This page describes the supported beacon types for BVEC_ATS and their functions.

Power and Fuelling

.Beacon 20
Beacon 20  represents a neutral section in the power rail/ overhead wire, and supports two possible standards.

OS_ATS Standard:
One beacon should be placed at the start of the neutral section in this format:
.Beacon 20;x;0;Length
x represents the structure index of the beacon to be displayed.
Length represents the length of the neutral section from this point in meters. This number must be positive.

UKTrainsys Standard:
A UKTrainsys standard neutral section requires 4 beacons as follows:
.Beacon 20;x
Before the neutral section starts, place an APC magnet to trip open the ACB/ VCB.
x represents the structure index of the beacon.
.Beacon 20;-1;;-1
Place this beacon with a null structure index at the start of the physical neutral section.
.Beacon 20;-1;;-1
Place another of these beacons at the end of the physical neutral section.
.Beacon 20;x
Finally, place an APC magnet to re-close the ACB/ VCB.
x represents the structure index of the beacon.

.Beacon 22
Beacon 22 represents a section in which fuel/ water may be filled.
.Beacon 22;x;0;Border
x represents the structure index of the beacon to be displayed.
Border – A value of 1 represents the start of a fueling section, and any other value represents the end of a fueling section.

Rain

.Beacon 21
Beacon 21 is used to change the current intensity of the rain. (This only affects the raindrops falling on the windscreen- Route developers must add rain animations manually)
.Beacon 21;x;0;Intensity
x represents the structure index of the beacon.
Intensity represents the current rain intensity, from 0 (No rain) to 100.

Animation Related

Flashing Doors are Closing Light
This requires two beacons to function correctly.
.Beacon 30;-1;;X
X represents the *minimum* stop time in seconds.
.Beacon 31;-1;;X
X represents the total number of seconds since midnight for the station’s set departure time. For example, a departure time of 09:00, the data value should be 32400

AWS Magnets

AWS Signal Approach Magnet
Beacon 4400 represents an AWS magnet, and supports two possible standards.

OS_ATS Standard:
Beacon 4400 represents an AWS signal approach magnet.
One beacon should be placed as follows:
.Beacon 4400;x;1;0
x represents the structure index of the beacon.

UKTrainSys Standard:
This beacon represents either an AWS permanent magnet with it’s south pole facing upwards, or an AWS electromagnet with it’s north pole facing upwards (the latter is associated with a signal). Which of these the beacon represents, is determined by the optional Data parameter.

An AWS permanent magnet by itself, always primes the AWS, and starts a delay period which lasts for 1000 milliseconds. If this delay period elapses, an AWS warning is issued.

An AWS electromagnet should immediately follow an AWS permanent magnet, and the electromagnet is energised only when the associated signal is showing a clear (green) aspect. When the aforementioned permanent magnet primes the AWS, detection of the electromagnet within the delay period, causes an AWS clear indication to be issued. If the associated signal is showing a restrictive aspect (red or yellow), then the electromagnet is de-energised, and therefore it is not detected by the AWS equipment. Thus, the AWS delay period elapses, and an AWS warning is issued.

Note: As with the real AWS, if you drive at a very low speed over an AWS inductor, while the associated signal is showing a green aspect, then the AWS delay period may elapse before the electromagnet is reached, and an AWS warning will be issued. If the AWS warning is not acknowledged, then the warning will automatically clear upon passing the electromagnet (provided no brake demand has occured). So, when approaching a green signal at very low speeds, you may briefly hear the warning horn and be presented with the AWS sunflower, and then hear the AWS bell and see the sunflower instrument go black.

AWS Inductor Associated With A Signal:
Two beacons spaced approximately one meter apart are required (There is no absolute limit, but one meter is recommended for reliable operation) as follows:
.Beacon 44000;-1;;180
.Beacon 44000;x;1;360
First, note that the first .Beacon 4400 command should not be customized. The data parameter of 180 represents the magnet’s south pole, and primes our AWS system to detect the state of the magnet at the north pole.
Our second magnet only requires the structure index of x customizing- It’s data parameter of 360 tells the system that this is the north pole of the magnet, and the section parameter of 1 tells it to look at the signal aspect of the section ahead to determine whether a warning should be issued.

AWS Permanent Magnet Associated With Temporary or Permanent Speed Restrictions:
This supports two possible standards.

OS_ATS Standard:
.Beacon 44001;x;0;0
x represents the structure index of the magnet.
The AWS will issue a warning after passing over this magnet.

UKTrainsys Standard:
.Beacon 44000;x;;180
x represents the structure index of the magnet.
The data parameter of this .Beacon 44000 command represents the magnet’s south pole, and primes the AWS. As no north pole is encountered, an AWS warning will be issued one second after this beacon is passed.

Opposite Direction of Travel, Bi-Directional Signalling & AWS Suppression
If a train is driven backwards over an AWS inductor associated with a signal, then an AWS warning will be issued, as the beacon representing an electromagnet is passed first, but as the AWS is not yet primed, the electromagnet beacon is not acted upon. When the AWS is subsequently primed by the permanent magnet, the delay period will elapse, thus issuing an AWS warning, regardless.

openBVE does not presently support bi-directional signalling, however, the this plugin does support AWS suppression, which prevents an AWS permanent magnet from being detected. This would be linked to the signalling system, such that when trains are permitted to travel in the opposite direction, AWS permanent magnets which are only meant to apply to signals in the normal direction of travel, would be suppressed (and vice-versa).

To suppress an AWS permanent magnet, you can do use the following .Beacon 44000 command:
.Beacon 44000;-1;;270
The Data parameter of 270, tells the plugin that this .Beacon 44000 command represents a suppression magnet.

The Section parameter can be omitted, to unconditionally suppress the subsequent AWS permanent magnet (in the direction of travel).

The AWS permanent magnet which is to be suppressed, MUST be located within 2 metres of the suppression beacon (a distance of 0.5 metres is recommended).

TPWS Magnets

OS_ATS Standard:

TPWS Inductor Associated With A Signal
Beacon 44003 represents a TPWS Train Stop Sensor induction loop, associated with a signal. When the section referenced by the Section parameter of a .Beacon 44003 command has an aspect of 0 (i.e. the section is occupied by a train), passing over this beacon will trigger a TPWS TSS Brake Demand. One beacon should be placed as follows:

.Beacon 44003;x;1
x represents the structure index of the beacon.
The Section parameter of 1, references the next section ahead, and therefore if section 1 is occupied, passing over this beacon will trigger a TPWS TSS Brake Demand.

TPWS Trainstop Sensor Induction Sensor Loop, Associated With A Signal:
Beacon 44003 represents a TPWS Train Stop Sensor induction loop, associated with a signal. When the section referenced by the Section parameter of a .Beacon 44003 command has an aspect of 0 (i.e. the section is occupied by a train), passing over this beacon will trigger a TPWS TSS Brake Demand. Use the beacon as follows:

.Beacon 44003;0;1
x represents the structure index of the beacon.
The Section parameter of 1, references the next section ahead, and if section 1 is occupied, passing over this beacon will trigger a TPWS TSS Brake Demand.

TPWS Overspeed Sensor
Beacon 44004 represents a TPWS ovespeed sensor which is not assocaiated with any given signal. Use the beacon as follows:
.Beacon 44004;x;;speed
x represents the structure index of the beacon.
speed represents the maximum permissable speed in kilometers per hour (km/h)

UKTrainSys Standard:

TPWS Inductor Associated With A Signal
Beacon 44002 represents a TPWS Overspeed Sensor System (OSS) induction loop, associated with a signal. This beacon supports prototypical TPWS operation, where the permissible speed is determined by the spacing between a pair of OSS induction loops, combined with a pair of train-borne timers, and also allowing for induction loop nesting and interleaving, and opposite direction of travel. When the section referenced by the Section parameter of a .Beacon 44002 command has an aspect of 0 (i.e. the section is occupied by a train), the induction loop is energised.

To simulate prototypical TPWS Overspeed Sensor System behaviour, a pair of .Beacon 44002 commands should be placed in the route file, where the first .Beacon 44002 command represents the OSS arming induction loop, and the second .Beacon 44002 command represents the OSS trigger induction loop.

When the plugin registers passing the OSS arming induction loop (identified by one of two frequencies which should be emitted from it), one of two timers associated with either frequency is started within the plugin, which counts to 974 milliseconds on passenger trains, and 1218 milliseconds on freight trains (this timeout period can be set via the UkTrainSys.cfg file – please see below for more information). If the associated timer has not expired by the time a matching OSS trigger induction loop is encountered (which is identified by one of two different frequencies which should be emitted from it), then the TPWS deems that the train is travelling too fast, and will issue an OSS Brake Demand. Thus, the speed at which a TPWS equipped train is permitted to travel on approaching a red signal, is determined by both the timeout period, and the distance between the two .Beacon 44002 commands which are emitting recognised frequencies.

For prototypical TPWS simulation, the .Beacon 44002 commands should be used as follows (both of these examples would create an OSS with a permissible speed of around 56 km/h).

For the normal direction of travel, the following pair of beacons should be used (applies to ordinary uses of TPWS in a route):
1004.85, .Beacon 44002;0;1;64250, ; TPWS OSS arming loop
1020.00, .Beacon 44002;0;1;65250, ; TPWS OSS trigger loop

Firstly, note the spacing between the two beacons, which is 15.15 metres (1020 – 1004.85 = 15.15). This determines the OSS permissible speed (a very easy and quick formula for calculating the distance for a given speed, can be found below).

The Section parameter of 1, references the next section ahead, and if section 1 is occupied, the loops are energised. If the timer which is triggered by the arming loop, has not expired before the trigger loop is reached, then passing the second .Beacon 44002 command will trigger a TPWS OSS Brake Demand.

The Data parameter of 64250 in the first .Beacon 44002 command, represents the arming frequency of 64250 Hz (64.25 kHz).

The Data parameter of 65250 in the second .Beacon 44002 command, represents the trigger frequency of 65250 Hz (65.25 kHz).

The frequencies must exactly match the values shown in the above example, and they must appear in the order shown. This means that the OSS is only recongnised when travelling in the forward direction, and is ignored if travelling backwards over the beacons. If you inadvertently get the frequencies the wrong way around, then the OSS will only be effective if you are travelling backwards!

TPWS+ (OSS+):
If a TPWS+ (Plus) installation is being simulated, then the same pair of beacons (with the same frequencies specified in the same order), should be used. The first occurance of the pair of .Beacon 44002 commands (the OSS+), should be located around 750 metres in the rear of the associated signal, and the beacon pair should be spaced further apart, so that they allow a higher permissible speed than the inner pair of .Beacon 44002 commands.

The formula for working out the correct spacing between the .Beacon 44002 commands, and hence correctly setting the permissible speed, is as follows. You can use either the passenger train OSS timeout, or the freight train OSS timeout, to calculate the beacon spacing. However, I would recommend using the passenger train timeout value.

If using the passenger train OSS timeout period of 974 ms:

If using the freight train OSS timeout period of 1218 ms:

You can also calculate the beacon spacing with any OSS timeout value, by using the following formula:

For passenger trains, timeout is 0.974 seconds;
For freight trains, the timeout is 1.218 seconds.

TPWS Trainstop Sensor System (TSS) Induction loop, Associated With A Signal:
Beacon 4403 represents a TPWS Trainstop Sensor System (TSS) induction loop, associated with a signal. When the section referenced by the Section parameter of a .Beacon 44003 command has an aspect of 0 (i.e. the section is occupied by a train), the TSS induction loop is energised.

To simulate prototypical TPWS Trainstop Sensor System behaviour, a pair of .Beacon 44003 commands should be placed in the route file, where the first .Beacon 44003 command represents the TSS arming induction loop, and the second .Beacon 44003 command represents the TSS trigger induction loop.

When the plugin registers passing the TSS arming induction loop (identified by one of two frequencies which should be emitted from it), one of two detection states associated with either frequency is activated within the plugin. If the TSS trigger induction loop (which is identified by one of two different frequencies which should be emitted from it), is detected after the arming loop is detected, but while the trigger loop is still within range of the arming loop, then the plugin will recognise this condition as a valid TSS installation, and will issue a TSS Brake Demand. The use of an arming and trigger loop, together with specific frequencies, allows for prototypical behaviour when travelling backwards over the induction loops, for example.

For prototypical TPWS TSS simulation, the .Beacon 44003 commands should be used as follows:

100, .Beacon 44003;0;1;66250, ; TPWS TSS arming loop
101, .Beacon 44003;0;1;65250, ; TPWS TSS trigger loop

The Section parameter of 1, references the next section ahead, and if section 1 is occupied, the TSS induction loops are energised.

Note the spacing between the two .Beacon 44003 commands – they are 1 metre apart. They can be spaced up to 2 metres apart, but any more than this, and the TSS trigger loop will be out of range of the TSS arming loop, and the TSS will not work. The TPWS will only act upon the detection of the trigger frequency, if it is close enough to the arming loop at the time.

If you were to switch the above .Beacon 44003 commands around, such that the trigger loop comes before the arming loop, then the TSS would only be recognised as such, if the train was travelling backwards over the TSS.

Permanently Engergised TPWS Overspeed Sensor Loops:
Beacon 44004 represents a permanently energised TPWS Overspeed Sensor induction loop, not associated with a signal, but rather, for example, a permissible speed indicator board.

This beacon is essentially identical to .Beacon 44002, as detailed above, except that .Beacon 44004 will always arm the relevant TPWS OSS timer, regardless of signal aspects. As such, you can omit the Section parameter:

1004.85, .Beacon 44004;0;;64250, ; TPWS OSS arming loop
1020.00, .Beacon 44004;0;;65250, ; TPWS OSS trigger loop