Software
Blocks, feedback and insulated joints
Blocks are the backbone of operation: without them there are no routes, no automation and no stopping position accurate to the centimetre. On this page you create blocks, enter their feedback sensors, set stopping points and platforms, wire up the modules and have the plan checked.
What a block is
A block is the section in which exactly one train may be at a time – usually from turnout to turnout. Every block needs at least one feedback sensor; from the reports LoDi-Aura works out where the train is. The more finely a block is divided, the more precisely LoDi-Aura knows this.
Step by step
- Create a blockIn edit mode, choose “Block & insulated joint” › “Place block” in the palette and click a track. LoDi-Aura takes the section between the adjoining turnouts.
- Move the labelDrag the block box to a place where it is easy to read. If you drag it onto a station, the track is assigned to that station.
- Set insulated jointsUse “Set insulated joint” to put an insulated joint on a track connection. You can then drag it along the track until it sits in the right place.
- Test the feedback sensorOpen the feedback monitor (“Feedback ⧉”) and push a wheel across the section. The channel must light up – that way you know the sensor's report arrives before you enter it.
- Enter the feedback sensorSelect the block and, in the inspector, click “+ Feedback sensor” in the “Feedback sensors” section. Enter the address in the form module.channel, e.g. 1.8 for module 1, channel 8.
The feedback monitor shows the channels of each module; occupied ones light up. You open it with “Feedback ⧉” on the right of the tab bar.
The block inspector
Clicking a block opens its inspector. At the very top is the “Name” – use meaningful names, as they will appear in every message later on. If the block is a train's home track, “🏠 Home of: …” appears below it; “🟢 Start” and sending trains home work with this. The other settings are grouped into sections that you can expand and collapse individually.
Feedback sensors
A block can have up to 16 feedback sensors. The sum of the sensor lengths is the block length. Each row of the feedback sensor table has these columns:
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Feedback type” | The role of the section: “Entry”, “Braking”, “Stop” or “Feedback”. |
| “Address” | The feedback address as module.channel, e.g. 1.8 = module 1 / channel 8. |
| Length (cm) | The length of this sensor section. The sum of all sensors is the block length. |
| “Source” | Where the length of this section comes from: 📏 hand measurement (measured by you), 🎯 from the calibration run, or · undetermined. A click pins the length as a hand measurement or undoes that. Typing in a length sets the section to hand measurement. |
| Further row | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Feedback command station” | Which device delivers the feedback sensors of this block. If there is only one suitable device, it is fixed. With several devices, you choose one – otherwise every sensor with this address counts, no matter which device it comes from. |
| “Length source” | Sums up where the lengths come from. Only a block whose sections have all been measured by hand counts as a reference for the calibration run (“📏 Hand measurement — reference for the calibration run”), see Calibration. |
| Cable row | Shows how many feedback cables are drawn in the track plan. This is documentation only – for operation, only the address counts. “🔌 Re-lay cables” creates the cables from the entered addresses. |
| “⟲ RailCom” | “on · direction normal”, “on · direction inverted (turns here)” (the loco arrives in this block facing the other way), “on · direction not evaluated” (the direction is not stable here) or “off · occupied / free only”. With RailCom, LoDi-Aura knows who is in the block, not just that it is occupied. |
In the track plan, only the piece whose sensor is currently reporting turns red – so you can see which one it is. If a reporting sensor has no length, the whole block turns red.
Length and stopping points
“Block length” is the sum of the sensors. If you haven't entered a length yet, LoDi-Aura estimates it from the drawing and shows ≈ … (from the drawing); the “Length source” then starts with “≈ estimated from the drawing”. Enter the length as soon as you know it. As soon as you touch a length – type it, pin it, add or remove a sensor – LoDi-Aura takes over the displayed estimate, and from then on your value applies. Sensor sections and stopping points move along with the estimate.
There is one stopping point per direction of travel, ordered in the direction of the drawing: “Stopping point →” (blue) and “Stopping point ←” (orange), each with the neighbour the train enters from. The number is the remaining distance in cm before the end. The mark in the track plan has the same colour while the block is selected.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Trains up to … cm” | How long a train that is to stop here may be – from the entry end to the stopping point, plus blocks of the same track behind it. Longer trains are listed after it as “too long:”. If you change a sensor length, each stopping point keeps its distance from the end of the block. |
| “+ own stop point for train class …” | Trains of this class then stop there instead of at the block's stopping point – at the end of their route, when shunting and as the limit for stopping at the platform. An entry applies only to its direction. In the track plan it is a dashed mark in the colour of the train class. |
| One-way block | The stopping point for the opposite direction sits collapsed below, and its mark is faded. It is kept because a shunting move lifts the one-way rule and stops there – as do trains of a class, or a vehicle, for which an entry on the block opens the opposite direction. The note names them. |
| “⇄ Reverse block direction” | Mirrors the sensor order, stopping points, directions and RailCom direction of this block. |
Speed and calibration
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “max (km/h)” | Speed limit for automated runs in this block. The slower value wins (layout, block, turnout). Empty = the layout speed, shown greyed out in the field. |
| “exclude from calibration” | For places where the loco doesn't run cleanly – contact problems on turnouts, dead sections, pushing by hand. Trains run through the block quite normally, but no speed curve is measured there. |
Access and direction
The rules are listed from the strictest to the finest: lock, direction, electrification, train class, vehicle. If the block is locked, the heading of the collapsed section shows a 🔒.
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “🔒 Block locked” | No train enters – this comes before the direction, train class and vehicle rules. For defects or a stuck train. |
| “Block direction” | “↔ both directions” or one direction only (“→ only towards …”, “← only towards …”, named after the neighbouring block). Applies to all train classes. |
| “⚡ Electrified” | On by default. Off = no electric loco enters, not even with a vehicle rule. |
| “⛓ Book the next block too” | Makes the block a pass-through block: the automation never picks it as a destination by itself and only books it together with the block behind it. If that one isn't free, the train waits in the block before it and leaves the pass-through block free for others. Good for short sections where a long train doesn't fit – between two turnout fans, for example. You can still set a destination there by hand. |
| “Train class exceptions” | Use “+ Train class…” to allow, restrict to a direction (“↔ both”, “→ to …”, “← to …”) or block entirely (“✕ locked”) each train class differently. An entry overrides the block direction for that train class. No entries = all train classes allowed. |
| “Locos & trains” | Use “+ loco/train…” for a rule for a single vehicle, in the same form. It takes precedence over the train class and block direction, but not over the station rule and ⚡. |
If sequences are attached to this block, the “Automation” section lists them (● running, ○ idle). Clicking a row opens the sequence in the editor, see Automation.
Dragging the stop line in the track plan
Every block has two stop lines, one per direction of travel. That's where the front of the loco comes to a halt. You don't have to guess a number for this:
- Select the blockSelect the block. The stop lines become visible as soon as a train is in the block or the block is selected.
- Drag the handleGrab the handle on the stop line and drag it along the track.
- Let goThe remaining distance in the inspector (cm before the end) updates live, as does “Trains up to … cm”. Letting go saves and sets an undo point.
Platform
If the block has the role “🚉 Platform — stops” in a station and the station isn't a staging yard, the inspector shows the “🚉 Platform” section. “＋ Add platform” suggests a position between the two stopping points; you fine-tune it afterwards.
How a train stops at the platform is set by its train class (“Stop at the platform”), see Locos, cars and trains. The default remains the stopping point.
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sliders | One for each end of the platform: the upper one holds the left end, the lower one the right. The number next to it is the distance to the end of the block (“to the ◀ end” or “to the end ▶”); you can also type it. |
| In the track plan | A grey strip with a light edge next to the track, on the side of the station sign. It belongs to the “Stations” layer. When the block is selected, you drag the two ends directly on the strip. |
| “⇅ Other side” | Puts the edge on the other side of the track – for display only. |
| “✕ Remove platform” | Removes it again (undo with ⌘/Ctrl+Z). |
In the station's track list, the platform length appears next to the track name. If the track changes its role (transit, holding track) or the station becomes a staging yard, the platform stays saved but has no effect. Set the role back and it's there again.
Wiring up modules
Drag feedback and booster modules from the palette (“Building blocks · planning”) onto the track plan and connect them with a cable from “Cables · function”: click the start, click the destination. In a module's inspector, “Connect to” sets which real device is behind it.
How the cables run – diagonally, at right angles or in curves – is set for the whole layout under “System” › “Track plan” › “Cable routing”. Whether they lie in front of the tracks is set under “▤ Layers ▾” › “Modules” › “Cables in front” (per device).
| Task | How to do it |
|---|---|
| Connecting a feedback sensor | Two equivalent ways: enter an address of the form module.channel – or draw a feedback cable. If there is a cable, the cable wins: it is the more direct statement about the layout. |
| Powering a module | Likewise: draw a cable to the matching booster – or enter the channel under “Booster channel” in the module's inspector, in the form 1A (booster address and channel A or B). Here too, the cable wins. |
| Tap | Double-clicking a feedback tap moves it to the next side: centre → right → left. You can drag the tap along the track. |
| Ground | The LoDi-RM-16+ has its own ground connection for the booster ground. |
If the cable layer is hidden, LoDi-Aura still briefly shows a sensor's cable as soon as you move the mouse over it.
Checking the track plan
Before you send off the first train – and whenever something doesn't run as it should – have the plan checked: “Track plan” › “🧰 Tools ▾” › “🔎 Check track plan”. The entry is available in both modes. LoDi-Aura lists the known configuration errors in a separate window, split into errors ✖ and notes ▲ and grouped by type; below each group it says what to do. The check uses the same rules as driving – on the saved state, not on live operation.
| Type | What is found |
|---|---|
| Errors ✖ | The same feedback sensor on two blocks (or on a block and a turnout). A block without a feedback sensor. A block a train can't get out of again – the only way on would be against a one-way rule or train class rule (dead-end tracks don't count). A turnout without an address that is neither a manual nor a trailable turnout. A turnout with an address but no unique switching command station. A path that would need two turnouts with the same address set differently – it can never be set, so LoDi-Aura doesn't use it (the same address as such is allowed). A train whose home track no longer exists or is too short for it. Two track ends that look connected but aren't – they lie close together or overlap, but not within 8 px. Two blocks on the same track. |
| Notes ▲ | The sensor lengths don't add up to the block length. A block length is only the default value, not measured. The ↩ on station tracks has no effect – no train class has ↩, or the track is one-way (push-pull trains reverse even without it). A train without a length. A turnout name occurs more than once. A piece of track belongs to no block and has no sensor of its own – a train on it is invisible to LoDi-Aura. An insulated joint that doesn't separate anything – on a turnout or at its connection. |
Clicking an entry with › jumps to the spot in the track plan, selects the part and opens its inspector; if the track plan is in operation, the spot is only highlighted. “Re-check” runs the check again after your correction. If nothing is found, it says “No known configuration errors found.”