BEIJIAO - a large Chinese HO exhibition layout set in the 21st century

[mjenderby]

On 10/07/2023 at 10:18, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

e which ideally I needed to carve off one foot before gluing it down. So, I got a sharp knife and started to shave the glue off - and the man's lower leg fell off onto the floor!

 

You will realise that small parts dropped from a significant height can bounce off quite a distance in any direction when dropped onto a wooden floor. So, I then spent the next 30 minutes on my hands and knees gently sweeping the floor of my shed and searching through the residue for the missing leg - NOTHING!

 

 

Know the problem - spent too much time hunting for small bits that have pinged.... and not finding them ☹️

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Three weeks after the Keighley show and I'm still finding damage that needs repairing plus dealing with issues which we identified at the show. There are many such issues and they're all relatively minor, but in the absence of 'big news' I will mention one of them.

 

One issue which ruined the use of the Faller roadway was the excess of infra-red light which caused havoc with our IRDOT's. Whilst I accept that operating in a greenhouse was a 'one-off' (trust me on that!) we did, in the past, have problems at some venues with infra-red pollution from hall lighting - the NEC comes to mind. Even then, for some reason, it only seemed to effect the IRDOT's controlling the level crossing (since replaced with reed switches) and the IRDOT's controlling the Faller seemed to evade such issues - but it's better to be safe than sorry!

 

So, now we have infra-red shields, painted matt black inside so as not to reflect the IRDOT's infra-red beam back down into the sensor. This one will never win a design award, but it does the job!

 

 

It does, of course, have to be removable for storage/transport and its positioning has to be quite exact and so hopefully this helps in that regard......

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

In other news, we now have a new diesel - for a layout originally conceived to display the 'last of steam' I seem to be collecting a load of diesels. However, there is an issue with this being an exhibition layout.............

 

If this was my home layout, I might want 75% of the trains to be hauled by double-headed QJ's and the rest by green DF4B's, but to the casual viewer that would be somewhat boring - most trains would 'look the same' to many exhibition visitors. By trying to make each of the main-line trains look as unique as possible loses some authenticity, but (hopefully) gains some viewer interest 

 

Anyway, here is our latest recruit - in fact I've had it in a showcase for several years, but only yesterday did I get around to fitting it with a 21 pin decoder. It's basically a shunter and so I'll have to think about how we use it.

 

 

 

[Trofimow]

1 hour ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

 

 

It does, of course, have to be removable for storage/transport and its positioning has to be quite exact and so hopefully this helps in that regard......

 

 

Sorry Paul, I'm going to have to reconsider being a team member if you are making it a requirement to have a wooden leg...

[Ian Morgan]

2 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

It might be an idea to drill some small holes in the baseboard, and add some pegs, or even screws with the heads cut off, into your wooden legs that would locate in the holes. This would ensure correct positioning, and avoid them moving accidentally.

 

(not sure your team would want screws inserted into their wooden legs though)

 

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

1 hour ago, Trofimow said:

 

Sorry Paul, I'm going to have to reconsider being a team member if you are making it a requirement to have a wooden leg...

 

I would have no objection to a team member having a wooden leg, it would be a team member with a wooden personality that I would object to 😉

[St Enodoc]

10 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

I would have no objection to a team member having a wooden leg

As long as his name is Smith.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

6 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

As long as his name is Smith.

 

Sorry, that's gone way over my head 🤔

[St Enodoc]

3 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

Sorry, that's gone way over my head 🤔

The old schoolboy joke:

 

"I knew a man with a wooden leg named Smith."

 

"Really? What was his other leg called?"

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

I would have no objection to a team member having a wooden leg, it would be a team member with a wooden personality that I would object to 😉

 

Wooden it be nice?

 

Mike.

[Al.]

9 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Three weeks after the Keighley show and I'm still finding damage that needs repairing plus dealing with issues which we identified at the show. There are many such issues and they're all relatively minor, but in the absence of 'big news' I will mention one of them.

 

One issue which ruined the use of the Faller roadway was the excess of infra-red light which caused havoc with our IRDOT's. Whilst I accept that operating in a greenhouse was a 'one-off' (trust me on that!) we did, in the past, have problems at some venues with infra-red pollution from hall lighting - the NEC comes to mind. Even then, for some reason, it only seemed to effect the IRDOT's controlling the level crossing (since replaced with reed switches) and the IRDOT's controlling the Faller seemed to evade such issues - but it's better to be safe than sorry!

 

So, now we have infra-red shields, painted matt black inside so as not to reflect the IRDOT's infra-red beam back down into the sensor. This one will never win a design award, but it does the job!

 

 

It does, of course, have to be removable for storage/transport and its positioning has to be quite exact and so hopefully this helps in that regard......

 

 

You've been having problems with the IRDOTs from the beginning. None of them have worked reliably in any aspect you've applied them to. - the level crossing barriers, Faller roadway.

 

Maybe its time to look at an alternative solution for the Faller rather then taking the 'sticky plaster' approach and introducing a fix to the problem, that will introduce a host of new problems. 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

30 minutes ago, Al. said:

You've been having problems with the IRDOTs from the beginning. None of them have worked reliably in any aspect you've applied them to. - the level crossing barriers, Faller roadway.

 

Maybe its time to look at an alternative solution for the Faller rather then taking the 'sticky plaster' approach and introducing a fix to the problem, that will introduce a host of new problems. 

Hello Al

 

I totally agree that the IRDOT's controlling the level crossing were a constant problem and I took steps some time ago to replace them with reed switches.

 

But, TBH, I have never noticed any problems with the IRDOT's controlling the Faller roadway - except in the greenhouse at Keighley and when we set the layout up in my garden in 2021 in 32 degrees of sunshine.

 

As far as I know there is no cheap, simple alternative to having IRDOT's control the Faller - I know there are hi-tech solutions, but I have no intention of going down that route for various reasons - cost, time, complexity etc. Let's see how things go at our next exhibition. In the past I was always concentrating on keeping the railway running and with the railway now running reliably, I can spend more time concentrating on less important issues like the Faller.

[Al.]

2 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

Hello Al

 

I totally agree that the IRDOT's controlling the level crossing were a constant problem and I took steps some time ago to replace them with reed switches.

 

But, TBH, I have never noticed any problems with the IRDOT's controlling the Faller roadway - except in the greenhouse at Keighley and when we set the layout up in my garden in 2021 in 32 degrees of sunshine.

 

As far as I know there is no cheap, simple alternative to having IRDOT's control the Faller - I know there are hi-tech solutions, but I have no intention of going down that route for various reasons - cost, time, complexity etc. Let's see how things go at our next exhibition. In the past I was always concentrating on keeping the railway running and with the railway now running reliably, I can spend more time concentrating on less important issues like the Faller.

 

There has been issues with the Faller all the way along, but it's been so far down the priority list that none of us operators have spent much time looking at it. We've been too busy just keeping the trains moving to care what the Faller was doing. 

 

'No cheap' solution. Maybe that's were your problem lies. You have a big exhibition layout, and you will spend the best part of a thousand pounds on a loco, but you're not spend more than pennies on the control systems to make them locos run...

[TEAMYAKIMA]

43 minutes ago, Al. said:

There has been issues with the Faller all the way along, but it's been so far down the priority list that none of us operators have spent much time looking at it. We've been too busy just keeping the trains moving to care what the Faller was doing. 

 

Again, I agree with you and luckily, as the railway is now far more settled, I will be able to concentrate on any Faller issues at our next show - Taunton in October.

Edited July 18, 2023 by TEAMYAKIMA

[luke_stevens]

12 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

 

Hi Paul,

 

I hope I'm not being stupid but the IRDOT's I have used have a long black piece of shrink fit tubing above the sensor to ensure that there is no infra-red leakage from other sources. But the picture above seems to show the tube cut away... 

 

From the Heathcote Electronics website

 

"The sensitivity can also be adjusted by allowing more or less infrared be emmitted. Heat shrink tubing covers the emitter and detector. Its purpose is to prevent the infrared going sideways from emitter to detector. If this is trimmed back more infrared will be emitted and the range increased. However be careful not to expose both emitter and detector as the infrared will then travel sideways making the detector think it is permantly detecting a train. If longer pieces are shrunk over the top the range will be reduced.

Normally none of these measures are required and the units work satisfactorily as supplied." - http://www.heathcote-electronics.co.uk/how_infra_red_model_train_detection_works.html

Edited July 18, 2023 by luke_stevens

[TT-Pete]

51 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 our next show - Taunton in October.

 

Looking forward to it - can't wait! :^)

[TT-Pete]

1 hour ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

 I will be able to concentrate on any Faller issues

 

Or,

 

 

😉

[Ian Morgan]

There is a Merg 'Pocket Money Kit' for a Laser Train Detector (kit 4822) that apparently copes with varying ambient light by sampling and using clever algorithms in its microcontroller. At less than £3.50 each, it could be worth experimenting with as a straight replacement for your IRDOTs.

 

 

[luke_stevens]

2 hours ago, TT-Pete said:

 

Or,

 

 

😉

 

It could be used to power Chinese cyclists!!!

 

Luke

[Al.]

7 hours ago, luke_stevens said:

 

It could be used to power Chinese cyclists!!!

 

Luke

 

Luke, do you remember way back in 2014 in those early days of the layout build, Paul's plan was to have just a single cyclist on the Faller, forever going back and forth.

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

I wasn't expecting this!

 

Have recently ordered a couple of 3D printed HO figures and a van from China and TBH I wasn't expecting them to arrive like this 😧...

 

[F-UnitMad]

Looks like a Rivet Counter Detector Van to me.

 

Just make sure you paint it the right colour!! 😉🤓🤓🤓

[luke_stevens]

4 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I wasn't expecting this!

 

Have recently ordered a couple of 3D printed HO figures and a van from China and TBH I wasn't expecting them to arrive like this 😧...

 

 

If you order figures from somewhere like https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/ this is pretty much how they come. I'm actually surprised that the supports are as thick as they seem to be.

 

But it looks like it will be an interesting cameo!

 

Luke

[TEAMYAKIMA]

8 hours ago, luke_stevens said:

If you order figures from somewhere like https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/ this is pretty much how they come. I'm actually surprised that the supports are as thick as they seem to be. But it looks like it will be an interesting cameo!  

 

It was just that the ebay photo I saw had them cleaned up - looking again at the ebay listing there is a second photo showing the basic just-off-the-printer version - I should have known better!

 

TBH, I have loads of Modelu 'special one-offs' on the layout, but I always had them sent off direct to their designated painter and so by the time they arrived with me all that cutting off had been done.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

On 18/07/2023 at 20:13, luke_stevens said:

I hope I'm not being stupid but the IRDOT's I have used have a long black piece of shrink fit tubing above the sensor to ensure that there is no infra-red leakage from other sources. But the picture above seems to show the tube cut away.

 

Yes, the tubing has been trimmed back, but there is no leakage between the transmitter and receiver. As I've said, to my knowledge there has never been any IRDOT issue on the Faller except on a couple of very unusual scenarios where 'outside' infra-red has confused the system and now that I have made 'covers' for both ends that should eliminate any possibility of recurrence.