pctrainman

Hi , I've not done a lot on the layout this summer as my garden demands much attention at this time but I have made some progress and had some problems so it's been rather akin to 2 steps forward and 1 back , I do not yet have TC fully configured as to my needs and at the moment i'm concentrating on signalling which is proving to be more confusing than I anticipated , I am also trying to figure out why a scissor crossing wired up with 4 analogue cobalts and a dual frog juicer which has worked fine is suddenly giving me shorts and why at the moment it appears to be related to the installation of 3 signalist SC1's , so in summary i'm unable to answer your query more than to say that the DCC4PC reader boards are working fine as regards occupancy but I have no idea whether TC is making use of Railcom data .

A wire brush is the accepted way of cleaning files when their teeth are blocked .

I have now decided to go with the SC1's as someone on another site has a setup very similar to mine and he has assured me that they work well with traincontroller so you may consider this thread as being closed .

Hi , I have a Lenz N gauge system using Traincontroller Silver and block detection by DCC4PC railcom reader boards and I now want to add 11 two aspect colour light signals and am considering using the signalist SC1 ( x3) to control them via traincontroller Silver , my question is does anyone have experience of this setup and more pertinately does it work ? , I was going to do it with Arduinos but i'm afraid the coding and making of the necessary DCC adaptor boards has proved beyond me so i'm looking for an alternative route .

There are several ways to implent detection and each has it's pluses and minuses , but what you want is very achievable in a variety of ways , I use a Lenz system with DCC4PC Railcom readers ( for occupancy and DCC ) controlled by Traincontroller Silver with signals ( 11 2 aspect Colour lights and 5 Semaphores and 2 electromagnetic uncouplers ) controlled by 3 Arduino nanos mounted on shields plus the neccesary DCC to Arduino Interface boards which are fairly easy to construct yourself , i'm still fine tuning it but am now quite close to what I want .

I had endless problems with a 3 way asymetric till I fitted a frog juicer and it's worked fine ever since .

Hi RAFHAAA96, thanks for that I must have been having a senior moment yesterday as i've just put my meter on the Bachman wheelsets and found that both wheels are insulated from the axle , i'm sorry if i've wasted anyones time .

Hi , I hope i've put this in the right section ? , I have the need to create resistor wheelsets on some of my N gauge rolling stock and have watched a few vids and have everything I need but am puzzled as the vids give step by step instructions as to fitting resistors to metal wheeled stock incorporating an insulator on one wheel and plastic wheeled stock but there is no mention of wheelsets in metal that have no insulator such as my Bachman BR guards vans , does anyone know what I should do with these ?.

I also use Ghiant and find it works very well ,although as Izzy has said it is'nt cheap but if it preserves a card building from damage then I reckon it's worth it in the long run .

If you are contemplating using computer control then you will need some form of train detection eg Rifid Railcom Transponding etc , I use Railcom and DCC4PC Railcom readers and Traincontroller and that requires the trackwork to be divided into Blocks , each block will need feeds so if you think you might go for PC control ? droppers would be a very good idea on every single piece of track .

Or you could try second hand on ebay or maybe on model train forums selling tabs , I recently sold an unused Lenz reverse loop module for £25.00 .

Hi Guvner , if you mean the Coax with a usually Brown outer sheath as commonly used in the UK for old style TV aerials then I would say the answer is yes , and for me personally I find soldering a solid wire to either the bottom or the side of the rails much easier and neater than using stranded .

Hi , I also wanted automation and went for a Railcom based system using a Lenz system and Railcom readers from DCC4PC , I determined that as I do not have a turntable the RR&Co Silver software would be just about comprehensive enough for my needs , I had originally intended to use DCC4PC's Railcommander software but it's not yet mature enough for an oft times numb brain like me .I am about three quarters of the way there in that the layout is finished as regards track and scenery and i'm about halfway through configuring traincontroller to my needs , , traincontroller is vast and does take some learning but I am being greatly helped by the excellent series of Videos available both on here and online from a guy called Rudy .The only real advice I can give is to first be absolutely sure of what level of automation you want ( including possible future changes) and not rush into buying anything until you are sure , and also if you go with a system that uses rail cuts or gaps for occupancy purposes do not ballast until all trackwork is totally finalised and tested fully with just plain ordinary DCC .

Worth 3 Million ? or is it rather that due to those in charge making loadsa money out of other peoples misery 3 Million is the going rate fror something actually worth probably no more than £100.000 ?.

Hi Wobblinwheel , they are called "feeler gauges" here in the UK as well but a better option would be to purchase some steel " shim" material which comes in various thicknesses and saves you having to destroy a feeler gauge ,it can be cut in it's thinnest sizes with just a decent pair of scissors or for thicker stuff a good pair of tin snips is what you need .