What we have here is a failure to comunicate.....

While all is well and good with the physical refit of the man cave, then one thing came along and bit me on the arse. The magic that consists of a whole heap of ones and zeros failed to come to the party.

As someone who spent most of his working life beating machinery into submission, the dark arts of data transmission along a couple of pairs of wires has me stumped.

For one reason or another, I could not for the life of me get the engine driver on the smartphone to communicate with JMRI on the computer via Wi throttle on wifi. Which in theory proved that my initial set up for smartphone control of Victoria Street was pure luck, of the lottery kind.

The original setup using the antique laptop that still runs windows XP, that now requires plugging in an external monitor as so to actually see information on a screen, While I could call up a throttle on the screen and use it, therefore the JMRI was working, but the wi throttle sent out server and port information the smartphone could not pick up, even when the numbers were punched into the smartphone (REPEATIVLY!!!!). This also applied to the bride's I phone and I pad.(ARGH!!!)

The smartphone was connected to the wifi, yet neither were playing the game. I phaffed about with firewalls, tried to use set port numbers, googled inane requests for help, and nothing worked. What really sent me spare was that I could use the internet on the ancient laptop via the wifi router!

The original set up.

 

 

What went haywire

 

 

So in a moment of genius, I thought, what if I loaded up JMRI on the 'good' laptop, brilliant! The program was loaded, a few tweaks, here and there, and bingo, under a trial operation before plugging in the DCC-USB interface, the wi throttle was transmitting server/port details to all available wifi devices.  However, some clown who will remain nameless managed to stuff up the loading of the driver for the DCC/USB interface, so therefore communication between the good laptop and DCC/USB interface no did not work.

 

 

From the frying pan and into the fire

 

This is where a normally very patient man, who can drive in peak hour without an even raising an eyebrow, and follows a football team that has not won a flag since 1954, is about to lose his mind.

 

Enter the IT guru, (the Bride) with questions like, "Did you read the instructions?" and  "Have you ticked the compliance boxes?"

 

Within two minutes, the bride has done something that certain clown did not do, and as I witnessed a wry smile on her face, she pulled out her smartphone, connected to wi throttle, ask me what tram number to enter. (812) then proceeded to 'cut a notch' and 812 trundled off along Victoria Street. 

 

Yes, she is a keeper.

 

 

The improved set up

 

So now I use the ancient laptop for programming DCC, and the good laptop for the occasional  multiple running with wifi.

 

From one very happy household under the wifi,

 

Regards Glenn