[ScorpiusWireless]

Hi Guys, 
   Ok so all the foundation work for the MPD was completed yesterday. Things like RTOS, bootloader, DFU, parameter library and Scorpius protocol have been completed and debugged. 
As some of you might know the MPD prototype has been designed and built to run on Carrera, Scalextric, Ninco and SCX systems.
Yesterday I received an email from John our engineer with the latest firmware release V13.0. It contains amongst other things the Carrera motor drive completed. We are glad to say we were able to implement this quickly and without any debug required. So our Carrera commitment has started there is no turning back. Next will be implementing the lane change code.

There is much planned for Carrera users. The plan is to make all the Scorpius protocols or as much as possible available to the Carrera community. 

Some of the things coming are:

Worlds first 2.4ghz wireless car chip to be 100% Carrera compatible. 

A 2.4 GHz controller based on the Scorpius controller using 100% Carrera protocol.

A new revolutionary highly functional dual Comms system called Nitrous where the Scorpius controller will talk to both the Carrera CU and MPD chipped car simultaneously. This allows all existing CU and RMS functions to operate as per normal and allows us to get a lane change command to the lane changer via rails as per the true Carrera protocol without using rubber bands and work arounds.
The possibilities here for the Carrera community are mind blowing. Imagine telemetry, accelerator and Back EMF based functions like our new virtual Dyno, Scorpius and SSD compatibility and more for Carrera users? 
The project continues……

Rick

[ScorpiusWireless]

Here’s how it will work.
*Scorpius controller sends global wireless commands.
*Scorpius MPD chipped car and Scorpius to Carrera wireless relay both receive command.
*Relay sends to Carrera receiver.
*User has full benefits of Carrera 100% native and Scorpius protocols.
*All existing race software and apps completely compatible.
   

Primary benefits throttle:
1. 256 step throttle resolution for superior control and reduced lap times.
2. 256 brake resolution for superior control and reduced lap times.
3. Throttle mapping
4. Throttle Minimum speed.
5. Throttle choke 
6. Throttle choke bypass
7. Throttle traction control
8. Throttle adjustable brakes on the fly
9. Throttle map selection on the fly.
10.Throttle speed limiter (pits or learner mode) 
11. Can be reconfigured with Carrera  Wireless throttle protocols.
12. Can be used in conjunction with Scorpius Wireless Analogue module to run analogue cars in traditional analogue track.

Primary benefits Scorpius MPD car decoder:
* Can be operated by Scorpius controller for Nitrous mode or in Native mode using any Carrera controller set up.
* Telemetry as follows:
1. Car ID
2. Car PIN
3. Motor drive PWM
4. Brake drive PWM
5. Sector incl lap count request 
6. Lane 
7. Lane change request status.
8. Version Number 
9. Tacho RPM
10.Back EMF in Volts
11.Current draw in amps
12.Torque in N-m
13.Power in watts
14.Fuel level in litres 
15.Tyre level %
16.Brake pad level %
17.Damage level %
18.G force X axis 
19.G force Y axis
20.G force Z axis
21.Sound preferences 1-8
22.Lighting preferences 1-8
23.Driver Name 
24.Lap time
25.Best lap time
26.Laps 

*Free wireless updates using phone.
*Configure brakes and throttle mapping when used natively.
*Full functioning lights.
*Scorpius, Scalextric full compatibility.
*Powerful 10A motor drive 
*In car simulations as follows:
1. Tyres
2. Brake pad wear
3. Simulated tank weight.
4. Simulated fuel usage based on electricity usage not throttle position.
5. Simulated damage using G-force detection.

[ScorpiusWireless]

Hi Guys,   
   We’re into the coding stage for Carrera. Team Scorpius has hacked the pace car code and is ready to implement into the main code. This will be the first wireless chip with full Carrera protocols ie 100% compatible. 
Once this is sorted we’re onto testing. And then the revolutionary Nitrous dual Comms system.    

[ScorpiusWireless]

Just a little update. The Carrera protocol doesn’t like the bridge rectifier used for SSD compatibility. We can still proceed with Carrera based firmware work luckily by removing 3 of the 4 diodes. 
So it needs a hardware upgrade.
Not an issue as we held off on the current proposed hardware changes as we guessed Carrera might bring some issues to light as we progress into the nitty gritty.
Hardware changes:
We intend to add TX/RX (data out/in) for the proposed Scorpius/Carrera throttle receiver, these 4 additional solder pads will also serve our brushless motor, LCD gantry, and surround sound projects).
 The 3rd change is to change the power in wires to suit Carrera rather than the Scalextic wiring config, simply on the basis Carrera is much more popular.
The 4th change is a snap of board around 10mm by the width of the board 13.3mm that is soldered to any motor can that contains 3 simple capacitors to address back EMF spiking back into the car chip which can cause the chip to malfunction. 
The fifth Carrera related hardware change is to make the onboard Carrera track comms LED and the other one on a fly lead seperate logic and drivers so the spare LED can be used for any LED based purpose ie lights eg exhaust flame simulator or flashing roof lights.
We won’t start the hardware upgrades until we are more advanced with Carrera testing to maximise the window of opportunity in terms of recognising issues, like cars stuttering or taking off full speed or other issues. 
We have done some debugging and implemented the speed controller to car ID pairing which works well. 
The last stage of the car decoder project is to implement the safety car protocols which the team reversed engineered. Not an easy task as the old Carrera Manchester code is convoluted and extremely hard to work with compared to modern day coding. 
Once the safety car code is implemented the majority of the coding will be complete if not all complete. Of course a rigorous testing program will need to undertaken and chips sent to beta testers.
Hopefully we can start the chip hardware changes within a few weeks, which is a couple of days work, then add 6 weeks for manufacture and a week in transit.
Fingers crossed.

[ScorpiusWireless]

Hi fellas,

Just a little update.

John our engineer took 5 weeks off on a well deserved trip so that has delayed things a fair bit. 
To program Carrera was harder than we imagined. The code is antiquated Manchester code developed in 1943. So not easy to convert to C+ as the code is quite convoluted by Carrera engineers and in some places illogical. It seems they modified the old Black Box code rather than start over. Hence the messy coding. 
Although we have the Brumbaer CU protocols to help us the entire car code has to be written from scratch with no resources online. It’s purely hard work.
However I’m glad to say we have ironed out a lot of bugs we found since my last update which has taken time. So now we need to add fuel and brake level. The pace car function which most 3rd party Carrera chips don’t have will also be implemented for 100% true compatibility.


Nitrous has taken a little bit of time too. But it’s around 75% complete.
Nitrous is a hybrid concept where the MPD car decoder accepts Carrera native protocols off the rails for all Carrera functions except throttle and brake control which is dictated by the Scorpius control data being sent. On top of that the Nitrous product will send car telemetry (not track telemetry as Carrera Native does not employ Scorpius Lane Brains obviously). 
Current car only telemetry includes ID, PIN, Version number, throttle and brake values.
Future telemetry will include virtual Dyno (revs, power, torque) and a few other goodies. But let’s get the basics done first.
V2 production run had been held off due to fears of a hardware issue. Until extensive testing of Carrera happens it would be an unwise risk. Carrera protocol and operation is very fussy and every capacitor and resistor etc must be perfect.
Currently we have 87 components on the MPD board. In comparison I think a SSD board has around 27 from memory. So lots to go possibly wrong. 
Although I hope to order them as soon as Carrera beta testers are satisfied. Who wants to risk 7 weeks and $xxxx?
Anyway we cannot wait to complete the Carrera protocols so we return to our own Scorpius to start the Brushless motor driver, accelerometer function, tidy up the lights protocol, Dyno, added telemetry, onboard fuel/brake pads/tyres/damage levels, TX and RX, hall sensor and more.

So that’s my Carrera update.

The project continues…..exciting times for the industry.

Rick

[ScorpiusWireless]

Ok the Carrera protocol is complete
except we just need to connect lights up. That should be easy. 
We are glad to say the ghost/pace car is completed too. 
So we have the worlds first wireless system with full and proper Carrera protocols.
However I have no doubt there will be some debugging to do in regard to perhaps speed settings and the like.
Rick

[ScorpiusWireless]

Ok lights are now controllable from LC button, brake lights and headlight flash on confirmation of ID pairing complete.
We will now compare all our speed settings to those of a standard factory Carrera chip, something most other 3rd party developers have not been able to achieve. We will adjust if required to replicate the factory chip precisely.
We will also compare braking values for each step to match the factory chip precisely.
And lastly run the car in a variety of situations to see if track noise affects any data on rails which can cause a multitude of issues from loss of ID to run away cars.

We have purposely not used any online resources in regard to the Carrera car decoder protocols in order not to follow any one else’s errors. As I said previously this has not been a straight forward exercise and has been purely hard work. But 100% genuine compatibility in every area is the goal. We are very close.

So, what’s next? This is where it starts to get interesting indeed. We are about to go somewhere no development team had been with Carrera, the introduction of direct controller to car control. The main  objective is to give the Carrera user 256 step throttle control rather than 12 or 15 and 256 braking steps instead of 10. And introduce throttle mapping directly into the car itself.

It is no secret Scorpius has the best throttle and braking resolution and the best refresh rate as well as real time telemetry of any wireless or non wireless system.  
Carrera users will now be able to have it all. And the author of SmartRace is looking forward it as much as we are. 

In order to achieve the above the Scorpius controller must be utilised. Sure the controller, the best, most functional and most reliable in the wireless market without any firmware errors since release in July 2011 (a remarkable record) will need to control the car and simultaneously send identical data to the Carrera CU to achieve lane changing without compromises or rubber bands. This also allows the Carrera Control Unit (CU) to count laps, work out fuel and send data to existing race software and apps. This is a very important requirement. 

So….how to do this?

I’ll tell you soon. 

Rick

[ScorpiusWireless]

Ok here it is:

Now that the MPD Carrera variant is completed we will re-start work on our revolutionary MPD Nitrous product. Battery powered and in its own enclosure, the MPD Nitrous board will convert Scorpius wireless controller protocols to Carrera wireless controller protocols. Again there is no information online and we will have to reverse engineer the controller code and write it into the chip as a wireless output which is sent to the Carrera 2.4Ghz dongle.

The car decoder will be in 100% Scorpius mode in order to capitalise on a plethora of goodies within the Scorpius car decoder protocols. 

Workwise it is simply 15 controller steps and a Lane Change message. This should be relatively easy to do. However in reality nothing is easy with Carrera protocols.

To operate simply place the Scorpius car on the Carrera track and turn on the Nitrous module. Pair IDs as normal and race. Its that easy. 

Car telemetry will be sent to SmartRace app using an RF to Bluetooth converter. Around 20 lots of data. This will be a separate thread.

As you can see the MPD is truly a Multi Protocol Decoder. With the Scorpius controller, dongle and MPD you can do ANYTHING related to digital slots.

This is yet another Scorpius world first to add to the list. 

   

Click to enlarge.

[ScorpiusWireless]

So what’s after Nitrous?
Our RF to Bluetooth converter. 
This  should also be a relatively easy project. Again we just call on our trusty MPD which can do almost anything we need.
Unfortunately mobile phones do not accept RF dongles via their USBC or Lightning ports, nor can they receive or decode anything. It must be Wifi or Bluetooth. So Bluetooth it is, but how? Seeing the Scorpius system runs on proprietary RF, ie our own protocols, how will this be done? 
I’ll tell you soon 

[ScorpiusWireless]

A day in the life of a developer.
Sure wireless is cool. The coolest. But the reality is everytime you add a wireless product it adds to on air congestion. Extra air data has to be processed, even if it is to be ignored and not used. Hence the reason we don’t want to divert controller to car via PC for simulations. It also adds delay.
At the moment we can use wireless or wired on the Nitrous module. 
Wired looks better for this application.
Thoughts today included just making a a new board just for the task, but that means additional production runs and more inventory to keep stocked.
It should be possible to use a pin on the nRF to do the DAC using PWM and a simple RC filter. I've ordered a 6P6C RG12 cable and RJ12 socket to 0.1" pitch header so that John can breadboard the idea using an ESP32 module. Looks like the solenoid output on MPD could also be used to activate LC. Power (5V) would come from the CU controller socket.
I’ll know more in a week or 2.