DCC-EX WiFi module

[jayfmn]

Hi, quick question.
I am running DCC-EX on a Mega 2560.
It has a Deek-Robot Motor Shield.
Can the WiFi module sit between the Arduin & the Motor Shield?
I ask because it looks like the WiFi shield needs the extra 6 pins on the Mega.
Also, will the Motor shield still work??

Jay

[pmantoine]

Can you confirm which WiFi shield you're using?

In general correct WiFi shields don't need the 6 pin SPI connector, even if they are fitted (as is the case for the MakerFabs shield), and can happily sit on top of the motor shield, where it's easier to arrange the jumper wires to the Mega.

[jayfmn]

I was looking at the DCC-EX EX-WiFi Shield 8266.
It has connector for the 6 pin on the Arduino.
I wanted to make sure it would work with the motor shield on top before purchasing one.

Jay

[pmantoine]

Hi Jay, yes the MakerFabs DCC-EX EX-WiFI Shield 8266 has the 6-pin header, but doesn't use it for DCC-EX WiFi connectivity.

As such, it's better placed on top of the motor shield to give clearer WiFi reception and make jumpering of Tx/Rx cables easier on the Mega.

Paul

[jayfmn]

Thanks Paul, the shield is on order.
Testing will commence upon its arrival.

Jay

[jayfmn]

I got the shield. Now I am trying to connect it to WiThrottle.
It won't see the shield. I can control it through the DCC-EX throttle app on my Mac.
That's connected Via USB.
There is nothing in the DCC-EX Documentation as to what IP Address I need to input to control it via WiThrottle.
Any suggestions??

Jay

[Asbelos]

When rhe command station starts it will write the ip address to the USB log.That address will be different depending on your setup and roster.On 11 Feb 2026 18:31, jayfmn ***@***.***> wrote: I got the shield. Now I am trying to connect it to WiThrottle. It won't see the shield. I can control it through the DCC-EX throttle app on my Mac. That's connected Via USB. There is nothing in the DCC-EX Documentation as to what IP Address I need to input to control it via WiThrottle. Any suggestions?? Jay —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[jayfmn]

Hi, I did some more testing.
I can only connect with using USB to the CS.
That is not feasible as to the layout being in another room.
The DCC-EX Wireless module was supposed to fix that.
It doesn't seem to be true!

Jay

[Asbelos]

It does fix it but you have to get any config or wiring issues fixed first.. and you can't diagnose wifi problems over wifi for obvious reasons. On 11 Feb 2026 21:34, jayfmn ***@***.***> wrote: Hi, I did some more testing. I can only connect with using USB to the CS. That is not feasible as to the layout being in another room. The DCC-EX Wireless module was supposed to fix that. It doesn't seem to be true! Jay —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Asbelos]

Without the USB log explaining what's wrong  we can't respond to "doesn't work" with any meaningful advice. On 11 Feb 2026 21:34, jayfmn ***@***.***> wrote: Hi, I did some more testing. I can only connect with using USB to the CS. That is not feasible as to the layout being in another room. The DCC-EX Wireless module was supposed to fix that. It doesn't seem to be true! Jay —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[jayfmn]

What USB log file??
I am on a Mac.

[pmantoine]

There are a few ways to see the USB serial log, but given you have the WebThrottle working you can use it to see the USB console log... it's in the window on the bottom right, labelled Debug Console. You can resize that window to be a bit longer if you like.

If you press the reset button on the Mega... it will reboot, and as it boots that window on WebThrottle will show you the startup diagnostics the CS produces as it boots.

In that will be the attempts to connect to WiFi... and any IP address etc. it has when/if it succeeds.

Please copy/paste the output here so we can assist.

(I too use a Mac for all of my development work on DCC-EX... and I use the free serialTools app from the App store to be able to connect to the CS via serial... but the WebThrottle works fine for this as well, so keep using that for now. EX-Installer also has a Device Monitor function to let you communicate with the CS.)

[jayfmn]

Here you go:
☰

⤢
Loco ID*
Loco ID / DCC Address

Serial (USB)
Disconnect EX-CS

0
+

Track Power is Off
Default
Headlight
Bell
Horn
F3
F4
F5
F6
F7
F8
F9
F10
F11
F12
F13
F14
F15
F16
F17
F18
F19
F20
F21
F22
F23
F24
F25
F26
F27
F28
F29
F30
F31
Debug Console
Direct Command (without < >)
SendClearCopy
[i] EX-WebThrottle - version: 1.3.39
[i] Web browser: Google Chrome or Chromium - 'Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/144.0.0.0 Safari/537.36'

[CONNECTION] Serial connected
[R] <* License GPLv3 fsf.org (c) dcc-ex.com >
[S]
[R] < No I2C Devices found >
[R] < MCP23017 I2C:0x20 Device not detected >
[R] < MCP23017 I2C:0x21 Device not detected >
[R] < Found PORTB pin 13 >
[R] < Pin 55 Max 1497mA (501) >
[R] < Found PORTB pin 12 >
[R] < Pin 54 Max 1497mA (501) >
[R] < Timer 2 A=1 B=6 >
[R] <= A MAIN>
[R]
[R]
[R]
[R] <@ 0 2 "PWR Off">
[R] <= B PROG>
[R]
[R]
[R]
[R] <@ 0 2 "PWR Off">
[R] <@ 0 0 "DCC-EX v5.4.18">
[R] <@ 0 1 "Lic GPLv3">
[R] < ++ Wifi Setup Try 1 ++ >
[R] < Wifi Check: [+IPD] >
[R] < TIMEOUT after 200ms >
[R] <<* License GPLv3 fsf.org (c) dcc-ex.com >
[R] < No I2C Devices found >
[R] < MCP23017 I2C:0x20 Device not detected >
[R] < MCP23017 I2C:0x21 Device not detected >
[R] < Found PORTB pin 13 >
[R] < Pin 55 Max 1497mA (501) >
[R] < Found PORTB pin 12 >
[R] < Pin 54 Max 1497mA (501) >
[R] < Timer 2 A=1 B=6 >
[R] <= A MAIN>
[R]
[R]
[R]
[R] <@ 0 2 "PWR Off">
[R] <= B PROG>
[R]
[R]
[R]
[R] <@ 0 2 "PWR Off">
[R] <@ 0 0 "DCC-EX v5.4.18">
[R] <@ 0 1 "Lic GPLv3">
[R] < ++ Wifi Setup Try 1 ++ >
[R] < Wifi Check: [+IPD] >
[R] < TIMEOUT after 200ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] OK< Found in 1ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] OK< Found in 3ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [AT version:] >
[R] AT+GMR
[R] AT version:< Found in 4ms >
[R] 1.7.4.0(May< Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] 11 2020 19:13:04)
[R] SDK version:3.0.4(9532ceb)
[R] compile time:Ma0:12:22
[R] Bin version(Wroom 02):1.7.4
[R] OK
[R] < Found in 12ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CWJAP_CUR?No APOK< Found in 5ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CWMODE_CUR=1OK< Found in 5ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CWMODE_CUR=2OK< Found in 7ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [+CIFSR:APMAC,"] >
[R] AT+CIFSR
[R] +CIFSR:APIP,"192.168.4.1"
[R] +CIFSR:APMAC,"< Found in 8ms >
[R] 0a:f9:e0:7a:1d:80< Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] "
[R]
[R] OK
[R] < Found in 3ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CWSAP_CUR="DCCEX_7a1d80","12345678",1,4OK< Found in 8ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CIPRECVMODE=0OK< Found in 5ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CIPSERVER=0OK< Found in 5ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CIPMUX=1OK< Found in 5ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+MDNS=1,"dccex","withrottle",2560opmode mismatch when mdnsERROR< TIMEOUT after 1000ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] AT+CIPSERVER=1,2560OK< Found in 4ms >
[R] < Wifi Check: [IP,"] >
[R] AT+CIFSR
[R] +CIFSR:APIP,"< Found in 4ms >
[R] 192.168.4.1"<@ 0 4 "192.168.4.1">
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R]
[R] +CIFSR:APMAC,"0a:f9:e0:7a:1d:80"
[R]
[R] OK
[R] < Found in 6ms >
[R] <@ 0 5 "PORT=2560">
[R] < Wifi Check: [OK] >
[R] ATE0OK< Found in 4ms >
[R] < WiFi CONNECTED *>
[R] <iDCC-EX V-5.4.18 / MEGA / STANDARD_MOTOR_SHIELD G-devel-202511252013Z>

[i] EX-CommandStation is READY

[S]
[R] <@ 0 3 "Ready">
[R]
[R]
[R]
[R] <@ 0 2 "PWR Off">
[R] <@ 0 3 "Free RAM= 2542b">
[R]
[S]
[R]
[S]
[R]

[jayfmn]

Latest update, after loading the 2560 several times, it started working.
I tried several configurations. The 1st one I tried didn't work.
2 other configs were tried, they didn't work either.
I went back to the original & it was able to connect to WiThrottle.
Why it didn't work the 1st time????????

Jay

[Ash-4]

When a change is made to the WiFi configuration, it may not take effect until there has been a power cycle. The WiFi module is not reset, so it may not have the latest settings.