Protocol and Controller

Now we are coming to the heart of the decision making. There seem to be two principle ways: One can either use a dedicated control unit such Märklin’s “Central Station” or one can use a “normal” PC. Within each way there are myriad ways. Sigh. Below please find my analysis. Note that when one uses a dedicated control unit, one can still use a PC to control the control unit…

Using a PC

When opting for the PC as a controller, one needs:

• A PC with a serial port
• A booster — such as Märklin 6017
• A cable to connect the seral port with the booster — these cannot be bought, I would need to get my soldering stuff out…
• A transformer
• A program that generates the signals in the correct format. Potential candidates are:
  • Direct Digital for Linux
  • Direct Digital for Windows
  • SRCP Server and Jman
  • I haven’t found a program for the Mac yet…

As the software is free and as I have an old PC in the attic, the cost comes down to the booster. At this stage, a small calculation: A typical engine needs 10VA to run, so a booster such as Märklin’s 6070, which has a 40VA output, would be sufficient for 3-4 locos — less if coaches are lit… As I plan to run at least five locos and as I wil have light in the coaches, I will need two boosters:

• A Märklin 6017 — delivering 2.5A, together with the 60055 transformer, has price tag of around €260
• A Märklin 60173 — delivering 3A at around €260
• Uhlenbrock’s 65600 — delivering 3A — together with a Uhlenbrock’s 70VA transformer 20070 at around €200

Unfortunately at the moment I only have informations to connect the booster to the PC’s serial port for the 6017.

Using a dedicated control unit

Again, choices are to be made. Which unit is the best? Here’s a, yet unordered, selection:

• Märklin’s Central Station CS2 — €660, including a 2.4A booster
• ESU’s ECoS 50000 — €440, including a 4A booster
• ESU’s colour ECoS 50200 — €540, including a 4A booster
• Uhlenbrock’s Intellibox Basic — €250, including a 3V booster
• Uhlenbrock’s Intellibox II — €420, including a 3V booster

Finding: If one looks at the Basic IB, the price tag is the same as for just a booster. And as all of these devices can be controlled by a PC, there is no real point in just getting a booster.

The other devices, CS2, ECoS, IB II, are all devices with a decent graphical display and two control knobs. So what’s between them? (Note: the chosen decoder architecture may be more limiting than some of the control units’ characteristics).

The above table is my understanding. I would like to discourage everyone to blindly trust it! To determine prices I just looked up the products at my favourite model train shop.

Findings: Firstly, the new ECoS is the same as the old one (except for the colour display and the higher price). And, secondly, the IB basic is, well, rather basic. From all of this my order would be:

1. ECoS (old)
2. IB II
3. IB Basic
4. ECoS (new)
5. CS2

Handing over control from a dedicated hardware solution to a PC

So how can these be used in conjunction with a PC? All of these units can be connected to a PC. Either via an Ethernet network cable (ECoS and CS) or an USB link (IBs). While the technology is different, none is really superior than the other.

The IB and ECoS protocols have been published; Märklin’s CS’s protocol is proprietary.

Below you can find a list of model railway software, including price, the control unit they support and the platform for which  they are available. The list below is not complete — and not intended to. It lists those that appeal to me for one reason or another.

For further information see modellbahnsoftware.de. By the way, the list is not sorted in any way.

Findings: The above table shows that for the IB and the ECoS there are plenty of software packages out there. So there isn’t much between them. For the CS, it looks less promising (this shows that Märklin retained the attitude they already showed when developing their digital system: keep it proprietary and hope that people will swallow it; well with the protocol I did. With the controller I shan’t).

Findings: It looks there are two options, really. Go for Märklin 6017/60055 combo and use my old PC. For €260 I can then control up to four engines. Or I can go for the ECoS (the old one) for €540, that is nearly twice as much as the Märklin 6017/60055 combo, to control up to 5, or even 6, engines. The extensibility of both approaches is the same. The ease of use, espeally for staring a digital operation is, what speaks for the ECoS — but that luxury comes with a price tag of €280… But my gut tells me to go for it; Luckily I am in no hurry; so maybe eBay will be of help.

And what about signals and pounts? The saga continues…