Jekyll2024-01-10T23:00:25-06:00https://highrailcompany.com/feed.xmlHigh RailVersion 3.8 Released2023-05-27T00:00:00-05:002023-05-27T00:00:00-05:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2023/05/27/version-3-8-released<p>I am pleased to announce that <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject">High Rail 3.8</a> is released.</p>
<h3 id="whats-new">What’s New</h3>
<p>A few minor improvements. Nothing major. This release requires iOS 16.4 or higher.</p>
<p>Thanks for your continued support for the High Rail app.</p>I am pleased to announce that High Rail 3.8 is released.Version 3.6 Released2022-01-30T00:00:00-06:002022-01-30T00:00:00-06:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2022/01/30/version-3-6-released<p>I am pleased to announce that <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject">High Rail 3.6</a> is released.</p>
<h3 id="whats-new">What’s New?</h3>
<p>The gesture-driven engine speed control now plays haptic feedback for every change in the engine’s speed step. This closely matches Lionel’s CAB2 physical speed control wheel.</p>
<p>This release requires iOS 15.2 or higher.</p>
<p>Thanks for your continued support for the High Rail app.</p>I am pleased to announce that High Rail 3.6 is released.Version 3.5 Released2021-02-20T00:00:00-06:002021-02-20T00:00:00-06:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2021/02/20/version-3-5-released<p>I am pleased to announce that High Rail 3.5 is released.</p>
<h3 id="general-notes">General notes</h3>
<p>This release now requires iOS 14, and includes minor improvements and a few bug fixes.</p>
<p>Thanks for your continued support for the High Rail app.</p>
<h3 id="dark-mode">Dark mode</h3>
<p>Dark mode is now supported. However, please know that certain custom engine style colors may not show up well in dark mode (of course the same is true for light mode). You may need to experiment a bit. A future release may automatically adjust a custom engine style color to work well in both light and dark mode.</p>I am pleased to announce that High Rail 3.5 is released.Black Friday Sale2018-11-20T00:00:00-06:002018-11-20T00:00:00-06:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2018/11/20/black-friday-sale<p>To celebrate Thanksgiving, you can download High Rail for $1.99. This means you can sneak
away to your train room after dinner and use your iPhone or iPad to control your Lionel Legacy
LCS enabled layout for less than a slice of pumpkin pie.</p>
<p>The Black Friday sale starts Wednesday, November 21, 2018.
The promotion ends November 30, 2018.</p>
<p><a class="app-store-link" href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject&mt=8" target="itunes_store"></a></p>
<p>And don’t forget to leave a <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/high-rail/id842021291?mt=8">5-star review</a>.</p>To celebrate Thanksgiving, you can download High Rail for $1.99. This means you can sneak away to your train room after dinner and use your iPhone or iPad to control your Lionel Legacy LCS enabled layout for less than a slice of pumpkin pie.Current Promotion2018-07-27T00:00:00-05:002018-07-27T00:00:00-05:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2018/07/27/fall-promotion<p>Starting Saturday, July 28, 2018, High Rail will be $1.99. This means
you can start using your iPhone and iPad to control your Lionel Legacy LCS enabled layout
for less than a piece of three rail track.</p>
<p>This promotion ends Saturday, September 1, 2018.</p>
<p><a class="app-store-link" href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject&mt=8" target="itunes_store"></a></p>
<p>And don’t forget to leave a <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/high-rail/id842021291?mt=8">5-star review</a>.</p>Starting Saturday, July 28, 2018, High Rail will be $1.99. This means you can start using your iPhone and iPad to control your Lionel Legacy LCS enabled layout for less than a piece of three rail track.Fall Promotion2017-10-10T00:00:00-05:002017-10-10T00:00:00-05:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2017/10/10/current-promotion<p>Great news! Starting Monday, October 16, 2017, High Rail is 50% off. This means
you can start using your iPhone and iPad to control your Lionel Legacy LCS enabled layout for
only $4.99. That’s less than most pieces of three rail track.</p>
<p>This promotion ends Saturday, October 21, 2017.</p>
<p><a class="app-store-link" href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject&mt=8" target="itunes_store"></a></p>
<p>And don’t forget to leave a <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/high-rail/id842021291?mt=8">5-star review</a>.</p>Great news! Starting Monday, October 16, 2017, High Rail is 50% off. This means you can start using your iPhone and iPad to control your Lionel Legacy LCS enabled layout for only $4.99. That’s less than most pieces of three rail track.New Release2017-10-04T00:00:00-05:002017-10-04T00:00:00-05:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2017/10/04/latest-version<p>High Rail 3 is out. iPad users can now quickly and easily change an engine’s image by dragging and dropping photos.</p>
<p>Here’s how:</p>
<ul>
<li>go to Engines tab.</li>
<li>next, open the Photos app in split view.</li>
<li>drag any photo from Photos over to High Rail and drop the image on top of an engine.</li>
<li>that’s it.</li>
</ul>
<p>Other release notes</p>
<ul>
<li>minor improvements.</li>
<li>minor bug fixes.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Head on over to the App Store.</p>
<div>
<a class="app-store-link" href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject&mt=8" target="itunes_store"></a>
</div>High Rail 3 is out. iPad users can now quickly and easily change an engine’s image by dragging and dropping photos.SensorTrack™ Noise Filter2017-09-02T00:00:00-05:002017-09-02T00:00:00-05:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2017/09/02/2017-sensortrack-filter<p>Interfacing with external hardware is challenging. The challenge is even more difficult
when interfacing with third party hardware. Software engineers are to expect the unexpected.</p>
<h2 id="backstory">Backstory</h2>
<p>Here’s the backstory behind the SensorTrack™ “filter”.</p>
<p>It’s 2015, High Rail 1.0 was just getting ready to ship. I was doing some final testing one evening
and noticed that the SensorTrack™ was unexpectedly transitioning from the “recording armed”
state back to the “idle” state.</p>
<h3 id="basic-steps-to-reproduce-with-high-rail">Basic steps to reproduce with High Rail</h3>
<ul>
<li>tap the High Rail app SensorTrack™ “record” button.</li>
<li>observe the SensorTrack™ hardware red LED blinking
<ul>
<li>this is the “recording armed” state.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>start sending commands through the LCS system using High Rail
<ul>
<li>control an engine.</li>
<li>read Legacy base.</li>
<li>just do stuff that sends commands through to Lionel LCS hardware.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>observe the SensorTrack™ hardware red LED is off
<ul>
<li>this is the “idle” state.</li>
<li>this is unexpected.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="my-initial-thoughts">My initial thoughts</h3>
<ul>
<li>bad cable (could be, but probably not).</li>
<li>High Rail is sending a “stop recording” command (very unlikely).</li>
<li>there’s a hardware problem (most likely).</li>
</ul>
<p>I pulled on the “there’s a hardware problem” thread. My goal was to reproduce
the issue using nothing but Lionel’s hardware (i.e. the CAB2 remote).</p>
<h3 id="steps-to-reproduce-using-the-cab2-remote">Steps to reproduce using the CAB2 remote</h3>
<ul>
<li>push the SensorTrack™ record push button.</li>
<li>observe the SensorTrack™ hardware red LED blinking
<ul>
<li>this is the “recording armed” state.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>start sending commands through the LCS system using the CAB2 remote
<ul>
<li>send “boost” and “brake” commands by rocking the boost/ brake “rocker button”.</li>
<li>important: not all commands generate the needed “noise” to cause the issue.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>observe the SensorTrack™ hardware red LED is off
<ul>
<li>this is the “idle” state.</li>
<li>this is unexpected (and has nothing to do with High Rail).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>I was correct. The issue was in the SensorTrack™ firmware, and had nothing to do
with High Rail.</p>
<p>All I wanted to do was ship High Rail 1.0. However, this particular issue was completely out of my control.</p>
<h3 id="solution">Solution</h3>
<p>Next I contacted Rudy at Lionel. Rudy is great. We spent quite a bit of time on the phone
going through various scenarios trying to come up with an answer. It was frustrating because
some hardware configurations worked flawlessly, while other hardware configurations experienced the issue.
Fortunately, Rudy and his team discovered the issue (it was probably a few weeks later).</p>
<p>There’s good news and and more good news.</p>
<p>The good news is that a SensorTrack™ firmware fix will address the issue for all future product runs.</p>
<p>The other good news is that Lionel ended up creating an inexpensive hardware solution for existing SensorTrack™ customers. The solution is a PDI noise filter that attaches to the last hardware component in the LCS PDI module chain.</p>
<p>The “filter” is a capacitor acting as a signal filter on the SensorTrack™ “busy” line. Signal noise
from other serial line activity (viz. sending commands through the LCS system) forced the
SensorTrack™ to transition from “recording armed” back to “idle”.</p>
<p>Here’s a few photos of the “filter”.</p>
<div class="hr-row">
<div class="hr-column hr-column-size-1-2">
<img src="/assets/post-images/2017-09-02-sensortrack-filter/sensortrack-filter.png" />
</div>
<div class="hr-column hr-column-size-1-2">
<img src="/assets/post-images/2017-09-02-sensortrack-filter/sensortrack-filter-installed.png" />
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="how-to-get-a-sensortrack-filter">How To Get A SensorTrack™ Filter</h3>
<p>You only need one “filter”. Contact <a href="https://www.lionelsupport.com/ContactUs/">Lionel Customer support</a>.</p>
<p>Lionel also published a <a href="https://www.lionelsupport.com/media/servicedocuments/7072781294252SensorTrackNoiseFilter.pdf">support document</a> with additional details.</p>
<h3 id="summary">Summary</h3>
<p>Expect the unexpected when interfacing with external hardware. Write lots of automated tests; then write more. Find as many external testers willing to help you verify the app. Of course, Apple’s <a href="https://developer.apple.com/testflight/">TestFlight</a> is a great way to involve external testers.</p>
<p>I am always looking for new beta testers. <a href="/support/">Contact me</a> for details.</p>Interfacing with external hardware is challenging. The challenge is even more difficult when interfacing with third party hardware. Software engineers are to expect the unexpected.Enhanced With 3D Touch2017-06-18T00:00:00-05:002017-06-18T00:00:00-05:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2017/06/18/enhanced-3d-touch<p>High Rail users with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 7 are already taking advantage of
3D Touch to control a moving engine’s momentum. It’s truly awesome!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Starting with High Rail 2.3.0 you can now enjoy additional 3D Touch enhancements:</p>
<ul>
<li>force touch on an LCS modules group to reveal the list of available modules.</li>
<li>force touch on an LCS module to reveal the module detail.</li>
<li>force touch on an engine to reveal the engine control.</li>
<li>force touch on an engine to reveal “quick actions” to favorite or stop a moving engine.</li>
<li>force touch on the engine control speed graph to reveal the engine style.</li>
</ul>
<p>The 3D Touch option is available on iPhone 6s and iPhone 7.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You can manage the 3D Touch settings:</p>
<ul>
<li>Settings app -> General -> Accessibility -> 3D Touch</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Head on over to the App Store.</p>
<div>
<a class="app-store-link" href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject&mt=8" target="itunes_store"></a>
</div>High Rail users with an iPhone 6s or iPhone 7 are already taking advantage of 3D Touch to control a moving engine’s momentum. It’s truly awesome!Engine Name Improvements2017-02-23T00:00:00-06:002017-02-23T00:00:00-06:00https://highrailcompany.com/news/2017/02/23/engine-name-improvement<p>The Lionel Legacy Base stores engine names in UPPERCASE. This is fine for the
CAB-2 remote. However, modern apps should NOT YELL AT THE USER. The initial
High Rail Engine feature shipped leaving the engine names in UPPERCASE.</p>
<p>Starting with <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id842021291?ct=highrailproject&mt=8">High Rail 2.2</a>, engine names are automatically capitalized based on a few simple rules.</p>
<h2 id="before-and-after">Before and After</h2>
<div class="hr-row">
<div class="hr-column hr-column-size-1-2">
<div>
<figcaption>UPPERCASE Engine Names</figcaption>
<div><img src="/assets/post-images/2017-01-16-engine-name-improvements/engine-name-all-caps.png" /></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="hr-column hr-column-size-1-2">
<div>
<figcaption>Capitalized Engine Names</figcaption>
<div><img src="/assets/post-images/2017-01-16-engine-name-improvements/engine-name-capitalized.png" /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<h2 id="high-rail-engine-name-improvements">High Rail Engine Name Improvements</h2>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Imported Legacy Base Engine Name</th>
<th>Capitalized High Rail Engine Name</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>BURLINGTON NORTHERN SD40</td>
<td>Burlington Northern SD40</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>UNION PACIFIC SD40T-2</td>
<td>Union Pacific SD40T-2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>NICKEL PLATE ROAD BERKSHIRE</td>
<td>Nickel Plate Road Berkshire</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PRR GP7</td>
<td>PRR GP7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PENN CENTRAL GG1</td>
<td>Penn Central GG1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SANTA FE F3 PWR A</td>
<td>Santa Fe F3 PWR A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>STATION SNDS CAR</td>
<td>Station SNDS Car</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>There are some names that are difficult to correct. For example, “STATION SNDS CAR”
becomes “Station SNDS Car”.</p>
<p>Additional improvements are inevitable in future releases. For now, this
small change makes a big impact.</p>The Lionel Legacy Base stores engine names in UPPERCASE. This is fine for the CAB-2 remote. However, modern apps should NOT YELL AT THE USER. The initial High Rail Engine feature shipped leaving the engine names in UPPERCASE.