DIGITAL Plus NMRA DCC Set LI with Loco CE

Set-LI Professional
DCC with LOCO Ce Ž

The Industry's First Truly Wireless NMRA DCC System!

Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž North American price of $299.95

Lenz GmbH and KAM Industries have teamed up to provide the first truly wireless computerized DCC system. Set LI with Loco CeŽ contains an LZV100 command station/power station, an LI101F high speed computer interface and the Loco CeŽ software package. Requires user supplied computer, wireless HUB and wireless PDA.

System Snapshot
System Features
Feature Comparison Tables
Architecture
LZV Manual in PDF format
Other System Components

System Snapshot

One of the hottest new technologies is wireless Ethernet or 802.11. Because of its popularity, the cost of 802.11 devices is rapidly falling. KAM Industries and Lenz North America have teamed up to exploit this technology. Set-LI with Loco CeŽ provide you with all the DCC hardware and software applications needed to turn your wireless PDA into a full NMRA DCC throttle. The Set-LI consists of 3 components. The LZV100 NMRA DCC conforming command/power station provides the real time component of the system and is responsible for managing the DCC track protocol. The second component is the high speed LI101F which serves as an interface between the computer and the LZV100. The third component is the LOCO Ce Ž This software manages the handhelds connected to the computer as well as provides a wealth of computer assisted control options.

Expandability and performance are built into this unique system. Since the LZV100 supports the RS-485 based XpressNet open protocol, up to 30 additional handhelds or XpressNet devices can be connected to the network. On the 802.11 side the expansion is only limited by the power of your PC. This is all made possible because of the use of industry standard protocols. The use of the 802.11 wireless standards allows us to concentrate on the DCC hardware and software while fully exploiting the true potential of wireless applications.

Just by looking at these systems you gain a measure of the quality and design that went into them. We custom mold our cases so that they are both comfortable to use and look great as well.

But there is much more than just visual effects. Under the hood the electronic components used are top grade with extra capacity built-in for future growth.

The LZV100 has three micro processors for superior performance and operation, includes all the features of our popular LZ100 and includes an integrated power station that can deliver a full 5 amps of DCC track power! The LZV100 also includes our most powerful command station software developed to-date with features such as advanced queue management and an internal database that supports a roster of 256 locomotives.

The LZV100 also has the RailCom bit cutout hardware built in! There is no need to purchase a lot of additional system hardware or perform complicated wiring to gain lots of advantages through this advanced form of two way DCC communication. When it is released, the RailCom detector will simply plug into your XpressNet which will allow your PC to unleash the power of two way DCC communication. The NMRA just approved its bi-directional DCC communication RPs and once we complete the RailCom development, the Loco CeŽ software for RailCom can be completed. This PC software enhancement will be released as a simple software update in the spring of 2004.

LocoCeŽ integrates the windows Ce devices (pc2002 or later) with PC based Train ServerŽ software. This integration allows you to use a windows Ce device to control you locomotive, switches and display your layout. Using this software, you can both program and operate your locomotives from either your PC of your wireless CE device. There are four software components that are included with Loco Ce. These are the resident Loco Ce software, Engine Commander software, and Train Server with the XML data interface. As with the other components the software is also expandable. KAM Industries produces a variety of other software packages for dispatching, and layout control which can easily be added if or when desired.

Features

Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž offer all the advanced features expected in a professional grade DCC system, but they also deliver a lot more. We provide these features transparently, so that you can concentrate on running your trains.

Advanced NMRA DCC Features - 9999 locomotive addresses, Advanced Consisting, Double Heading, access to all 14 NMRA DCC functions, 14 27 28 or 128 speed control, programming on the main, support for all forms of service mode programming plus the ability to reset decoders to factory default, support for 1024 accessory decoders addresses, layout feedback, RailCom, separate programming track outputs and much more.

Smart Locomotive Address Allocation - 2 digit, 4 digit, basic addressing, extended addressing. With all the choices DCC can be confusing. Not so with V3! With your Set-90 or Set-100, you simply select an address by entering the locomotive address and the system automatically decides the form of addressing to use to control the decoder. You can also automatically store the 8 most frequently used locomotive addresses in the LH90 stack for an even easier recall.

Smart Consisting - Smart consisting is a form of advanced consisting, where the command station maintains a database of the consist information. This allows the Engineer to operate the consist from either the consist address or from any locomotive address from within the consist. To make the operation even simpler the operator can scroll between any locomotive within the consist using a single key. This allows easy access to function control from any locomotive from within the consist. It also allows you, as the engineer, to go to any locomotive cab to run your train.

Smart One-Step Programming - DCC is rich in features but sometimes this richness makes it hard to use. With our Smart One-step programming the system sets all the required CVs for you. For example, when you want to set the decoder's address you enter any number from 1-9999. From this value the system decides for you what CVs to set and sets them all for you in a single step.

Smart Function Control - The LZV100 supports the control of all 14 DCC locomotive functions. Using an LH100, you can easily configure any of the functions between F1-F12 to be either on/off or momentary for each individual locomotive. The database within the LZV100 remembers this between operating sessions and is usable with any XpressNet device that supports this feature.

Smart Layout Feedback Control - The LZV100 has full support for layout feedback and remembers the last setting made for each accessory decoder so that all devices know what the last turnout position that was thrown even if the decoder does not support layout feedback. This also works for signaling and other layout control features.

RailCom - The LZV100 is equipped with a built in full RailCom detector. This means you will not have to purchase a lot of extra system hardware to take advantage of this exciting new technology. The NMRA is still finalizing the RP so we will not release the software till the spring.

Dynamic Locomotive Queuing - V3 has unprecedented performance and is designed for precision sound control. Function control and speed changes are sent to the locomotive immediately, while refresh packets are sent as time permits. All 31 operators can be performing sound control without any perception of latency delay.

XpressNET Control Network - Both sets support the advanced XpressNET system network for high speed access to all system devices. XpressNet is a open network designed on industry proven network products with a network protocol tailored to DCC. The distributed nature of our network allows others a wide variety of different styles of handhelds to be used. That's because the user interface is the responsibility of the handheld while the state of the layout is the responsibility of the command station. For backward compatibility the LZV100 also supports the older X-Bus protocols allowing you to operate either style of device on the network.

Expandable - While you may never need it we have designed our new sets to grow throughout the life of your model railroad empire. This lets you have access to a large multitude of devices from a growing set of DCC manufacturers, who support XpressNET. For more information on available options check out our XpressNet gallery.

Growth - Upgrading through software enhancements is a hallmark of DIGITAL plus systems. There have been a lot of advances in DCC since we introduced our advanced 14 speed step 5 function system in 1993. Because we understand that more advances are yet to come, we design each of our devices with the understanding that because technology changes our users deserve the comfort of knowing their Digital plus system will not be obsolete any time soon. Users who purchased our systems in 1993 still enjoy the latest DCC features with their systems because of these upgrades.

Feature Comparison Tables

Basic Features

	Addresses	Max Number of locomotives	Max Number of Cabs	Cab Type	Number of turnouts	NMRA Conformance
Set-90	0-9999	256	31	Knob	999	Yes
Set-100	0-9999	256	31	Keypad	1024	Yes
Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž	0-9999	256	30 XpressNet cabs plus unlimited 802.11 cabs	touch screen	1024	Pending

DCC Features

	Functions Supported	MU Capabilities	Speed Steps	Layout Feedback	Momentary Functions	Analog Operation	Bi-Directional
Set-90	F0(F/R), F1-F8	Smart Consisting	14/27 28/128	Yes	If set up by LH100	Address 0	RailCom*
Set-100	F0(F/R), F1-F12	Smart Consisting and Double heading	14/27 28/128	Yes	F1-F12 per locomotive	Address 0	RailCom*
Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž	F0(F/R), F1-F12	Smart Consisting and Double heading is set up by LH100 (next software release will add this to PDA)	14/27 28/128	Yes	No	Address 0	RailCom*

*Note Hardware only- software upgrade in the spring

Power Station (booster) Features

	DCC Track Amperage	RailCom Support	Minimum adjustable DCC Track Voltage	Maximum adjustable DCC Track Voltage	Opto-isolation	Short and overload protection	Support for Common Rail Wiring	Support for Direct Home Wiring
Set-90	5	Yes	11	22	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Set-100	5	Yes	11	22	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž	5	Yes	11	22	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Programming Capabilities

	Service Mode Programming	Service Mode Types Supported	One Step Address Programming	Operations Mode Programming
Set-90	Read/Write	Register Paged Direct (bit and byte)	Yes	Yes (bit and byte)
Set-100	Read/Write	Register Paged Direct (bit and byte)	Yes	Yes (bit and Byte)
Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž	Read/Write	Register Paged Direct (bit and byte)	Yes	Yes (bit and Byte)

Support

	Architecture	Software Upgrades	Warranty
Set 90	XpressNet	Yes	10 years
Set100	XpressNet	Yes	10 years
Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž	XpressNet + full 802.11	Yes	10 years

Architecture

If the Architecture of Set-LI with LOCO Ce Ž looks a lot like an industry standard office network that because this system is not Ethernet like, its real Ethernet with full TCP/IP protocols. This allows you to chose a wide range of commercial wireless devices. The prices of these devices keep falling while the power keeps increasing.

The architecture connects a user supplied PC to the model railroad through the LI100F and the LZV-100 command power station. The PC runs the server software that allows a variety of wireless devices to have resident software which controls the trains and/or turnouts on the layout.