Three projects on my short term TTD list. First, adding number boards to two Atlas SD35's. These were unnumbered units I bought along with two numbered units. Second is adding decoders to two Model Power FP&'s. This will be my first hard wire installation. Fortunately Mosel Power left a space for a generic decoder in the rear of the units. Third is to install decoders in two LifeLike C Liners. Awaiting replacement decoders from Digitrax. I fried two decoders on my first attempt at installing them. I wrote up what I did wrong in the DCC and Electronics forum here on Trainboard.
Sad news for me too. As of last night my Arduino servo + relay turnout system (that I thought was mostly finished...) is back on the work bench after I discovered a fundamental flaw. For context, a recent video of the system and a brief rundown in text form- Now, it would be near impossible to perfectly synchronize the switchover of both the frog relay AND the servo, which means there will always be a brief short (eg- frog relay switches from +ve to -ve but the point is still in the position that needs +ve until servo moves), and the point of the Block Master relay was to cut the frog bus during this time so that the short didn't matter (circuit not powered). What I somehow neglected to consider is that the point blade is still routing power 'backwards' from where it contacts the rails, so the frog relays are still live even with the Block Master disconnecting the frog bus. With the current setup of 2 interlocked points this is probably not an issue, but as soon as I add more to the Block Master relay I am going to briefly short out the mainline on every single throw due to all the +ve and -ve feeds to the frog relays being connected at the Block Master relay. The way I see it, there are 2 possible solutions- 1. Each point gets its own Block Master. This would completely remove the chance of a short as the frog relays would all be electrically independent. It also means that I would need 3 relays and 2 input pins for every single point, which is what the Block Master relay system was trying to cut down on in the first place. Not ideal, very wasteful. 2. Purposely insulate the electrical contact between point blades and the rails by painting or adding a clearcoat. This would mean that there's no actual connectivity between the frog and the rails, so it would be impossible to cause a short. As such there would be no need for a Block Master relay, so only 1 relay and 1 pin would be required per point. The downside is the very final tip of the point blade may become an issue due to the small moving joints, should they stop transferring electricity. Also, the point would start shorting on every throw if the paint managed to wear off. Thoughts? I'm thinking option 2 is the best bet, as the required resources (and code) are far simpler. Also, it's likely that in time the point blades will lose electrical contact with the rails on their own anyway, rendering the Block Master concept redundant. Note that any solution has to use the relays (I've already bought a lot of them ) and I'm trying to stay clear of commercial solutions ie- T.V. frog juicers.
TrinityJay - I think that you may be over complicating your issue. If these are Peco turnouts, then you probably have the most reliable turnout in the hobby provided that you do not modify it. I have been using Peco55 Electrofrog for probably 30 years without reliability issues. The switch point blades are very reliable as they flex and mold themselves to the stockrails to ensure good contact on each movement. The secret is to keep paint and ballast off the electrical contact areas. Can you keep your electronics to just switching the turnout positions but ignore the frogs. If you need help wiring the turnouts and inserting insulated joiners, I can help with that. - Tonkphilip
Yes, you are right. When you mentioned unifrogs I remembered I didn't make the standard modifications to the electrofrogs I am using because they are borrowed, serves me right for having 'revelations' several hours after bedtime Done properly the Block Master relays are completely unnecessary. Thanks for steering me back on course there! I understand your view on frog power given your experiences, however mine have been the opposite! We have had endless issues at my club due to people trying to help with scenery and not realising they are ruining the continuity of unpowered frogs. I intend for my own layout to be heavily scenicked and it would only take one slip-up to repeat these mistakes, so I would rather just power the frogs from the outset. As for the unifrogs, I would like to use them but space requirements dictate I mostly need the short radius. I would've hoped they were available by now but with the way things are I think it could be some time off yet. I may just end up using electrofrogs if there's no word by the time I'm ready to lay track.
Well for once absolutely nothing but a little dust thanks to the foul up in shipping caused by covid 19. I have my domes in from Shapeways but but no cars to mount them on because of the shipping snafu in Japan right now. Two weeks with a tracking number but no movement. Another project pending but hung up in Japan that has not shipped yet because of the mess has a 2nd project tied up. And a third project languishes because suddenly Ebay can't ship anything all of a sudden. Fun here trying to stay isolated when you can't get supplies to keep you busy.
Well it never made it to my workbench, so I don’t know if it counts, but I got the decoders for my ICE4 tonight. There are 2 for the power cars and 2 for the ends. The ends are lighting only decoders and the power cars have motor only decoders. So why didn’t they make it to my workbench you ask... Well they were so simple to install that all I needed was a pair of tweezers, I didn’t even have to get off my easy chair. So next up is programming, I will do that later, I can’t even run this train on my layout it’s too big.
BN white face GP40-2 being painted for a friend. This will be my last n scale as my hand issue's have came back. Here's a couple of pics for y'all to enjoy.
Last night I finished the oil depot loading platform and will do weathering and add workers. The oil depot is interchangeable with the stock yard on module 06 of the Boston Mountains Sub Division layout. A few days ago i finished the ice house on module 04 where it is interchangeable with the grain mill. All of my last four projects were done on a TV tray sitting in my recliner watching TV. Cynthia has made several trees and does a wonderful job. Joe
So I need to free up some workbench space so I decided to finish my Arduino project. I mounted it all in a project box... er... to the lid of... and then mounted everything under my module. I know I still have screws sticking up, I will shave them off tomorrow.
Well, I recently built a small dogbone layout with two reversing loops joined by my double crossover, to problem-solved my reversing loops - with some generous help from some folks here. So now, the project ‘on the bench’ is incorporating those reversing features into my layout. I took the foam base off of my HCD to do the wiring, and now I’m putting that back together so I can make all the connections and trouble shoot the layout before I start securing elements in a permanent way.
My current scratch building project is the Frisco Ft Smith Depot. I cut out all of the walls yesterday and assembled them after looking to make sure the nibbler would be able to cut the doors and windows. Also cut two roof sections and the one on the two story end is just sitting in place. Have four more roof sections to cut and build the outcrop on the south end to do. The north end with the columns will be added after the rest of the depot is assembled. Will order doors and windows on Monday morning and today will layout the openings but not cut them until I get the parts needed. Here's the photos I've been using to build the depot. Northwest corner. South end. North end. Joe
Finally finished some working tail lights for my Amtrak train. Flicker free with a super capacitor in the circuit. I just put up a new post on my layout blog covering this project in detail. http://palisadecanyonrr.blogspot.com/2020/05/adding-tail-lights-to-amtrak-superliner.html
Started another little project this rainy Saturday afternoon. Wanted to see if I could use 1-1/2 inch ABS drain pipe to make the curved top of a tunnel portal and this is what I came up with. With some sanding, putty, paint, and weathering this will be ready for the next expansion of my layout. Besides the ABS top there is 1/4 inch plywood, tempered hardboard, and styrene used in this model.