Servo controlled semaphores

[gregh]

Great video. Worth watching even without the signals.
You (the signalman) will be kept busy operating the signals for every train.
Do you intend to mount all the RC keyfobs together to carry around or have one 'near' each station?

 

[supagav]

Really nice Rik, it looks great and adds real to charm to the station scene!

G

 

[beavercreek]

Darned fine stuff Rik, and also by Greg for his initial thread. What a great way to make some real 'life-like' interactive difference to scenery infrastructure.
Well done that man (those men)...

Can I make just one suggestion about the food container.
Mount all of the electronics on some stuff like (polystyrene blocks etc) to raise them from the bottom of the container. Or make holes in the bottom with some mesh covering the holes (to keep out insects and the like).
Condensation always creeps into the containers and can build up and ruin electronics..don't ask me how I know...tee hee.

 

[CoggesRailway]

Fantastic job. I love the way they bounce slightly, very clever realism!

 

[ge_rik]

Rik
Love the semaphores just to add a little something out of the box how do you keep the remote battery charged?
I have been thinking of doing a similar remote battery for my next big layout (in 5 years time when I retire and work doesn't get in the road) and trickle charging it using a solar panel like this one.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=ZM9050
Just a thought I am putting out there.

Hi
At present I will bring the battery (and electronics) inside when I know the railway is not going to be used for some time and charge it up from time to time. However, there's very little draw on it and as it's a 7Ah battery I'm hoping to get maybe a full season's use out of it between charges. I did consider a solar charger after a suggestion from Tramcar Trev on another thread. Maybe if I add lighting and other gadgets to the station (eg at Peckforton, I'm intending to have an operating sawmill), I might consider going solar.

Rik

 

[ge_rik]

Darned fine stuff Rik, and also by Greg for his initial thread. What a great way to make some real 'life-like' interactive difference to scenery infrastructure.
Well done that man (those men)...
Can I make just one suggestion about the food container.
Mount all of the electronics on some stuff like (polystyrene blocks etc) to raise them from the bottom of the container. Or make holes in the bottom with some mesh covering the holes (to keep out insects and the like).
Condensation always creeps into the containers and can build up and ruin electronics..don't ask me how I know...tee hee.

Yes - all credit must go to Greg for his Picaxe programming. I doubt I'd have produced a program anywhere near as sophisticated (if at all!).

Thanks for that suggestion. I did wonder about weatherproofing the box more and raising up the electronics is good idea. I wondered about also putting a couple of those bags of silica gel in there.

Rik

 

[ge_rik]

Great video. Worth watching even without the signals.
You (the signalman) will be kept busy operating the signals for every train.
Do you intend to mount all the RC keyfobs together to carry around or have one 'near' each station?

I think I'll probably hang each one on a peg near each station. In the end I'll finish up with 5 keyfobs plus the train controller and points controller - I think I'd end up like some sort of electronic jailer clanking around the garden if I hung them on my belt as well I tend to follw each train round as it goes from station to station - and most of my points are hand operated as well, so, having the fob at the station would be the most logical approach methinks.

Rik

 

[gregh]

I think I'll probably hang each one on a peg near each station. In the end I'll finish up with 5 keyfobs plus the train controller and points controller - I think I'd end up like some sort of electronic jailer clanking around the garden if I hung them on my belt as well I tend to follw each train round as it goes from station to station - and most of my points are hand operated as well, so, having the fob at the station would be the most logical approach methinks.

Rik

Well, when you need a walking frame, you'll be able to hang everything on that.

 

[beavercreek]

Yes - all credit must go to Greg for his Picaxe programming. I doubt I'd have produced a program anywhere near as sophisticated (if at all!).

Thanks for that suggestion. I did wonder about weatherproofing the box more and raising up the electronics is good idea. I wondered about also putting a couple of those bags of silica gel in there.

Rik

They will work for a while Rik (not with the holes in the bottom but airtight-ish) but once they get 'saturated' there is no way to dry them out inside the tub, so the condensation will just build up from that point.

 

[ge_rik]

Well, when you need a walking frame, you'll be able to hang everything on that.

Nah, I'll pave the garden and have one of those battery operated buggies. Come to think of it, I could power all the transmitters off the buggy battery - maybe have some sort of control panel onboard???

Rik

 

[JRinTawa]

That is brilliant Rik, and such a good video.

 

[ge_rik]

Just been reminded on another forum that in real life the signals wouldn't be reset until each train had cleared the pointwork. I must admit that in practice I tend to complete each movement before resetting a signal (if I actually remember to reset it) - however, it's useful to recognise that with interlocking, a route would only be reset once the train had cleared the whole system. My apologies for the misrepresentation.

Rik