Category Archives: Articles

In addition to iOS devices, the Blunami app can run natively on all Mac computers that contain the M1 chip.

The M1 chip is in all Mac devices manufactured 2020 and newer. Here is a partial list of the Macs supported:

2020 and newer

MacBook Air
Mac Mini
MacBook Pro (13″, 14″ & 16″)
iMac
Mac Studio

When using the Blunami app to control multiple locos with multiple users in close proximity, its good to understand best practices to manage connections and avoid connecting to your neighbor’s loco.

Once a user has pressed the “Connect” button on a loco, the Blunami app assumes you are interested in automatically reconnecting to your loco (in the event of an unintentional disconnect). That way if your loco travels through a long underground tunnel or out-of-range, the app can automatically reconnect the moment you exit the tunnel. The app also provides toggle options in the settings to manage whether your loco will “stop on disconnect” (or continue rolling).

At this stage we have not added password protection to lock other users out of connecting to a loco. The protocol has a pathway to adding password protection, but implementing this opens up a whole can of worms related to lost passwords, and we are hesitant to travel down that track. Please follow the procedure below to help avoid any connection confusion.

Firstly, if you plan on operating your loco in a public environment with other users, please name your loco with a unique name you can identify (19 characters or less). The Blunami app can see all locos in range that are available for connection, and it will be easier to identify your loco if we all don’t name our loco “Blunami”.

When using a loco that you personally own and plan to connect to regularly (on the primary device you control it with) it is NOT necessary to hit the green “disconnect” button on the home screen when your session has ended. Simply close the app when you are done using. This way your loco will automatically connect to your primary device the next time you launch the app and it detects the loco in range.

If you connect to a friend’s loco using your device (or connect to a loco using a secondary device that you own) then please press the green “disconnect” button when the session has ended (prior to exiting the app). This will prevent your smart device from automatically connecting to that loco at any future time.

If you fail to press the disconnect button when a session has ended (on any device except your primary control device) the Blunami app assumes you want to automatically reconnect to it in the future. This could have potential undesirable effects. For example, if you leave you old iPad running the app on the counter, and have not purposefully disconnected from your loco in the last session (by pressing the “disconnect” button), if your loco powers up in range of that iPad, it might automatically connect to your iPad. When you go to look for the loco on your iPhone (primary device in this example) it may not be available for connection (as it is already connected to the iPad). Keep in mind that a loco will not appear available on the homescreen if it is connected to another device.

The best practice is to always disconnect from any loco (by pressing the “disconnect” button) when a session has ended unless you own the loco and are operating it on your primary device. If you ever power up your loco and find that it is not available on your homescreen, consider the possibility that it may be connected to another iOS device (that it has previously connected to). To make the loco available again, simply kill power to the loco momentarily to power-cycle the loco, at which point it should become available on your devices homescreen.

Also, always close the Blunami app completely when you are done using it (by “swiping upward”) to make sure the app is not running in the background (to avoid any unintentional disconnects).

You may wonder how the Blunami app is able to accommodate many simultaneous users operating in close proximity. The bluetooth low energy (BLE) protocol supports 40 channels and channel sharing (3 are reserved for special use). That means there are 37 available channels to transmit control signals. The DCC packet command signals sent by the app contain only a few bytes of data per command, which occupy miniscule portions of bandwidth. The Blunami app is carefully designed to prevent flooding the signal with command packets. The first 37 users operating in a small space will each have their own channel to send command signals to their train, and because the packet data is so small, each channel is available 95% of the time to handle command controls from other users (channel sharing).

The first 37 smart devices in a small space will be able to operate with negligible latency. The next 37 users in the room will involve channel sharing, so once you reach 74 users in close proximity, 37 of them might experience a latency of 20-50 milliseconds (in the event that any commands they send were sent simultaneous to another user). This 1/20th of a second should not really be perceptible. If you add 37 more users into this small space, 37 users will experience negligible latency, 37 might experience a 20-50 millisecond delay, and 37 might experience a 40-100 millisecond delay. Remember this latency will only occur if commands are sent simultaneously, so there is a good chance that might not happen at all.

Channel sharing (technically referred to as Adaptive Frequency Hopping) is more sophisticated than the simplified process described above, but that’s the idea. Its worth saying that there are other BLE devices (like Apple Watch and FitBit) which may also transmit packets in these channels if operated in the same space.

The take home message is that between the 37 channels available in BLE (bluetooth low energy), channels sharing, the brevity of the packets, and the Blunami app’s careful design on packets sent, users should not expect a tremendous amount of latency when operating at close quarters with other users.

MYTHS ABOUT BLUETOOTH IN MODEL TRAINS

WHY IS BLUNAMI A GOOD SOLUTION FOR MODEL TRAIN CONTROL?

HOW IS BLUNAMI DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TRAIN CONTROL PRODUCTS?

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BlueRail Trains APP?

The BlueRail Trains app was renamed the Blunami app.

HOW ABOUT O GAUGE AND O/S SCALE?

Blunami requires DC or DCC power to operate. AC track-power users will need to use DC power, or supplement their installation with an in-loco AC-DC converter.

At present we have in-app sounds turned off when you use the BlueRail Trains app to control BlueRailDCC boards. You may be wondering why we have done this.

To build this technology, the guys at BlueRail have spent thousands of hours over the course of 8 years. Making new technology for trains is not a lucrative business. The model railroad market is small, and the hobbyists want as much functionality as they can, and they don’t want to pay a lot of money for products. People who make model train technology understand any income they received will be dwarfed by the amount of time spent developing the product. It is a labor of love, and we do it because we love the hobby and want model railroaders (and our friends) to have excellent train control.

BlueRail began developing the BlueRail app for the Blue Horse 8 years ago, and it released in 2015. 6 years later, people have contacted BlueRail complaining that the iPhone they purchased in 2021 is having trouble playing sounds for the $75 board they purchased 6 years ago. Our programmers and team spend hours investigating this, and to date the problems have always been on the user end. But one of these days, Apple is going to make a change that affects in-app sounds. 10 years from now, someone will contact BlueRail and complain that their iPhone 30 is having problems with in-app sounds (because of a change Apple made somewhere down the line).

Its one thing to ask your highly-skilled programmer friends to spend thousands of unpaid hours developing a cool train technology so hobbyists can enjoy it; its another to ask that friend to support app updates for the rest of their life. Another example, at the end of 2019 the sound code library used in the BlueRail Android app changed its license from free to a pay model. To prevent Android users from being disappointed, BlueRail paid (out of pocket) a contractor Android programmer to make changes to the app, and BlueRail had to assume a subscription fee to keep the library going.

If we turn on in-app sounds for the BlueRailDCC boards, users will want that sound to run forever. If the sounds stop working in 10 years, they will want the BlueRail programmers to come out of retirement and promptly fix the problem, on a project that the programmers donated thousands of free hours to develop.

Instead, we have modified our protocol so we can control DCC sound decoders, which are available in a wide variety of prices and qualities. Users have the option of spending as much (or little) as they want on a sound solution, and if they don’t want to spend a penny, the board is also capable of operating without a sound decoder.

I understand some people will be upset that we have made this decision. There will be negative comments posted. I very much hope those people will read this article, and better understand our position. And we hope many people enjoy the technology we have spent all these hours developing for many years to come.

The DCC standard in model trains was established in the early 1990’s by the NMRA as basic standards for controlling model trains. Because this standard was established prior to major innovations in computers, the internet and wireless technologies, some aspects of DCC seem dated to the modern observer (particularly the method of communication between the loco and the controller). The aspects we are focusing on in this article (Functions and CVs) are as relevant and useful today as they were 25 years ago. This article is intended to serve as a primer to a basic understanding of what Functions and CVs are (and why they may confuse some users). We hope the article sheds a little light on the mystery.

FUNCTIONS

FUNCTONS (“Fcn” or “F”): Functions are features that your decoder is capable of which can be triggered by the press of a button. Simple examples of features are blowing the airhorn, ringing the bell, or turning the headlight on and off. Most modern decoders support 28 functions (although some support more).

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 1: The NMRA DCC standard is “loose” and “flexible” in that it allows different decoder companies to use Functions and CVs differently. So although almost all decoders agree that F(0) is the headlight, F(1) is the bell, F(2) is the long airhorn and F(3) is the short airhorn, the remaining 25 functions may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. This “feature” of “flexibility” has allowed decoder manufacturers to innovate, but it has also muddied the perception among users about understanding functions.

Here are the standard FUNCTION defaults for some popular decoders:

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 2: Another thing that can be confusing about functions is that most decoders allow you to “Remap” function buttons. Although F(1) is usually the function for triggering the bell, your decoder may allow you to “Remap” F(1) and associate F(1) with playing the airhorn (or muting the sound in your decoder altogether). This feature can be beneficial for many things, but it also introduces a bit of confusion that functions “can be anything you want them to be”.

Because the DCC standard of functions are “flexible” and can be “remapped”, the typical handheld cab controller for DCC looks more like a calculator that a train controller.

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 3: Most decoders have additional colored wires that can be used to power additional lights (or other functionality). These wires are often called “FX”. FX1 is the headlight, FX2 is the backup light. If your decoder has more than 2 of the wires, the are referred to as FX3, FX4, FX5, FX6 etc. You may use Functions to trigger these lights. On SoundTraxx decoders, by default you can use Function(23) to trigger FX3. You can see the possible confusion in having F(23) trigger FX3: too many capital F’s. (Also many people use the abbreviation FXN for the word “function” – an unfortunate obfuscation).

Functions in DCC have 2 states: “on” and “off”. The first time you press the “Bell” button on a DCC cab controller, the controller sends and F(1)-ON command to the train (and the bell starts ringing). The next time you press the “Bell” button, the controller sends on F(1)-OFF command to the decoder (and the bell sound turns off). So the function buttons alternate the command being sent (on/off) and the function can be toggled on and off. This is how most functions operate in DCC. This takes us to…

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 4: The long airhorn (which is typically associated with F2 ) turns “on” the moment you press it and “off” the moment you release it. The short airhorn (F3) plays a short airhorn blast every time you press the button (so there is no concept of “toggling” the short airhorn on and off).

So although functions in general can be toggled on and off, our 3 favorite sounds (bell, long airhorn, short airhorn) each behave slightly differently.

This can be taken a step further with more complicated features. Many modern decoders offer “Dynamic Brakes” as a function. Dynamic brakes (in the real world) are applied in several steps. On some modern decoders you will press F4 (or F5) to trigger the Dynamic Brakes, and each time you press F4 you will get a different phase of Dynamic Brakes (1,2,3,4) before finally cycling back to Dynamic Brakes being “off”.

As you can see, functions in DCC can be a very simple concept (like triggering your horn or turning the bell sound on and off), but some aspects are confusing.

Functions in BlueRailDCC

In BlueRailDCC you trigger functions in your train by sliding out the function panel. This panel has 28 function buttons in 2 rows: 1-14 and 15-28. When you first connect to a train, the app will ask you to choose which decoder type you are using (SoundTraxx, TCS, ESU etc). If you have selected one of these popular decoders, the default function names will be listed on the buttons. The Function 1 button will say “Bell” on it. If you are using a decoder not listed, you can choose the default “128 CVs”, in which case the buttons will be labeled F1 – F28. If you slide the function panel further out, you can rename any function button and choose whether you want the button to “toggle” or “press-release”.

If you are using the BlueRailDCC without a decoder, the function panel will be empty (as there are no sound features to trigger).

CVs

Confusion about Functions pales in comparison to confusion about CVs. CVs are “configuration variables” which are a table of settings to customize features of your decoder. The CV table in your decoder resembles a 2 column spreadsheet with the CV number in the left column and the CV value in the right column. The “value” of the CV can generally be any value between 0 and 255 (although some CVs use a more limited range). The CV table contains 1024 rows.

As a typical example CV3 is used to control the acceleration rate of your loco. If you set CV3 to “0” your loco will take off as quickly as it can. If you set CV3 to a higher number (255 or below) then the train will behave as if it is pulling a heavy load and take off slowly.

Your decoder manufacturer will offer a userguide containing the CV table for your decoder. Some examples of typical things you may want to adjust in your loco using CVs include:

• acceleration/deceleration
• master volume level
• select preferred horn, bell, engine sounds
• control volume level and reverb of individual sounds

Generally these are things you will tinker with once and never access again in your decoder. It is not uncommon for a modern decoder to have 200-300 controllable settings. This sounds pretty straight forward – so why do people consider CVs complicated? Does BlueRailDCC makes this easier? (yes)

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 1: The NMRA DCC standard is “loose” and “flexible” in that it allows different decoder companies to use CVs differently. A general list of the NMRA CV list can be found here:
https://www.nmra.org/sites/default/files/standards/sandrp/pdf/s-9.2.2_decoder_cvs_2012.07.pdf

CVs 1-46 and 65-112 are fairly uniform, but beyond that CV usage varies from decoder manufacturer to decoder manufacturer. Every decoder has a userguide which details the CV table for your decoder. To control the master volume on a SoundTraxx decoder you adjust CV128. On an ESU decoder master volume is CV63. Refer to your decoder userguide for specifics.

This is simplified in BlueRailDCC. Once you have selected your decoder type (SoundTraxx, ESU, TCS etc) the CV Settings page will display the appropriate table for your decoder. To access this from the train control screen (throttle) select the “settings cog” in the lower right. Then choose “CV settings” from the settings page.

With this much information, you should be able to use the BlueRailDCC app to run your train, trigger functions, and edit CVs. If you’d like to learn more about why CVs may be confusing and why BlueRailDCC makes life a little easier, read on…

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 2: The original DCC spec only allowed for 256 CVs, so adjustments needed to be made to accommodate more CVs. To allow for more CVs, DCC added the concept of “pages” (page1, page2, page3).

CVs 1-256 are reserved for the original CVs. This leaves CVs 257-1024 for each page of additional CVs. As an example, page1 CV257 is often written as 1.257. Page 1, 2 and 3 look like this:

• page1 (257-1024) or 1.257-1.1024
• page2 (257-1024) or 2.257-2.1024
• page3 (257-1024) or 3.257-3.1024

Your decoder userguide will show these CV pages (if applicable) for your decoder.

As a bonus point of confusion, in order to change the values of a CV on any page (1,2,3, etc), DCC requires you to enter the page number into CV32 (1,2,3) as a first step. So to change the value of CV 1.257 to 99 you would set CV32 to “1” followed by setting CV257 to “99”.

When editing CVs 1-256 the “page number” will be ignored.

All issues regarding pages (and CV 32) is automatically handled in BlueRailDCC.

SOURCE OF CONFUSION 3: In the DCC standard, you are generally able to change (or “Write”) the value of any CV while the train is running on the rails, but if you want to “Read” the value of a CV, you need to remove the loco from the “main” and put it on a “programming track” where the decoder can be interrogated in “service mode”. This programming track operates on lower voltage, and you can only have one loco on the programming track at anytime. The decoder is not capable of explicitly telling you the value of any CV; instead the decoder can only make a single voltage pulse (known as an acknowledgment or “ack”) to answer “yes” to any question you ask it. As you know, CVs can have values up to 255 – which is 8 bits of information – like 10101010. It requires 8 “yes or no” questions (and 8 acknowledgments) to learn the value of any CV. This entire transaction can take 1-2 seconds to learn the value of 1 CV. As you can see, CV reads are relatively slow, and cannot be performed while the train is running.

BlueRailDCC simplifies this, in that the programming track is built into the board, so you don’t need to worry about having a programming track. The moment you try to read the value of any CV (in the CV settings page) your decoder will go into service mode, during which it cannot move or make sound – so you will probably want to have your train stopped when reading CVs.

You can “write” CVs while the train is moving – so you can change the master volume of the decoder by sliding the value of CV128 (Soundtraxx) or CV63 (ESU) while the train is running. But if you want to ask a decoder (ie “read”) the value of CV128 you will need to stop the train (or it will stop itself).

In BlueRailDCC you can read the value of any CV at anytime. The app also has a “Read All CVs” button. If you are using a modern recent decoder by SoundTraxx, TCS or ESU, we have pre-populated the CV pages with the common default values. So if your decoder is new (or has been factory reset) you may not need to read CVs at all – simply use the defaults in the “CV settings” page.

To “Read All CVs” in BlueRailDCC, open any CV section (ie CVs1-128) and press the “Read All CVs” button. The app will run through each CV in order and read each CV. This will take 1-2 seconds per CV, so this might be a 5 minute process in some cases.

Once the CV values have been loaded into the app (or if you are using the default values within the app) you generally won’t need to mess with “CV reads” any more.

NOTES ON TCS

Recent TCS decoders have a different approach to CVs. Instead of laying the CV settings out into Page1, Page2 and Page3 etc, TCS has 4 CVs which you edit in a particular order. So TCS does not have a master volume CV. All volume is managed using the 4 CV procedure. We have placed those 4 CVs at the top of the CV editing page for convenience within the BlueRail app (if you have selected TCS as your decoder type).

TCS also offers a “voice assistant” in recent decoders. To exit voice assistant you must press F(0). In BlueRailDCC use the headlight button for F(0) exit.

For more information on BlueRailDCC explore this website or consult the BlueRailDCC Userguide.

(This Article applies to EZ App trains and old Blue Horse boards – NOT BlueRailDCC boards). The new BlueRailDCC boards instead control decoders that may have similar back-emf control features.

Back-EMF is a method using in model train circuitry to help your locomotive maintain speed and compensate for load differences from resistance encountered as it travels up and down inclines and pulls cars about your layout. For the most part, back-EMF is a valuable and essential part of smooth train operation. It helps your train manage its speed to match your throttle level. But there are times when you may want to turn back-EMF off.

Some people use BlueRail boards to power the rails of a conventional DC train set. If you plan on using multiple BlueRail boards to control different blocks on your layout, you will need to turn off back-EMF in each board. This is accomplished by going into the “Settings” screen in the app for each board, and toggling on the “Advanced Tuning” panel. Then, using the “Tuning Fork” button (now accessible in the Train Control screen) set the following three settings to a value of “0”: Proportional, Integral, and Differential. With all 3 PID values set to “0” back-EMF will be turned off. If you do not turn back-EMF off, you may find that your locos slow down briefly as they enter each new block.

One might wonder why shipping batteries between countries has become such an issue. Recent incidences involving batteries (fires and explosions) have resulted in restrictions in the international shipping of batteries. Batteries for running model trains are fairly small and less hazardous, but are still subject to shipping restrictions. The shipping of individual batteries (not directly connected to the product intended for use) are heavily restricted, so like most other merchants, BlueRail is unable to ship individual Li-PO batteries internationally.

Under strict guidelines, a battery may be shipped internationally IF it is safely connected to the product intended for use. So products (like the BlueRail DeadRail kit) which contain a rechargeable battery can be shipped internationally, understanding that it will be categorized as “dangerous goods” and subject to customs inspection (and possible associated delays).

In order to provide good customer service, a merchant who sells a battery-operated product should be prepared to ship a replacement battery (should that ever be required in the future). Unfortunately, the shipment of individual batteries is not possible (through standard post). For this reason, most merchants (including BlueRail) are hesitant to send battery products through the mail between countries (understanding that they may get bogged down in customs, and/or potentially result in poor customer service experiences should replacement batteries ever be needed).

Battery-powered model train control products (like BlueRail) are popular in the US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia and New Zealand. The best solution for DeadRail hobbyists (outside the US) is to find a local source of rechargeable batteries in your area (to avoid international battery shipping issues). BlueRail sells Battery-Power boards (without batteries) to all the regions listed, to which you may connect any appropriate battery. Please consider all safety and quality issues when choosing a rechargeable battery for your train control needs.

Rechargeable Battery Source US:

• Dead Rail Installs (Oceanside, CA)
  Pete Steinmetz
  Dead Rail installs and battery power
  http://deadrailinstalls.com