US Civil War period Turntable - Automated

R

robsmorgan

Registered
Sorry about this but I'm feeling a bit smug :confused:... 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 :party:
Yesterday was the first 'loaded' trial.... cost for everything excluding track and loco... under £100 :thumbup:

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

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


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

Err doesn't the drill get in the way??? :rolf:
 
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:thumbup:
 
superb....
Now how did ya do it???
 
bobg said:
Oh very welll done Rob! That means I need to get on with mine now.
Err doesn't the drill get in the way??? :rolf:
Click to expand...
Yes... in the short term Bob, next thing is to build a flyover ramp, just like the Harriers used on the aircraft carriers :rolf::rolf::rolf:
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 :confused: :confused:

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 :laugh::laugh:
will happily explain my method 'ology' for anyone interested :nail:

Thanks for the good comments
Rob
 
Great vid, and great work, especially getting the indexing right, that is something dad has struggled with for years in HO. :thumbup: 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|
 
Very good, and very clever. I like that alot :D
 
Very nice looking turn table :thumbup:
 
Ace, absolutely ace. The job and the film. Win a GSC Oscar from me.
:bigsmile:
 
That's great! :thumbup: Wonderfully simple concept. Now that I see what Del's R/C trigger board can do, I will look into it alittle more closely.
 
"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 :rolf:
 
In many parts of the South, it still hasn't.

From the Y'all Nation.
 
robsmorgan said:
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 :laugh::laugh:
will happily explain my method 'ology' for anyone interested :nail:

Rob
Click to expand...

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:rolf:) to build a turntable utilising a redundant Maplins TV antenna rotator. I cannot justify much of an outlay and I'm tight-fisted anyway!
 
Brilliant Rob if only i had the skill i would build one
 
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
 
[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 :nerd:
[/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;"]
 
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