They are used for detecting trains on the tracks. There's several ways you can do this including magnetic reed switches, splitting the left and right rails and letting the wheel sets electrically connect them, etc. The S88 acts as the interface between these are your controller. It isn't really a decoder persay. You can daisy chain multiple S88s together to get a whole lot more inputs.

What can they be used for? Lots of things. If you are using a CS2, you can use them to trigger accessories or routes. If you're using PC control, a whole lot more. The most popular uses are probably automatically controlling signals to indicate to following trains to stop, signaling to a shuttle controller the train is at the end or for automatically switching turnouts in staging areas once a train enters a siding.

The 72710 device is "controlbox with feedback function"

So then, The S88 is a firmware device, operated logically via the CS controller; rather than a physical switching device (72710)?

Would a practical example be:

1. a carriage activating a red switch
2. The reed switch triggers a node on the S88
3. The S88 sends a control sequence to the controller
4. The controller initiates some other, pre-programmed action

Yes??


OK, KimballThurlow referred to this in response to my question about wheelsets in another thread.

Thanks for the Q&A so far.

Hi John,

Adding on from the very good answers already given, the S88 connects to any of the master devices which has the required 6-pin Connector, and which can respond to a signal provided by the S88.

Examples that I am personally familiar with include...

6043 Memory
6050 Interface
6023i Central Control ?
Intellibox
And some of the newer generation controllers like the CS2 etc (someone will add specifics)

In the case of the Memory, you are able to pre-program selected 'Routes', specifically to trigger Turnouts, but also any other digital accessory device such as Signals, Solenoids etc.

In this mode, the Memory unit is sending Data Out onto your layout and whichever button you press on the Memory will determine which 'route' is activated. And by route I mean literally all the required steps to get a train from point A to point B. It's more useful if you have a layout with more than one option between point A & point B. Perhaps you can take a straight route down the mainline, or possibly there is a branch line which takes a more scenic route, or you could be going through a staging yard with several parallel tracks where you could choose one of many.

Actually, I should probably say getting a train between point A and point Z, with the option to choose any of the possible routes B to Y depending on what the S88's tell me is happening in between

In the case of a staging yard, you would obviously want to avoid tracks that may already be occupied with trains.

By adding an S88, you add 16 'inputs' to your control capabilities, so that you can now add an 'if x then y' option. Although I don't own a Memory unit myself, Tom Catherall wrote an excellent series of articles in his 'Digital SIG Newsletters" some years back showing some quite complex programming that could be achieved with one or more S88 units and the Memory.

My own direct experience is with the 6050 PC interface and the Intellibox. In both cases using a Computer running a program where you would write a 'script' (or set of instructions) that are to be carried out.

By monitoring the inputs from your s88 decoders (actually encoders but they are informally called decoders), you can have two different scenarios.

The first would be having your set of instructions ('script') wait until a specified event has occured. A very simple example of this would be a simple oval with a passing loop, and two trains on the track. Each track has a contact track section wired to the S88. Train #1 enters a track and activates the contact track. The computer becomes aware of this by keeping an eye on the S88 ports. Once it detects a change then your script can make other things happen. In this instance, it might be to change a turnout, and a signal, and then tells Train #2 to proceed. When train #2 arrives at the next contact track again the S88 detects that and as soon as the PC checks for any change it can proceed with whatever needs to be done.

Of course this very simple example can already be done with simple analogue control, but it can only do what you've wired it to do. And with analogue, each contact track is required to be wired directly to a signal, solenoid etc and any changes can be a LOT of work with little flexibility.

Doing the same thing via a PC, or Memory unit, no wiring changes are needed. The contacts always remain connected to the S88, and all the accessories remain connected to the K83/K84 units. The flexibility comes from the Routes programmed into the Memory, or the capabilities of your PC software.

In my above example, you could also to the same thing using the Memory. You simply program Route A, Route B etc and into the Route you incorporate the additional step/s of checking the S88 unit/s so that if the required event is triggered, you can call up a different route for the train to follow.

A significant difference between the Memory and using a PC is that the PC can do a whole heap more including running actual trains which the Memory cannot do - it has no ability to fully control a Loco Decoder.

The other thing with the S88 units is that you don't need to wait for an event to happen. The event may already have happened, but the S88 is simply holding that change until such time as it is 'polled' by the master unit (Memory, Interface etc) to say "Hello, anything to tell me?". In this way you can fully automate a hidden storage yard for example where a track may have been occupied by a train some time previously, but the only time you may want to know that is when you are seeking a free track.

This is very much a 'top of my head' rough rundown but I hope will answer your question more in a 'how you can use them', than a 'what can they do'

So if you already have some S88 units, you only need any of the devices with an S88 port that is able to read them and act on the data provided.

I am not familiar myself with the newer generation of Digital units which have S88 connectors but others can expand on this, and no-doubt correct any errors as required.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Steve

The CS2
The CS1 with hardware/software version 2.0 and above
The Ecos and Ecos2 (not sure which software version S88 feedback was introduced in, but my guess would be v2.0)

Hello

Thanks for the answer! Really interesting, and if you want the train just to stop and still having with the lights on and send another train on its way? Sorry for all the questions but i am a novice in S88 use..

The thing is i am thinking about running a train around the layout, make it stop and send out another train but i do not know how to achive this, is there any way to do this? can you make one train set go as many rounds you want before the other one takes over?

Christoffer