Kim, can you put a PWM to control the intensity of the magnet? That way, you can controllably push it away, except it might take a stronger magnet. Or, based in the notches, a pair of coils with phased PWM cycles to move it either direction. Always thinking , , , . .
Jeff, It turned out simpler than I expected, The electromagnet is ON only for 50msec. Each time I see the magnet via the hall sensor 100msec later I turn ON the magnet for 50msec and do not enable the magnet for the next 150msec, this helps in auto start from idle. By adjusting how long I turn on the electro I can control how much the ship swings. I started with PWM for the coils but the coil is hardly ON so I can overdrive a 6V coil at 12V and dont see any heat buildup. For a ferris wheel just add ~6-8 magnets around the circle and each time the magnet comes across the hall sensor I turn ON the electromagnet making the wheel spin. The max speed can be controlled by increasing the time to turn on the electro. after the hall sensor sees the magnet or by reducing the ON time. I am thinking a swing in a z park would be a good place to try this for size. Kim
This is the super sophisticated way to do such things. Take a look at ROKENBOK toys which have some pretty complex controlls such as a Bulldozer that can go forward, backward, turn, scoop, dump and more -- and the toy itself is wireless from the controller. The basic unit has 8 rechargable batteries/different frequencies, but you can use any combination in any toy [several dozen] so you could rip out the guts and use to make our own Z Scale setup - and run it all day at a train meet. All the gearing controlls have been worked out so you wouldn't have to have a machine shop to build something new. ...don
But can you make the boat rock at scale. 1 arc in 5 seconds (10 complete arc-cycle). It is WAY to fast in your demo.
Jeff, That is a problem, I am using gravity for the oscillation. I cannot count on having a constant friction at the hinge to slow it down. If given a choice I would redesign the ship hinge mechanism with a motor connected that is shorted so it gives a constant friction or put a small servo driving at the hinge. The ship is already built so I got to see how I can move it without altering the original. There is always the second rev. Kim
Fast Clock Here is a fast clock that I have been playing with, Thinking of using it in a clock tower or a station... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wefwnHH_WEM"]YouTube - Fast Clock[/ame] Still looking for cheap smaller watches... Kim
Jeff, I am still here, did not make it all the way to Japan. I'll have to go next month, it is a long story... Kim
Crossing gates Here is the first try at the crossing gates. These gates are made by Michael Hilliard and the details are outstanding, it is a jewel. The motion is not smooth with these cheap analog servos for very small range. I got new servos which are much more smoother will try that next. I made such that if someone by accident pushes the gates nothing breaks.... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI9sE4JnO6k"]YouTube - Z scale crossing gates[/ame] Kim
Clicking noise???? Awesome Kim, but what is all that clicking noise???? Is that the servo firing off???? Wicked Video!!!!! Hobo Tim
Tim, The clicks are the jerky movements of the servo, I am giving it over 400 pulses for the full motion and you can hear the clicks which are a lot less than 400, so for every bunch of pulses the servo moves one big step---cheap servo. I tried a better servo it was very smooth, working on making a fixture for it. Rob, I was planing on making one for you too. Kim
done... now to mount it on a layout, one more feature I added is an additional output so any sound of crossing gates could be turned on and if you add any cars the bake lights could be ON when the gates are down and off when up [ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=T_R3cHSel5Q"]YouTube - z scale Crossing gate[/ame] Kim
Here is the one from Karin's layout [ame="http://youtube.com/watch?v=VHiHGaBGerc"]YouTube - Oscillating mechanisim[/ame] Kim
