StuartM Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 Your right, the slips are only single slips and yes that is rather restrictive, but this piece of track wasn't built with this diorama in mind, however in this case it will add to the operational fun because locos will have to be pulled back and forth to get to the right place. Think of this more as a learning ground for skills and techniques rather than a perfect example of railway practice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 For anyone who is interested in such things this is a view of the circuit that will be used to switch power between rails via the relays and control the servos,. The brains is a 20x2 picaxe pic I'm away from the work bench for a week now ,so more photos of the finished product in a couple of weeks, after which I can hopefully get on with the scenic side of this project Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted June 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2011 Looking at the picture above, it appears the inner roads (your B and C) cannot use the crossover as the slips are only singles, on the outside. Wouldn't you'd need double slips for all roads to access both arrival and departure tracks? You are quite right. That makes the trackwork slightly odd as the two centre roads can only to one of the entry / exit tracks each whereas the two outer roads can connect to either. As a station approach that makes some sense as the two bay roads could be used for reversals of trains but not the up and down main. As a shed throat it is more restrictive but what the hell the trackwork was ready built and looks damn impressive. I am interested in Stuarts approach to controlling this pointwork. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted June 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 20, 2011 For anyone who is interested in such things this is a view of the circuit that will be used to switch power between rails via the relays and control the servos,. The brains is a 20x2 picaxe pic I'm away from the work bench for a week now ,so more photos of the finished product in a couple of weeks, after which I can hopefully get on with the scenic side of this project I have obvoiusly been away from electronics too long as I have no idea what a 20x2 picaxe pic will do. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 I have obvoiusly been away from electronics too long as I have no idea what a 20x2 picaxe pic will do. Don very useful little devices http://www.rev-ed.co.uk/picaxe/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted June 21, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 21, 2011 As a shed throat it is more restrictive but what the hell the trackwork was ready built and looks damn impressive. Absolutely, it would've been sacrilege to let it languish in the bits box! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 It's been a while since my last post as real life has gotten in the way a little bit, however I have made some small progress, in that I've altered the base board by lopping an inch of the rear and adding it to the front and then dropping a section of the front. the idea is that the depot will be based just outside of a mainline station quite possibly a SR terminus and will be in a brick lined cutting between a bridge to the left and a tunnel to the right. In the lower section will be the mainline with the service point in the upper level. The control board has been completed and comes in two sections a mother and daughter board. The daughter board has push to make switch's, you press the switch from where you want a loco to move from and then press another switch to where you want the loco to move too, then you press the enter switch (top right switch), this sends the information to the mother board which then sets all the relays providing power to the reliant sections of track, it should also then set the points automatically via the servos. However although the circuit works as intended I've really struggled to get the servos to do what I want them to do, one day they will , the next they won't ???. I feel that this is more to do with the mechanical connection between the point and the servo than anything else I've also realised that time is ticking on and perhaps I've spent far to long on trying to get the track to work when I should have been spending time on the "diorama" after all there is nothing in the rules to say that the "diorama" has to work. But in reality I want to solve the point switching problem first as that is more important and of more interest to me than completing the diorama in time. So in effect I guess what I'm saying is I shall tick along at my own pace but don't expect to make the finishing line Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PaternosterRow Posted July 9, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 9, 2011 Hi Stuart I think there's a lot of us that would like to see this make the finishing line. I'm fascinated by the electrics and the mini control computer. It hasn't been long since I got my head around simple layout wiring let alone this new fangled way of doing it! Keep at it as I look forward to the installments. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 Hi Stuart I think there's a lot of us that would like to see this make the finishing line. I'm fascinated by the electrics and the mini control computer. It hasn't been long since I got my head around simple layout wiring let alone this new fangled way of doing it! Keep at it as I look forward to the installments. Mike Thanks Mike, Your words of encouragement are very welcome. I'm away from the work bench for another week now so perhaps the break will see me return with renewed enthusiasm. As for the electronics, it looks more impressive than it really is. Rgds, Stuart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted July 14, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 14, 2011 I am with Mike on this. I would love to see an article on the electrics. If you ever have time I am sure one of the Mags would take it (2mm mag for a start). No disrespect to RMWEB here but following something technical over a lot of posts is not easy. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanj666 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Wow, this really is interesting. Push button routing seems such a simple notion but... Hope a mag like Model Rail picks this up and gives the space to explain it properly. I thought the trackwork and scenery were quite nice, but with the electronics, my mind is a little boggled I must admit. Anthony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 Well I'm glad that people are finding this interesting. I have written a few articles for some of the rail magazines (and I belive there was one due to be published in this months Model Rail re improving the grafar ngauge class 25, I need to wait until I get home to confirm this is the case) but when it comes to electronics the mags take the view that it's a bit of a specialist subject that most readers aren't really interested in. What I tend to do (just for my own personal satisfaction) when I've got something working properly is write it up and post it on my website so others can use if they wish. Previous examples can be seen here http://www.stuartmoo...%20signals.html So perhaps in time I will do the same with this this push button control system. The first control panel used "touch" technology whereby I just placed my finger on the board and that informed the chip that it needed to do something and although I got it to work it wasn't 100% reliable, so I ended up substituing the touch sensors for pcb momentry push to make switch's which give a far more satisfiying tactile "click" when pressed. In esscence all that is happening is that the chip on the control panel waits for a first input and gives it a value, then waits for a second input and gives that a value and then waits for a third "go and do it" input which when received adds the the values of input one and two together and sends the new value to the motherboard which takes the value and goes to a section of the code for that particular value which will have a further set of instructions to open or close a set of relays in a particular sequence which in turn provides positive or negative track power to the particular section of track that is wired to that particular relay. When that has happened it will do the same thing for the servos which are used to switch the points. The same system could be used to control a diode matrix controling a set of solanoid point motors. I hope this answers some of your questions. Rgds, Stuart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted July 16, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 16, 2011 Thanks Stuart useful website. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-CRS Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Okay I am confused need to read your site a few dozen times. All looks good anyway. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 Okay I am confused need to read your site a few dozen times. All looks good anyway. What is it your finding confusing ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 One of the benefits of belonging to the 2mm scale association is that the membership have a wealth of wisdom and know how and are only to glad to share and advise. In my case the mechanism that I made to switch the point blades was not as reliable as I'd hoped, however a member of the association had recently published a much more robust and reliable design which with a slight modification I have copied and used to replace my to be honest quite poor effort. So far I've replaced two of the original mechs and they both work really well. I'm currently working on the third and will continue until all the point switching mechanisms have been replaced, then I can hopefully test the control circuit and track in full. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 24, 2011 Author Share Posted July 24, 2011 SUCCESS!!! Well sort of. I finally replaced all the point mechanisms with the new mk2 version and the control circuit works as intended, I press two buttons indicating where I want the loco to move from/to and then press enter, the circuit then switch's power to the relevant sections of track and the servos switch the relevant points, brilliant!. I then added a temporary additional section of track as a headshunt and then "FINALLY" I could test the track by running a loco over it for the very first time and having done so I realised why I'd consigned the track to the bits box, because in all honesty the trackwork although looking good in practice wasn't that good, in that the loco derailed in several places and the passage wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked. Still as I've said in previous posts this is more of an opportunity to test ideas and improve upon skills and this is my first serious piece of complexed trackwork, so although It might have ultimately failed I've learned a good deal along the way and all those things will; go into the MK2 version. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Finally, after an additional check rail, the complete replacement of another rail, several tweaks and resets with the soldering iron, much filing and some reprogramming, it works! The result can be seen below, Sorry for the poor quality video but it gives you an idea. At last I can now get on with the rest of the diorama. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted July 26, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 26, 2011 That looked pretty smooth through the pointwork Stuart. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 That looked pretty smooth through the pointwork Stuart. Don It's passable Don, passable. I am however more than happy with the control circuit and think that I shall used this method from now on Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold bcnPete Posted July 27, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2011 Great work Stuart Looks like a lot of fun can be had rearranging locos using the scissors arrangement - neat work with the sparks too. Funny how everyone seems to use a class 24 as their test engine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Great work Stuart Looks like a lot of fun can be had rearranging locos using the scissors arrangement - neat work with the sparks too. Funny how everyone seems to use a class 24 as their test engine Thanks Pete, The reason that class 24's seem to predominate 2mm test layouts is because the 2mm scale association make drop in replacement wheel-sets for this loco, so the class 24 is incredibly easy to convert to 2mm, simply pop out the old wheel sets and then press in the new 2mm ones, easy peasy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold bcnPete Posted July 27, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 27, 2011 The reason that class 24's seem to predominate 2mm test layouts is because the 2mm scale association make drop in replacement wheel-sets for this loco, so the class 24 is incredibly easy to convert to 2mm, simply pop out the old wheel sets and then press in the new 2mm ones, easy peasy That and its a relatively compact little loco...not too short...not too long...perfect for track testing I must go back and redo my one...I dropped mine in the night before an exhibition and not having time to clean all the crud off the wheels (the early ones suffered from I believe) and it ran like a bag of spuds...when I resurect my boxfile Kyle layout I will redo it...as soon as those Dapol 26's appear Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weekday Cross Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks Pete, The reason that class 24's seem to predominate 2mm test layouts is because the 2mm scale association make drop in replacement wheel-sets for this loco, so the class 24 is incredibly easy to convert to 2mm, simply pop out the old wheel sets and then press in the new 2mm ones, easy peasy There should be an all-new Class 20 soon, so the Class 24 may be usurped as the tester's choice - assuming the available replacement wheels fit, of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartM Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 The last bit of track has been laid in the upper section and the next job is to paint and ballast it. Moving on I've started thinking about the retaining walls within which the depot will be contained, and have used another piece of work from the bits box to get a rough idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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