RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 2, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 2, 2021 Not Middleton Top related but this was taken at the end of my road the other day being delivered to the EVR in Wirksworth! 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 2, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 2, 2021 Also not Middleton Top related! Work continues on the incline diorama for the WWScenics competition. To be honest I just want to get this done now so I can crack on with the Middleton layout. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 5, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2021 Bit of tree action for the diorama. I think I need to build Middleton Bottom/Middlepeak to make use of this diorama. Need a longer house. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 14, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 14, 2021 The diorama competition closes this weekend so I’m wrapping this up now and looking forward to continuing with Middleton Top! 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 23, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 Finally back onto Middleton Top after the diorama distraction. I’ve been working on the layout for a year and had the realisation that I’ve never ran a train so need to rectify that. Early this morning I wired up the first board. It’s going to be on a traditional DC controller but could easily be swapped for DCC with all sections being live. Points are Peco electrofrog with polarity switching from the Seep point motors. A few folk have said they’ve had issues with the switches making contact on these. On investigation it seems the motor travel is much longer than the movement on a 4mm scale tie bar so if a motor is mounted closely underneath the solenoid is restricted. To compensate for this I’ve mounted the Seep on stand offs allowing the pin to flex a little. The result is a full movement with positive switch connections. All wiring is going to brought back to a central control panel via D Sub connectors. Being someone that works in pro audio these seem the obvious choice for getting multiple connections across boards and beyond. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 23, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted April 23, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 That way of working looks far too neat in my opinion . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middlepeak Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 (edited) Good stuff Jay. I appreciate the frustration of seeing track on baseboards but no way of running anything! A similar big job awaits me at Friden! By the way, how did the competition go? G Edited April 23, 2021 by Middlepeak 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 23, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 30 minutes ago, Rowsley17D said: That way of working looks far too neat in my opinion . Hahaha thanks mate. My degree is in electronic engineering so I have no excuses! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 23, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 11 minutes ago, Middlepeak said: Good stuff Jay. I appreciate the frustration of seeing track on baseboards but no way of running anything! A similar big job awaits me at Friden! By the way, how did the competition go? G I think I’m one of the few people that enjoys this part of the hobby. I think actually getting it running will spur me on a bit. I’ve not forgotten your tender by the way - work reopened last week so I’ve had no time to head to a post office. Well I didn’t win the competition but I’m glad to have taken part and was reasonably happy with my effort. Definitely helped improve some scenic techniques which I’ll be able to transfer to the layout. The winning entry was spectacularly good; in fact the overall standard was very high. Jay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 23, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 Rapid progress on board 2 which is the most complex of the three with 4 uncoupling electromagnets and four points. Track and frog switch feeds using a 2 rail buss going in currently. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 (edited) I rather like those D Sub connectors, never thought of using those. They would make a very solid job of things. Although my layout is only semi portable, I think that I might just go for those instead of the Lego bricks. I am probably just sulking because I can no longer get hold of MOD pattern Cannon connectors - for free anyway! I quite enjoy the physical side of wiring layouts, the only thing that puts me off is the fact that everyone seems to have a different way of achieving the same results! I've noticed a similar overrun with the new Peco twistlock motors, which is overcome by their built in standoffs. They work well and there's a fair bit of tolerance for ham fisted joinery too. Edited April 23, 2021 by MrWolf Spalang 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 23, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 23, 2021 5 hours ago, MrWolf said: I rather like those D Sub connectors, never thought of using those. They would make a very solid job of things. Although my layout is only semi portable, I think that I might just go for those instead of the Lego bricks. I am probably just sulking because I can no longer get hold of MOD pattern Cannon connectors - for free anyway! I quite enjoy the physical side of wiring layouts, the only thing that puts me off is the fact that everyone seems to have a different way of achieving the same results! I've noticed a similar overrun with the new Peco twistlock motors, which is overcome by their built in standoffs. They work well and there's a fair bit of tolerance for ham fisted joinery too. The D subs are pretty cheap off eBay and unlike the 25 way ones I have to solder up at work these are just screw terminal so very quick and easy to set up. I’m very much of the simpler something is the less likely it’s gonna break school of engineering so the way I’m doing this feels like the most basic method while retaining electronic control over points and uncouplers. I believe these motors are meant to cater for all gauges so 7mm scale is probably to blame here! The stand offs do indeed allow more tolerance for the motor position. It’s always going to be a minor faff fitting these but this technique has meant all the points/motors have thrown correctly from first installation. I looked at a photo of the twist lock motor; do they still use a solenoid or is it a can motor and gearing in those? Jay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 The twist lock motor is a simple solenoid rather than a slow action geared motor. It is fitted with the usual gudgeon pin to operate the tie bar. The pin is extended in order to piggyback a polarity switch that clips into place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 27, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 27, 2021 The wiring continues. Board 2 is now done and is the most complex with 4 point motors and 4 uncouplers plus frog switching and track feeds. It’s turned into a bit of a birds next but everything is colour coded for fault finding. One more board to go. 2 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 Nothing like a simple wiring system is there? I'm making some modifications to mine to make sure that I don't have continuity issues later on. I just keep telling myself that I have completely rewired classic cars and motorcycles as well as built control systems for my work, how hard can it be? Oh... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 27, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 27, 2021 1 hour ago, MrWolf said: Nothing like a simple wiring system is there? I'm making some modifications to mine to make sure that I don't have continuity issues later on. I just keep telling myself that I have completely rewired classic cars and motorcycles as well as built control systems for my work, how hard can it be? Oh... Exactly! It’s just like classic cars and bikes - just a load of switches, wires and coils :-) Best of luck sorting yours out, I’ve been following your thread and looks like you’re getting there. Jay 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted April 28, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 28, 2021 Board 3 is now wired. I’ve left three spare cables for the signal; I’ve not decided how this is going to be actuated yet. Control panel comes next but will have to wait till next week. Time to put this down and go for the Covid jab! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 Got mine tomorrow morning. All that wiring might just inspire me to sort out the dodgy point on Aston. At least that will be a distraction from building wagons and stations! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted May 4, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2021 (edited) Fully recovered from the effects of the Covid vaccination now so cracking on with the control panel. It’s pretty simple with just switching for points, uncouplers and the signal. This is mainly made from materials I had lying around - half an aluminium box and some oak trim. I’ll get this wired up today and hopefully some testing can follow. Jay Edited May 4, 2021 by JustinDean 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted May 6, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2021 Control panel wiring complete. Time to test! 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middlepeak Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Great stuff Jay. I presume there will be a video camera on hand to record the first train? G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted May 6, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2021 44 minutes ago, Middlepeak said: Great stuff Jay. I presume there will be a video camera on hand to record the first train? G I think that could happen! Jay 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted May 11, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2021 The great thing about ‘finishing’ wiring is that you’re not actually finished. So I’m in the fault finding stage. I’ve got power to all rails and frog polarity working correctly. I’ve even ran a loco - for the first time in 30 years! This did however reveal issues in how the track was lining up across one of the baseboard joints. This has resulted in me lifting those and resetting + soldering to screws which I hadn’t done initially. There’s 5 points on Middleton Top all controlled by Seep motors. Two worked straight off which was nice. The Y at the end of the layout is on a latching switched motor as the point spring had disappeared. This isn’t moving at all. The crossover points are on one toggle switch and when activated the motors both twitch but don’t move the point. Checking the movement by hand shows the tie bars slide freely so I started to wonder if the motors were getting enough power. I placed a meter over the contacts on the Seep motor and flicked the switch to reveal the CDU is only kicking out 2-4VAC on average. So there’s a new CDU on order. Four capacitors on the new one will hold a lot more charge than the single on the current unit. Hopefully I’ll be installing it next week. In the meantime here’s a couple of overhead shots of the layout. It’s the first time the whole shebang has been set up for nearly a year! 15 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JustinDean Posted May 13, 2021 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 13, 2021 (edited) This arrived today from ACE Models. Requires a Branchlines detailing kit, wheels, motor and gearbox to complete. I’ve got 3 NLR tanks to build now and really should make a start soon! Edited May 13, 2021 by JustinDean 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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