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LCC 2024-07-22 Documents Submitted to the NMRA for Public Review and Adoption

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We’re pleased to announce the latest set of LCC Standards Documents (2024-07-22) have been submitted to the NMRA for Public Comment and Adoption.

A summary of the new/changed documents can be viewed here: Summary-of-Changes-to-LCC-Documents-2024-07-22-extra-comments

The individual Draft documents can be accessed individually in the table here.

You can download a ZIP file containing all of the PDF Documents from here: Submission-To-NMRA-LCC-Advisory-Board-2024-07-22.zip

Summary of Changes to LCC Documents 2024-07-22

New Documents for Public Comment

The following set of protocols define the new LCC Train Control capability. These protocols have to be implemented by Throttles, Command Stations and wireless Trains in order to communicate with each other using the LCC bus.

S-9.7.4.6-TrainControl-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.4.6-TrainControl-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

Defines the basic interactions between a Throttle and a Train on the LCC bus, including control of speed, functions and emergency stop. Speed is represented independently of speed steps and of scale. The protocol is bidirectional, which allows the Train to give state feedback like actual speed and function information to the throttle. The same protocol will be used between Throttles and Command Stations as well as between Throttles  and wireless Trains; the Throttle implementation has to be the same. Consisting is also possible between a DCC and a wireless Train.

The TN has additional commentary on how to implement a DCC Command Station using the LCC protocol suite.

S-9.7.4.7-TrainSearch-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.4.7-TrainSearch-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

Defines a peer-to-peer protocol for finding and identifying Trains on the LCC network by address or cab number, independently of whether those trains are represented by a Command Station or are connected directly to the network via wireless communication. The client of this protocol will be implemented by Throttles, the server of this protocol by Command Stations and wireless Trains.

A network can mix Command Station and wireless Trains, providing a seamless upgrade path for the user.

S-9.7.4.8-FunctionDescriptionInformation-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.4.8-FunctionDescriptionInformation-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

Defines a descriptor of the User Interface of a Train for a Throttle, by providing the list of functions it supports. Functions are listed by number, name, description and whether they are a momentary, toggle or analog function.

Documents with Changes for Public Comment

S-9.7.0.3-UniqueIdentifiers-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.0.3-UniqueIdentifiers-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Updates ranges for various train control systems: DC, DCC, TMCC, etc

These allocations are used by Command Stations operating locomotives using the respective track protocol like DCC.

S-9.7.0.4-EventIdentifiers-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.0.4-EventIdentifiers-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Adds Train Search protocol event range
    • Adds 11-bit extended DCC accessory address range
    • Reformat some tables

These allocations are used by the Train Search Protocol, and allow sending DCC Extended Accessory commands to the track via an LCC Command Station. The Extended Accessory allocation has been updated to support up to 255 as aspect number, as enabled by a recent change to the DCC standards.

S-9.7.1.1-CanPhysical-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.1.1-CanPhysical-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Add a section on Electronic Labeling
    • Add a section on Injection Current
    • Added discussion of CAN bit timing◦ Standardize the use of ALT_L/ALT_H for the NMRA S-9.1.2 DCC signal
    • Clarify discussion of gateways and repeaters

Adding the DCC signal to the LCC cable allows connecting DCC Power Stations (Boosters) via a single cable to the network. The CAN bit timing update helps manufacturers build products that are certain to function with up to 1000’ of LCC cable.

S-9.7.2.1-CanFrameTransfer-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.2.1-CanFrameTransfer-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Add to the behavior of the AME Message
    • Fix calculation error in the example provided in the TN.

The additional requirement on the processing of AME messages are needed for LCC throttles to correctly function when the DCC Command Station is power cycled. This behavior is taken from an implementation detail of an existing LCC throttle and elevated to the standard to ensure future interoperability.

S-9.7.3-MessageNetwork-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.3-MessageNetwork-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Update the table of PIP bits
    • Clarifies the content of the OIR message
    • Clarified the discussion of priorities

Deprecates certain bits in the protocol identification that were for protocols that were never implemented. Minor updates to the wording of certain sections to ensure clarity of understanding.

S-9.7.3.1-EventTransport-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.3.1-EventTransport-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Add Events with Payload

Establishes a new method for sending broadcast messages with more than 8 bytes of content. This transport is used by under-development protocol for Location Services (RFID, RailCom, etc).

S-9.7.4.1-ConfigurationDescriptionInformation-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.4.1-ConfigurationDescriptionInformation-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • The size of integer variables is restricted to 1, 2 or 4 bytes
    • Define signed vs unsigned behavior of integer variables
    • The requirement that unused bytes in a String variable be set to null has been removed
    • Addition of float variables
    • Discussion of possible ways of representing group names

Adding performance improvements, removing unused features, and adding new features needed by manufacturers.

S-9.7.4.2-MemoryConfiguration-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.4.2-MemoryConfiguration-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Remove the write-size bits in the Configuration Options Reply
    • Add stream reads to a Configuration Options Reply bit

Deprecates certain unused features, and updates the definition of a future feature.

S-9.7.4.3-SimpleNodeInformation-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

TN-9.7.4.3-SimpleNodeInformation-2024-07-22-Draft.pdf

    • Update how the two data blocks are versioned

Adds a requirement on how to make current devices future-proof in case the standard evolves to newer versions.

Documents that have not changed since 2021-04-25 (for completeness)

There were no changes to these documents since 2021-04-25 but they are included here for completeness

TN-9.7.0.1-Glossary-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.0.2-CommonInformation-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.3.2-DatagramTransport-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.3.2-DatagramTransport-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.4.4-FirmwareUpgrade-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.4-FirmwareUpgrade-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.4.5-BroadcastTime-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.5-BroadcastTime-2021-04-25.pdf

Products implementing the proposed standards

Much of the changes presented in this package are around implementing Throttles, DCC Command Stations and direct wireless Trains. At the time of this writing, the following products are available that implement the proposed protocol and represent evidence of functionality and interoperability:

    • TCS UWT-100 wireless Throttle
    • TCS UWT-50 wireless Throttle
    • TCS CS-105 Command Station with wireless and wired LCC port
    • TCS LT-50 wired Throttle and Command Station
    • MRC Nexxt Command Station (announced)
    • MRC Nexxt wireless Throttle (announced)

The following products allow connecting Throttles of additional manufacturers to the LCC protocol suite:

    • RR-CirKits LCC-LocoNet Gateway, supporting the use of LocoNet throttles (wired and wireless) with LCC.
    • MRC Nexxt wireless adapter (announced), supporting the use of MRC (wired and wireless) throttles and wireless phone apps with LCC.
    • TCS CS-105 Aux Port and TCS LCC WiFi Panel (announced), supporting the use of NCE, RamTraxx, System One and ISE ProtoThrottle wired and wireless throttles with LCC.
    • TCS CS-105 Aux Port and TCS LCC WiFi Panel (announced), supporting the use of XpressNet wired and wireless throttles such as Lenz, Roco, CVP and ISE ProtoThrottle with LCC.

The following free software allows connecting as Throttle to the LCC protocol suite:

    • JMRI, supporting automated throttles, on-screen throttles, and wireless throttles and phone apps.
    • LCC Tools app for iOS, supporting throttles on phones, tablets and laptops, as well as addiitonal LCC features, such as configuration.

LCC 2021-04-25 Documents Adopted by NMRA

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We’re pleased to announce the latest set of LCC Standards Documents (2021-04-25) were adopted by the NMRA Board of Directors at the 2-July-2021 meeting and have been posted on the Layout Command Control™ (LCC) page.

The complete set can also be downloaded as a single ZIP file here: LCC-Standards-and-TechNotes-Adopted-2021-07-02

Most of the documents submitted to the NMRA would usually go through their normal public comment period, as recommended in the “Summary of Changes to LCC Documents 2021-04-25” document.

However, after discussion with the NMRA LCC Advisory Group during the submission process, it was decided the NMRA’s usual public comment period wasn’t necessary for this set of LCC documents, as they had effectively been through that already during the OpenLCB Group’s editing and review process and that little would likely be gained with an additional NMRA public comment period. Some extra comments were then added to the “Summary of Changes” document to provide the context and justification for recommending the documents be adopted immediately by the NMRA. This is included below for convenience.

Summary of Changes to LCC Documents 2021-04-25 (extra comments)

Documents with only Coversheet and CC License changes

The changes to the first set of documents have effectively “no change to any standards content”, the changes are just to the Licensing details in the footer and changes to the NMRA cover sheet to include the logo with the ® symbol, add TM symbol to the LCC text and adds the legal fine-print. Should be fine to adopt immediately.

TN-9.7.0.1-Glossary-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.0.2-CommonInformation-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.1.1-CanPhysical-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.1.1-CanPhysical-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.2.1-CanFrameTransfer-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.2.1-CanFrameTransfer-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.3-MessageNetwork-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.3.1-EventTransport-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.3.1-EventTransport-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.3.2-DatagramTransport-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.3.2-DatagramTransport-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.1-ConfigurationDescriptionInformation-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.4.2-MemoryConfiguration-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.2-MemoryConfiguration-2021-04-25.pdf

S-9.7.4.3-SimpleNodeInformation-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.3-SimpleNodeInformation-2021-04-25.pdf

    • Changed LCC logo to include the ® symbol
    • Changed “Layout Command Control” to have the TM symbol
    • Added the NMRA Legal Disclaimer fine-print
    • Changed the OpenLCB license to “Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International”

Documents that have been Adopted after Public Comment

These two documents were in draft since Feb-2016 but as they were the only docs in-progress at the time they got delayed. The protocol is in use already by manufacturers and supported in JMRI and hasn’t generated any issues we know about. Should be fine to adopt immediately.

S-9.7.4.4-FirmwareUpgrade-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.4-FirmwareUpgrade-2021-04-25.pdf

Documents with Changes for Public Comment

The changes in two docs below correct an oversight in how we assign a 24-bit address range to Manufacturers without a DCC Manufacturer ID. We would have had to allocate them a range in the DIY area which seemed the wrong “status” association. This change puts them right next to Manufacturers WITH a DCC Manufacturer ID. The other changes were fixing typos. Should be fine to adopt immediately.

S-9.7.0.3-UniqueIdentifiers-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.0.3-UniqueIdentifiers-2021-04-25.pdf

    • Added to section 5.4 Manufacturer Specific for manufacturers without a NMRA Assigned DCC Manufacturer ID
    • Corrected comments in 5.7 Specifically Assigned by Request for 16-bit and 24-bit allocations

The changes in the next two docs add Well-Known Event definitions for two things. 1) Notify the occurrences of Power Brown-Outs onto the LCC Bus. 2) Adds support for interoperability of LCC and DCC Accessory Decoder (Turnouts + Signals) States. These changes have also been around for a long time (several years) and have been implemented already – they were simply delayed in processing and should be fine to adopt immediately.

S-9.7.0.4-EventIdentifiers-2021-04-25.pdf

    • In section 5.2 Well-Known Automatically-Routed added:
      • Power supply brownout detected below minimum required by node
      • Power supply brownout detected below minimum required by standard
    • In section 5.3 Well-Known added:
      • Activate basic DCC accessory decoder address
      • Deactivate basic DCC accessory decoder address
      • Send aspect to extended DCC accessory decoder address

TN-9.7.0.4-EventIdentifiers-2021-04-25.pdf

    • Add section 2.5.2.3 Power Supply Brownout Detected
    • Add section 2.5.3.3 Basic DCC Accessory Decoder
    • Add section 2.5.3.4 Advanced DCC Accessory Decoder

The changes in the next two docs simply fix typos to reflect reality and should be fine to adopt immediately.

TN-9.7.3-MessageNetwork-2021-04-25.pdf

    • Corrected example where message length was incorrectly displayed in section 2.3.5.1 Reject Addressed Optional Interaction, lines 271 – 273

S-9.7.4.1-ConfigurationDescriptionInformation-2021-04-25.pdf

    • Corrected definition of Newline delimiter (0x0A) in section 5 Format (Normative) on line 41

New Documents for Public Comment

The next two docs have also been around for some years but needed to be “finished” when LogicRail Technologies approached us wanting to produce a LCC Fast Clock. There were minor changes (typos and readability) in 7-Mar-2021, but the previous changes were Sep-2018. Prototypes have been made and are working fine so these too should be fine to adopt immediately, even though they are new to the public.

S-9.7.4.5-BroadcastTime-2021-04-25.pdf

TN-9.7.4.5-BroadcastTime-2021-04-25.pdf

LCC – Best Way to Move Points

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When Jeff Gerow was asked to help out with the electronics for a friend’s layout last year – he felt it was a good time to find out about LCC – and did. Special thanks go to Brian Pickering and his series of articles in the NMRA Magazine as well as Dick Bronson. But it wasn’t easy to find good information from any single source so Jeff felt it would be a good idea to create a clinic about what he had learned. He gave the clinic to his Division for the first time last year (when we could still have such) and it was well received – this year, with Covid, he updated the clinic and created a video as part of NMRAx, which is available here

The new Knowledge Base is Growing

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Checkout the new Knowledge Base that is being built. Articles are being contributed by the OpenLCB / LCC User Community but special thanks goes to Paul Davidson and David Harris who have contributed the initial set of entries. Feel free to contribute entries especially for concepts, key learnings or issues that took you a while to sort, that you can pass-on to others.

Where’s the old openlcb.org website?

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You may have noticed a number of changes to the OpenLCB website over the last few days. We decided a while ago to migrate away from the old static openlcb.org website and replace it with a newer WordPress based website, which we’ve been working on for a few months. Now all three OpenLCB domains (openlcb.org, openlcb.com & openlcb.info) all point to the one WordPress website. However the old OpenLCB website still exists on SourceForge and can be found here: http://old.openlcb.org and there’s also a “Old Website” main menu item to get you there easily.

The SourceForge Project still exists here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/openlcb but we are also slowly moving parts of the OpenLCB SubVersion repository over to new project repositories on GitHub

LCC Standards and Technical Notes Adopted by NMRA BoD

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The OpenLCB Group are pleased to announce the LCC Standards and Technical Notes (Download ZIP file) have been Adopted by the NMRA BoD at their February 2016 meeting. This represents the first complete and coherent set of standards and technical notes to enable manufacturers to develop LCC products.

This is the culmination of many (hundreds) hours of work from the core members of The OpenLCB Group and many other volunteers proof reading, checking technical details, providing feedback and prototyping designs to prove the protocols work as intended, in the real (model) world. Many thanks to all those who contributed.

These and other LCC documents are available on the Layout Command Control (LCC) page or via direct links to each section:

Enjoy!

Latest Set of LCC Standards and Technical Notes are ready for NMRA Adoption

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The OpenLCB Group are pleased to announce the latest set (2016-02-06) of LCC Standards and Technical Notes (Download ZIP file) are ready for Adoption by the NMRA BoD at their next meeting. This provides a complete and coherent set of standards to enable manufacturers to develop LCC products.

We have also published a subsequent set (2016-02-08) of LCC Standards and Technical Notes (Download ZIP file) that are ready for public comment. This set adds DCC Signals on pins (4&5) to S-9.7.1.1-CanPhysical & TN-9.7.1.1-CanPhysical and also introduces the Node Firmware Upgrade S-9.7.4.4-Firmware-Upgrade & TN-9.7.4.4-Firmware-Upgrade capability.

This is the culmination of many (hundreds) hours of work from the core members of The OpenLCB Group and many other volunteers proof reading, checking technical details, providing feedback and prototyping designs to prove the protocols work as intended, in the real (model) world. Many thanks to all those who contributed.

These and other LCC documents are available on the Layout Command Control (LCC) page or via direct links to each section:

Enjoy!