220hotwheels

Hi to all in the know regarding V7 I notice from comments made in certain sections of the forum that some of the goodies to be expected in V7 are clearly being trialled. Whilst I am happy to wait for V7 to become available to all I wonder whether anyone can tell me if this new version will have marked improvements for larger layouts. A while ago Neo mentioned that he was hoping to make such an improvement in V7 so fingers crossed this will happen. My layout is now starting to struggle just a little and I have much remaining to complete all present elements to a satisfactory level without adding anything else. Having taken professional advice in order to establish if the problem is hardware related I am now satisfied that this is not the case as I have been able to run my layout on a very sophisticated computer only to find I had the same issues. This only leaves a possibility for greater optimisation of the actual program which I hope we might get with V7. So if anyone can enlighten me further on this point I would be most grateful. In the meantime I will continue my learning curve with improvements and hope that the model railway unions don't decide to call a go slow. Depending on the layout view, fps can drop to 17 which makes you feel as though you have had too many beers!! Careful manipulation can keep things around 30fps +, much better for my failing eyesight. Kind regards Pete

Brilliant. I'll give that a try and let you know how I get on. Once again many thanks for taking the trouble to come up with a solution. Pete

Hi Simon Your solution is great. Many thanks for taking the trouble to come up with this solution. It may seem like a daft request but how do I open your draft version. Clearly I'm not used to undertaking such tasks. Yet another learning curve required. I also had a very similar solution sent to me by a very good friend and member, but in *.mbp format, who has become rather disillusioned, shall I say, with some elements of the forum but who is still clearly maintaining an interest in finding solutions. The solution that he has sent me is quite brilliant. I haven't yet installed it into my layout, it takes me a while to work through his quite intricate EM but he has produced a rolling bow wave as well as a stern wake which is EM controlled. Once I have been able to master this and hopefully incorporated some of your solution I will seek his permission to post the results for the benefit of all. I have to say that some of his ideas are really great. His solution to helicopter take off and landing are genius and very realistic. It is largely down to his guidance that I have managed to get thus far with much of my layout although variables, and many other elements of EM work for me are still very much in their infancy. Like yours and Goetz advice with carriage door opening and closing I pick suggestions up and thus learn a bit more. Pete Pete

Hi All I may well be hoping to take realism just a bit too far but seeing a ship float across the surface of water without creating either a bow wave of wake just doesn't look right somehow. Has anyone got a solution to this problem or does anyone know if it is even possible to create such an effect. Steam trains without smoke don't look right so I'm hoping that there is some clever member out there with a solution for boats. I've tried creating a sort of wake using Brunnenwasser but it's not very realistic and I wouldn't know where to start trying to control such an effect for different speeds. All suggestions would be most welcome, short of using a torpedo!!! Pete

Good morning all I seem to have solved the query regarding the Rodem.Notifier.wpf. Having spoken to a friend, who has much more tech knowledge than myself, he was able to explain how I could locate this program. It would seem that it was part of the installation process for my Brother Iprint/scan application and that for some reason it was running constantly. Having removed the program, rebooted the computer and reinstalled the program for said printer it is no longer running all the time so I am only left with 3D Train Studio running at Very High. Whether this will solve the program crash issue only time will tell. Cheers Pete

Hi to all I'm curious. Over the last week to 10 days I have experienced a rather annoying phenomena and wonder if this is a general issue and therefore experienced by others or whether it is peculiar to just me. I have to say that the layout that I am currently immersed in is quite large, currently 4100 KB, and certain parts of the program are now starting to run slower than they did but I am now experiencing a basic crash of the program. I load the layout, work on it and then have to answer emails or do other work so I minimise the program and leave it on the taskbar. For some strange reason, I might be working on emails or in another unrelated program when my computer screen suddenly goes black. When it comes back on I get an error message telling me that there has been an unexplained error and that the program must close, which it does immediately. Any work not backed up is lost. This means that I am constantly backing up every 30mins or even more frequently. I know it is not an issue with the computer as I am constantly checking how it is coping with my usage through the task Manager. Processor usage is minimum, memory is around 25% usage. One aspect that I do not understand is an item called Rodem.notifier.wpf (32 bit) which is running using 12.2% of CPU and shows "very high" under power usage. Anyway I just wondered if any of you really smart techy guys could throw any light on this annoying problem. Any advice, short of attacking the computer with a large hammer, would be greatly appreciated. Pete

Hi Simon You're right it does work, phew, so onward and upwards. Even the crane seems happy now!!! Thanks for your comments Pete

Ooops Now I feel a bit like Picocchio. I think the answer might just have been under my nose "enable/disable event module" I will give it a try. If it works, great, I'll wipe the egg off my face. If not then !!!!! Pete

Hi to Goetz, Herman, Simon and Dad3353 You each very kindly offered assistance with my multi event issue, which is now to a large extent sorted. It has taken me several days, many different attempts and a fare amount of alcoholic beverages to get to the present stage of operation. However I do still have a rather annoying aspect that my knowledge thus far just won't allow me to solve through EV. Whilst I still need to streamline some of the overall operation the basic one of unloading the containers from the ferry to either trucks or to the quayside is working perfectly. In reverse the containers are unloaded from either the trucks, after they return, or from the quayside back onto the ferry. However the only way that I can get this to work correctly is by manually deactivating the 'loading' EV instruction so that the unloading works fine and visa versa. If I don't do this then the crane is clearly confused as to just what it should do at any given point and decides to throw a tantrum, picking up, dropping off or simply leaving containers in mid air before deciding to go back to sleep and reset itself. I've tried talking nicely to the crane, I've called it names and promised to remove it from my layout but all to no avail. No doubt elements like variables, iterations and the like will probably hold the key unless of course there is a way of including in the EV an instruction to either turn off or on the activation for each particular part of the program but my knowledge of the former and my search through elements of the EV haven't as yet shone any light on my problem so if any of you can point me in the right direction I would be most grateful. I have attached three screen shots which I hope might provide some clue as to where I am going wrong. Pete

Hi All advice is most helpful and very welcomed I therefore thank you for yours, which I must say carries much logical weight along with pure and simple common sense. Generally speaking I do start off with a basic plan on paper before I embark on EV work but then once started enthusiasm gets the better of me and off I go on different tangents. Having owned and run my own Freight Forwarding and haulage company for many years along with other businesses I do have a pretty good grasp on what I need to achieve to get this element of my layout functioning properly. That's the theory. Where I fall down is the lack of know how to put my ideas into efficient practice in my EV. However practice makes perfect and making mistakes is the best way to learn. The answer stays with you longer that way. Thus far I have established that within my EV I have a clear conflict between the disembarkation side and the embarkation element which is confusing the crane no end so back to basics. I have deactivated all of the embarkation EV for the containers and will concentrate on making sure that the disembarkation part runs perfectly first before looking more closely at the rest of the process. As the saying goes "watch this space" Pete

Hi Simon It sounds as though we both have a similar dilemma, almost there but not quite. Your approach would seem to be very much more sophisticated than mine, I'm still getting into variables and iteration at a snails pace so my list of instructions for each operation get longer and longer which means that I have rather a lot of procedures running through my head and trying hard to ensure that they all operate in sequence. Touch wood, so far since beginning my revamp this morning I think I am almost there. Just a few more containers to enter into the EV and then see if everything works. The unloading bit did along with the disembarkation of all vehicles so I hope the same can be said for the embarkation element later. It just goes to show that the age old adage of a problem shared etc etc. Having spent a few hours last night pondering on how to solve this problem it was only after posting my cry for help this morning that a solution appeared. One day my ability to streamline my EV might just make everything much simpler. In the meantime I'll simply continue to create a mountain of instructions following Murphy's Law. Many thanks for your reply. I hope you get your niggles sorted soon. Pete

Hi Herman and Goetz Many thanks for your replies. Since posting my question I have continued to try to solve my dilemma looking both at the addresses for each element as well as working through the overall EV. I couldn't find any problems with the addresses for each of the cargo pads but came to the conclusion that I was perhaps trying too hard to make the operation more simplistic by having more commands in the EV than perhaps I need. The crane operation was in 6 parts. 1)unloading from ship to truck one and partly to quayside, 2)unloading to 2nd truck and balance to quayside. Next crane operation was 1)to unload container from 1st truck to quayside, then from 2nd truck to quayside. Final crane operation was to load all containers back onto the ferry. I am now working through resetting the EV so that there is only one operation to fulfil the disembarking operation and one to fulfil the embarkation element. This is not yet completed but thus far I have managed to remove the multiple events element. If it works I will come back and let you both know. If it doesn't then you might hear a very loud expletive emanating from the U.K. Once again many thanks for your advice. If I continue to struggle then I'll see what I can muster up in the way of screenshots to try to show my continued problem more clearly. Pete

Good morning all I have a situation of multiple events under the following scenario. A ferry docks, the port crane unloads containers, some to vehicles some to the quay. So far no problems. After the vehicles have returned to the ferry to unload the containers from the trailers to the quay I then have multiple events highlighted. The operation still works OK but I am then adding further to this problem by creating another operation for the same crane to reload the containers from the quayside back on board the ferry. It would seem that at this point the crane doesn't know where to place the container once it has been uplifted simply returning it back to the quayside pad. The cargo pads on the ship have completely different names to those on the quayside. Clearly the multiple events issue is to do with the instruction to the crane at the point when the EV chooses when the event will be triggered, (crane finishes lifting/lowering) but I am not clear how this can be remedied. Has anyone any suggestion please. Pete

Oh I see. Your application of events is clearly somewhat different to mine. I unload from either ship, train or truck. Place onto a different mode of transport and off they go to another destination where they are unloaded, stacked in one form or another and then in a given period of time simply reappear back at the start point. My layout is quite large so the magic trick works quite well as long as you don't sit and dwell on that element until the magic takes place. In my last message I did refer to this as my feeble attempt with Lua. That was not a strictly accurate description of the actual Lua instruction which was kindly given to me by another extremely knowledgeable member who's technical abilities I can currently only dream about. The feeble part is my interpretation of the application into my layout. Now that I've set that record straight I can return to a more peaceful state of mind!!! Good luck with your endeavours.

Hi Simon Well in that case many thanks to both you and Goetz, he has also helped me too in the past. He is certainly a source of great knowledge with regard to this hobby of our's. When I know half of what he seems to know I will feel that I have achieved much. In the meantime I shall continue to muddle through following both Heath Robinson and Murphy's law as a general rule but picking up tips here and there in order to correct my mistakes. How are you doing with your container stacking in reverse? I don't suppose my feeble attempt with Lua would be of any interest but I certainly manage to get all containers back to their original positions without too much hassle but then I am only stacking 2 up max. Anyway if it's of interest let me know and I'll send you a copy of my Lua script. Pete

HI Simon Just thought I should let you know that having followed your solution to the carriage door opening/closing problem I now have all working perfectly on each of the trains where such facilities are available. The moral to this story is either you have the knowledge or you know who has or where to find it. Long live the forum and all who contribute. It makes life for we less knowledgeable folk much more enjoyable. As they say, "a problem shared is a problem halved", especially if you are able to understand the solution and better still put it into practice. Once again many thanks for sharing your knowledge. Pete

Hi Simon I did say right at the beginning that much of what I do relies very much on 'Heath Robinson'. As I pick up hints and tips I then go back to my drawing board and make suitable changes. Your solution certainly merits a modification to my layout although I am only stacking containers up to 2 high. Clearly you have an understanding of the use of Lua from what I have been reading about your solution to getting carriage doors to open and close. My knowledge is still at the stone age stage but I quite fancy having a go at following your solution for carriage door operation so will see how I get on. Good luck with the reverse procedure. Pete

Hi Simon Just been reading through some of suggestions regarding solving your initial container stacking problem. Although it would seem that you have now sorted this, I wondered whether the following would be of any interest. Much of my approach to problem solving with my layouts falls into the category of the “Heath Robinson”, a bit long winded as my expertise, whilst improving, still has a long way to go but this solution was given to me by another member who has helped me enormously with many problems that I have encountered. I have used this system for loading and unloading containers onto trains and trucks as well as more recently for discharging them from a ship to quayside and trucks alike. The basic principle is very straight forward. Every container is allocated a cargo pad. If one container is stacked on top of another then the one on the bottom has a cargo pad placed on it’s top, locked to said container but referenced to the one to be placed on it. As an example therefore if I have 20 containers loaded on my ships deck each one will be allocated it’s own cargo pad. Container ‘A’ will be located on cargo pad ‘MV vessel bottom A’ and so on. If I then double stack these I simple place another cargo pad on top of each container, lock it to that container but give it the reference name for the container to be placed on top, lets say ‘MV vessel top A’. It’s then simply a matter of telling which crane, if you are using more that one, which container it should lift and where it must be placed. On my current layout I am discharging from ship to truck and quay so have allocated cargo pads to both the trucks and quayside giving each an individual name, the trucks get, for example ‘truck 1 front pad or rear pad’ and the quayside gets ‘quayside ‘A’ etc. As long as you take care during the programming then all works fine. I then execute a script which after a given time will return all items to their original start point ready to start all over again. So far, all containers have relocated in exactly the right places. All cargo pads are set as invisible, so the look is right as well. Any way that’s my solution. I did warn you all at the beginning that my solution owes much to my trusty mentor “Heath Robinson” or should that be “sods law” !!! Happy cargo stacking. Pete

Hi Eric Not too sure if this will help but I too use both a desktop PC and a laptop. My simple solution is to create a back up on whichever computer I am using onto either a USB stick or even an SD card if it has a large enough capacity and then simply transfer from one computer to another. Therefore any work done on one and saved on to it and the USB or memory card can be inserted into your other computer and away you go. The layout that I am currently working on is already up to 3890KB so I know that this system works you just need to make sure you copy the whole directory and not just a small piece. Hope this helps. Pete

Life is full of challenges, this hobby is just one of them but I have to say that I find it a most enjoyable challenge. Just every now and again you need a push from those with greater knowledge. As Arnold Schwarzenegger would say, "I'll be back" Cheers Pete

Hi Goetz I've taken a look through each of the recommended demo's which in part do solve this problem as a general rule. Unfortunately the little bits that I have translated, thanks to Mr Google have left me further confused but it has highlighted the fact that my attempts so far need lots of work in order to gain both a smooth operation and a much more professional one. The drawing board awaits!! Cheers Pete

Thanks Goetz Since sending my last message I have been trying all sorts. Having copied and pasted the posts into google, the forum search box I seem to have got lots of different items to read. All fascinating stuff but still a bit confusing. I'll follow your advice and see what comes up. Many thanks once again. From reading many more of your posts I have concluded that you must have immense patience to cope with questions such as mine. I am so grateful that you have such patience. Cheers Pete

Many thanks for that Goetz. I do fully understand you will have many other priorities. I am just grateful for any assistance that you can offer over time. As they say, there is always tomorrow! I haven't so far seen the items that you have mentioned. I will take a look later today and see just how much I can learn from them. This might seem like an even dafter question but how do I access the items you have mentioned. I tried to copy and paste, double click and place in the search section above. Clearly I need a brain transplant. Once again many thanks. Cheers Pete

Hi to all. I'm back with yet another problem to solve, possibly one for you Goetz. My main layout has over 50 'T' junctions and some cross roads. In order to be able to have a smooth flow of traffic I decided that I needed to get to grips with the intricacies of traffic flow, easier said than done. My efforts to date have produced what could loosely described as a moderate success but that really isn't good enough. The basic principle that I applied to solving this problem was to follow the general rule for rail crossings with barriers. I arrived at this conclusion after trying many other potential solutions. In the demo layout attached I have simply concentrated on trying to iron out problems at the three south junctions and so those in the centre and north are pretty much a free for all. My thinking being that if I can solve the traffic flow through the three then it shouldn't be too difficult to apply it to all the others. Perhaps my approach is the wrong one. Perhaps it is too complicated. It is however conceived from my thus far gained knowledge of EV, which as you may well have already noticed is not altogether great. Any assistance that can be offered would be greatly appreciated. I have been playing around with this problem now, on and off, for about two months and after a while just put it to one side in the hope that I might have a eureka moment. Cheers Pete My T junction road Layout.mbp

Hi Andy & Goetz Apologies for taking time to respond. I had picked up your replies earlier but had to take a phone call from the Loss Adjusters appointed by our insurance company. I am in the process of concluding a settlement for Business Interruption caused by Covid-19 for our bookbinding company and typical of insurers they have a very large book of silly questions that require multiple answers before they make up their minds. I've lost count of the number of spreadsheets I have completed but I think I can now safely say that I have a result. Phew. Both of your solutions are great. I've already implemented yours Andy for the helicopters and will now utilise your suggestion Goetz with parts of the control panel. Having this forum with all you knowledgeable guys is a bit like having multiple yoda's. Cheers Pete