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MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference

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MegaPoints Controllers
System2 Panel Controller User Reference
Revision 1
System2
Panel Controller User
Reference
by MegaPoints Controllers
Sixteen input and sixteen output mimic panel controller for your model railway.
All the convenience of Wi-Fi configuration with a robust bullet-proof,
wired CAN bus two wire network.
User Guide
Revision 1
JAN 2023
Status: Draft
© MegaPoints Controllers 2023
Email:
info@megapointscontrollers.com
megapointscontrollers.co.uk
Page 1

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Summary of Contents for MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller

  • Page 1 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 System2 Panel Controller User Reference by MegaPoints Controllers Sixteen input and sixteen output mimic panel controller for your model railway. All the convenience of Wi-Fi configuration with a robust bullet-proof, wired CAN bus two wire network.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Table of contents What is System2 Air? ..........................3 How to use this document ........................3 System2 Panel Controller ........................4 Introduction ............................4 First use ............................... 5 Network cabling ..........................6 Getting your first board on your local Wi-Fi network .................

  • Page 3: What Is System2 Air

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 What is System2 Air? System2 is our new generation of model railway accessory bus products that feature our V-Port protocol (virtual port) and can address up to 60,000 devices. You can scale an installation from a single Servo-8 Controller (8 V-ports) right up to a huge layout as your needs grow.

  • Page 4: System2 Panel Controller

    Revision 1 System2 Panel Controller Introduction The System2 Panel Controller is a 16 input and 16 output device primarily suited to driving mimic panels on System2 networks. It This is a 12 Volt device and features a Wi-Fi based intuitive configuration from the comfort of should be connected to a your PC, tablet or phone.

  • Page 5: First Use

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 First use See the image below for connection details.  Connect each board to a 12 Volt regulated power supply, minimum 500 mA per Panel Controller.  Connect the network cable to the two screw terminals. Observe the ‘H’ and ‘L’ terminals.

  • Page 6: Network Cabling

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Network cabling You can fit the termination jumpers to the first and last board on your network if not already fitted (see above two diagrams). See the above diagram for network cabling. All cables should be a twisted pair signal cable. Fit any termination jumpers (supplied as part of a starter kit) to the boards at the ends of the network for a maximum of two jumpers per network.

  • Page 7: Getting Your First Board On Your Local Wi-Fi Network

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Getting your first board on your local Wi-Fi network The very first board on from your System2 Air should be configured for your Wi-Fi. This will allow you to connect and adjust the board settings and download future software. The examples below are from a servo8 board.
  • Page 8 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1  After saving (Submit button), reload the page and get the IP address (3). You may observe a form resubmission confirmation (2). Select OK or Continue. Make a note of the IP address (3).

  • Page 9: Admin Interface

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Admin Interface The admin web page is shown on the page below. It is the place where you will change any settings for the Panel Controller. Each board on the System2 network has its own management web page and is unique to the board type and features.

  • Page 10: Board Location

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1  User definable text description or location  Input port configuration including: o V-Port o Positive latch time (milliseconds) o Input type o Invert o RGB settings for RGB LEDs (requires RGB output board) ...
  • Page 11 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 B2 Fiddle Yard Suggested entry types 12 Station throat A3 Scenic Baseboard B2 Avoid Main approach on the left The location will be added to reports in a future software update. This will be truncated to the first few characters (report formatting) so it’s much more useful to state a location such as “B2”...

  • Page 12: V-Ports

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 V-Ports System2 is an event driven system. This means when a button is pressed an event is generated on the network. This event is visible to all connected boards and will be acted on by those boards listening for that event.

  • Page 13: Input Type

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Physical Port on the device. Matches the port numbers along the bottom of the Phys Port device. Virtual port the input is assigned to. If physical port 6 has a pushbutton attached...

  • Page 14: Rgb Configuration

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 You could also use on an occupancy sensor where an event is triggered when a train enters a block and stopped a set interval after it leaves. RGB Configuration The RGB section requires an RGB output board (not available at time of writing).
  • Page 15 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Ports. This will preselect compatible addresses with other starter kit driver boards and get you up and running quickly. Refer to the screen shot below for a detailed explanation. Numbers in red circles relate to paragraph number of text.

  • Page 16: Locate Board

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 After selecting EasyConfig Board 44 (49) you will observe the following: Values have been loaded and background returns to normal white. EasyConfig board selection you just made. All changes you have made are instantly live and useable, however not saved. This is great for testing and trying things out before committing.
  • Page 17 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 First, it will cause the flashing LED indicator on that board to flash rapidly. This helps locate and identify the board if you have multiple boards in one location. Second, it will request that all CAN connected boards report in with their stats, assigned IP address, CAN ID, Board Type and software version.

  • Page 18: Can Id Management

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 CAN ID management The next area down on the main configuration page concerns network parameters. Refer to the screenshot below and explanation text for details. Auto CAN ID – Normally left selected (default). This will allow the board to automatically assign its CAN address and if a duplicate is detected may automatically reassign to a vacant address.
  • Page 19 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 When reselecting Auto CAN ID, the current setting will remain until a collision is detected; whereupon the software will automatically reassign the ID (see below). If a duplicate ID is detected and the address manually configured you will observe a message in the Status Log (example below) warning of the duplicate address and that auto change is disabled You need to manually reconfigure this.
  • Page 20 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 With Auto CAN ID enabled the message is slightly different (see below): The CAN ID was automatically changed to an unused ID. When the board is rebooted or the web page refreshed the CAN ID field will update to the new value.

  • Page 21: Wi-Fi Credential Sharing

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Wi-Fi credential sharing You may recall the procedure to connect the first board to your Wi-Fi network using your phone or tablet to connect to the boards local hotspot? You’ll be pleased to know that you don’t ever have to go through this again.

  • Page 22: Actions

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 To revoke Wi-Fi access for all connected boards click the “Revoke WiFi Credentials” (1) button (see below): You will observe in the Status Log revocation messages. Each board will restart and show an IP address of “0.0.0.0”...

  • Page 23: Reset To Defaults

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Reset to defaults This will reset most of the board values to defaults. Observe the message in the Status Log (2). You have reset to defaults and the default values are live, however will revert back to previous settings upon a reboot unless specifically saved.

  • Page 24: Save Changes

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Save Changes As suggested by the description, this will save all uncommitted changes to non-volatile memory and be retained after reboots. After saving you’ll see the confirmation message (2) in the Status Log below.

  • Page 25: Erase Wifi Credentials

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Erase WiFi Credentials Erasing the WiFi Credentials will remove the Wi-Fi details and reboot the board you are connected to. This action applies to the board you are connected to only. Other networked boards are unaffected.
  • Page 26 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 You can see the release dates and what’s in each release. If you select to update you’ll get all the changes right up to the latest version. The update is not mandatory. Installation is up to you.

  • Page 27: Reboot

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Below is an example log displayed during the software update process: Update initiated. Beginning firmware update. Two downloads will be processed. Onboard LED will flash erratically indicating data transfer. The update will take between 4-8 minutes to complete.

  • Page 28: Reload Page

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Reload Page This option reloads the web page and resets the Status Log area. Useful for clearing garbage from the log and confirming you are connected to the board. Documentation Clicking the Documentation link will open a new window in your browser and take you to the product page for the board you clicked from.
  • Page 29 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 D 0-7 Data field of the packed (D0 – D7). V-Port Decoded V-Port the message is intended for. The Network Monitor will only display packets created by remote boards. It will not display packets that are locally transmitted.
  • Page 30 MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 We are also presented with the IP address of the board (2), so clicking on the blue IP address takes us to the Servo-8 management portal. The Servo-8 port configuration is reported as: The V-Port (1) is 1 meaning channel S1 (servo 1) is listening for this address (V-Port).

  • Page 31: Status Area

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Relay R1 is configured for events on V-Port 321 and ill trigger when the Servo-8 is halfway. This can be freely changed to respond to the same ports as the push button or any other device. It can also provide feedback data of its own, however setting the Feedback V-Port to “0”...

  • Page 32: Sw Rev (2)

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 SW Rev (2) The current software version loaded. Templates (3) Displays the current version of loaded templates. Normally this will match the software version above. IP Address (4) The current IP address of the board as allocated from your Wi-Fi.

  • Page 33: Contacting Us

    MegaPoints Controllers System2 Panel Controller User Reference Revision 1 Contacting us Web: megapointscontrollers.co.uk Email: info@megapointscontrollers.com All parts ©MegaPoints Controllers 2023 If you have any product improvement suggestions we’d be very pleased to hear from you. NOTE: We operate on a policy of continuous improvement. Colours, specifications and even the placement of components may vary from time to time.

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