Robin2

From reading on the Arduino Forum conflicts between libraries seem to be quite common. I am not aware of any protocol that would help library developers avoid them and, of course, the Arduino has relatively few resources so it's not unlikely that two ideas will need the same resource. As with every other open-source product the documentation is poor or non existent so that it can be hard to find out where the overlap is. It may be possible to modify the code in one or other library to remove the overlap. Multiple use of the same timer seems to be a common problem. It would probably be useful to ask about your problem on the Arduino forum. ...R

It looks like you have been lucky so far. At worst, powering motors from the Arduino 5v or Vin pins runs the risk of damaging the Arduino. But it can also cause brown-outs which will appear like software problems and can be very hard to debug. ...R

I have the same stepper motors as @Pandasum. They work very well with the Pololu A4988 stepper motor driver board which can be powered up to 35v to enable the motors to retain torque at higher speeds. ...R

Perhaps if you put the transmitter antenna near the tunnel it would work within the tunnel and everywhere outside as well? Have you proved that the signal is lost within the tunnel? ...R

Welcome OORadio2014 (There is more than one Dave ) My own interest is in N Gauge because I don't have space for OO Gauge trains. If BPR/C is possible in N Gauge it is, as you say, a doddle in the larger scales. Nice point about dirty track improving adhesion. What I like about the Deltang receivers is that they include the radio and speed control in one tiny package. I presume you have seen the Freerails website http://freerails.com/view_forum.php?id=45 ...R

Another option you might consider is an Arduino Uno. It is easy to program and has the ability to produce PWM outputs and take analog inputs, for example from a potentiometer. You would only need to add some parts to amplify the power that is controlled by the PWM signal (usually referred to as a h-bridge). The Arduino board can't produce enough power to drive an electric motor. While you need to connect it to a PC to program it, once it has been programmed there is no need for a PC. There is a huge amount of advice available on the Arduino Forum. ...R

Looks great. What scale is the model and what sort of wireless system does it have? ...R

If I understand things the hall effect sensor, or whatever alternative is chosen is just to provide a reference point for the software. If so it doesn't need to be precisely positioned but it does need to trigger at the same position every time. And it may be sufficient if it gives different reference numbers depending on which direction the turntable is moving as long as clockwise always gives X and anti-clockwise always gives Y. The software can then filter out the difference. While a tactile switch, such as regular microswitch would work I suspect a non-contact sensor would be better for such a small device. It should be easy to adjust the software to take account of normally on or normally off switches. ...R

I think people who haven't tried BPR/C will find it hard to understand how much better this is, it immediately feels altogether different - you really do need to experience it. It's probably because the uncertainty about "will it move" is gone. ...R

I've seen turntable projects where the table is turned by a DC motor driving a worm gear with a large gear fixed to the table shaft. That puts the motor to the side of the table rather than directly under it. You could use a similar arrangement with a stepper motor. If you had a long shaft connecting it to the worm gear it could be well out pf the way. ...R

Inspiring .... I really like how slowly and smoothly it works. I was expecting it to launch itself like a rocket - don't know why. When you have the steering working you will have to automate the winches for the crane ...R PS I'm nearly as impressed that you have so much clear desk space for the demo.

@simond, how are you planning to control the stepper motor? I am using some to (hopefully) make a small metalworking lathe into a combined CNC lathe and a 3D printer. It is easy to control a stepper motor with an Arduino Uno and a Pololu A4988 driver board. I am rotating my train-sized (NGauge) turntables with a servo and using another servo to position it. ...R

I am planning to control my locos from my PC. That way each will be controlled separately and the power level could be tweaked upwards on a loco that is running slowly. It may also be possible to have some system to monitor motor speed so that could be used by the throttle and not just "power". I suspect it would be difficult to fit speed measurement into an NGauge loco so I may not be the one to experiment with this. It is also possible to measure the battery voltage and maybe that would be a way to build in power/speed compensation. ...R

There are radio control systems that use DCC chips and I guess that would be the simplest way to get onboard sound - though not necessarily cheap, because you need the radio stuff and the DCC stuff. There is no reason why on-board sound can't be provided by a non-DCC BPR/C system but I don't think anyone has done it yet. Go on, accept the challenge ...R

I couldn't remember the name of this stuff yesterday http://www.bullfrogsnot.com/ but now that I have it seems to be expensive. ...R

Your tyres appear to be hard plastic that would give poor grip. As an experiment you could try putting a small rubber band around the driving wheels (like traction tyres on the trains). If that works, and if you can't get suitable alternative wheels it may be possible to put a groove in the centre of the wheels into which an o-ring could fit and protrude slightly. Also, I wonder if you might have better low speed control with the Deltang controller so that the truck wouldn't try to start too quickly. ...R

Thanks for all the great pictures. I'm looking forward to the video of the finished product. Be very gentle with the wires from the motor. I broke a wire off a similar motor and when I opened it up to see if I could solder in a new wire I lost one of the brushes - tiny hair-thin wires. I think if I get another motor I will put a drop of epoxy where each wire exits the body for added durability. ...R

Great to see that DavidT's products have reached Germany. This link http://www.shdesigns.org/lionchg.html may be useful for LiPo charging at "normal" speeds. The model aircraft community puts far more stress on its batteries than scale model trains and trucks need. I've built a small circuit following the concepts on that web link which I use to charge the single cell LiPos in my trains. I can adjust the voltage to overcome the voltage drop in the rectifier which is necessary because a loco could be placed on the track in either orientation and could also discharge into another loco. With a multi-turn potentiometer very accurate control of voltage is easy. ...R

Are those 4 white things sockets for servo connectors? If so I presume the ESC is separate from the receiver. The Deltang units have the ESC incorporated in the receiver board for about the same size board as in your picture. However on the Deltang boards the connections must be soldered on - makes for more trouble but a smaller board. Will the system you have work from a single LiPo cell? ...R

That website seems to have lots of interesting parts - such as small gears and motors. I haven't seen gears like that anywhere else, in spite of a lot of Googling. I suspect the Deltang receivers would easily fit in 00Gauge vehicles. They come with a motor controller and I think they can be programmed to operate a servo for steering. I guess the mechanicals are more of a challenge than the electronics. ...R

Sorry I have no experience to share, but I'm interested to know what is in the kit you bought from Germany? When I read the title of this Thread I thought you might be converting one of the Faller mechanisms to radio control. I wonder would it be possible with an N-gauge bus? ...R

Welcome to the wonderful world of BPR/C Dave. I started by converting a Farish NGauge large prairie to BPR/C using a 6v? motor from a servo and a single 3.6vLipo cell. I have an onboard rectifier so I can charge from fiddle-yard tracks while the loco is waiting its turn. I found by accident that the same servo motor is a direct drop-in replacement for the 12v motor in my Class 101 DMU. My large prairie was converted with a Deltang Rx41 but I have since discovered that the Rx6x modules use an Atmega 328 chip and can be programmed like an Arduino device so I will be changing over to that system. With it I expect that one "transmitter" will be able to drive about 15 or 20 trains simultaneously from a fleet of a hundred or so. And if that's not enough you could have a second or third transmitter. There has been an extensive discussion about multi-cell Lipos here http://freerails.com/view_forum.php?id=45. I couldn't fit more than one cell in my large prairie so I decided to use 3.6v in all my locos for convenience. Two LiPos (7.2v) is probably enough to drive a 12v motor. @dpbagley - I know the onboard microprocessor can do it. I just don't see the point of the complexity. Also I don't think there is likely to be any shortage of data transmission capacity. If you feel like changing something it takes a few minutes on a PC with no need to upload anything to the loco. ...R

If the electronics in the loco makes the motor run at a speed dictated by a wireless signal received from the controller then, in my opinion, the acceleration/deceleration should be calculated in the controller and not in the loco. That makes the software in the loco much simpler and makes the whole system more flexible. I experimented briefly with acceleration/deceleration on my little NGauge layout and I found it totally impractical because there wasn't sufficient distance for it to work and not being able to instantly control the loco meant that it crashed all the time. ...R

Rod, if you haven't read all the earlier replies in this Thread post #211 be of interest http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64616-battery-poweredradio-controlled-locos/page-9&do=findComment&comment=1085385 ...R

Very impressive, David, and welcome. As far as I know the DelTang (DelTino) modules could be programmed for a similar motor RPM detection system. I would like to get more information about how you detect motor speed. I presume you are just "counting" interruptions to the light? What exactly is interfering with the light? Is it important to position the led and photo transistor carefully? I presume your loco has an open-frame motor? Have you given any thought about how to apply the system with a can motor? ...R