Display actual status of turnouts on Track Layout

[jcerainh]

Good morning everyone.

I have some turnouts controlled by a K83, and I monitor their status with two S88 contacts. This way, their actual position is always displayed on the Win-Digipet (Track Layout) screen. If they don't change when I activate them from the program, the screen displays the contact assigned when registering the turnout in red. I achieve this thanks to the Dispatcher.
On the ones I have controlled by RailCom, WD doesn't display their actual position or any electrical failures.
Could this be implemented? It makes it much easier to see the status of the turnouts.

Thanks and regards
Jaime

[jcerainh]

Hello
The question is whether it can be implemented in Win-Digipet. The digital systems does tell you how the turnouts are, and Win-Digipet does tell you in Tour Automatic, but it would be better to see it on screen(Track Layout). It was for Markus Herzog or Peterlin.

Thanks
Jaime

[Rupert van Swol]

100% monitoring of whether the switches are moving to a different switch position involves monitoring the position of the switch blades or observing or detecting changes in the mechanical parts, such as the rotation of a servo or a shift in the mechanism.

Some turnout drives have this feature built in at the factory, such as the Cobalt IP drive, but very good, reliable control options are also possible with a Hall sensor or reflex light barrier.
These circuits change the status of a feedback device. Windigipet then immediately knows that the switch is not in the correct position for the route. The train does not depart and a message is sent indicating which switch is affected.

[jcerainh]

Hello Rupert
As you say "Windigipet then immediately knows that the switch is not in the correct position for the route. The train does not depart and a message is sent indicating which switch is affected."
But if the actual status could be displayed on the screen (Track Layout) it would be easier to visualize.
Using the information that the Digital System, in my case CS1 Reloaded, sends and is displayed on CS1 screen


Thanks and regards
Jaime

[Rupert van Swol]

Hello Rupert
As you say "Windigipet then immediately knows that the switch is not in the correct position for the route. The train does not depart and a message is sent indicating which switch is affected."

That is correct. Given that the route does not meet the specified condition. The same as a detector that is active in the roadway, where inactive is a condition in the route. So, in addition to a track detector, you have an extra addition: the switch detector.
After all, the position of the railroad switch is included in a route. I think that 99% of users (for cost reasons) do not apply this monitoring. But my locomotives weigh 4 kg, and you definitely don't want a switch to be completely destroyed because it was not in the correct position.
 

[Rupert van Swol]

I use Cobalt drives for my railroad switches.
These are equipped with a programmable DCC address as standard.
However, they can also be controlled via a switch decoder.
In that case, only DC is supplied to the power wires.
In the photo, these are the red and black wires on the DCC1 and DCC2 connection terminals.
The frog power supply is not in use.
I have Stay Alive on board the locomotives.
The terminals S2-L, S2-R, and S2-C (common) are in usue for the turnout position.
the connection is to a normal feedback module. With in your system, that is a 60883, i.e., a contact input that switches to ground. 

So when S2R connects to ground, the detector is on and that of s2L is off . 
That is the orange wire in to the Photo and the bare copper wire is the ground.

The other three are for manual control. 
Thanks to the switch position monitoring, WDP can also notice if the switch position has changed after the route has already been cleared.
So if someone decides ( L  ) to change the switch position during driving , the train will stop at the first signal before the switch. 
I only use one feedback terminal connection for monitoring the switch position. cobalt use internal mechanical micro Switches.

All the best .
Rupert