dale159

So then, now that we are into the new year its time for some more modelling. I haven't made as much progress as I'd hoped on the electrics side as I wasn't certain of what I wanted to do but things should pick up shortly after a bit of a Eureka moment. I have now made a start on the underside of the control panel, which in hindsight I could have done months ago but I never gave it a thought, also I have now added 2 support braces underneath. Unfortunately while the fiddle yard has been its dismantled state over the Christmas period 2 of the tracks ends have become damaged, these have now been removed for replacement when the layout goes back together, but nothing that will hinder the electrical work. My previous plan for connecting the control panel to the layout was via 25 way ribbon cables, but I wasn't happy with the thin wires supporting the weight of the d plugs an nor was I happy with the thin wires running to the chocolate blocks on the main board as they would have the potential to get pulled out, and from my experience gained from the other uses of ribbon cable they are quite fiddly to work with. And so for my Eureka moment, I discovered what is called a breakout board, basically a 25 way d plug on a board with a screw terminal for each pin http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171581436606?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181610140135?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT On that basis 6 males and 6 females were duly ordered about half an hour ago, so whenever they turn up I will be able to make some progress. Dale

Time for some action despite being on annual leave again this week I haven't been able to do much due to awaiting for the postman to bring essential items, however I have now taken delivery of all the things I require to do some wiring. 6 metres of 25 way ribbon cable. 6 Pairs of 25 way ribbon cable D plugs. I order to prepare for the mass wiring session I dismantled the fiddle yard side of the layout and then put it back up on its back, minus the middle board, resting on the two chest of drawers that usually reside underneath, this is so I can reference where each wire comes from. The middle board was then clamped into the workmate and the control panel fitted on top. Having done all that I discovered a slight oversight I'd made was that I'd effectively imprisoned myself in the garage! So the whole lot was then pushed along to clear the door but his left rather an overhang at the other end which I feared could tip up. Never mind, the situation was quickly resolved with what I'd describe as 'Clarksonian engineering' (a hammer was used!) Tomorrow the soldering iron will be in operation quite a lot, good that I also ordered some old fashioned solder with Lead in from Rapid at the same time as the D plugs. Also I notice theirs a failed rail solder joint on the back corner board which will need repairing Dale

Well after a bit more internet searching it seems that the 37 way plugs are few and far between and priced to match. Instead I have ordered 6 pairs of 25 way plugs from Rapid exactly as per the link and 6 metres suitable ribbon cable, so once all that turns up their will be some progress - Watch this space Dale

I've been looking on the internet this afternoon for the best method of connecting the control panel to the layout. My initial count up told suggested there should be 146 wires to be connected between the control panel and the layout, I will be going out to the garage to double check that number before I order anything. From my internet research I have been intrigued by a variation of D plug into which a computer ribbon cable can be crimped. http://www.rapidonline.com/cables-connectors/25-way-d-idc-plug-19-0400 Although not available from Rapid I have seen this type of connector available in 37, 50 and 68 pins, I suspect I will opt for either 4 37 way connectors or 3 50 way connectors, also the use of ribbon cable within the panel should keep the wiring much neater. I have learned from previous layouts of mine and other people that ordinary D plugs with soldered connections are very fragile and susceptible to internal melting so I was keen to avoid using them at all costs, the reason for this can be seen by the cruel close-up my dodgy soldering exhibited in the photo in the previous post! Dale

Quick one from last night, Wired up the two interlock boards and tested them, all worked as planned (apologies for my dodgy soldering!) Each motor will have one more pink wire coming from the switch but this will be added once I've sorted out how long they have to be depending on where these boards get mounted underneath the control panel. Colour coding is - purple for normal, pink for reverse and yellow for the common feed. Dale

A couple of things from this week The Control Panel has now been populated with all the switches, thanks to a delivery from the post man this morning Using a couple of spare point motors in stock I fabricated these boards, these will reside under the control panel and will be a form of interlocking for each pair of scissors to ensure that only one crossing on each set can be thrown at a time. And here's the circuit diagram I have worked out for this, note that both wires to reverse the crossings are pink on the layout but for clarity of the diagram I have changed one to green. Next job is to start making things work! Once I've worked out the best type of connector to use between the panel and the layout. Dale

And so after last nights post....... ......Here's one I made earlier, as can be seen by the reflection of the lights the panel is now laminated in the frame with a piece of sticky back plastic from Smiths, unfortunately there are one or two air bubbles that need persuading out around the drill holes, hopefully the switches themselves might disguise them a bit. Worth mentioning that I nearly caught myself out went reassembling it, got 2 1/2 screws back in only then decided I to check I'd put the mimic back in the right way around - yeah I should've done that first I thought as I started undoing said screws! Dale

No photos today, however - My control panel is starting to resemble a piece of Swiss cheese having drilled another 104 holes in addition to the 60 odd it already had, 8 6mm holes for more section and point switches relating to the scissor crossings and the other 96 3mm holes to house LEDs. I have also been over the panel with the black paint pen again patching up a few places where the lines had been damaged by all the drilling and I've also been over it with a pot of white paint patching up a few places where I'd changed the design slightly and a bit at the back which was damaged by the masking tape I used when I cut the piece from some 4x2 hardboard. The next job on the panel once I've completed making paint repairs will be to remove the top surface and cover it in some sticky back plastic (Blue Peter style!) then once all back together I will be able to start installing switches. Dale

A quick update. As before I've been busy underneath the layout connecting up all the wires that were dangling down. I am pleased to report that everything has now been wired back to the centre board adjacent to the control panel, next I need to work out the best of getting all these wires across to the panel. A couple from today Having wired up the two boards across the back wall I figured I had to sort out the other expansion board, of course the three together are wider than the garage so I had to improvise somewhat! Using the exhibition legs for the corner boards I then G-clamped them to the sides of the other boards. The 4 way molex cables from a few posts ago have been fitted and will form part of a bus between the two control panel's, these are connected using household twin and earth cable stripped out with the live and neutral cables utilised. The first trains moving are approaching rapidly! Dale

A couple of items from the weekend While wiring up the lifting section I figured I mights as well lay track and wire up one of the exhibition expansion pieces And from underneath, the cables I've used are 10 pin computer ribbon cables, I ordered 3 40cm cables simply cut them in half. Of course to complete the second expansion piece I will need a 4th cable, not quite sure what I was thinking when I only ordered 3! No fancy electronics here, just a pair of track feeds spliced into the 10 wires that pass through it and the outer ends joined together to protect the pins Dale

I know I said there wouldn't be many updates but I thought this was worth posting. The first pair of the 20 pin ATX cables with the outer ends cut off and fitted into chocolate blocks. And then fitted on the layout between the front corner and the lifting section, sorry its a bit blurred, I was having to stop the whole lot tipping over onto the track with my right foot just out of shot! Today I have ordered the 6 24 pin ATX cables I require and some 10 pin computer ribbon type cables to go between the two halves of the lifting section and two back boards including enough parts for the two expanding boards if exhibiting. Dale

Quick update, I'm still here! Nothing to report on the layout since the last update although things should start moving again soon. We've currently got some builders working in the house who have decided to take up the space in the middle of the garage with all their equipment so I haven't always been able to access the layout. As the next stage is wiring the probably won't be a huge amount of interesting things to look at until trains start running! In preparation of the builders finishing and leaving us this weekend I have been on eBay and bought....... ...... For use across board joints, 16 (8 pairs) of 20 pin ATX motherboard extension cables and 6 (3 pairs) of 4 pin molex extension cables, these will be used as a sort of bus cable for the twin controllers between the two control panels to increase operational flexibility. One other problem I have to resolve is how all the wires will get into the control panel, there will be about 150 wires, I had hoped to have a row of chocolate blocks from one end of the panel to the other but it isn't long enough give me all the terminals I require, so more rethinking is required. Dale

Not much to report this week. The only thing I've done is drill some more holes for the point motors, 19 in fact, I have also de-burred each hole with a scalpel followed by a count up of the number of LEDs required - 90! I had ordered a points detection indicator however I have had to return it to the supplier because I could not get it to work correctly, not sure if it was a production fault or a mistake I made while testing it which damaged it. Also to be considered is how to set up the scissors, I'm thinking of using a single biased toggle switch to reverse each crossing and a push to make switch positioned in the centre of the crossing on the diagram to set the normal route. Dale

A quick update of happenings from last week and today. Over the weekend I made the alteration to the right hand side of the control panel similar but not exactly as suggested in the previous post as well as cleaning the lines I'd rubbed out as much as I could with a tiny amount Cif type cream cleaner I found under the kitchen sink. Then it was out with the awl and the 6mm drill for the first 39 section switch holes, I will worry about holes for the points, indicator LEDs and the scissor crossings afterwards. The plan is to use double poll double throw with centre off for the twin controller set up except for the 5 sidings which will be fed by from the inside most road which effectively serves as a double ended headshunt for all of them, so whichever way that switch is set determines the controller for all 5 sidings with their switches simply to isolate each line. Dale

After yesterday's post I took the panel back out to the garage, after spotting a suitable break in the weather, where I located it in on its hinges. While out in the garage this afternoon I was looking at the panel and the track layout. I decided that the diagram on the panel did not match the track layout as well as it could. Here is the offending area, I carefully scratched away the unwanted line with my fingernail. The point I have removed is actually the one on the lifting piece so it is a considerably longer piece of track between the two than the short section shown on the panel, in theory it could hold a 3 car DMU or similar. And here is the redesign, marked in pencil and then with the paint pen, hopefully I will be able to touch in the white bit I have chipped away, I have repaired the black line I damaged after I took the photo. I am also considering making a similar alteration at the other end as shown here (doctored image lashed up on paint) again to more accurately mirror the track layout. I have also had an idea about protecting the painted lines, that old Blue Peter favourite - sticky back plastic, I would unscrew the front baton slide the hardboard out before applying and reassembling. Dale After yesterday's post I took the panel back out to the garage, after spotting a suitable break in the weather, where I located it in on its hinges. While out in the garage this afternoon I was looking at the panel and the track layout. I decided that the diagram on the panel did not match the track layout as well as it could. Here is the offending area, I carefully scratched away the unwanted line with my fingernail. The point I have removed is actually the one on the lifting piece so it is a considerably longer piece of track between the two than the short section shown on the panel, in theory it could hold a 3 car DMU or similar. And here is the redesign, marked in pencil and then with the paint pen, hopefully I will be able to touch in the white bit I have chipped away, I have repaired the black line I damaged after I took the photo. I am also considering making a similar alteration at the other end as shown here (doctored image lashed up on paint) again to more accurately mirror the track layout. I have also had an idea about protecting the painted lines, that old Blue Peter favourite - sticky back plastic, I would unscrew the front baton slide the hardboard out before applying and reassembling. Dale

More Panel News Good news is that the postman delivered my paint pen this morning, so it was put straight to use And here is the result, I have to say I'm very pleased with it. Next job is to drill holes for switches and point indicator LEDs, then I may get a friend who runs a garage to give it a few coats of lacquer for me. Dale

Thanks for your comment, very much a catch 22 situation! I think I will draw the lines first, I'm off work tomorrow so hopefully postie will bring the paint pen, holes will marked with an awl before drilling to ensure they are in roughly the right places. Dale

Quick Update, Not much to report, there has been no further progress on the electrical side of things apart from counting up the number of wires that will cross over each board joint This morning I have marked out the track diagram on the control panel in pencil, bit difficult to see in this picture but its more visible in person. I have ordered a black paint pen to go over the pencil lines but this has not arrived yet. Question is, do I drill holes for switches now, or wait until after I've gone over the pencil lines with the paint pen? Dale

Bit blurry as I zoomed in to take it and have cropped it on the computer. 143619 pictured at Exeter Central this morning now sporting this silver window frame on 55685 right next to the toilet, which has appeared in the last 10 days or so. Also 143603 looks to have been virtually repainted in local lines livery in the last few weeks, It was looking very faded until recently but now is as shiny as it was when it was first painted like that, I'm surprised it wasn't repainted plain blue like the 150/1s and 153s 329/361/369. Dale

Thank you David. To be honest the finish I've achieved is even better than I was hoping it would have been! Dale

More panel news After a couple more coats of white emulsion last night the panel was ready to reassemble when I got home from work this afternoon. Held in place with the G clamps underneath as before. Then I turned my attention to fitting the hinges, with the three G clamps on the top it is now being held up solely by the hinges. Each hinge has a piece of spare 6mm ply behind it as a spacer, some black paint will be applied to these at some stage. I have had to use slightly smaller nails than the ones I was supplied with as they were a little bit of a tight fit, I may need to adjust the tolerances a bit to make the larger ones fit better as when I do use the larger nails the panel sits solidly whereas the smaller nails allow it to droop by a few mm. Next job will be marking out the track diagram on the panel and going back to counting how many wires will be crossing each board joint and sorting out connectors for them. Dale

Good news I have just been and collected the control panel from my carpenter friend who has made an excellent job of cutting the slot for the top surface Despite the fact it was reduced to its component pieces when I collected it, I couldn't resist putting it together to see how it looked, very good I do so. No sooner had I put it together and taken a few pictures I then took it apart again for a coat of paint - drying as I type - hopefully a second coat will follow later on, the local free rag proving it does have some worth after all! Dale

Well, this evening I took the bits of my control panel along to the local club for my friend to use the router on it, their was a slight concern that the router would make a bit of a mess in the clubroom. At which point another member who happens to be a professional carpenter offered his services which were duely accepted, so he has taken it away with him and I hope to have it back by the middle of the week. Dale

Another quick update/glimpse of things to come The outer frame of the control panel has been made, here temporarily held in place with a pair of G clamps. Lengths of wood on top will be dealt with as well, I was asked by a friend to make another 4x2 board for his 009 layout which was done last week. I'm still waiting for the usage of my friend's router, (different friend) While I wait I have marked a pencil line 5mm from the top all the way around the inside edge to cut a grove for the top surface of hardboard to slot into, much neater than just nailing it on the top! There will probably need to be a pair of struts across the middle to prevent the top surface from bowing, these will be added afterwards. the framework will also have a lick of paint before final assembly. With the bit of hardboard placed precariously on top. Eventually the panel will be held in place with these hinges modified for me by another friend (different again) buy cutting out the original pin and replacing with a large nail. I also measured up the clearance across to the other side of the layout to see how much room would be left when the second panel on the other side is fitted, answer about 21 inches, perfect for me to stand/sit slap bang in the middle and be within reach of everything. Dale

Quick Update I had been hoping to construct the control panel for the fiddle yard today, with the assistance of a router I hoped to borrow from a friend, unfortunately he had lent it out to someone else and had not had it back in time so that was that idea out the window. Instead I fired up my old laptop (which took ages compared to my new one!) because it has XtrkCad on it and toyed with a few ideas for the public side of the layout. Here's my favourite. It's a half relief station with 2 through platforms about 5'6" in length, so about half an HST with the other half off scene, It is a totally fictitious location set roughly in the Exeter/East Devon area but with the idea that the Southern 3rd rail network extended a bit closer than it actually does, which is the purpose of platform 5 and the siding beyond at the top of the diagram. Also with a little more freight than we actually get in this part of the world. the other 2 bay platforms will see DMU services from the other end of the layout. Rolling stock wise, through a combination of my own and a few friends stock the layout could see anything from BR Blue to locos and coaches right through to the current scene. Comments and suggestions welcome Dale