JMRI not a easy as I expected


cncproadwarrior

cncproadwarrior

North of the 49th
OK, I spent the day playing with DecoderPro. It ain't as easy as I had been led to believe. Dare I say a big disappointment.

1- When I start DecoderPro, I get the Roster pane instead of the Initial screen. So I have to go to Settings to choose my programming method.

2- When I try to copy one decoder's settings to another, it doesn't work. Oh the CVs are changed but the loco does not respond to the new settings. Yes, I saved them to the decoder.

3- Help is useless. Half of the choices lead nowhere. And you can't even find the other half on the Help menu. For example, what is Coupler Slack Repeat on the Sound pane? What does a high value do as opposed to a low one? There are many more entries I don't understand.

4- How do you access Sound Pro?

Etc... etc... etc...

Sorry to be so critical but I find it easier using my NCE PowerCab.

Oh and I worked in IT for over 30 years so I know computers.

Bernie
 
You have a large advantage over me with your IT and computer experience. I am definitely finding it hard to navigate. If you've downloaded the latest version, 3.6, you'll find the help section is written for the previous 3.4. Seems to be somewhat different.
 
JMRI recall it is user supported, but I think some smart people are working it right to do it right to support it right.
If you have buggers issues contact the JMRI team about it, there is a yahoo group for JMRI.
If you have trouble with the current version, retro back to the earlier version. For me learning it has been trial and error than
scanning help files, as I go I'll poke a help file and I learn something, or I discover something without hitting a help file and I go...hey thats smart!

Just kick back and explore it around and poke it around.

I have working signals using its panel pro.
 
DecoderPro was supposed to make programming decoders easy so you could spend more time running trains. I find myself spending more time trying to figure out how to use DecoderPro than running trains. Sophisticated software is not supposed to be learned by trial and error. You're supposed to be able to read the manual to learn how to use it. In this case, there is no manual. At least not one that is worth reading.
 
Sometimes, when people design software, they forget the fact that other people who weren't on the software's design team will be using it. I am a software junkie. I have learned all kinds of complicated software over the years. Sometimes you just have to go through the menu's, and find out what each function or command does. It is a backwards way to do things in a way. But I find that it helps.

But trust me, I feel your pain. I am currently learning new CAM software developed in the UK. I was a master of the previous CAM software that I used. But this new software has a very complicated way to do things. It can be very frustrating.
 
For starters JMRI is priced right. And then there is... uh... the... well... the price!!

Seriously though I'm retired now but I was a programmer for 35+ years - my focus was user interface design. Now granted JMRI is written in Java and some of the Java UI development tools are... rough. But JMRI DecoderPro is a really poor example of UI design. Sure if you used it for a while you get used to all its "quirks" but you shouldn't have to.

I use DecoderPro for one thing configuring RR-CirKits Train Controller 64 devices - The 64 has tons of options and trying to do it without something like DecoderPro would be a real pain.

For regular decoders I use RR&C's Train Programmer.

So if you have a hard time with JMRI don't feel bad - it's not you.
 
The manufacturers of their sound decoders have their own sound programmers/throttles, but you usually have to use their programmer interface to work their decoder, just buy that, they have freely downloadable software.

The pay throttlers programmers you pay to the tilt for it, they try to simplify your work, but compromise on some other areas. They are doing work YOU should be doing and YOU pay for it. All depends how you want to do it. I don't have the money to pay to the tilt for a software that might not do what I need/want.
The pay proggies still have their own learning curve as demonstrated on this forum.

Part of this hobby has been about inventiveness, all the softwares have made things possible that makes this hobby even more fun tho in ways more complicated. You may look at JMRI from a user/consumer vantage, but theres a computer terminolgy for this, the "Turnkey Operator" the operator who only pushes the buttons and uses the software and knows nothing how it works. Thats the Xbox people, when it don't work, you run it off to be fixed/replaced, you dont do a thing.
Thats not JMRI. Its all programming, and if you have the mad skillz you can do something about it.

Again hit the JMRI website and let them know your buggers or check in the Yahoo group and inform them, eventually there may be a fix and a new version. Its open source, made by modelers for modelers.
 
My point here is that everything I've read in forums about DecoderPro says it's the model railroader's Valhalla for programming decoders. Nowhere have I seen negative feedback about it. I'm just letting people know what my experience has been.

I mostly use freeware which is what DecoderPro is. And I must say that most freeware has been written to make it easy to use. DecoderPro falls way short in this domain. How can you code a value for something you that you don't know what it does?
 
Seeing as how the modelers are the ones programming the software, someone that understands how to use the software that doesn't know how to program needs to step up and design a help file for the software. And follow up with some tutorials. Or does it have any of this? I don't use the software, so I am just following this because I at one time was interested in using it.
 
Yeah, the last few groups I have tried to join that stupid #### Captcha thing doesn't work. I know I am typing the code in correctly. I have been using computers for years. For some reason the one on Yahoo Groups is not working for me.
 
I joined the NCE, MRL and JMRI groups, JMRI being the most recent and have been reading and taking note of those things that I thought would have a use for immediately. I unsubscribed from the emails from NCE but look in every now and then (didn't cancel membership) but the volume from JMRI is so huge I decided to do the same. Couldn't find an email unsubscribe anywhere, eventually found one which just said unsubscribe. Short story, my membership is now cancelled.
 
I havent looked hard at decoder pro, I'm using panelpro for the signals, and just use the throttle for programming (the digitrax programmer throttle) I own digitrax/QSI interfaces for programming sound and they both have their own PC throttlers. I'll look at it harder but it functions just fine for me to tun an engine. Just note if your trying to program Soundtraxx decoders they note you need their booster for programming on the programming track, but they have extensive support for op programming. They say their newer decoders don't need the booster.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When I use Decoder Pro I keep a copy of my decoder manufacturers handbook ready to help decipher the CVs I am updating.


Greg Amer
The Industrial Lead
gregamer.com
 
tootnkumin said:
... but the volume from JMRI is so huge I decided to do the same. Couldn't find an email unsubscribe anywhere, eventually found one which just said unsubscribe. Short story, my membership is now cancelled.
Click to expand...

In your profile page for the yahoo groups toot, is where you define what kind of e-mail setup you want from the group.

I've been using Decoder Pro since version 1.4, and have not had a problem with it at all. It seems the only difference that I have come across with the newest version so far is instead of the main roster screen coming up first, the ID a decoder screen is first. If you're programming a new decoder this is the screen you need. You can let the program ID at least the brand, or you can pick it out yourself.
 
gregamer said:
When I use Decoder Pro I keep a copy of my decoder manufacturers handbook ready to help decipher the CVs I am updating.


Greg Amer
The Industrial Lead
gregamer.com
Click to expand...

the QSI Titans are massive, like 500 pages of reference, I printed mine...woops!

Their own software makes it easier but they use a multi-cv reference to do a cv lookup, its technically setting some CV's to an address another CV with the feature your looking for.
 
cncproadwarrior said:
DecoderPro was supposed to make programming decoders easy so you could spend more time running trains. I find myself spending more time trying to figure out how to use DecoderPro than running trains. Sophisticated software is not supposed to be learned by trial and error. You're supposed to be able to read the manual to learn how to use it. In this case, there is no manual. At least not one that is worth reading.
Click to expand...

Bernie, have you looked on the main website for JMRI? That's where I learned how to use it. On the opening page of the website, there is under "What is JMRI?", a section called "Learn about JMRI". There you'll see the manual, which is a separate download. Latest manual is IIRC, is 164 pages long. It does cover it very well. JMRI does make programming a decoder very easy to do. It's so easy, that I seriously doubt that I can even program anything other than an address on a throttle now.
 
Until I can find someone who knows what they're doing with this and understands what various terms mean (I'm lost even setting preferences) I'm giving up on this as too confusing. Unfortunately the terminologies are totally foreign to me.
 
tootnkumin said:
Until I can find someone who knows what they're doing with this and understands what various terms mean (I'm lost even setting preferences) I'm giving up on this as too confusing. Unfortunately the terminologies are totally foreign to me.
Click to expand...

You mean a "physical" someone or an "online" someone?
 
tootnkumin said:
Until I can find someone who knows what they're doing with this and understands what various terms mean (I'm lost even setting preferences) I'm giving up on this as too confusing. Unfortunately the terminologies are totally foreign to me.
Click to expand...
when you run into something you are not understanding, hit us up with the question here.
 
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