Adding Bob
Haggart’s Bob’s Switch to the Cab04’s for direction changing.
Return to the Main North Home
Radio Cab04 Timeout Period adjustment, click here.
Programming the “Option Button” to be a
“Direction Button”.
Turning ON the Cab04 radio with an ON/OFF switch.
Bob’s Switch: When operating the Cab04 throttles, I always had to
look down at the throttle and select either FWD or REV to change direction, no
big deal you might say, but the “Option” button can be programmed to be a
“toggle” direction button. I was experimenting in the Yard mode and I posted a
message on the Yahoo NCE group about a problem I was having.
This
modification is really worth the extra effort. This really makes for a great
throttle, my preferred throttle if operating trains without having to do any
consisting. This throttle is especially useful for a visitor to your layout,
where the Procab may daunt them with all the buttons, and I, like a lot of
other model railroaders, prefer the knob. It gives you a feel for your loco.
See the notes
about soldering if attempting small component and
circuit board soldering for the first time.
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Remove
Cab04 knob, housing back and then the circuit board.
Locate option
button “pad” on the circuit board (middle “pad” under the potentiometer).
As can be seen,
these pads comprise of a series of parallel copper tracks and every second
track is joined. When the button on the throttle is pushed down, a carbon
impregnated “dome” comes in contact with these tracks and changes the
resistance that the microcontroller sees for this input. Depending on how the microcontroller
is programmed for this particular input, pressing the throttle button will
cause an “action”. For example if the microcontroller saw this input with the
resistance decreased continually as in the case with a “Speed Button” then the
decoder would be told to keep increasing/decreasing the loco speed. In the case
of our “Option Button” it is programmed as a “TOGGLE” (alternate action) input
that obviously changes the direction.
Push two wires
through the holes from the component side but not to exit holes on the keypad
side to damage button pad.
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The copper circles you can see all over the circuit board are holes that
are “lined” with copper to connect copper tracks on the other side of the
circuit board.
Locate the two
wires and solder them on the “component side” as shown above, not on the “pad”
side.
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Cut
the appropriate sized hole to fit the switch in the side of the case. The
correct point will be approximately in the centre of the joint in the box
halves.
Be careful when
drilling holes in plastic. Increase drill sizes gradually so there is a less
chance of “ripping” a hole. In this case, I used a file to complete the two
half holes.
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The
momentary push button switch located in the cut out with the washer on the
inside.
Note the flats
on the switch housing to give enough clearance.
Ensure that the
switch housing does not foul on any of the circuit board especially across some
circuit board copper tracks. Place some insulating tape here.
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The
completed “Bob’s Switch” Cab04.
With your thumb
over the “Bob’s Switch” for direction changing and your thumb controlling the
knob for speed changes, this Cab04 throttle is now a “one handed one thumb”
throttle.
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Programming the “Option Button” to
be a “Direction Button”.
By default, the
“Option” button is programmed as a “Direction” button, so try your installation
and see if it works. If not:
- Unplug your cab from the command bus or
command station.
- Press and hold down SELECT LOCO button while
plugging in the throttle. The throttle will now enter its internal setup
program. This is indicated by a flashing of the status LED.
- Press “4” to enter OPTION key setup mode.
Notice the flashing of the LED slows, indicating that it is ready to
accept the key value.
- Enter the value of 67 for setting the OPTION
button as a toggle direction control. Note this is the default setting of
the throttle.
Note the OPTION
button can be selected for many values, see instruction manual.
The Cab04P
radio is normally set up, when operating in radio mode that it will turn off
automatically with no throttle activity for 5 minutes. This can be adjusted
between 1 and 9 minutes, normally.
Radio Cab04 “Time out period” adjustment.
Some time ago
someone suggested, adjusting the Cab04 Time Out period, you had to swap the
board into a Procab. While fitting the above Bob’s Switch, figured I should
just program the “Option” button to be the Expansion function as on the Procab
as explained in the Cab04 instruction manual.
This feature
would be especially useful if an external on/off switch was fitted as some
modellers have done. Modifying the switch installation and removing a resistor
as explained in the section “Automatically turning on the Cab04” section below,
will power the radio board as soon as the on/off switch is selected on. Setting
the time out period to 0 will now keep the radio board powered till the Cab04
is selected off.
The radio boards for all cabs are the same. To
set the period, the Cab04 has to be configured similar to the Procab that uses
the EXPN button to access “SETUP RADIO” feature, where the time is set.
- With the Cab04 power off.
- Press and HOLD down the SELECT LOCO button while plugging in the
Cab.
- The Cab04 is now in internal setup program and the keypad LED
flashes.
- Press “4” to enter the “Option” button setup mode, the keypad LED flashes
slower.
- Type “79” for Expansion Value.
- Press “ENTER” and LED extinguishes.
- The “Option” key NOW works as “EXPN” button that will give the same
operation as the Procab. Page 5 of the manual.
- Unplug the Cab04.
- Press “HORN” to turn on the Cab04’s radio. Transmission LED (adjacent
to antenna) is now flashing.
- Press “Option” (programmed as Expansion). Transmission LED on
steady.
- Press “2” the keypad LED is on steady.
- Press “0” to “9” for minutes of timeout. NOTE “0” for no
automatic time out that is radio on all the time, then
- Press “ENTER” twice. LED extinguishes.
The Cab04 will now turn off automatically after
the value you set in step 12 of cab inactivity.
Now you have to re-program the Option Button to
your desired function. Many operators would have been using the default setting
for the Option button that makes it a DIRECTION “toggle” or any other feature
on page 5.
- With the Cab04 power off.
- Press and HOLD down the SELECT LOCO button while plugging in the
Cab.
- The Cab04 is now in internal setup program and the keypad LED
flashes.
- Press “4” to enter the “Option” button setup mode, the keypad LED flashes
slower.
- Press “67” for DIRECTION or
your desired value.
- Press “ENTER”.
- The “Option” key NOW works as “DIRECTION” button or whatever you
have set in item 4.
- Unplug the Cab04.
NOTE: With the timeout
period set to “0” (no auto turn off) you must
plug the Cab04 into the Cab Bus to turn off the radio. Or next time the batteries will
be flat for sure.
Using an ON/OFF Switch to TURN ON Radio Throttles.
Some modelers have fitted an ON/OFF switch to
their radio throttles to extend the battery life. With the throttles off, there is a constant
drain on the 2 or 4 batteries (depending on model) due to the standby circuitry
of the throttles.
I use NiMH rechargeable batteries and have
fitted a charging socket that can be seen in these web pages, so I don’t worry
about the constant discharge. NiMH and NiCd batteries have a much higher self
discharge rate than dry cells so even if they were “switched off” with a switch
they still discharge.