Robin2

I would like to learn how to do that - I am fairly computer literate,

My comments were based on the fact that you told me you are a competent user of computers rather than a raw novice. For programmers Google is more natural than food.

There is a huge amount of advice on the Arduino Forum including a Reference section in the Resources link at the top of Forum page. You can download and install the Arduino IDE (programming system) and study the many examples included in it without actually having any Arduino hardware. However I suggest that you get yourself an Uno board to start with.

If you have more questions about Arduino programming it seems more sensible to pursue them on the Arduino Forum where you will get the benefit of many more experts.

...R

That title usually means scantily clad ladies draped over bonnets.

...R

PS .. or men

What do the abbreviations SPI, SCK, MISO and MOSI represent?

Gimme a break. That is stuff for Google.

Or the Arduino Reference section.

...R

Any recommendations?

Maybe have a look at this Simple nRF24L01+ Tutorial.

See this Thread for some modules I built using an Atmega Attiny 1634, an nRF24L01+ and a Pololu DRV8833 motor driver. I have also used a ROHM BD621xx motor driver which is smaller but has a max of 7v. The DRV8833 has a max of 10v so can work with a 2S LiPo which should be sufficient for a nominal 12v motor. I think there is a higher voltage version of the Rohm chip.

The Loco in that link has a low-voltage motor that works with a 1S LiPo.

...R

A while back I wrote a PC program that could control my Hornby Elite DCC device (because the controls on the Elite are awful). Because the PC program was a web application it could also appear on my smartphone. On either screen I could select a loco and control it, but I could not select a loco that was already selected. A user had to release a loco before another could select it - which seems logical to me.

Subsequently I evolved the program to work with Deltang wireless devices - reprogrammed using the Arduino system.

And more recently I have been using Arduino system and cheap nRF24L01+ 2.4GHz transceivers. The nRF24s can operate on any of about 50 different channels (frequencies) and can have over a billion different addresses - so it would be very unfortunate to discover another person able to control my train.

...R

The way products are displayed is unfortunately typical of most current online systems, and is therfore lazizy and badly thoughtout. It might cost more to build a proper system, but if it results in more sales it is cost justified.

As a stop-gap it would not cost much to make the latest catalogue available as a PDF file

And all the point templates could go into another PDF file

...R

One of the benefits of BPR/C ...

My very crude train (wires sticking out everywhere) is now running on very crude track so I can see if I am getting the effect that I want. At this stage the track is mostly second-hand bits of Peco setrack many of which are just joined to each other by a single fishplate.

And plastic frogs don't cause any problem.

...R

 

More than a little. This Thread is about the Peco website, not Peco turnouts. As I read it Reply #26 was a complaint about the website.

I can't agree. The question that came up was about the availability of separate templates for code 75 points on the website. I'd thought this not to be a problem believing the overall geometry of the relevant items to still be ithe same. It then became apparent that some divergence between code 100 and code 75 has taken place and this does mean that the website should have the relevant templates. It is about the website, not the points themselves.

 

It looks like we agree, but differ from the people who were discussing the finer points (sorry) of Peco turnouts.

...R

The insides of my locos are horrific!.

If they work and nobody can see the inside why does it matter? 

Deltang stuff is not cheap either when compared to a DIY job. But I could not make and sell anything at a lower price.

...R

Hi David,

 

I think we've gone a little off track (groan). My original post #26 was referring to the Curved Turnout SL-E186, the "Curved" bit seems to have got lost in the following posts.

More than a little. This Thread is about the Peco website, not Peco turnouts. As I read it Reply #26 was a complaint about the website.

...R

I was trying to find out what elements of 9mm gauge Setrack are available with their dimensions and I could find nothing useful. It seems to me the website is only for people who already have a copy of the latest catalogue.

I would not mind paying for a catalogue if I wanted a catalogue - after all it costs money to print and distribute.

But I don't see why I should have to buy a catalogue just to find out the facts about a few products.

If the cost of creating a proper website with product details is prohibitive (even though many smaller suppliers have them) why don't they just put a PDF copy of the catalogue on their website. I hardly think the profits from the sale of catalogues is a material item in their annual accounts.

...R

I am the sort of person who likes starting things more than I like finishing them. Also I don't have much space - about 1200mm x 400mm. My latest idea is to make one of those "rabbit warren" types of layout using n-gauge track and an as-yet-undecided scale. This is partly insipired by Hobbiton End and Laurie Calvert's space age railways.

I bought a Kato 4-wheel chassis and it runs beautifully on clean track. I also have some small DCC decoders and a Hornby Elite and a PC program that can control the Elite over a USB cable - none of which has been used for ages. So I was seriously thinking of making this a DCC system.

Luckily, while lying in bed last night I remembered that track based power would require lots of wired connections, regular track cleaning, gizmos to deal with reversing loops and still no guarantee that the hand-of-god would not be needed.

BPR/C to the rescue. The DCC stuff can stay in its drawer.

Phew.  That was a lucky escape

...R

Solar panels are not great.  You used to be able to get generous allowances for the excess power you generate but they are being phased out and while ......

It seems to me that this and some of the other advice in this Thread relates to a quasi-commercial home-based solar system that is connected to the grid.

A much less ambitious scheme with 100w or 200w of panels feeding a 200AHr deep cycle lead acid battery could be perfectly sufficient to provide power and light for model railway running sessions. If the worst came to the worst you could take the batteries indoors to charge them from the mains - but I doubt if that would be needed.

...R

As to cost - our FiT payments exceed our annual electricity bill.

Good to hear. I had not realized the OP was contemplating such a comprehensive solution.

...R

but I doubt it would provide much warmth for the operator.

 

Yep. That's what I said.

IMHO heating with electric solar panels is completely impractical. As well as a huge array of solar panels you would need a huge battery bank.

A solar water heater plus exceptional building insulation would make more sense, but still not a lot.

Heating with mains electricity is also very expensive.

...R

I have had a 4kW array of  PV panels since 2011 (this is around the maximum that your electricity supplier will allow without major hassle).  The average generation per day averages out at 10kW per day. The maximum output in early summer for our location has been 29kW.  From November through to February we are lucky to generate more than say 2Kw per day - hardly enough to light your shed..

 

Cheers Ray

This is hard to follow because I suspect you have the units of measurement wrong. For example do you mean an average of 10kW for every one of the 24 hours or 240kWhrs or do you mean (more likely) 10kWhrs.

Assuming the latter then for a model railway 2kWhrs would be a lot of power - at 12v it would represent 166 amp-hrs or, say, 10 amps for 16 hours. That should drive trains and lighting easily. But it would not be sufficient for heating.

If you don't use your shed every day then that provides more time for the panels to re-charge the battery.

If you are going for an off-grid solar system then don't waste money on more solar panels than your battery needs.

Having said all that, the cost of solar panels and batteries is high and batteries need to be replaced - maybe after 3 to 5 years.

...R

The drawing program that is included with LibreOffice can do what you want very easily and is free and you also get a Word Processor & Spreadsheet in the download.

+1

...R

I suspect the Infineon TLE 5206 h-bridge chip would be a convenient choice. It can control 5 amps and has short-circuit protection and an error indicator pin. I have used them for regular DC motor control.

...R

This might not be the right place to ask, but can you print off the digital issue?

Yes, but only 2 pages at a time.  There is a print button on the right hand side.

...R

 

The lack of built-in "print-to-pdf" is a failing of FF. But easily remedied in various ways such as.

 

I tried several and none of them works to save the page you are viewing as happens in Opera.

However your reply prompted me to try the Print option from the HTML-reader and that works fine when printing to a PDF

...R

I guess it would be odd controlling a train with a stick type handset but if it keeps costs down then hey ho..

I have some friends who control garden railway locos (live steam and electric) with regular joystick controller. IMHO the questin of whether the hardware will fit in the train is the critical factor. If it won't then the Deltang RC equipment is probably the next easiest option. I have RC in 00 Gauge with an Arduino based system. And a while back I put battery powere RC into some N Gauge locos with Deltang receivers.

I guess I am perplexed as to why there's not just a standard way of doing this, when i was converting an older DC loco to DCC I could find 100s on pages of 'how to' examples etc Isn't there a general consensus as to what motor will work with an average O gauge loco?

I suspect it is not common enough. Obviously the motors that work in regular track-powered locos will also work for RC with a suitable battery. I have a collection of several DC motors in my it-may-come-in-useful drawer so I can try options for free.

I would start by considering the sort of motors in this Ebay link

Unless you plan for continuous operation as at Pendon I doubt if there is any value in choosing expensive motors.

...R

Now I actually have RC cars and use lipos etc but in that world everything is marketed with accessibility in mind and knowing what works with what is much easier to understand etc..

Will the RC equipment you are familiar with fit inside your locomotive, and if so, would you prefer to stick with the equipment you are familiar with?

If this was my project I think I would try a cheap motor with some AA cells to power it  directly to see if it provides enough power. Then you have not wasted much money if you find you need a more powerful motor.

You can't identify a suitable motor controller until you know the motor you are going to use and the voltage and current it requires. I would expect model cars for racing to need a lot more power than a model train so maybe the model car controller would be suitable, at least for testing.

...R

Thanks for the links to the free sample. Will access it later.

 

...R

First impressions are good. I may try a single paid-for copy tomorrow.

Incidentally it seemed to work better using Opera rather than Firefox Quantum on my laptop. In Firefox the page order seemed to be mixed up - I think it did eventually sort itself out. And Opera has the option to save a page as a PDF.

...R

Thanks for the links to the free sample. Will access it later.

...R

Try the free sample issue first and see what you think before making any decisions.

I can't find how to access that?

When I go to the pocketmags website all the BRM issues seem to have a price.

...R