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A-Track User Guide
5
USING MACROS TO CONTROL ACCESSORIES
A Macro is a predefined command which, when sent to the Mainline track via the
Command Station (a process called ‘running’ or ‘executing’ the macro), allows each
of a selected group of turnouts to be set to a specified position in a single operation,
instead of you having to send individual commands to each turnout. This assumes,
of course, that each turnout is driven from an Output of an accessory decoder, with
an assigned address so that it can repond to DCC commands.
Each Macro consists of a list or set of Accessory (turnout) commands which, when
using a standard NCE system without the assistance of A-Track, are defined using
an NCE Handheld Cab, and stored within an NCE Command Station. Refer to the
NCE Power Cab or Power Pro System Reference Manuals for further information.
The NCE Power Cab system allows you to define and store up to 15 Macros, each
consisting of up to 8 turnout commands, whereas the NCE Power Pro system
provides for the storage of up to 256 defined Macros, each consisting of up to 10
turnout commands.
If you need to operate a group of more than 8 or 10 turnouts in a single operation
(in a large, complex switching yard, for example) then you can link or ‘chain’ two or
more Macros together, by using the last entry in one Macro as a pointer to the next
Macro to be executed.
When used with an NCE Power Pro system, A-Track allows you to download, view,
and edit the composition of all defined Macros, to delete Macros or create new ones
as required, and then to restore the edited set of Macros to the Command Station.
You can also save a backup copy of the stored Macros to your computer’s hard disk
or removable storage, and restore any saved set of Macros to the Command
Station.
A-Track provides the facilities to review and edit any saved set of Macros,
independently of the Command Station, and also to add a description or label to
identify each of the defined Macros, helping you to remember the turnout switching
operation associated with each Macro. After your edits are complete, you can then
either save the updated Macros back to disk, or load the revised set to an NCE
Power Pro Command Station.
The NCE Power Cab system, via the NCE USB Interface unit, does not give you
access to its stored Macros, so you cannot save these internally-stored Macros to,
nor restore them from, your computer’s hard disk, and are unable to review and
edit them from A-Track.
However, you can use the A-Track Macro facilities as a fully-operational alternative,
to provide your NCE Power Cab system with the ability to define, edit, back-up, and
run as many as 256 Macros, each consisting of up to 10 turnout commands, just
like an NCE Power Pro system. The only disadvantage, in this case, is that you will
not be able to execute these Macros from the Power Cab itself, but only from the
A-Track screen.
See Chapter 6 of the Reference Manual for full details of how to create, edit and run
Macros using A-Track with either type of NCE system.
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