For more information on this topic, please visit the Troubleshooting FAQ section.
The status display (LED or front light) is described in Chapter 7 - Status Indicators of the Modules.
Log Outputs of the CTC Modules
Starting with CTC-App 4.19 and the associated firmware, the log messages of the CTC modules are transmitted to the CTC-App and displayed in the Config dialog. See “Log Output” in Chapter 4 “Configure Modules”.
For example, there you will also find indications of configuration errors. Additionally, these outputs can help us narrow down the cause of an error when you ask for support.
If you want to see the messages from the start of a CTC module, proceed as follows:
- Open the CTC-App and turn on the power for the respective CTC module.
- Open the config dialog of the CTC module.
- Turn off the power for the respective CTC module for a few seconds and then turn it back on.
- As soon as the CTC module is visible in the CTC-App again (Wi-Fi symbol green), the messages from the start of the CTC module will appear in the log output.
Config Files of the CTC Modules
The easiest way to download and back up the config files of all the CTC modules is through the menu item “Settings / Config Backup” in the CTC-App (Desktop). Select a folder on your hard drive as the backup folder. After that, a folder with the name of the CTC module will be created in this backup folder for each accessible CTC module, and all config files will be saved in it.
For support requests, it is often helpful if you send the config files of the affected CTC modules.
Log Files of the CTC-App
For support requests or error reports, the log file of the CTC-App often helps us a lot. The desktop app creates a folder “CTC-App” in your user directory (Personal Folder) and under it a folder “logs”. There you will find the log file named “pi-rail.log”.
How to find the user directory is compiled below. Sometimes I wonder if some operating system manufacturers should not produce prank items instead of software.
User Directory on Linux
On Linux, the user directory (User Home) is “/home/USER”, where USER stands for your username. All common file explorers for Linux are located in the user directory after opening.
User Directory on MacOSX
The Apple plays a nice hide-and-seek game with you. Here, the user directory assigned to us is “/home/USER/Library/Application Support”. You can reach this folder in Finder by clicking the “Go” menu and then pressing the ALT key. Voila! A new menu entry “Library” appears, which you then click on. After that, the Finder works as expected again: click on the “Application Support” folder, then “CTC-App,” and finally “logs.”
User Directory on Windows
On Windows, the user directory is (currently) prominently placed in the bar to the left of the File Explorer. Directly under Desktop, one of the first entries is a folder with your own name. Then it gets opaque. Here, the “AppData” folder and under it “Roaming” is assigned to us. Once you get there, open the “CTC-App” folder and then the “logs” folder.