Vector User Guide
User Guide — Version 1.0 for Android
This guide shows you how to set Vector up and run trains with it. It is written for model railroaders, not programmers. You don't need to know anything about how Vector works inside — only what each screen does and what to tap.
Read Part 1 first. It takes you from installing Vector to driving your first locomotive in about ten minutes. After that, dip into the parts you need:
- Part 2 — Your Locomotives: building your roster and setting up function keys
- Part 3 — Driving: the controls, the four throttle styles, momentum, brakes
- Part 4 — Consists: running two or more locomotives together
- Part 5 — Settings Reference: every setting, one line each
- Part 6 — When Something Goes Wrong: disconnects, and a troubleshooting table
Every screenshot in this guide comes from Vector 1.0 running on a phone. The locomotives you'll see — CRR 101, CRR 460 and the rest — belong to the Cedar River Railroad, a fictional railroad we use for examples. Your screen will show your locomotives, but the buttons and layout are the same.
A word about safety
Vector drives real locomotives. A model train can still damage itself, your rolling stock and your scenery, so a few habits are worth building from day one:
- STOP brings the locomotive you're driving to a stop. E-STOP is the emergency stop — use it when something is about to go wrong. Both are always on screen. Chapter 13 explains the difference.
- Vector has settings that stop your locomotive automatically if the app is interrupted, closed or the locomotive released. They're on by default. Leave them on until you know why you'd want them off (Chapter 25).
- If your Wi-Fi drops while a train is moving, Vector reconnects on its own, but do not assume the train has stopped. Chapter 26 explains exactly what happens and what to do.
Part 1
Getting Started
1. What Vector Is
Vector turns your Android phone into a wireless throttle for a DCC model railroad. You pick a locomotive, and you drive it — speed, direction, horn, bell, lights and every other function its decoder supports — from a screen laid out like the controls in a real cab.
Vector isn't one throttle, it's four. You choose the style that suits what you're running:
- Diesel — a notched control stand with a dynamic brake, air brake and engine gauges
- Switcher — a lever throttle with an air brake, built for yard work
- Steam — a regulator and cutoff, with boiler pressure and speed dials
- Slider — a plain slider for simple, direct control, left- or right-handed
Whichever style you choose, the same locomotives, roster and settings are underneath. You can change style whenever you're stopped.
What you need
- An Android phone or tablet with Vector installed.
- A Wi-Fi network that your phone and your command station share.
- A command station that speaks the WiThrottle protocol. Vector connects over Wi-Fi to WiThrottle servers including JMRI, DCC-EX and Digitrax LNWI. Other DCC systems, including NCE, can connect through JMRI.
What Vector doesn't do
Vector is a throttle. It doesn't program decoders or change CVs, and it doesn't replace JMRI or your command station's own software — it talks to them. Decoder programming stays where it is today.
A few words you'll see throughout
| Word | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Command station | The box that puts DCC signals on the track (or the computer running JMRI in front of it). Vector connects to it over Wi-Fi. |
| Address | The DCC number a locomotive answers to. Short addresses are 1–127; long addresses are 128–9999. Most modern locomotives use their road number as a long address. |
| Acquire | Take control of a locomotive: Vector asks the command station for it, and from then on your throttle is driving it. Release tells the command station you're finished with it. |
| Function (F-key) | A decoder function — headlight, bell, horn, and so on. Numbered F0 upwards. |
| Roster | Your list of locomotives, with their addresses and settings, kept on the phone. |
| Consist | Two or more locomotives driven together as one train. |
A fuller glossary is at the back of the guide.
2. First Launch
The first time you open Vector it shows a short Welcome Tour — six screens that introduce what Vector does. Tap Continue to step through, or Skip at the top right to go straight to the app.
The tour doesn't ask you for anything and doesn't change any settings. When it finishes, Vector opens the connection screen (Chapter 3).
You can watch the tour again any time: open Setup, scroll to the bottom, and tap Welcome Tour under About.
3. Connecting to Your Layout
Vector connects to your command station over your Wi-Fi network. You set that up once on the connection screen; after that, Vector remembers it and reconnects on its own each time you open the app.
Before you start
Make sure your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your command station. This is the single most common reason a connection fails, and it's worth checking first every time — phones like to wander back to your home network.
You'll also need the command station's IP address. Where to find it:
- DCC-EX: shown on the command station's display or serial monitor at start-up, or in the EX-Toolbox app.
- JMRI: in JMRI, open the WiThrottle Server window (from the Actions menu); the address and port are shown there. If JMRI runs on a computer that's also on Wi-Fi, use that computer's address.
- Digitrax LNWI: the LNWI creates its own Wi-Fi network; join it and use the address printed in its documentation.
Setting up the connection
-
Protocol — tap the dropdown and choose the kind of command station you have: JMRI WiThrottle, DCC-EX Native or LocoNet LNWI. ("DCC-EX Native" is the menu's name for a DCC-EX command station; Vector talks to it over WiThrottle like the others.) Vector fills in the usual port number for you.
Figure 3.2 — Pick the protocol first; the port follows. - Server IP — type the command station's address, for example
192.168.1.102. - Port — leave the number Vector filled in unless your setup uses a different one. The usual ports are 2560 for DCC-EX and 12090 for JMRI and the LNWI.
- Tap Connect.
Vector connects and opens your throttle. The status bar across the very top turns green and reads Connected.
If nothing happens
If Vector can't reach the command station, the connection screen simply stays where it is. There's no error message in this version — the screen not changing is the message. Check, in this order:
- Is the phone on the layout's Wi-Fi network? (Pull down the phone's Quick Settings and look at the Wi-Fi name.)
- Is the command station powered up and finished starting?
- Is the IP address typed correctly, with dots in the right places?
- Is the protocol right for the station? A JMRI server won't answer on the DCC-EX port.
Then tap Connect again. Chapter 27 has a longer troubleshooting list.
Auto-Connect
From the second launch on, Vector connects automatically to the last command station you used, and opens straight onto your throttle. If it can't connect — say you're away from the layout — it shows the connection screen instead, where you can fix the address or choose Explore Offline.
You can turn this off in Setup → Command Station → Auto-Connect if you'd rather Vector always start on the connection screen.
4. Explore Offline
Explore Offline opens a throttle with no command station at all. Everything on screen works — you can acquire a locomotive from your roster, notch up, watch the gauges, apply the brake — but nothing goes to the track. It's the practice cab.
Use it to:
- learn a throttle style before you run a real train,
- set up your roster and function keys somewhere comfortable, away from the layout, or
- show Vector to a friend on the kitchen table.
You can tell you're offline by the status bar at the top of the throttle: it reads Not connected, with a red dot.
Everything you set up while offline — locomotives, function labels, consists, settings — is saved exactly as it would be when connected. When you're ready to run for real, close Vector and open it again on the layout's Wi-Fi; with Auto-Connect on it will connect on its own, or land you on the connection screen if it can't.
One thing to know: a locomotive you acquired in Explore Offline was only ever acquired on the phone. The command station has never heard of it. When you do connect, Vector asks the station for it properly, so there's no need to release and re-acquire — but it means the first real command you send is the first the locomotive receives.
5. Your First Run in Five Minutes
This chapter drives one locomotive from start to finish on the Diesel throttle, which is what Vector opens with. Everything here is covered again in more detail later; the point now is to get a train moving.
You'll need to be connected (Chapter 3). If you'd rather practise first, do exactly the same thing in Explore Offline.
Step 1 — Acquire a locomotive
Tap + Acquire Locomotive at the top left of the throttle. The acquire panel drops down.
There are two ways to pick a locomotive:
- From your roster — tap it in the Locomotives list at the bottom of the panel. (If your roster is empty, Chapter 6 shows you how to add locomotives. You can still type an address in the meantime.)
-
By address — tap Short or Long to match how the locomotive is programmed, type the address, and tap Acquire.
Figure 5.2 — Typing an address: Short for 1–127, Long for 128 and up.
Either way, the panel closes and the locomotive's name appears in the top-left pill where + Acquire Locomotive was. That pill is your Current Assignment — what you're driving. (If the locomotive has a Default Throttle saved in its setup, the screen may switch to that throttle style as it's acquired — Chapter 7.)
If the locomotive was already moving when you took it, Vector picks it up at the speed it's actually doing. It won't stop it or jerk it. If another throttle already has it, what happens next depends on your command station — Chapter 11 explains.
Step 2 — Set direction
The direction row sits under the gauges: Forward, Neutral, Reverse. Check the selected direction before moving — the row shows which one is lit. Tap Reverse if you need to back up.
You can only change direction while the locomotive is stopped. If you try while it's moving, Vector tells you to stop first. (That's Direction Lock, Chapter 13, and you can turn it off.)
Step 3 — Notch up
The column of buttons on the left is the throttle: IDLE at the bottom, then N1 up to N8. Tap N2.
The locomotive starts to move. Depending on your momentum setting the speed builds gradually, the way a real train would, or steps straight to the notch. The speed readout on the left of the gauge panel shows what it's doing. Tap a higher notch to go faster, a lower one to slow down; you can jump straight from N2 to N6 — you don't have to go one notch at a time.
Step 4 — Sound the horn
Press and hold HORN on the yellow panel at the left. BELL toggles on and off. LIGHT is the headlight switch above them. The other functions — the ones your decoder supports — are the numbered keys on the right, labelled with what they do once you've set the locomotive up (Chapter 8).
Step 5 — Stop
Tap STOP, the red button under IDLE. The throttle drops to IDLE and the locomotive comes to a stop.
If you ever need to stop right now, use E-STOP at the top right. It halts the locomotive immediately, with no momentum. Chapter 13 explains both.
Step 6 — Release
When you're done, give the locomotive back so another throttle can take it. Tap the name pill at the top left — the acquire panel opens with a Current Assignment card at the top — and tap Release.
Vector stops the locomotive before releasing it (that's the Stop Locomotive on Release setting, on by default). You don't need to release just to pick a different locomotive — tapping another one in the list does that for you, and asks first (Chapter 11). Do release a locomotive from any throttle you've finished with, though: on some command stations another throttle can take it while you still hold it (Chapter 11).
That's the whole loop: acquire, direction, notch, stop, release. Everything else in Vector is about making that loop feel more like the real thing.
Part 2
Your Locomotives
You can drive any locomotive by typing its address, but Vector is at its best when your locomotives are in its roster. A roster entry remembers the address, a name, what the locomotive is, how fast you'll let it go, how it should feel to drive, and — most usefully — what every function key does. Set it up once and every throttle style uses it. This part covers the Roster Manager, Loco Setup, function keys, bringing a roster in from JMRI or DCC-EX, and keeping it all safe with backups.
6. The Roster Manager
The Roster Manager is your list of locomotives. Open it from Setup → Roster & Consists → Roster Manager. (Setup is behind the gear button on any throttle, then Full Settings.)
Each row shows the address in large figures, the locomotive's name, and a line summarising its setup: type, short or long address, its speed cap, its Default Throttle (or "App default"), and your notes. The coloured badge on the right is its type — Diesel or Steam.
- + Add Loco (top right) opens Loco Setup for a new locomotive — Chapter 7.
- The pencil button opens Loco Setup for that locomotive.
- The red × deletes it. Vector asks first.
The tabs under the title — My Roster, Import, Export — are covered in Chapters 9 and 10.
A new roster is empty
Vector doesn't come with sample locomotives. A fresh install shows an empty list and a note to tap + Add Loco. The locomotives in this guide's pictures are ours; yours will be your own from the first one you add.
How the roster reaches the throttle
Everything you enter here shows up on the acquire panel's Locomotives list (Chapter 5), so acquiring becomes a single tap. Function labels appear on the throttle's keys the moment you acquire. Speed caps and momentum settings are applied automatically.
7. Loco Setup
Loco Setup is where one locomotive's details live. It has two tabs: General (this chapter) and F-Keys (Chapter 8). Save is at the top right — nothing is kept until you tap it.
Basic info
- DCC Address — the number the locomotive answers to, and beside it Short (1–127) or Long (128+). Vector suggests Short for numbers up to 127 and Long above that, which is right for nearly every locomotive. If yours was deliberately programmed the other way, change the dropdown.
- Road Number — the reporting marks and number as you want to see them on the throttle, for example
CRR 101. This is the locomotive's name everywhere in Vector. Address and Road Number are the only two fields you must fill in. - Locomotive Type — the model, for your own reference:
EMD GP38-2,2-8-2 Mikado. It shows under the name in lists. - Notes — anything you like. Shows in the Roster Manager.
Loco Type
Diesel, Steam, Electric or DC. This tells Vector which decoder profiles fit the locomotive (steam profiles for steam, and so on) and which type badge to show.
Default Throttle
The throttle style this locomotive should be driven with. App Default, the pre-selected choice, means no preference: the locomotive opens on whichever throttle you're already using. Choose Diesel Notch, Switcher, Steam, Slider Left or Slider Right instead and Vector switches to that throttle automatically whenever you acquire this locomotive on its own — your steam engine brings up the Steam cab, your yard goat the Switcher. If it's already moving when you take it, the new throttle picks it up at the speed and direction the command station reports, with no lurch.
The choice applies to the locomotive by itself. Acquiring a consist never changes throttle style, whatever its members are set to. You can still change style by hand at any time (Chapter 12).
Function Buttons and Button Display
These two only change how the throttle draws the function keys, not what they do. Function Buttons is how many keys to show — all 32, or fewer if the locomotive doesn't have that many. Button Display is how each key is labelled: Labels + F-Key (F2 Horn), Labels Only (Horn) or F-Key Only (F2). Chapter 8 shows the difference.
Dynamic Brake F-Key
Shown when the Default Throttle is App Default or Diesel Notch, because only the Diesel throttle uses it. It's the function number your decoder uses for dynamic brake sound — usually F4, which is the default. The Diesel throttle's DYN BRAKE control turns this function on for you when you apply dynamic braking (Chapter 17).
Decoder
Pick the sound decoder in the locomotive, then tap Load Default Function Assignments to fill the F-Keys tab with that decoder's factory function list. Chapter 8 covers this properly. If your decoder isn't listed, choose the closest, or Other / Not listed, and label the keys yourself.
Performance — Max Throttle
Some locomotives are simply too fast at full throttle. Max Throttle caps this one. Use global setting follows the cap in Setup (100% unless you've changed it); Set for this loco lets you type a percentage for this locomotive alone.
The cap works on every throttle style. On the Diesel throttle, N8 becomes 60% instead of 100% and the other notches scale down with it; on the Slider, the top of the slider is 60%. The lowest you can set is 15%, so a locomotive can never be capped into not moving.
Performance — Momentum
How the locomotive responds when you change the throttle: Use Global (follow Setup), Decoder (let the decoder's own momentum settings handle it) or VST (let Vector simulate it). Chapter 14 explains the choice; if you're not sure, leave it on Use Global.
Tap Save when you're done. Vector confirms, and takes you back to the Roster Manager.
8. Function Keys
A decoder's functions — F0, F1, F2 and up — do whatever the manufacturer wired them to: headlight, bell, horn, coupler clank, engine start. The decoder knows; the throttle doesn't. Function key setup is how you tell Vector what each number means for this locomotive, so its keys read Bell and Horn instead of F1 and F2.
For rostered locomotives, Vector uses the function assignments saved for that locomotive. A key you haven't labelled shows only its number.
The F-Keys tab
Open the locomotive in Loco Setup and tap F-Keys. There's one row per function, F0 to F31, with three controls on each:
-
Function Label — a dropdown of standard labels in groups: Lights; Horns, Whistles and Bell; Brake and Motion; Engine and Mechanical; Steam; Crew and Miscellaneous; and plain Auxiliary and Sound Slot numbers. Pick the one that matches, or choose Create Custom Label… at the top of the list and type your own.
Figure 8.2 — Labels are grouped; scroll to find the one you want. - Action — LAT (latching) or MOM (momentary). A latching function turns on with one tap and off with the next: headlight, bell, mute. A momentary function is on only while your finger is on the key: horn, whistle, coupler. Tap the badge to switch. On the throttle, momentary keys are drawn with an accent bar down their right edge (a dashed border on the Steam throttle) so you can tell them apart.
- Consist — YES or NO: whether this function can be mapped across a consist. Leave it at YES unless Chapter 24 gives you a reason not to.
The Headlight row is special. Instead of a Consist switch it has AUTO / MANUAL — Headlight Control. On AUTO Vector manages the headlights of a consist for you, based on which way each unit faces and the direction of travel. MANUAL turns that off. For a single locomotive it makes no difference. Chapter 24 has the details.
Loading a decoder's function list
The quickest way to fill the tab: on the General tab, pick the Decoder and tap Load Default Function Assignments. Vector fills every row from that decoder's factory function list — labels and latching/momentary — and jumps to the F-Keys tab so you can see what it did.
Two things to know:
- It replaces the whole table. Anything you'd labelled by hand is overwritten, so load the profile first and adjust afterwards.
- Factory assignments vary between locomotive models and decoder versions. Treat the profile as a head start, check it against your locomotive, and fix any key that doesn't match. Reset (top right of the tab) clears the table if you'd rather start again.
Keys you don't label
Leave a key blank and the throttle shows just its number — F13, F14. It still works: tap it and the decoder's F13 turns on. The label is for you, not the decoder.
How the keys look on the throttle
Button Display (Chapter 7) decides what a labelled key shows. Here's the same locomotive both ways:
Headlight, Bell and Horn always have their own dedicated controls on the Diesel, Switcher and Steam throttles — the LIGHT switch and the BELL and HORN buttons — whatever you set here. On the Slider they're the three wide buttons across the top.
F-Key Defaults — for locomotives that aren't in your roster
When you acquire a locomotive by typing its address, Vector has no saved function keys for it. F-Key Defaults are the labels it uses instead. Set them once at Setup → Global Defaults → F-Key Defaults; if most of your fleet uses the same sound decoder, put its common functions here and every un-rostered locomotive gets sensible keys.
A locomotive that is in your roster ignores these and uses its own settings, key by key.
9. Bringing Your Roster In from JMRI or DCC-EX
If your locomotives are already in JMRI, or defined on a DCC-EX command station, you don't have to type them again. Vector can read them in.
Open the Roster Manager and tap the Import tab.
An import is a copy, not a link. Once a locomotive is in Vector's roster, Vector owns it: you can rename it, relabel its keys or cap its speed, and nothing changes it back unless you run another import.
From JMRI
Vector reads the JMRI roster through the JMRI Web Server. That is a separate service from the WiThrottle server you drive through, and it may even be on a different computer — rosters usually live where DecoderPro runs. In JMRI, start it from Actions → Start Web Server; it answers on port
- Then tap Import from JMRI.
For each locomotive, JMRI supplies its address and whether it is short or long, its name (the JMRI entry ID), road name and number, model, decoder, comment, maximum speed and every function label — including which are momentary. Vector takes all of it: the comment becomes the Notes, a maximum speed below 100% becomes a per-locomotive Max Throttle cap, and the function labels are copied exactly as JMRI has them.
If DecoderPro runs on a different computer from the one Vector connects to, type that computer's address into JMRI Host in Setup → Roster & Consists → Roster Sync (you can add a port after a colon, 192.168.1.20:12080, if it isn't the standard one). Left blank, Vector uses the address of the command station it is connected to.
From DCC-EX
Tap Import from DCC-EX. Vector asks the connected command station for its roster over a separate connection of its own; you don't have to do anything special.
A DCC-EX roster holds just three things per locomotive: its number, a name, and its function labels (with momentary marked). There is no road name, model, decoder, note or speed cap in DCC-EX, so those fields stay blank — or, on a locomotive you already have, stay exactly as they were. Vector treats numbers 1–127 as short addresses and higher numbers as long.
A DCC-EX command station only has a roster if ROSTER entries were defined in its myAutomation.h file when it was set up. If none were, Vector tells you the station reported an empty roster, and nothing changes.
What you'll see
The import runs in four short steps, and only one of them can ask you anything:
- Contacting the server.
- Preview — how many locomotives were found, how many are new, how many already exist in your roster, and anything that will be removed. Nothing has been written yet; Cancel here leaves your roster untouched.
- Duplicates — only if Duplicate Locomotives is set to Ask and some were found (below).
- Summary — what was added, updated and skipped.
What happens to locomotives you already have
Vector matches locomotives by address and address type. Three settings in Setup → Roster & Consists → Roster Sync decide what happens when the source and your roster overlap:
- Merge With Existing (on by default). On, locomotives that exist only in Vector are kept and the import adds the new ones. Off, the source is the master copy: locomotives that aren't in the source are removed from your roster. The preview warns you how many before you confirm.
- Duplicate Locomotives — what to do with a locomotive that's in both places. Ask (the default) shows you each one and lets you choose, or Replace all / Skip all in one go. Replace takes the source's details. Skip leaves yours completely alone.
- Auto Sync (off by default) — run the import automatically every time Vector connects, from whichever source Source is set to, JMRI or DCC-EX. An automatic import never stops to ask: if Duplicate Locomotives is Ask, it skips duplicates instead. It also won't run while you have a locomotive acquired. Most people leave this off and import by hand when something changes.
What Replace does — and doesn't — overwrite. Replace changes only the details the source actually supplies. A DCC-EX import has no road name, so replacing from DCC-EX won't blank a road name JMRI gave you or you typed. Function keys work the same way, key by key: a key the source knows gets the source's label and momentary setting; a key the source doesn't mention is left as it was.
Some things are Vector's own and no import ever touches them: the locomotive's Loco Type, Default Throttle, Momentum setting, Dynamic Brake F-Key, Function Buttons and Button Display, and, on each function key, the Consist (VCP) setting and Headlight Control. The Max Throttle cap can be updated by a JMRI import (from JMRI's maximum speed); DCC-EX has no such field, so it never is.
One case Vector refuses: the same number as a short address on one side and a long address on the other — say a long 3 arriving when you already have a short 3. Vector reports it as a conflict and skips it rather than overwrite a locomotive you set up by hand.
10. Backup, Restore, Import and Share
Everything Vector knows about your railroad — the roster, every function label, your consists and your settings — lives on the phone. A backup puts all of it in one file, named whatever you like, so you can get it back after a new phone or a wiped app, or hand it to another Vector user.
Backups are at the bottom of Setup, under Backup & Restore.
Make a backup
Tap Backup. Give it a name — or leave the box blank and Vector names it with the date and time — and tap Save Backup. The file goes into the phone's Documents/Vector folder, and Setup shows when the last backup was made.
Make one whenever you've done a chunk of setup work — after labelling a new locomotive's keys, after building a consist — and always before you replace the phone or reinstall the app. Uninstalling Vector deletes everything it holds.
A backup contains your roster, function labels, consists and preferences. It does not contain your command station address, so restoring one never changes what Vector is connected to.
Restore
Restore puts your own railroad back on this phone, from the backups in its Documents/Vector folder. Tap it and Vector lists them, newest first, with the date and size. Tap one, read the confirmation — it tells you how many locomotives and consists are in the file — and tap Restore.
A restore replaces everything — roster, consists and preferences. Before it does, Vector saves a safety backup of what you have now, so a wrong restore can be undone: tap Show automatic safety backups in the list. Restore from a file… lets you pick a backup from somewhere other than the Vector folder.
Release any locomotive you're driving before you restore. Vector won't restore while one is acquired, because the function keys on the throttle would no longer match the locomotive.
Import — a roster from someone else
Import brings locomotives and consists in from another Vector device — a club member's phone, or your own tablet — from any file Android can reach: Downloads, Google Drive, Quick Share, an email attachment. It opens the phone's file picker; find the .vector file and tap it.
Import is different from Restore in two ways that matter:
- It brings in locomotives and consists only. Your preferences and safety settings are never changed by an import.
- You choose whether the imported locomotives are added to your roster or replace it, and you can save a copy of what's on the phone first so you can put it back afterwards.
If Vector says the file isn't a readable Vector backup, it wasn't made by Vector's Backup or Share — check you picked the right file.
Export — just the roster, as JSON
The Roster Manager's Export tab writes the roster alone — no consists, no settings — as a plain JSON file. It's there if you want to look at your roster in a text editor or feed it to something else; for moving between Vector devices, use Backup and Share.
Part 3
Driving
Part 1 got a train moving. This part is about driving it well: the panel you acquire from, the controls every throttle shares, the two ways of stopping, momentum and train load, the air brake, then each of the four throttle styles in turn, and finally the phone's volume keys as a throttle.
11. Acquiring and Releasing
Every throttle style has the same acquire panel. Tap the pill at the top left — it reads + Acquire Locomotive when you have nothing, or the name of what you're driving — and the panel drops down over the throttle.
From top to bottom:
- Current Assignment — appears once you're driving something: the locomotive's name, model and address, and the Release button.
- Short · 1–127 / Long · 128–9999 — the address type for a typed address. Tap the one that matches how the locomotive is programmed.
- Address and Acquire — type a number, tap Acquire.
- + Add to Roster — puts the typed address into your roster so it's a tap away next time. Vector asks for a name; you can fill in everything else in Loco Setup later (Chapter 7).
- Build Consist → — starts a consist with the roster (Chapter 22).
- Locomotives / Saved Consists — the two lists. Tap a row to acquire it.
Acquiring from the roster
Tap the locomotive in the Locomotives list. Vector asks the command station for it, closes the panel, puts the name in the pill and fills in the function keys from the locomotive's saved setup. Its speed cap and momentum setting come along too.
Acquiring by address
Tap Short or Long, type the address, tap Acquire. If the number doesn't fit the type — a long address must be 128 or above — Vector says so under the field and waits for you to fix it. A locomotive acquired by address uses the F-Key Defaults for its keys (Chapter 8) unless it happens to be in your roster, in which case its own setup is used.
Taking a locomotive that's already moving
If the locomotive is moving when you acquire it, Vector takes it over at the speed and direction the command station reports. It doesn't stop it, and it doesn't send anything until you touch a control. The readout comes up showing what the locomotive is actually doing.
Changing locomotives
You don't release to swap. Tap the next locomotive in the list and Vector asks what you want:
- Keep — nothing changes.
- Build Consist — take you to the consist builder with both locomotives in it (Chapter 22).
- Replace with … — stop the current locomotive (if Stop Locomotive on Release is on, which it is by default), release it, and acquire the new one. A dynamic brake left on is released with it.
Releasing
Tap the pill, then Release on the Current Assignment card. With Stop Locomotive on Release on (the default), Vector brings the locomotive to a stop before handing it back; if it was mid-way through slowing down in VST, it finishes stopping first. With the setting off, the locomotive is released at whatever speed it's doing and carries on — which is what you want when you're handing a running train to another operator, and dangerous otherwise.
One locomotive, more than one throttle
What happens when two throttles want the same locomotive depends on the command station, not on Vector.
DCC-EX does not hold locomotives for one throttle. Any connected throttle can acquire and drive a locomotive that another throttle already has, and the most recent command from any of them is the one the locomotive obeys. Vector can't see commands sent by another throttle, so if someone else is also driving your locomotive the speed and functions on your screen may not match what it's doing. Make a habit of releasing a locomotive from any throttle you've finished with, and of checking who else is running before you acquire.
JMRI does keep track of who holds a locomotive, and what it does when a second throttle asks for one is a JMRI preference — Prompt, Silent Steal or Silent Share — set in JMRI's WiThrottle server preferences, not in Vector. Vector follows whichever JMRI is set to:
- Prompt. If the locomotive is held by another throttle, Vector asks: Steal locomotive CRR 101? with STEAL and CANCEL. Until you answer, it isn't yours — the throttle shows nothing acquired. STEAL takes it over: Vector picks it up at the speed and direction the station reports, and sends nothing until you touch a control. CANCEL leaves it with the other throttle. If it was one unit of a consist you were acquiring, Vector tells you the unit is in use and the consist was not acquired.
- Silent Steal. If another throttle takes a locomotive you're driving, Vector tells you — Locomotive CRR 101 was taken by another throttle — and your throttle lets go of it: nothing further is sent to it, and the pill returns to + Acquire Locomotive. If it was part of a consist, the rest of the consist is released too, and the message says so.
- Silent Share. JMRI lets both throttles drive it, and neither is told. As with DCC-EX, your screen may not reflect what the other throttle is doing.
Digitrax LNWI — Vector drives through the LNWI as a standard WiThrottle server. This guide makes no claims about how it shares locomotives between throttles beyond that.
12. Controls Every Throttle Shares
The four throttle styles look different, but the frame around them is the same. Learn it once.
The status bar and toolbar
- Status bar — a green dot and Connected, or a red dot and Not connected, with the time. Glance here first when anything seems odd.
- Name pill — what you're driving; tap it for the acquire panel.
- Gear — the quick-setup panel (below).
- E-STOP — emergency stop. Chapter 13. It can be hidden in Setup if you never want to hit it by accident.
- PWR — track power. Lit when the command station reports power on; tap it to turn track power off or on. It only works while connected.
Headlight, bell and horn
On the Diesel, Switcher and Steam throttles, the three functions you use most have their own controls: a LIGHT switch, a BELL button and a HORN (or WHISTLE) that sounds while you hold it. They are F0, F1 and F2. The Slider has them as three wide buttons across the top instead.
Direction
Forward and Reverse, with Neutral between them on the Diesel and Switcher. The lit button is the current direction, and the readout repeats it — FWD, REV or NEU. Check it before you open the throttle. Neutral is not a stop: it's a coast, with the throttle disconnected (Chapters 17 and 18).
By default Vector won't change direction while the locomotive is moving — that's Direction Lock, Chapter 13.
The speed readout
Every throttle shows the speed in the unit you choose: MPH, km/h, % Throttle (percentage of full speed) or Steps (the raw DCC speed step, 0–126). Change it from the gear panel. The Diesel and Switcher can also show the whole instrument panel as Analog dials instead of digits.
The gear panel (quick setup)
Tap the gear and a panel drops down with the settings you're most likely to want mid-session. What's on it depends on the throttle — the Diesel has the most:
- Train Load (Diesel, Steam) — what's behind the drawbar. Chapter 15.
- Momentum Mode (Diesel, Switcher, Steam) — Decoder or VST. Chapter 14.
- Throttle Type — switch to another throttle style.
- Speed Unit — MPH, km/h, % or Steps.
- Appearance — the theme (below).
- Speed Display Style (Diesel, Switcher) — Digital or Analog.
- Full Settings → — everything else. Chapter 25.
Tap the gear again to close it.
Changing throttle style
Pick a different Throttle Type on the gear panel, or in Setup. Your locomotive comes with you — same speed, same direction, same functions — and the new throttle picks up where the old one left off. Vector only allows the change while the locomotive is stopped: if it's moving, you'll be told to stop first.
A locomotive with a Default Throttle saved in Loco Setup (Chapter 7) switches for you: acquire it on its own and Vector opens the throttle it's set for, even if it's already moving. Consists never switch style on their own.
Appearance
Three themes on the Diesel and Switcher — V·Night (dark, the default), V·Vintage (olive and cream) and V·Modern (tan) — and a light V·Day theme on the Slider for running in daylight. The Steam throttle has its own cab finish and no theme choice. The default theme for new sessions is set in Setup.
13. Stopping
Two buttons stop a locomotive, and they are not the same.
STOP
STOP is the normal way to bring a locomotive to a halt. It sets the throttle to zero — IDLE on the Diesel and Switcher, the regulator closed on the Steam, the slider to the bottom — and commands speed zero.
- In Decoder momentum mode, the decoder's own momentum settings decide how the locomotive comes to rest from that command.
- In VST, pressing STOP commands an immediate stop, bypassing the simulated deceleration. Normal throttle reductions — notching down, closing the regulator — still follow VST's simulated momentum; only STOP skips it.
The readout drops to zero once the command station has taken the command. If Vector couldn't deliver it — you've lost the connection — the readout stays where it was and Vector tells you. Chapter 26 covers that.
E-STOP
E-STOP is the emergency stop. It sends the DCC emergency-stop command, which every decoder obeys immediately, ignoring its own momentum. The locomotive stops dead. Use it when a train is about to hit something, not to end a run — a hard stop on a long train is hard on the couplers.
Two settings in Setup → Safety shape it:
- Show E-STOP — hide the button if you find yourself hitting it by mistake. On by default.
- Confirm E-STOP — ask before firing. Off by default; it adds a tap between you and the stop, so turn it on only if you're hitting E-STOP by accident more than you're needing it on purpose.
Direction Lock
Reversing a moving locomotive is bad for it and for the train. With Direction Lock on (the default), Vector refuses to change direction until the locomotive is stopped, and says so.
Turn it off in Setup → Safety if you run locomotives that need a quick reversal — a switcher working a yard, say — and you're happy to manage it yourself.
Stops Vector makes for you
Three more settings in Setup → Safety, all on by default, stop the locomotive when something happens to Vector rather than to the train:
- Stop on App Interrupt — a phone call, or switching to another app, stops every locomotive you hold.
- Stop Locomotive on Exit — closing Vector sends a stop first.
- Stop Locomotive on Release — releasing a locomotive stops it first (Chapter 11).
They're there so a train never keeps running because you looked away from the phone. Chapter 26 has more on when they do and don't help.
14. Momentum: Decoder vs Vector Simulated Throttle
A real locomotive doesn't jump to speed; it builds. There are two places that feel can come from, and Vector lets you choose.
Decoder momentum
Most decoders have their own momentum settings — CV3 for acceleration, CV4 for deceleration. In Decoder mode, Vector sends the speed you ask for, once, and the decoder does the smoothing. The locomotive behaves exactly as it would from any other throttle. If you've spent time tuning CV3 and CV4, this keeps that work.
Vector Simulated Throttle (VST)
In VST mode, Vector holds the momentum itself. Ask for notch 6 and Vector walks the speed up toward it at a rate a real train would manage — you watch the readout climb, the RPM rise, the traction load peak and fall away. Set your decoder's CV3 and CV4 to zero, or near it, so the two aren't fighting.
VST is what makes the rest of this part work. Train Load (Chapter 15) changes how fast the speed builds and how long it takes to stop. The air brake (Chapter 16) fights the throttle the way a real one does. On the Steam throttle, cutoff and boiler pressure matter. None of that has anywhere to act if the decoder is doing the momentum.
Choosing
You can set the mode in three places, and they stack. This works the same way on the Diesel, Switcher and Steam throttles:
-
Setup → Global Defaults → Momentum Mode — the default. A locomotive acquired by address, or one whose Loco Setup says Use Global, gets this.
Figure 14.2 — The global default: Vector Simulated unless you change it. - Loco Setup → Performance → Momentum — per locomotive: Use Global, Decoder or VST. A locomotive whose decoder momentum you've tuned can stay on Decoder while the rest of the fleet runs VST.
-
The gear panel → Momentum Mode — a switch for the locomotive you're driving right now. It lasts for the session (and survives a reconnect), and it changes neither the global default nor the locomotive's saved setting. Handy for comparing the two on the same locomotive.
Figure 14.3 — Switch modes mid-session from the gear panel.
A consist starts in the global default, whatever its members are set to (Chapter 23). The Slider doesn't use either: it sends speed directly, always.
15. Train Load
A light engine gets away smartly; forty loaded hoppers don't. Train Load tells VST what's behind the locomotive, and it changes how the whole throttle feels — slower to accelerate, slower to coast down, and above all longer to stop under the brake.
It lives on the gear panel of the Diesel and Steam throttles — the two whose momentum models use it — not on the throttle face, because a real cab has no "train weight" lever. The engineer knows what's coupled on.
Four settings, with the car counts as a rough guide — you decide what counts as heavy on your railroad:
| Roughly | |
|---|---|
| Light | A light engine, or 1–4 cars |
| Medium (default) | About 5–12 cars |
| Heavy | About 13–20 cars |
| Extra Heavy | 20 or more, or a loaded drag |
Train Load is one setting for the session, not a locomotive setting: you're driving one train at a time, and swapping the locomotive on the front doesn't change what's behind it. It stays put when you change throttle style or acquire a different locomotive. It has no effect at all in Decoder momentum mode, and it never changes top speed — only how you get there and back.
16. The Air Brake
The Diesel, Switcher and Steam throttles have an air brake, and it works the same way on all three. It is not a slower STOP button. It's a brake — you set it, it takes hold, and it holds.
How it works
The handle has four marked positions: RELEASE, MINIMUM, SERVICE and FULL SERVICE, and you can set it anywhere between. Moving the handle doesn't brake the train directly — it commands the brake cylinder, and the cylinder does the braking. Watch the BRAKE CYL gauge: after you move the handle, the pressure builds over two or three seconds, and when you release it falls away more slowly, over about five. That lag is deliberate, and it's the whole skill of using the brake — you set it before you need it, and you release it before you're stopped.
The brake opposes the throttle. A partial application slows the locomotive to a lower speed and holds it there while the throttle stays open, the way a real engineer holds a train down a grade. FULL SERVICE always brings the locomotive to a stop and holds it, whatever notch is set — and it stays held until you release. The small lamp beside the AIR BRAKE label lights whenever the handle is off RELEASE.
Train Load (Chapter 15) is felt here more than anywhere: a heavy train takes much longer to stop from the same application. If you brake late with Extra Heavy set, you'll go through the crossing.
On each throttle
- Diesel — the vertical handle in the centre column, under DYN BRAKE.
-
Switcher — the vertical handle between the lever and the function keys.
Figure 16.3 — Switcher, full service, 90 PSI. -
Steam — a horizontal slider across the cab under the direction row, with the same four marks.
Figure 16.4 — Steam, brake applied, 72 PSI and falling speed.
The brake works in VST. In Decoder momentum mode, moving the handle lowers the speed Vector asks the decoder for, and the decoder's own deceleration takes it from there — usable, but without the cylinder lag or the hold.
When you acquire a different locomotive the brake is released and the cylinder emptied; nothing is inherited from the last one.
17. The Diesel Throttle
The Diesel throttle is a control stand: an eight-notch throttle, a dynamic brake, an air brake, and an instrument panel that tells you what the engine is doing. It's the throttle Vector opens with.
Key to Figure 17.1
- Name pill — what you're driving; tap for the acquire panel
- Gear — quick setup
- E-STOP and PWR
- LIGHT / BELL / HORN — F0, F1, F2
- Speed readout — speed, direction, notch
- Gauges — BRAKE CYL, ENGINE RPM, TRACTION LOAD, LUBE OIL
- Direction — Forward / Neutral / Reverse
- Notch stand — IDLE, N1 to N8
- STOP
- DYN BRAKE
- AIR BRAKE
- Function keys — F3 upward, labelled from the locomotive's setup
The notch stand
IDLE at the bottom, N1 to N8 above it. Tap a notch and the locomotive goes to that speed — through the momentum ramp in VST, or as the decoder sees fit in Decoder mode. You don't have to step through the notches; N2 straight to N7 is fine. The notch spacing isn't even: the low notches are close together for switching speeds, the high ones spread out for the road. N8 is the locomotive's Max Throttle, whatever that's set to (Chapter 7).
Neutral disconnects the throttle without stopping the locomotive — it coasts, and the notch you left set is held but not applied. Tap Forward or Reverse to re-engage, and the locomotive picks that notch up again through the ramp.
The instrument panel
- ENGINE RPM follows the notch: idle at IDLE, climbing as you notch up.
- TRACTION LOAD is how hard the locomotive is working — high while it's accelerating or pulling a heavy train, dropping back once it's up to speed.
- LUBE OIL rises and falls with RPM.
- BRAKE CYL is the air brake (Chapter 16).
None of these come from the locomotive; they're Vector's model of an engine, driven by what you're asking of it. They tell you at a glance whether the train is still gathering speed or has settled.
Dynamic brake
Tap DYN BRAKE and the notch stand changes job. The button reads ACTIVE, the notches turn teal, and they now set braking effort — DB N1 is light, DB N8 heavy. The readout shows the DB notch, the RPM drops toward idle, and the traction load reads the retarding effort. Tap DYN BRAKE again to release and get the throttle back.
If the locomotive's decoder has a dynamic brake sound, tell Loco Setup which function it's on (Dynamic Brake F-Key, usually F4) and Vector switches it on and off with the DYN BRAKE button. In the picture, F4 is lit for exactly that reason.
Dynamic braking works in VST. Like the prototype, it's for controlling speed on a grade, not for stopping — it fades out at low speed. Use the air brake to finish.
Themes
V·Night, V·Vintage and V·Modern, from the gear panel (Chapter 12). The controls are in the same places in all three.
18. The Switcher Throttle
Yard work is different: short moves, constant reversing, speed by feel. The Switcher throttle is a single lever you drag, with the same instrument panel, air brake and function keys as the Diesel, and a quicker response.
Key to Figure 18.1
- Name pill, gear, E-STOP, PWR
- LIGHT / BELL / HORN
- Speed readout and gauges
- Direction — Forward / Neutral / Reverse
- Throttle lever — drag up for more
- Notch readout — IDLE, or 1 to 8
- STOP
- AIR BRAKE
- Function keys
The lever
Drag the handle up from IDLE. It clicks into eight detents, and the box below it shows which — 4, say. Each detent is a step of speed, and the locomotive responds faster than the Diesel's ramp; a switcher shouldn't feel like a road unit.
A switcher's lever tops out at a working speed rather than the locomotive's flat-out maximum, so detent 8 is brisk yard speed, not a road speed. If the locomotive has a lower Max Throttle set in Loco Setup, that applies instead.
Neutral
Tap Neutral and the locomotive coasts: the lever stays where it is but does nothing, the readout shows NEU, and traction load drops to zero. Tap Forward or Reverse to re-engage, and the lever's setting is applied again through the ramp. Handy for drifting up to a car before a coupling.
Everything else
The air brake (Chapter 16), gauges, function keys and STOP work exactly as on the Diesel. There is no dynamic brake — switchers don't have one. The gear panel offers Momentum Mode, Throttle Type, Speed Unit, Appearance and Speed Display.
19. The Steam Throttle
A steam locomotive is driven with two hands. The regulator (throttle) decides how much steam goes to the cylinders; the cutoff (reverser setting) decides how long each stroke admits it. Vector's Steam throttle gives you both, and they interact the way the real ones do.
Key to Figure 19.1
- Name pill, gear, E-STOP, PWR
- LIGHT rotary switch and BELL
- WHISTLE — pull the chain (hold)
- Gauges — BRAKE CYL, SPEED, BOILER PRESSURE, REGULATOR, CUTOFF
- Direction — Forward / Reverse
- AIR BRAKE slider
- REGULATOR lever
- CUTOFF positions
- STOP
- Function keys
Regulator
Drag the REGULATOR lever up to open it. The percentage above it is how far open; the REGULATOR gauge repeats it. This is what asks for speed. Close it (drag to the bottom) and the locomotive drifts.
Cutoff
Six positions, from FULL 100% at the top to DRIFT at the bottom, with a word beside each for what it's for:
- FULL 100% and 75% Starting — long cutoff, maximum effort, for getting a train moving or lifting a heavy one up a grade.
- 50% Running — the everyday setting.
- 35% Efficient and 25% Light — short cutoff, for a light train at speed. Efficient, but with less in reserve.
- DRIFT Coast — steam off the pistons; the locomotive coasts.
Start in a long cutoff, and shorten it as speed builds — that's how the prototype is driven, and Vector rewards it. A long cutoff at speed wastes steam and pulls the boiler down; too short a cutoff for the load and the locomotive can't hold its speed, and it slows.
Drift
Tap DRIFT and the locomotive coasts, regulator or no regulator. The speed falls off slowly under its own rolling resistance — faster with a heavy train load. Pick a working cutoff again to get back on steam.
Boiler pressure
The big gauge in the middle. Pressure builds while you're stopped or working lightly, and it falls when you demand a lot — long cutoff, wide regulator, heavy train. Let it drop too far and the locomotive simply has less to give. It's the steam throttle's version of the Diesel's traction load: a picture of how hard the engine is working, and a reason to ease off before you have to.
Brake, direction, stop
The AIR BRAKE slider runs across the cab (Chapter 16). Direction is Forward and Reverse — there's no Neutral; use DRIFT. STOP sits under the regulator, and closes it. Train Load is on the gear panel, and matters here as much as anywhere.
Function keys
The same keys as the other throttles, with one visual difference: on the Steam throttle a momentary function has a dashed border instead of the accent bar.
20. The Slider Throttles
Sometimes you just want to run a train. The Slider is a single vertical control: push it up for more speed, pull it down for less, and that's what the locomotive does — immediately, with no momentum simulation and no gauges.
Choose Slider (Left) or Slider (Right) as the throttle type to put the slider under whichever thumb you drive with. Apart from the mirror image they're identical.
Driving it
- Slider — drag the handle. The speed readout above it shows the result in your chosen unit. Vector sends every change straight to the locomotive; if you want momentum on the Slider, use the decoder's own (CV3/CV4).
- Forward / Reverse — the wide bar under the function buttons. Direction Lock applies here too.
- Light, Bell, Horn — the three buttons across the top; Bell and Horn are marked hold.
- STOP — under the slider.
- Function keys — the grid on the other side, two per row.
Max Throttle on the Slider
The whole travel of the slider is the locomotive's range, so a locomotive with a Max Throttle of 60% reaches 60% at the top of the slider, not full speed. The readout shows what you're getting.
V·Day
The Slider is the throttle you'd run in the garden, so it has a light theme the others don't: V·Day, from Appearance on its gear panel.
21. Volume Keys as Throttle
When your eyes are on the train rather than the phone, the volume buttons make a throttle you can feel. Turn on Setup → Device → Volume Keys as Throttle.
With it on, and a locomotive acquired, and a throttle on screen:
- Volume up / down is one step: a notch on the Diesel or Switcher, 5% of the regulator on the Steam, 5% of the slider on the Slider.
- Each press is one step. Holding the button doesn't repeat.
- Every step goes through the same control you'd tap on screen, so Max Throttle, Direction Lock and everything else still apply.
Anywhere else — in Setup, on the connection screen, with no locomotive, or with Vector in the background — the keys control the phone's volume as usual. Vector never drives a train from your pocket.
Part 4
Consists
Two or more locomotives on the same train are a consist. Vector drives a consist as one: one throttle setting, one direction, one brake, and every unit follows — including the ones coupled backwards. You build a consist once, save it under a name, and acquire the whole thing with one tap thereafter.
22. Building a Consist
There are three ways into the consist builder, and they all open the same screen:
- Setup → Roster & Consists → Consist Manager → + Build New
- Build Consist → on the acquire panel (Chapter 11)
- Build Consist on the dialog Vector shows when you tap a second locomotive while already driving one — the builder opens with both units in it
Adding units
Add locomotives either way:
- From your roster — tap + Add beside a locomotive in the list at the bottom.
- By address — type the number, choose Long or Short, tap + Add.
Each locomotive becomes a row in the consist, in the order you added them. Up to six units.
Order and facing
The first row is the LEAD unit; the last is TRAIL; anything between is mid-train. Order matters — the lead unit's function keys are the ones you'll see on the throttle (Chapter 24). Drag a row by the handle at its left to change the order.
Each row has a FACING button: FORWARD or REAR. Tap it to match how the locomotive actually sits in the train. A unit facing REAR is driven in the opposite direction from the rest, so the whole consist moves the same way when you tap Forward.
Getting facing wrong is the classic consist mistake — one unit pulls, the other pushes the other way — so check it before the first move. The red × removes a unit.
Name
Consist name at the top is optional but worth filling in — it's what you'll see in the Saved Consists list and on the throttle's name pill. Without one, the pill shows the lead unit's name with the number of extra units — CRR 101 +1 — and the Current Assignment card is headed 2 Unit Consist.
Consist protocol
The CONSIST PROTOCOL card at the bottom is Lead Only to begin with. It decides where function commands — horn, bell, lights — go. Leave it for now; Chapter 24 explains the choice and how to switch to VCP.
Saving and acquiring
Four buttons along the bottom:
- Cancel — throw the draft away.
- Save Consist — keep it in Saved Consists without driving it yet.
- Save & Acquire — keep it and take it to the throttle now.
- Acquire Without Saving — drive it once and forget it. Good for a one-off double-header.
The Consist Manager
Setup → Roster & Consists → Consist Manager lists every saved consist with its unit count and protocol — LEAD ONLY or VCP — and three buttons.
- Acquire — take it to the throttle.
- Edit — reopen it in the builder to add or remove units, change facing or order, rename it, or change its protocol. Its name and settings come with it; Save Consist keeps your changes under the same name.
- Delete — remove the saved consist. The locomotives stay in your roster.
23. Driving a Consist
Acquiring it
Three ways, all ending at the same place:
-
the Saved Consists tab on the acquire panel — tap the consist
Figure 23.1 — Saved Consists on the acquire panel. - Acquire in the Consist Manager
- Save & Acquire or Acquire Without Saving in the builder
If you're already driving a locomotive, Vector asks whether to keep it or replace it with the consist — the same three-choice dialog as for a single locomotive (Chapter 11). Replace stops the current locomotive first, if Stop Locomotive on Release is on.
Vector acquires every unit from the command station, one after another. If any unit can't be acquired, Vector releases the units it had already taken, tells you which unit failed, and leaves the throttle empty — it never leaves you with half a consist. In the rare case that it can't confirm one of those releases, the message names the unit so you can check it on the layout before trying again.
What you see
The name pill shows the consist's name. Tap it and the Current Assignment card lists the units and their positions.
The function keys are the lead unit's — its labels, its latching and momentary settings. Where a function is sent depends on the protocol (Chapter 24).
Driving
Everything drives every unit: throttle, direction, air brake, dynamic brake, STOP and E-STOP. Facing is handled for you — tap Forward and the REAR-facing unit is told to go backwards, so the train goes forward.
The consist's speed cap is the lowest Max Throttle among its members. If CRR 7 (capped at 60%) is in a consist, the whole consist is capped at 60%, because a consist can't run faster than its slowest unit is allowed to.
Momentum and Train Load work exactly as for a single locomotive, with one difference: a consist doesn't use any unit's own Momentum setting from Loco Setup. It starts in the global Momentum Mode from Setup. You can switch it between Decoder and VST from the gear panel while you're driving the consist; that choice is for the session only, and doesn't change the global default or any locomotive's own setting.
Releasing
Release on the Current Assignment card releases every unit. With Stop Locomotive on Release on, the consist is stopped first.
Direction on a running consist
If the consist was already moving when you acquired it, Vector picks up the speed and direction the command station reports for the lead unit, just as it does for a single locomotive.
24. Consist Functions: Lead Only vs VCP
Speed, direction and brakes go to every unit in a consist, always. Functions are the question: when you press Horn, which locomotives should sound it? When you press Bell, should one ring or all of them? Vector gives you two answers, and each saved consist picks one.
Lead Only
The default. Function commands go to the lead unit only. The horn sounds on the lead; the bell rings on the lead; the trailing units keep quiet — which, for sound, is often exactly right on a model railroad, where two horns a foot apart sound like a mess.
Headlights are the exception, and they're handled for you. With the lead unit's Headlight Control on AUTO (Chapter 8), Vector manages the headlights across the consist using the consist order, each locomotive's facing and the direction of travel — so the light is on the end that's leading. Set it to MANUAL if you'd rather the headlight behaved like any other function.
VCP — the Vector Consist Protocol
VCP lets a function reach whichever units you choose — the bell on all of them, the horn on the lead only, the couplers on the units that have them. And it does it by label, not by key number. That matters because the same function is rarely on the same key across two different decoders: on CRR 2001 (a LokSound 5) Coupler is F3; on CRR 102 (a Tsunami 2) it's F13. Press Coupler on a VCP consist and each unit gets the command on its own key.
To switch a consist to VCP, open it in the builder and tap Configure VCP on the protocol card. (It needs two or more units.)
Reading the VCP editor
There's one card per function the lead unit has — its label and whether it's latching or momentary — and inside it one row per unit in the consist:
- A ticked row means that unit receives the function. The chip on the right is the key it will receive it on — F1 on both units for Bell, F3 and F13 for Coupler.
- Vector fills these in for you by matching labels. Where every unit had a matching label, the row is ticked and the key is shown; the note at the top tells you how many functions matched automatically and how many need a choice.
- A row showing Select Function… means that unit has no function with the same label. Tap the chip to pick the key it should use, or leave it unticked to leave that unit out of the function.
- Tap any chip to override the automatic match if a decoder's labels don't line up with reality.
Tap Save when you're done. The mapping is saved with the consist; the protocol card reads VCP · 11 functions mapped, and Edit VCP reopens it. Convert to Lead Only… drops the mapping.
Which functions appear in the editor
Only functions whose Consist setting is YES in the lead unit's Loco Setup (Chapter 8) appear as cards. Set a function to NO to keep it out of VCP altogether — a mute or a volume control you never want mapped, say.
Headlight is managed automatically and is not listed, unless the lead's Headlight Control is MANUAL, in which case it becomes an ordinary function you can map like any other.
Which to choose
- Lead Only if you mostly want the sounds from one locomotive and the lights to sort themselves out. It needs no setup.
- VCP if you want bells on every unit, couplers on the right ends, or you run mixed decoders and want the same button to mean the same thing on all of them. It takes a minute in the editor, once.
You can change your mind: it's a property of the saved consist, and the same locomotives can be in one Lead Only consist and another VCP one.
25. Settings, Screen by Screen
Setup is Vector's full settings screen: tap the gear on any throttle, then Full Settings →. It's one long page, in the sections below. Each setting is described in a line; the chapter that explains it is in brackets. Defaults are in bold.
Global Defaults
These apply to any locomotive that doesn't have its own setting in Loco Setup.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Throttle Type | The throttle style Vector opens with: Diesel, Steam, Switcher, Slider (Left) or Slider (Right). (Ch. 12) | Diesel |
| Default Theme | V-Dark, V-Vintage or V-Modern for the Diesel and Switcher; V-Day is Slider-only. (Ch. 12) | V-Dark |
| F-Key Defaults | Opens the F-Key Defaults screen: labels for locomotives acquired without a roster entry. (Ch. 8) | — |
| Momentum Mode | Decoder or Vector Simulated, for locomotives set to "Use Global". (Ch. 14) | Vector Simulated |
| Global Maximum Throttle | Speed cap for locomotives set to "Use global setting". Minimum 15%. (Ch. 7) | 100% |
| Display Style | Digital or Analog instrument panel, Diesel and Switcher. (Ch. 12) | Digital |
| Speed Display | MPH, KPH, % Throttle or Speed Steps. (Ch. 12) | MPH |
Safety
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show E-STOP | Show the emergency stop button on the throttle. (Ch. 13) | On |
| Show Fuseee Button | Adds a button to the throttle toolbar that opens the Fusee app, if you use it. | Off |
| Confirm E-STOP | Ask before E-STOP fires. (Ch. 13) | Off |
| Direction Lock | Refuse direction changes while moving. (Ch. 13) | On |
| Stop on App Interrupt | Stop all locomotives if Vector is interrupted or sent to the background. (Ch. 13, 26) | On |
| Stop Locomotive on Exit | Send a stop before Vector closes. (Ch. 13) | On |
| Stop Locomotive on Release | Stop a locomotive before releasing it. (Ch. 11) | On |
Roster & Consists
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Roster Manager | Opens the roster. (Ch. 6) | — |
| Consist Manager | Opens saved consists. (Ch. 22) | — |
| Roster Sync — Source | Where an automatic sync reads from: JMRI or DCC-EX. (Ch. 9) | JMRI |
| JMRI Host | Address of the computer running the JMRI Web Server, if it isn't the one Vector connects to. Blank = the connected server. (Ch. 9) | blank (Auto) |
| Auto Sync | Pull the roster from the source every time Vector connects. (Ch. 9) | Off |
| Merge With Existing | Keep locomotives that are only in Vector when importing. Off = the source replaces the roster. (Ch. 9) | On |
| Duplicate Locomotives | When an imported locomotive already exists: Ask, Replace or Skip. Automatic syncs never ask — they skip. (Ch. 9) | Ask |
Command Station
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Connect | Connect to the last command station automatically at launch. (Ch. 3) | On |
Device
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Keep Screen On | Stop the phone's screen from sleeping while Vector is open. | On |
| Haptic Feedback | A small vibration on notches, detents and buttons. | On |
| Volume Keys as Throttle | Volume up/down steps the speed while a locomotive is acquired. (Ch. 21) | Off |
Backup & Restore
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Backup | Save a named .vector file to Documents/Vector. (Ch. 10) |
| Restore | Replace everything on this phone with one of your backups. (Ch. 10) |
| Import | Bring locomotives and consists in from another Vector device's file. (Ch. 10) |
| Share | Send one of your backups to another device or person. (Ch. 10) |
About
Version and build, the screen size Vector sees, the protocols it supports, Welcome Tour (replays the first-launch tour, Chapter 2) and Check for Updates, which is marked Soon in this release.
26. Disconnects and Reconnecting
Wi-Fi drops. Somebody trips over the router's power cord, the phone wanders onto a different network, the command station reboots. This chapter is what Vector does when that happens, what the command station does, and what you should do.
What Vector does
The moment Vector loses the connection, the status bar goes red and Vector freezes the throttle — the controls stop sending, so nothing you do in the next few seconds reaches a locomotive you can't see. Then it starts trying to reconnect, on its own, and keeps trying.
When the connection comes back, Vector re-acquires the locomotive or consist you were driving and reads back what the command station says it's doing — speed and direction. The readout updates to match, and the throttle unfreezes at that speed. You carry on. Nothing is sent to the locomotive until you touch a control, so a reconnect never lurches the train.
If you'd acquired a locomotive in Explore Offline, or while Vector was still reconnecting, it's acquired properly from the command station at this point too (Chapter 4).
What the command station does — and doesn't
This is the part to understand. Losing Vector doesn't necessarily stop the train. The locomotive keeps doing whatever it was last told until something tells it otherwise, and what that something is depends on how the connection was lost.
We have tested this with a DCC-EX command station (a CSB1); what follows is what we saw there. Other command stations may behave differently, and this guide makes no claims about them.
- If the phone's connection disappears — Wi-Fi turned off on the phone, the phone walks out of range — the DCC-EX station notices that the throttle has gone quiet and stops its locomotive itself, about 20 to 30 seconds later.
- If the network path disappears without the station detecting that the throttle connection is gone — the router loses power — the locomotive can continue running. Nothing stops it until a throttle reconnects or track power is cut.
So: if the status bar goes red and the train is moving, watch the train, not the phone. If it doesn't stop and Vector hasn't reconnected, cut track power at the command station. Then sort out the network.
STOP and E-STOP during a dropout
There's a short window, a few seconds long, after a connection dies but before the phone knows it has. A STOP or E-STOP pressed in that window may go into the phone's outgoing queue and never arrive, and Vector will show the locomotive stopped because, as far as it can tell, the command was sent. That's a limit of how networks work, not something Vector can see through. Once Vector knows the link is down, a STOP is refused and you're told the locomotive could not be reached — the readout stays at the last speed. The advice is the same either way: if the train hasn't stopped, cut power.
Stop on App Interrupt
A phone call, a notification you tap, switching apps — anything that puts Vector in the background — triggers Stop on App Interrupt (on by default): Vector stops every locomotive it holds before it goes. When you come back, you're where you were, with the train stopped. Turn it off in Setup → Safety only if you'd rather a train kept running through an interruption, and you know what that means on your layout.
The phone's own Wi-Fi
Android phones prefer networks with internet access. A layout Wi-Fi that has no internet — many DCC-EX setups — may be dropped by the phone in favour of your home network without telling you, and Vector loses its connection through no fault of its own. If it happens regularly, tell the phone to stay on the layout network (in Android's Wi-Fi settings, the option is usually called "auto-connect" or "stay connected"), or turn off the home network's auto-join while you operate.
27. Troubleshooting
Symptom first; the likeliest cause; what to do.
| It looks like… | Usually because… | Try… |
|---|---|---|
| Connect does nothing — the connection screen stays put | The command station can't be reached: wrong network, wrong address, station not running | Check the phone's Wi-Fi name. Check the IP address. Make sure the station has finished starting. Tap Connect again. (Ch. 3) |
| Connected, but the locomotive won't move | Track power off; wrong address type; the address isn't what's programmed; on DCC-EX, another throttle holds it and has stopped it | Check PWR. Try the other address type. Check the number on the locomotive's decoder. Ask who else is running. (Ch. 11, 12) |
| It moves, but the wrong way | Direction was Reverse when you notched up; a consist unit's facing is wrong | Check the direction row before moving. In a consist, check FACING in the builder. (Ch. 12, 22) |
| It's slow — won't reach full speed | A Max Throttle cap on the locomotive, or the global cap; in a consist, the slowest member's cap | Check Loco Setup → Performance, and Setup → Global Maximum Throttle. (Ch. 7, 23) |
| The speed on screen doesn't match the train (DCC-EX) | Another throttle is also driving it | Release it from the other throttle. (Ch. 11) |
| Function keys show only numbers | The locomotive isn't in your roster, or its keys haven't been labelled | Add it to the roster and load a decoder profile, or set F-Key Defaults. (Ch. 6, 8) |
| A key doesn't do what its label says | The decoder profile's factory assignment doesn't match your decoder's | Fix the label on that key in Loco Setup → F-Keys. (Ch. 8) |
| Horn stays on / bell won't stay on | Latching and momentary are the wrong way round for that key | Tap the LAT/MOM badge in Loco Setup → F-Keys. (Ch. 8) |
| Vector won't change direction | Direction Lock: the locomotive is moving | Stop first, or turn Direction Lock off. (Ch. 13) |
| Vector won't change throttle style | The locomotive is moving | Stop first. (Ch. 12) |
| E-STOP asks "Trigger emergency stop?" | Confirm E-STOP is on | Tap OK — or turn the setting off. (Ch. 13) |
| The train keeps running after Wi-Fi dropped | The command station doesn't stop a locomotive when the network goes away | Cut track power at the station. Then reconnect. (Ch. 26) |
| The train stopped by itself when Vector went into the background | Stop on App Interrupt did its job | That's the setting working. Turn it off only if you mean to. (Ch. 26) |
| Import from DCC-EX says the roster is empty | The command station has no ROSTER entries in myAutomation.h | Add them on the station, or enter locomotives by hand. (Ch. 9) |
| Import from JMRI fails | The JMRI Web Server isn't running, or it's on another computer | Start it (Actions → Start Web Server); set JMRI Host in Setup if needed. (Ch. 9) |
| "This file is not a readable Vector backup" | The file you picked wasn't made by Vector's Backup or Share | Pick the .vector file. (Ch. 10) |
| Restore says to release the locomotive first | You're driving something | Release it, then restore. (Ch. 10) |
| The volume keys just change the volume | Volume Keys as Throttle is off, no locomotive is acquired, or you're not on a throttle | Turn it on; acquire; go to the throttle. (Ch. 21) |
| Everything's gone — empty roster, default settings | Vector was uninstalled and reinstalled, or the app's data was cleared | Restore your latest backup. If you don't have one: this is why Chapter 10 nags. (Ch. 10) |
| Vector opens on the connection screen every time | Auto-Connect is off, or it couldn't reach the station at launch | Turn Auto-Connect on; check the network. (Ch. 3) |
28. Glossary
Acquire — Take control of a locomotive or consist on your throttle. Vector asks the command station for it. The opposite is release.
Address — The number a DCC decoder answers to. Short addresses run 1–127, long addresses 128–9999. A decoder is programmed for one or the other; Vector has to ask with the right kind.
Air brake — Vector's simulated train brake on the Diesel, Switcher and Steam throttles: a handle that commands a brake cylinder, which builds and releases over a few seconds and holds the locomotive at rest under Full Service. (Ch. 16)
Command station — The equipment that generates the DCC signal on the track. Vector connects to it, or to JMRI in front of it, over Wi-Fi.
Consist — Two or more locomotives driven together as one. Vector's consists are built and saved on the phone. (Part 4)
Cutoff — On the Steam throttle, how long each piston stroke admits steam: long (100%, 75%) for starting and heavy pulling, short (35%, 25%) for running light at speed, Drift to coast. (Ch. 19)
DCC — Digital Command Control, the standard for driving model locomotives individually over the rails.
DCC-EX — An open-source command station. Vector connects to it over WiThrottle; the connection screen calls this "DCC-EX Native".
Decoder — The circuit board in the locomotive that receives DCC commands and drives the motor, lights and sounds. Its functions are numbered F0 and up.
Direction Lock — The setting that refuses a direction change while the locomotive is moving. On by default. (Ch. 13)
Dynamic brake — On the Diesel throttle, braking by turning the traction motors into generators; for holding speed on a grade rather than stopping. (Ch. 17)
E-STOP — Emergency stop. Sends the DCC emergency-stop command, which the decoder obeys at once regardless of momentum. (Ch. 13)
Explore Offline — Running a throttle with no command station, for practice and setup. (Ch. 4)
F-key / function — A decoder function, F0–F31, and the throttle button that operates it. Latching functions stay on until pressed again; momentary ones are on only while held. (Ch. 8)
F-Key Defaults — The function labels Vector uses for a locomotive that isn't in the roster. (Ch. 8)
Facing — In a consist, which way a unit is coupled: Forward or Rear. A Rear-facing unit is driven backwards so the train moves as one. (Ch. 22)
Gear panel — The quick-setup panel behind the gear button on every throttle: train load, momentum mode, throttle type, speed unit, appearance, and Full Settings. (Ch. 12)
JMRI — Free software that, among many other things, runs a WiThrottle server in front of most DCC systems. (Ch. 3, 9)
Lead / Trail — The first and last units of a consist. The lead unit's function keys are the ones shown on the throttle. (Ch. 22)
Lead Only — The consist protocol that sends function commands to the lead unit only. The default. (Ch. 24)
LNWI — Digitrax's LocoNet Wi-Fi Interface; a WiThrottle server for Digitrax systems.
Max Throttle (Max %) — A speed cap, global or per locomotive. Full throttle on the screen becomes that percentage of the decoder's full speed. Minimum 15%. (Ch. 7)
Momentum — The gradual build and decay of speed. From the decoder (CV3/CV4) in Decoder mode; from Vector in VST. (Ch. 14)
Neutral — On the Diesel and Switcher, a coast: the throttle is disconnected but the locomotive isn't stopped. (Ch. 17, 18)
Notch — One of the eight throttle positions on the Diesel (N1–N8), or detents on the Switcher, above IDLE. (Ch. 17, 18)
Regulator — The steam locomotive's throttle: how much steam goes to the cylinders. (Ch. 19)
Release — Give a locomotive back to the command station when you're done with it. (Ch. 11)
Roster — Your list of locomotives and their settings, kept on the phone. (Part 2)
Speed steps — The units DCC uses for speed: 0 to 126 in 128-step mode. "Steps" is one of Vector's speed display units.
STOP — The normal stop: throttle to zero, speed zero commanded. (Ch. 13)
Train Load — What the locomotive is pulling — Light, Medium, Heavy, Extra Heavy — which changes how VST accelerates, coasts and brakes. (Ch. 15)
VCP — Vector Consist Protocol — The consist protocol that maps each function to the units that should receive it, by label, each on its own key. (Ch. 24)
Vector Simulated Throttle (VST) — Vector's own momentum model, which makes train load, the air brake, the dynamic brake and steam cutoff meaningful. (Ch. 14)
WiThrottle — The protocol Vector uses to talk to command stations over Wi-Fi, spoken by JMRI, DCC-EX, the LNWI and others.
Prefer a copy you can print or keep on the phone? Vector 1.0 User Guide (PDF, 100 pages, 6 MB).