MARDEC software has the option to switch 1 or 2 ports in sync with operating a servo. The main application for this is to switch polarity of electrofrog turnouts.

The video shows how to configure the one or two extra outputs.

Link to ArCoMoRa 5 - Servo with Additional Output Ports to Switch Electrofrog