RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted May 4, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 4, 2022 35 minutes ago, Andy Keane said: Phil I have MERG current sensors literally on every section of my layout - so far thats 28 in the fiddle yard and I put in 8 more today on the first station board with another 20 or so to go - these all talk to JMRI so my tracks light up as things move around - see below (two lasers and 16 occupancy sensors talking to an Arduino Mega linked to the NCE bus) - its not pretty but it all works fine. But for automation I need more precise position inputs so in the fiddle yard I have the lasers as in the photo. But in the station these would be too obtrusive so I am going with undertrack active IR. I am debating on exactly where to put them but they will link into the Arduinos alongside the MERG current sensors. Its probably overkill but it needs doing while I am laying and wiring tyrack even if I don't in the end use it. regards Andy The advantage of current sensing is that it is completely invisible and won't get interference from ambient sources like bright sunlight. Isn't precise position input using current sensing just a question of more (smaller) isolated sections of track? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 4, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 4, 2022 Phil, My key requirement for automation is to be able to have a train stop, decouple the loco, run around, recouple and leave again. In the fiddle yard the lasers give me fine precision. But I want to ensure that my loco stops in the station platform with its coupling over the eltro-magnet that will release my Kadees. for that I need accuracy to around plus / minus an inch. I suppose I could make the section with the doucoupler into a very small current sensing unit - I had not thought of doing that but now you have me thinking again - the great joy of this madness we engage in - I will let the grey cells work on your suggestion overnight. Maybe an experiment is called for. Many thanks for your inputs which are much appreciated Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 5BarVT Posted May 5, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 5, 2022 9 hours ago, Andy Keane said: I suppose I could make the section with the doucoupler into a very small current sensing unit Doesn’t need a ‘small’ section, it’s where the break between section is that defines the stopping point. Then it’s loco length that says where the uncoupler is. Different length locos will need different stopping positions. Paul. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 5, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, 5BarVT said: Doesn’t need a ‘small’ section, it’s where the break between section is that defines the stopping point. Then it’s loco length that says where the uncoupler is. Different length locos will need different stopping positions. Paul. Ok - I think I see. When the loco enters the section before the uncoupler we slow to a crawl. Then when the loco crosses into the new section and both the old section says its left and the new one says its arrived we apply the final brakes. We just need the section break to allign with our desired stopping point. Hopefully the train stops almost immediately so we know where its rear end is. And because we check for the old section to clear provided we have pickups on wheels at the ends of the loco its length will not matter too much. So on my tank engines length is probably not too critical but if running a tender loco in reverse with tender based pickups only it would get it wrong. But I could probably fix this by adding contacts to the driving wheels on such locos. I modified my Bachmann Mogul so it has pickups on both tender wheels and main driving wheels so it would be like a tank engine in that regard. Alternatively the automation code would need to know which loco it was dealing with and allow a slight delay on final stopping. I can see much fun ahead! Andy ps - you are up early! Edited May 5, 2022 by Andy Keane Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted May 5, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 5, 2022 "Fun" or "Pain"? Maybe this is not such a good idea. You really want to know the position of the couplings rather than the locos... And you really want to measure those positions changing, not just have a binary notification that it has reached a certain point... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 5, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2022 That is the great advantage of the lasers - because they are above coupling height you can "see" individual wagons going by. Much to ponder. Andy 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 5BarVT Posted May 5, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 5, 2022 8 hours ago, Andy Keane said: ps - you are up early! Early flight! I do it about once per year, those on checkin etc probably do it one week in three. Respect. Paul. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 5, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2022 (edited) Have gotten the storage ends for the boards cut - this allows me to make them up in pairs with trackside inwards. Edited May 5, 2022 by Andy Keane 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 5, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2022 Also started to paint the 45xx - this is Humbrol dirty black. The crew and backplate are from a scrap Bachmann body. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 8, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 8, 2022 Have pottered away this weekend putting the wiring for the station throat board. Motors and DCC wiring in. Just the Arduino to configure and add plus three controllers for the signals, also the 16v DC supply that will provide power for the Arduino and various elements of lighting (loco shed and yard lamps etc). Still undecided about adding IR track sensors in the loco and head siding on this board. Not really sure I would actually use them. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted May 8, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 8, 2022 Impressive stuff Andy (and very neatly done), although I must confess that I don't know what half of it is! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 8, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 8, 2022 1 hour ago, Graham T said: Impressive stuff Andy (and very neatly done), although I must confess that I don't know what half of it is! I have a habit of engineering the simplicity out of things! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 10, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 10, 2022 A bit of loco painting and relettering. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 10, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 10, 2022 I am off to expoEM in Bracknell this Sunday to help with the Missenden stand. Will anybody else be going? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted May 10, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 10, 2022 4 minutes ago, Andy Keane said: I am off to expoEM in Bracknell this Sunday to help with the Missenden stand. Will anybody else be going? I shall be sat next to you....sorry... Chris.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 10, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 10, 2022 26 minutes ago, Gilbert said: I shall be sat next to you....sorry... Chris.... It will be good to meet up - do I take it you have a Deltic on order too? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted May 10, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 10, 2022 3 minutes ago, Andy Keane said: It will be good to meet up - do I take it you have a Deltic on order too? I couldn't possibly comment...OK...I confess...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 13, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 13, 2022 On 10/05/2022 at 16:46, Andy Keane said: A bit of loco painting and relettering. I have been looking at the photos of 44/45xx locos in J.H. Russell's two volume pictorial record of GW engines and none of them shows the yellow route letter on the cab. Does this mean in fact these engines were unrestricted? I had planned to add a route disc but now I think I will not bother. What I really need is a colour photo of a dirty 44/45xx or a 14/48xx to base my weathering on if anybody knows of any. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted May 13, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 13, 2022 Its often a case of using a B&W and just working things out with pre-nationalisation stuff unfortunately- however I've sent you a pm Chris H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Harlequin Posted May 13, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 13, 2022 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Andy Keane said: I have been looking at the photos of 44/45xx locos in J.H. Russell's two volume pictorial record of GW engines and none of them shows the yellow route letter on the cab. Does this mean in fact these engines were unrestricted? I had planned to add a route disc but now I think I will not bother. What I really need is a colour photo of a dirty 44/45xx or a 14/48xx to base my weathering on if anybody knows of any. Andy There are a few period photos of 48xx in Neil Dimmer's collection here: (Mostly BR era though and very few in colour.) 45xx's in another folder. Edited May 13, 2022 by Harlequin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 13, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 13, 2022 Its clearly going to be tricky - if only the preservation railways did not keep polishing things! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Keane Posted May 14, 2022 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted May 14, 2022 I have popped a frog juicer (from www.blocksignalling.co.uk ) onto point 8 in the station so it frees up the switch on the DCC Concepts point motor that I would normally switch the frog with. This will then be used to switch between the two lever four ground signals as per the signalling diagrams so the twoi signals can be workerd from a single lever / DCC accessory code. I have not used juicers before so will be interested to see how they work. And I have yet to get a working ground signal up and running either. Andy 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted May 15, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 15, 2022 That will be interesting to see how it all comes together Andy. Will the ground signal be servo controlled? I’m surprised there isn’t a steam era RTR ground signal yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham T Posted May 15, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 15, 2022 2 hours ago, Neal Ball said: Will the ground signal be servo controlled? I’m surprised there isn’t a steam era RTR ground signal yet. If we're lucky perhaps Dapol will do the honours? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted May 15, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 15, 2022 56 minutes ago, Graham T said: If we're lucky perhaps Dapol will do the honours? Yes…. But…. On adjacent lines, there might not be enough space to get their huge mech under the board! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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