Controller Construction and Test

This turned out to be, er, interesting! The details became rather complicated so rather than get bogged down here, I've put all the electronics geekery in a separate blog entry "Make a DC Controller".

In summary, I ended up with two controllers, using a simplified non-feedback design for this project.

Costs

Case wood and hardware - about £17 (carry handle was £5 of that ).

Track - about £35. Even discount prices seem to have gone up in recent years...

Controller parts - under £15 (+ p&p) but will vary with supplier and what's already in hand. Much cheaper than commercial offerings, though soldering skills are needed, and of course there's no warranty or support. If it breaks fix it!

Final thoughts

This project did seem to be a lot of effort for a relatively simple, small result. But in the absence of anywhere else to run trains, it has proved really worthwhile. I'd be interested in your comments - it seems very quiet in this corner of the blogosphere...

I may add a limited amount of scenic treatment in due course, maybe in one half of the case. First step in that direction will be to make a building to cover the central hinge and provide a sense of scale and context.

An open and shut case?