US Civil War period Turntable - Automated

[robsmorgan]

Sorry about this but I'm feeling a bit smug ... after several weeks of building a late 19th Century style turntable to turn my scratch railcar/Galloping Goose around (my layout is confined to a double loop dog-bone with one spur/siding) I was challenged by our mutual friend Ross, to automate it..... Very much a trial and error process involving a micro switch, 3 x Neodymium (very powerful) magnets, a 231:1 ratio motor from MFA/Como drills with associated drive belt & pulley and my favoured Railboss radio control (Del of GScaleGraphics has added his link further down) but I've done it
Yesterday was the first 'loaded' trial.... cost for everything excluding track and loco... under £100

See what you think of the footage - I guarantee there is no manual track aligning involved

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KQJt_Gn9FA


Regards
Rob

 

[bobg]

Oh very welll done Rob! That means I need to get on with mine now.

Err doesn't the drill get in the way???

 

[trammayo]

Brilliant - the turntable, the goose, the video, the titling and the choice of music!
Now all we need is the nitty gritty of how you achieved this automation

 

[mmts]

superb....
Now how did ya do it???

 

[robsmorgan]

Oh very welll done Rob! That means I need to get on with mine now.
Err doesn't the drill get in the way???

Yes... in the short term Bob, next thing is to build a flyover ramp, just like the Harriers used on the aircraft carriers
To be honest I was so pleased to have got it to work AND the weather was closing in, I just grabbed the camera and that's the truth

Mick - I have already been writing up the whole tedious story, Rossman wouldn't let me rest until I promised to do so - just looking for a publisher now
will happily explain my method 'ology' for anyone interested

Thanks for the good comments
Rob

 

[Spule 4]

Great vid, and great work, especially getting the indexing right, that is something dad has struggled with for years in HO. Really like the bridge design too.

Only one nitpick in the title sequence of the video, the US Civil War had been over 15+ years by the 1880s.8|

 

[Don Gilham]

B good stuff Rob - loved everything !!!!

 

[nicebutdim]

Very good, and very clever. I like that alot

 

[Richie]

Very nice looking turn table

 

[yb281]

Absolutely outstanding Rob.

 

[pugwash]

Ace, absolutely ace. The job and the film. Win a GSC Oscar from me.

 

[Del Tapparo]

Very cool indeed Rob. From what you told me, you used the G-Scale Grahics R/C Trigger board to automate it. Here is the link ...
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/DelTapparo/gscalegraphics_1_019.htm < Link To R/C Trigger Board

 

[Madman]

That's great! Wonderfully simple concept. Now that I see what Del's R/C trigger board can do, I will look into it alittle more closely.

 

[Madman]

"the US Civil War had been over 15+ years by the 1880s"

Maybe. But it took the South another hundred years to get over it

 

[Martino]

In many parts of the South, it still hasn't.

From the Y'all Nation.

 

[trammayo]

Mick - I have already been writing up the whole tedious story, Rossman wouldn't let me rest until I promised to do so - just looking for a publisher now
will happily explain my method 'ology' for anyone interested

Rob

Hi Rob - my main interest was how you supplied power (and polarity switching) to the turntable track. I've half a mind (wouldn't a whole one be great) to build a turntable utilising a redundant Maplins TV antenna rotator. I cannot justify much of an outlay and I'm tight-fisted anyway!

 

[Steve]

Brilliant Rob if only i had the skill i would build one

 

[ge_rik]

Excellent!! The model, the automation and the film editing!

Please let us know when you've found an outlet for your 'How to ...' article.

Rik

 

[robsmorgan]

[style="color: #0000ff;"]Hi Rob - my main interest was how you supplied power (and polarity switching) to the turntable track........... I cannot justify much of an outlay and I'm tight-fisted anyway!
[style="color: #0000ff;"] Mick
[style="color: #0000ff;"][style="color: #333333;"][size=12pt]Sorry Mick - I went for Radio Control to avoid polarity switching on my loops but I am sure it wouldn't be a major modification
[/size]

Thanks everyone for the very generous comments - I take delight in making things work for a fraction of the cost of buying expensive kit.... OK it can be a bit Heath-Robinson, but it keeps me off the streets :Looser:
Anyway, my comment about a publisher was a joke - although it would be nice to replace some of the money I spent with the failed experimenting side of things :wits: I have almost finished writing the details with accompanying (illuminating? ) photos and diagrams - not sure if I can post a Serif PagePlus newsletter style guide on GSC. MODERATORS please advise !

BONUS: One thing worth mentioning? is that whilst I wanted to turn my locos by 180deg, you can add more 'connections' simply by adding one Neodymium magnet and a pressure/trigger point (for the micro switch) per junction....
For anyone worried about the cost - this is a pretty accurate summary....
[style="color: #008000;"]off-cuts & scraps of timber FREE
[style="color: #008000;"]or perhaps if purchased for the exercise around £15 - £20 ($24 - $32)
[style="color: #008000;"]Twisted florist wire for TT support 'guys' £3 ($4.50)
[style="color: #008000;"]Radio control additional receiver (mine = Hobby King £10 ($12)
[style="color: #008000;"]Escape using existing available Tx channels £18 ($29)
[style="color: #008000;"]Skateboard roller bearings £6 ($9)
[style="color: #008000;"]Rechargeable Batteries & battery holder for RC Rx & motive power £10 ($15)
[style="color: #008000;"]Planetry geared (231:1) MFA/Como motor, toothed cog wheel & belt [style="color: #008000;"]£35 ($56)
[style="color: #008000;"]three Neodymium (powerful) magnets £6 ($9)
[style="color: #008000;"]paint and other consumables £??

[style="color: #008000;"]Total possibe under £100 ($150)

[style="color: #008000;"]Oh! and I used sections of recycled Heinz baked bean tins (which are corrugated in the UK) for the roofs of the 'machine' houses.
[style="color: #008000;"]

Thanks to Rossman for the nagging!
[style="color: #333333;"]Regards
[style="color: #008000;"][style="color: #333333;"]Rob[style="color: #008000;"]

 

[bobg]

Rob, thought you might like this : -

http://www.youtube.com/user/bilgerat671