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Servo powered semaphore signals


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Thinking of powering the semaphore signals with servo motors, anyone done it, and got any recommendations. Used Veissmann signal motors before. The layout is analog controlled, thro' laziness, lack of cash, and about 40 kit built locos with no room for the extra bits.:sungum:

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As it happens, I did my very first one yesterday:

 

 

in the video, the servo is being controlled by a cheap servo tester but on the layout I’m using MERG Servo 4 boards. They are self assembly but no electronics knowledge is needed to put them together. 

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I use analogue track control with servo controlled signals in N . The single signals are failed Dapol signals picked up cheap as failed. The somewhat crude bracket signals I made myself from brass tube and some MSE parts. For control I use the Peco smartswitch.  I found these very easy to set up and once set they just work consistently.

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28 minutes ago, Roy Langridge said:

In terms of control, take a look a the MegaPoints Controllers system. It will even recreate the bounce of a semaphoreMegaPoints Controllers

 

Just a happy customer.

 

Roy 

Yes, I fully agree with you Roy. The Megapoints "bounce" is the most realistic system I have seen.

     I'm just another happy customer too.

 

Roy.

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38 minutes ago, Chris M said:

I've been told that there shouldn't noticeable bounce on a signal if the bobby is doing his job properly. You get bounce when you just let go of the lever. I'm not an S&T person so I'm just going by what others say.

 

 

Never seen a bobby just let go of a lever, but also never seen a semaphore not bounce, and I work on two preserved lines with semaphores.


Roy

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I have used both megapoints and MERG boards. Both work equally well and supply bounce. You don't want too much of it, but you do need some otherwise you just have mechanical choppers. The MERG boards are a bit more of a fiddle to set up, but you can programme in how much bounce you want. Megapoints is not adjustable for bounce but I think it randomises it.  Use the ultra micro servos that are recommended on the megapoints site.

Both systems are excellent and I highly recommend doing it this way. 

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5 hours ago, MartynJPearson said:

If you're happy to do a bit of programming,  you could also consider an Arduino. The code won't be too complex and there'll be example code readily available. 

I had started a project using an "Arduino" Mega (ie a cheap version) with more i/o than a Uno, to make a small interlocked system to control signals and points using SG90 servos.  I got as far as getting a working signal before other events caught up with me, and its on the back burner at present. 

 

Great fun writing the software, with signal bounce, naturally!

 

If you've time, patience and enjoy programming an Arduino, then its the way to go. Otherwise a commercial option may be more sensible.

 

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4 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

You can get SG90 servos dirt cheap on that well known auction site, they are normally shipped from China, so take a few weeks to get here.

 

 

True but last time I did this and bought a batch of 10, only two worked and 8 were dead on arrival. I have since bought from hobbyking with 100% reliability.

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14 hours ago, ikcdab said:

True but last time I did this and bought a batch of 10, only two worked and 8 were dead on arrival. I have since bought from hobbyking with 100% reliability.

 

I've had a similar experience with cheap SG90s fom ebay, though my failure rate isn't quite so dramatic as yours.  I didn't expect much better for the price I paid but it is quite inconvenient having to change out servos that fail in service after a short life.  Next time maybe I'll try hobbyking

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19 hours ago, ikcdab said:

You can get SG90 servos dirt cheap on that well known auction site, they are normally shipped from China, so take a few

That's probably because a lot of the cheap Chinese offerings are not genuine TowerPro but unbranded knock offs. I've used to Hobby King ones advised by Dave at Megapoints on several layouts without any failures,

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Its Megapoints for me, simple plug and play without the need to mess around with anything else, and for anyone new to the system Dave is extremely helpful plus there are numerous videos to watch.

 

Bought some original TowerPro many, many years ago and have transferred them to new servo mounts this weekend in preparation for a new layout. With regards to the "bounce"......maybe it isn't prototypical but it does add a bit of "fun" into their operation.

The servos haven't given me any problems whatsoever so buy genuine and I don't see a real problem, and even if there is it doesn't take more than a few minutes to swop them out for a new one, and , much cheaper to replace than failed stall motors etc in my opinion.

 

1581698757_IMG_3658copy.jpg.3e9bf1023ae468691d71e6a6757f110b.jpg

 

G

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Will be posting to Wright Writes thread in a minute but just saw this thread, so I will post a duplicate here.  For my semaphore signals I have been using successfully traditional servos and Mega Point controllers for 3/4 years now.  Due to the footprint size of a traditional servo motor the servos had to be mounted under the baseboard with only a small hole for the actuating wire through the baseboard.  Working on the underside of the baseboard was a bit of a pain so when I saw t miniature  servos advertised I thought i would give them a try on a signal that had got in the way of my arm.  Attached are some photos of the result.  The traditional servo is on the right of the 1st picture.  Pretty happy.  Significantly reduced footprint and the Mega Point Servo control works for them

 

Sourced from https://hobbyking.com/en_us/radio-servos/servos.html?___store=en_us#q=&idx=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products&dFR[warehouses][0]=USA&dFR[warehouses][1]=Global&dFR[warehouses_stock_data][0]=USA|1&dFR[warehouses_stock_data][1]=USA|2&dFR[warehouses_stock_data][2]=USA|3&dFR[warehouses_stock_data][3]=Global|1&dFR[warehouses_stock_data][4]=Global|2&dFR[warehouses_stock_data][5]=Global|3&hFR[categories.level0][0]=Radio %2F Servos %2F%2F%2F Servos&nR[a_mm][<%3D][0]=24&nR[b_mm][<%3D][0]=65&nR[c_mm][<%3D][0]=27&is_v=1

I used the HK5320

 

Minature Servo-3.jpg

Minature Servo-4.jpg

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If you are thinking of the Arduino route take a look at arcomora and the dccnext, I have just built one of their shields from the kit. Can control 10 or so servos and has the semaphore bounce built in (I'm planning on using them for points) pretty easy to set up and works as a DCC accessory controller. Think you can set up 2 of them for less than £40 

 

Cheers 

Daz

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I wonder if upping the voltage would get a more realistic speed from a servo, They always look too slow and smooth to me. while solenoids are too fast. I tried a motor driven signal. lever arm straight onto the commutator but haven't found a way to make it bounce.

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On 30/01/2021 at 14:08, bike2steam said:

Thinking of powering the semaphore signals with servo motors, anyone done it, and got any recommendations. Used Veissmann signal motors before. The layout is analog controlled, thro' laziness, lack of cash, and about 40 kit built locos with no room for the extra bits.:sungum:

 

It would be nice to know having had many replies to the question, have you come to any conclusions / thoughts about how to proceed ?

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