RodneyV

Dear All, Today has been very successful, the bottom bit of the layout is now wired up. Everything is also talking to RR & Co perfectly. I'm very happy I can assure you. The next part of this process will be to test. I found two short circuits which I have now corrected. These were from droppers that weren't connected to the buss (or is it bus?). On connecting them they short circuited. In theory to fix them correctly, I should rewire the two turnouts Tortoise connections. However, soldering underneath the layout is not my favourite activity. I might need to man up and just do it. This also means I will host a BRMA meeting this year which will be great. My other thoughts were to rewire and therefore simplify the wiring. The mess of wiring under the layout is annoying me. After seeing the wiring of St Enodocs layout I feel I could do better. The extra wiring is from the block detectors I have in place. This adds to the complexity. However, as this part of the layout will be under another part of the layout, I feel the use of block detectors is warranted. I will think about it before I do anything rash.

Hi Baz, Thanks for that. No rush, it will be about a year before I plan I will need the turntable. I want to try and get something that looks like an Ex LNER turntable. Being on Grantham it should ift the bill.

Hi Baz, Very kind of you. It should be a lot more completed and ready for ballasting the next time you make it to Australia. As an aside, would you know the brand of turntable for Grantham? My through station will need a smaller than normal turntable and I liked the look of the Grantham one. Thanks

Dear All, It has been a good day as far as progress with the layout is concerned. I have 4 more turnouts to add to Railroad and Co, which should take about 2 hours, which is some soldering and then connecting the wiring to the NCE Auxillary Input Unit (AIU) device. Fortunately, I planned ahead and left quite a few spare contacts so I wouldn't have to install any more AIU's. The actual adding the turnouts to the software is quite easy. The tricky bit for me is to get the sftware to point the same way as the turnout. I have one issue however, for the Block Occupany Detector (BOD) for the section in the photograph below, I am showing something being detected by RR & Co, but there is nothing there. I suspect that is a BOD hardware or wiring issue, but I will see. I also took apart the Tortoise per the advice of Gordon. Everything looked fine inside, but one set of Auxilliary contacts still don't work. Maybe another look might be prudent. Last night I read the MRJ guide to fixing the issue. That involved adding a switch to the outside. I did have another look at the DCC Concepts Cobalts. I might buy some when I have some more Tortoise failures. At present, I have all of the bottom section of the layout completed for motors. They other 2 levels of the layout will be using two other alternative turnout operating technologies. I will share these when I get a bit closer to installing them.

Hi Gordon, Thank you for your response. I will have a look tomorrow Sydney time and see what I find. You are certainly right about them being bullet proof. I bought my first ones in 1998 and they are still working, except for one. Thanks again, Regards Rodney

Hi St Enodoc, Funny you should mention that, I was thinking the same thing. I was unfortunate enough to buy the first generation of Cobalts in 2012 which were awful. Since then I have been a bit nervous about their products. I'm sure based on your experience the quality has improved immeasurably since then.

Hi St Enodoc, Jen would agree with that, but we will have to wait until the kids finish school (11 terms to go) and more importantly I get a job.

Just to finish off, you wouldn't believe it, I have had my first Tortoise failure. It still works, however the internal switching doesn't. I will refer to the article in MRJ to work out how to fix it.

Before I forgot, I will add some random images, which is the layout as it currently stands.

Hi Folks, I'm happy to say, I have achieved something. After 4 attempts, I have a control panel that I am happy with (the first of 3 or 4). The next stages are making sure it all communicates with Railroad & Co, then connecting tracks 7 and 8 to the rest of the world. The most tricky one will be building Track 15 which is a reversing loop. The space required will take up some of the space occupied by my wifes car. So it will be detachable and will have to fold up. As I have some much "stuff" (wood offcuts) sitting where it will go, I will to use some of it or dispose of the rest of it. Regards Rodney

Hi Shaun, Keeping the model railway Mojo is challenging. I've been into this hobby for 40 years and I still haven't got near finishing a layout or anything much at all, but it is great fun and keeps the mind active. I am lucky that my model railway group through their friendship makes it easier to keep the mojo going at various levels of intensity. The other thing I remind myself is how privileged we are to have this hobby. It gives leisure time a bit of purpose. Have a break and relax, after 95 pages of RM Web, you deserve it. Regards Rodney

Hi Kym, Great to see you are back in action. I will follow your progress. The photo of the layout above look really good. Regards Rodney

Hi St Enodoc, Thank you. It is coming along. Hopefully tonight will be the completion of the bottom RHS of the control panel. Yes, the mysterious Track 9 is the one marked Right Middle Left. As you may be aware, I have been successful in making easy things more challenging than they need to be. Track 9 is for Railroad and Co for speed profiling of locomotives / stock. The characteristics of each engine are recorded by the system, so they will stop at a specific point on the layout. That is the theory anyway.

You know you need to get a wriggle on with your layout when it is 2020 and the layout is about 10% finished. Below is the control panel I have been working on. This is for the bottom part of the layout which will be the staging yards. I'm not sure if this is the correct British expression, but I'm sure I will find out. I don't believe it is a fiddle yard as none of the stock is to be handled when in this place. The control panel is about 80% complete. The bottom right hand corner is the last part requiring work to complete. I used to have red switches, but I believe they should be black. Red is for signals. Nearly all of the track is laid except for the reversing loop which is called Track 15. That will be tricky as the space for the loop is currently occupied by a car. Where it says Track 1 to 14 that is the block occupancy LED's. I need these as this part of the layout will be unseen. All of the other other LED's and whole numbers are the turnout DCC numbers.

Hi Folks, I haven't posted anything on this website for a few years. So a new decade and new opportunities to contribute. What has happened in 2019 for Radford. Actually, quite a lot of thinking and some doing. I'll upload a plan with the current vision soon. The most recent work on the layout has been the combining of the control panels. I had one and half built and thought operationally they weren't as good as they can be. Therefore, I may have had 6 control panels when the layout was complete, which for a layout in a single garage was crazy. The new plan, is to have one for the bottom part of the layout which is storage sidings. Another will be the newly planned storage sidings, which is essentially all of the bits that aren't stations. The final two will be the two stations. One is a through station and the other a Terminus. The through station will be built first. However, I need to finetune the track plan. I will discuss this when I get closer to starting it. The last two weeks, I have spent tidying up. The amount of mess I have created has been destroying my model railway mojo. Tonight at 11 after watching the Thunder win the cricket, I feel my mind is free from the clutter. The attached pictures are my attempt at building a rack to hold all of my tools. I used it operationally tonight and it worked well. I hope everyone has had a great 2019 and I will see you in 2020. Rodney

Hi All, I have a touch screen monitor for RR & Co. The monitor plug is HDMI and it has a USB port back to the computer. Conceptually it is great. However, you need to have the monitor to be close to you if the image on the screen is small. The bigger issue for me, is getting the turnout to move when I touch it. That is you need to have a large image to touch or use a pointing device to make the exact contact.

Hi Billy Boy, Thanks for the heads up. Years ago I bought a batch of the first generation of Cobalts and they weren't very good and I sold all of them. Hopefully that won't happen with this product. I'm a bit nervous now. On Ebay, I found some Stepper Motors with 10mm of travel. When they arrive, I will try them out. Maybe they are a better motor than these ones. On a positive note, the presentation of the product and the bits in the box is sensational. From a marketing and product development viewpoint DCC Concepts are rattling the cage.

Hi All, I ordered the Cobalt SS Point Motors before I read this thread. Could be interesting to see how they go! They will be used in an area with no space available below the points and only the height of an engine above. I will report back. Hopefully with no frustration.

Hi Jesse, I hope everything goes well with the operation. As far as Adelaide is concerned, I would definitely try and go. I have been told by reliable sources who are not from Adelaide it is an excellent convention. One of the guys in the BRMA is Gavin Thrum. Google his name and see his creations on you tube. The detail and quality are amazing. You will recognise some of the operators on the video as well. I believe he puts a layout together in two years and will have a new one for the convention. Rest assured, at present I won't be able to attend the convention due to it being the same weekend as a wedding I will be attending. The only I have been invited to for the last 15 years or so and it on the same weekend. All the best Rodney

Hi Anthony, Congratulations on your retirement. Great news. Now you can relax. Regards Rodney

Hi Jesse, The BRMA meeting at your place is one the 01st of June. My next BRMA challenge will be Forestvillew on the 02nd and 03rd of March. Cheers Rodney

Hi Jesse, I'll be in touch about a meeting in 2019. I have two slots available for the year. John, I will be in Noumea on the date of the next get together! Regards

Hi Jesse, I bought the BRM for November 2018 and it featured the LNER 1938 Weekend on Little Bytham. Your name is featured in the article. You are now known around the globe! The magazine also has a DVD with it with the running session on it. Well done to you. Hopefully we will catch up in 2019. Regards Rodney

Hi Anthony, Thanks for looking after Derek When he was in Sydney. You need to put a countdown in days before retirement. It must be less than 50 to go! Regards RodneyV

I think I need an exorcism expert for one of my engines. A while back one of my engines that I will call Guillemot for the purposes of this conversation, set alight. It was on the turntable and a short circuit fried the DCC and hence the chip was on fire. The body near the chimney was ruined. After much searching I found a replacement. It had a challenge. When sitting in a block on the layout, it didn't draw any current and couldn't be seen in the block. After replacing the decoder, it was running sweetly. Then stopped working. I can feel the motor pulsing but it doesn't move. That will be a challenge for tomorrow. Today the BRMA had a meeting convened by St Enodoc on changing the numbers on your loco's at my place. A range of ways to change the numbers was discussed and applied. All up 9 people turned up for the meeting and I thought it went quite well. Changing the numbers on stock is not hard, you just have to have a go. Radford was on display and behaved well. Thank you to Charles for all of the help. The next skills meeting should be on DIY loco exorcisms!