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#Rocrail z21 railcom Pc#
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This independent app costs less than $8 and allows you to control engines and switches directly from your smartphone. ESU has not developed an official App, but I have used TouchCab without a problem.

#Rocrail z21 railcom software#

Since the ECoS supports a connectivity protocol, it is possible for a mobile software to directly speak to the command station through your home network.

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In that case, mobile control is only indirect: the PC software is just using the devices as additional interfaces, and relays orders to the command station This is what I use most of the time: the ECoS only really speaks with a PC software (TrainController in my case), and the PC software has a mobile connectivity option.

Indirect mobile connectivity, through a PC software.

But the standard protocols are here, and leave us two possibilities: The ECoS was not “designed” for mobile connectivity, as opposed to Roco’s newer Z21 (which basically focuses on mobile connectivity). Controlling your layout with a smartphone or a tablet always makes a good impression (seriously, especially on people who don’t care much about model trains). This is a gadget for most people…but I like gadgets. At this point, I am not aware of any software actually supporting decoder programming via a PC with the ECOS II, but this should come soon! Mobile devices

#Rocrail z21 railcom update#

With firmware update 4.1.0, the ESU ECOS programming track is finally accessible to PC software programmers: the protocol has been published by ESU. So you “only” have access to train and accessory control. One should note however, that the Viessmann Commander (also in the “high end” range) does not offer any connectivity at all.Īnother note as well, is that the protocol used by ESU does not seem to support decoder programming (at least with TrainController). Most command stations support a standard protocol for PC connection, which can take the form of a USB or a network connection. Now, one thing should be clear: PC connectivity is not an exclusivity of the ECoS.

#Rocrail z21 railcom free#

WinDigiPet (always found this software name funny…)Īnd open source and/or free software, such as:.This includes commercial software such as: The ESU is one of those many command stations compatible with many train control software packages.

They allow you to control your layout by computer or mobile devices, via the command station. The most important functionality of the network interface are the protocols that you cannot see. The web interface is one thing, but that’s not what you may be using the most. But in my case, it surely was: all screenshots in this blog are made thanks to this function. I’m not really sure this is useful for many people. This produces a still picture of what is currently shown on the screen of the command station, a simple image file that can be saved on your computer. The ESU ECoS II, once on the home network, can be access through a standard web browser (you need to know its IP address): Now, armed with our Ethernet connection, let’s see what we can do. This is what I did, with a TP-Link TL-WR702N in “client” mode. Although there is no integrated WiFi, a €20 adapter can be connected to the Ethernet port itself. The ECoS can thus be connected to your home network, along with your computers. The most important and versatile plug on the ECoS II is simply a classic Ethernet (RJ-45) network port. ESU proprietary bus system (ECoS Link)…Īs opposed to the Märklin Command station, it does not have a USB port or a “card slot”.Most of them are directly related to train control, and thus fall out of the scope of this article: The command station from ESU has quite a lot of “plugs”. This is why I am going to review all of its “connectivity options”, notwithstanding the actual “train control” possbilities. Its age doesn’t mean that the the ESU ECoS II isn’t able to evolve, or can’t be “connected”. On my layout, it has replaced the Viessmann Commander, which I personally found buggy and very limited. The ESU ECoS II command station has been around for more than 3 years now.

I haven’t had time to post lately, so I decided to write on a “classic” topic.