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The Circle and the Stores (T-CATS)


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Having contemplated the dowel option, there is not enough space or the correct angle to use it for the lead point. 

 

So wire-in-tube will be used instead in a groove/slot in the cork.

 

I just need to buy some more cork...

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11 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

Having contemplated the dowel option, there is not enough space or the correct angle to use it for the lead point. 

 

So wire-in-tube will be used instead in a groove/slot in the cork.

 

I just need to buy some more cork...

Looks like you've got a nice long high-quality garden cane now.

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On 13/09/2019 at 13:42, Stubby47 said:

However, instead I will use a 2-pole On/On switch on the panel instead. Again, this will indicate the direction of the traffic flow, but the 2nd pole will be used to directly switch the frog polarity.  Much, much simpler.

 

One thing to watch is that the frog polarity will change instantly with the switch, whereas the point blades will take time to move. Assuming you've not isolated the blades from the frog, that means a momentary short will occur. As you are not using DCC it won't cause any real issues (and I know of at least one person who uses a similar method), but best to change points while the train is not moving. 

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I tend not to change points whilst the loco is in motion, so operation is simpler.

 

I had considered the delay between the blades contact and the frog polarity, which would occur using either a DPDT switch or the micro switch on the servo mount. 

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After much consideration, I am swapping the two points for an asymmetric 3-way instead.

This will still allow the siding lengths and I can use the 6mm dowel as rodding.

 

The underside of the upperboard will be virtually unreachable once fixed, hence my preference for simple, robust solutions to the challenges.

 

First piece of cork is being glued in place, once that's done I'll be able to lift the board off for easier access and track fitting/wiring/ballasting.

 

20190916_193757.jpg.25b69605e36425c94f4354ad11182a56.jpg

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Hi, I use servos with a 12v battery but feed them from a lm7806 3 pin voltage regulator which gives 6volts output. They can be found very cheaply on eBay etc. They are simple to wire up. Pin 1 12v in, middle pin to ground-0volts, pin3 output. 6 volt positive. Screw it to a heatsink about 5cm square, as it will get hot, and away you go.

 

Kev.

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Thanks Kev. 

 

The MERG units regulate the 12v dc input down to the required 5v with an on-board regulator.

As a 9v battery also works, I'm happy to use what's recommended ( as I have zero knowledge of electronics).

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20 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

After much consideration, I am swapping the two points for an asymmetric 3-way instead.

This will still allow the siding lengths and I can use the 6mm dowel as rodding.

 

The underside of the upperboard will be virtually unreachable once fixed, hence my preference for simple, robust solutions to the challenges.

 

First piece of cork is being glued in place, once that's done I'll be able to lift the board off for easier access and track fitting/wiring/ballasting.

 

20190916_193757.jpg.25b69605e36425c94f4354ad11182a56.jpg

Imported Irish cider in the west country!  Should be illegal.  :nono:

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50 minutes ago, teaky said:

Imported Irish cider in the west country!  Should be illegal.  :nono:

Hi Rob

 

Our Stu is only using it to weigh down the cork.................................................hopefully. :fie:

 

I was more concerned that he was about to eat that plant food.  :swoon:

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No, I'm pleased to say that is currently the tipple of choice.

 

I find Somerset ciders too sweet. 1080 and 'K' were popular with us, but they have long since disappeared. 

 

Merrydown mixed with Cherry B is a smooth drink ( apparently known as a 'Leg over'), but rarely partaken anymore.

 

The plant food is SWMBO's so I dare not eat it.

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4 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

Merrydown mixed with Cherry B is a smooth drink ( apparently known as a 'Leg over'), but rarely partaken anymore.

In my student days, a bottle of Carlsberg Special was known as an S.L.O. If you can't work that out, then you probably behaved yourself at Uni better than I did.

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23 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Never went to uni, didn't even finish 1st year of A levels, got a job with Manweb at 16.

But I can still work out what an S.L.O. is, ;)

Hi Stu 

 

You will have to tell me one day cos I is really fick, I too never went to Uni. OK in later days I attended courses at Uni and had I done a couple more I might have had a degree, but I was never a proper student with all the fun and frolics. I learnt my drinking in the army were beer was beer and lager was pi$$. 

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2 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Stu 

 

You will have to tell me one day cos I is really fick, I too never went to Uni. OK in later days I attended courses at Uni and had I done a couple more I might have had a degree, but I was never a proper student with all the fun and frolics. I learnt my drinking in the army were beer was beer and lager was pi$$. 

Here are some clues:

 

S - rhymes with Dooper

L - already mentioned in Stu's post

O - somebody like Rory Burns, Sir Geoffrey Boycott, etc.

 

Yes, lager was pi$$, but there was weak pi$$ and strong pi$$.

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Wiring diagram :)

 

wiring_diagram.png.152db4f799dd46a26e48b55e1586b784.png

 

The tags across the top represent a 25-way D-connector, which will plug into the layout.

 

The two sets of tags on the left & right are various sockets for the two handheld Gaugemaster walkabouts.

 

The wiring diagram above is a combination of several layers, to enable me to understand and wire each feature (servos, uncouplers, etc) individually.

 

There is an associated spreadsheet detailing the 25-way connector to baseboard & panel connections.

baseboard_connections.png.6a9b603db3a3e26d3ab3d1d1ad609971.png

 

Edited by Stubby47
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Ooh, pretty. I don't draw the wires on my wiring diagrams, just the connections they make. Not as pretty though.

 

If I've got it right the blue circles are the point operating switches, with yellow wires to the servos, and red to the frog. However is not the input to the lower side of the second point the frog output of the first? Or does it not work that way with a 3-way point? (Would a 3-way rotary switch be better for a 3-way point?)

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Just now, mjcampbell said:

Ooh, pretty. I don't draw the wires on my wiring diagrams, just the connections they make. Not as pretty though.

 

If I've got it right the blue circles are the point operating switches, with yellow wires to the servos, and red to the frog. However is not the input to the lower side of the second point the frog output of the first? Or does it not work that way with a 3-way point? (Would a 3-way rotary switch be better for a 3-way point?)

 

 

The 3 way is effectively 2 points, and although there are three frogs, two of them are wired together.  I've used this (or a similar) wiring configuration before and it all worked...

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Well done Stubby (no I have not vetted your work) for producing wiring diagrams before you wire the layout.

You learn so much and avoid that awful disappointment, at switch-on, when it doesn't work.

 

 

Kev.

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Wooden dowels now in place, just need to position and connect the servos.

 

20190918_201925.jpg.5d43214cadc8ea6fb71490845557851c.jpg

 

They will be outside the board, at the rear, for ease of access and to be closer to the control boards.

 

More pics when this is all in place.

 

However, trying out the position has enabled me to determine which pair of connections to use on the DPDT switch, so the orientation of the toggle indicates the track selected.

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