PC I Made A Control Box For Tsw2

I operate real trains and if I over press the vigilance button (what we call SIFA here) the train will stop because I'm trying to game it. The tactic might work in game but it doesn't work on many real trains. The objective of having the button is when the tone sounds, look up, visually validate your co crew member is active then press the button.

 

Well, dream on waiting for than to happen Paul. DTG won't ever do it I reckon. 5 years later tand the Raildriver is still beta on even TSW3! They remind me of the MCC cricket masters. People who don't like change or someone else getting in on the game.
I hope and would think that all you guys making your own controllers that (of course) convert some action to a single or series of keypresses, that Windows controls repeat keypresses in its OS to some degree. It's adjustable in Control Panel under "Keyboard".
I would assume that a keyboard also has some debounce coded too in the IC inside it but can't do much about that but maybe the Windows delay rate reduction is enough. Worth looking into? Dunno, just a thought.

 

I'm interested in your simple solution Paul. I used an iPac in my Mame arcade machine. Gosh they have gone north in price since then.
I have been thinking about levers and keypresses. Levers for brakes are a special problem as is throttle control. If we could place a ganged rotary switch sideways and attach a lever to it, protruding from a box, each detent (contact) could be the same key presses just repeated on each contact point. I like ganged switches because they have proper detent feedback. The only issue is when moving the brake to full off or full on and how that is handled. Bail off is the easy part; it's a different keypress. But with the addition of a small rc network we could continue the keypress just enough for the brake to return home and/or go full on. Some issues to clear up but the basics are there I think.
I can usually figure out a solution but I need to know the problem first. What is a usual configuration for a brake lever?
Is that a fair question or should I be asking, what would work in most trains for you?
Plan B is to use an aluminium disk that has predrilled indent positions that coincide with real train notches, a ball bearing and spring affair create the notch feedback. An encoder is attached to its centre much like a pot but this becomes Arduino territory. I have a yearning to do this with no sbc usage at all. At two points on the aluminium disc are 2 threaded holes that accept a partially threaded lever. Two positions because that way, the disc can mimic two different type of loco brakes. For Loco #2 the disc is rotated to an extreme, the lever removed then replaced in the 2nd threaded hole now visible at the other extreme. Now Loco #2 and other notches are now in play; hence the encoder and not a pot - because the disc needs to be able to rotate 360degrees. The springed ball bearing would be placed appropriately to interact with both sets of disc indents. The springed bearing could be swung out of play if a non notched brake was required. It all sounds a bit more difficult than it actually would be imo.

 

As far as I can determine, we don't use the word Sifa here in Australia to describe our vigilance systems and at least one train that I can find, the Tangara uses the classic deadmans peddle, or they can swap over to a handle (also in the Tangara cab) if preferred. But your comment about gaming the system got me interested. You might want to read this article if you think the German use of Sifa ensures safe rail travel . . .
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02226899