Big Layout with 23 MLC

[David Blain]

hello all, i’m folowwing Mattzo since the beginning, and i was really exciting to get an automation for my lego trains. i just finished my big layout after 2 years of work and so much money spent 🙁
my layout is in a room of 25M2, i used 22 MLC for the switches, signals and reed sensors, 1 MLC4BT for 3 trains at this time, 34 switches from trixbrix,51 switches motors, 31 signals, 60 sensors…unfortunately i have lots of problems to make running 3 trains…most of the time only one train is fine…2 trains some few problems begins…3 trains too many problems…i made all that Mattze told me to do in rocrail, wifi and bluetooth communication seems to not have any problems. i use 1 phone charger with 5V 3A for every MLC to be sure to get enough power. the most problems come from reed sensors that don’t always work!! sometimes one reed sensor will be ok during 3 run, and the 4th time a train reach it, it does not work, so i have a ghost train…i reboot the MLC when i saw a sensor is not working, but it does not always change something…i got a few problems with switches too, rocrail did not change the switch in the good direction, sometimes he done too late, sometimes he want to chnage direction but the motor did not make the job…sometimes rocrail forgot that a train is in a block and send a second train in same block. sometimes rocrail try to run 2 trains on the same double slip switch, it seems to think that a double slip switch is 2 different tracks and that 2 trains can run on it at the same time!!!i got lots of crash with this…
so as you can understand, it does not wrok well for my layout…
did someone already make a big layout like mine with MLC? and do you have problems like me?

thanks for reply

David from France

[Hilbert B]

Hi,
Sorry for the late reply.

It looks like bad wifi coverage. What is the distance to your wifi access point (AP) and is it on the same floor?
In the Netherlands, it is common to have laminate flooring with a subfloor in which aluminium foil has been used. If the AP is not on the same floor, you have very poor wifi conerage.
Hilbert

[David Blain]

hi Hilbert, thanks for reply, even if it is late 😉
i have a wifi access point used only for my layout, in the same room…
i did not find where the problem come from, so i decided to stop using MLC

i sold most of my switches and motors, and i made a more simple train layout with 2 trains running…and lots of trains in waiting areas
automation is finish for me
but thanks for reply

David

[Hilbert B]

Hi David,
To bad to hear that it did not workout for you.
Hilbert

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