suggestion ...on that terminal strip maybe some red nail polish or paint on the 5 volt screw tops so you can see at a glance witch ones are + power .... im liking all this electrical stuff and seeing your build come to life.
That would work. I did get some red and black zip ties to use there and any place else I needed a reminder. Once I had some of the red and black wires on though they did a pretty good job so I cut the zip ties off. Right now when I'm doing a lot of wiring Il remember better without looking. The problem will come later when I haven't done it for a while and have forgotten (happening more often now ). That might be a good time to use your red nail polish. Sumner
Switch Boxes for Servo Turnout Control: Been busy with a number of different projects on the railroad but here I'll cover some switch boxes I made. More info on making ones for single turnout control ( HERE ) and I'll soon add some pictures and info on building ones to control single crossovers (shown below) and double crossovers which only require adding a slide switch and servo cable for each addition servo you want to control under the turnout's throwbars. . . For info on how to wire the switchbox click ( HERE ). . . . . . . For a video on testing the switchbox, servo controller and servos click ( HERE ) or on the image above. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
Staging Tracks Power Control Panel: I want to be able to turn the DCC track power on or off for most of the tracks in the hidden staging area so designed a panel to do that. Will finish wiring it and installing it when the remaining track is laid and will post further photos/info at that time. . . . . . . . . I had used these resistors in some decoder builds and decided to try them over more traditional resistors since this control box is so small. I actually was able to install them and the small LED wiring faster than if I would of used the round resistors. I'd tin the post on the toggle switch. Then pick up the resistor with needle nose pliers and hold is against the tinned post. Then touch the joint with a drop of solder on the end of my iron (set as hot as it goes). It was a touch and immediately pull-back move. I had one that I later redid but they seem to be on the post very securely. I did almost the same with the wire on the other end. I'd cut the wire to length. Due to the small diameter I couldn't use the decoder wire stripper I usually use. Found out that I could barely nick the insulation on the wire with a sharp X-Acto knife. Then use my finger nails to pull the insulation off. You have to be careful with the knife as it is easy to cut the wire in half. Then I'd tin the wire. Hold it against the end of the resistor and swipe it quickly with a drop of solder on the iron and it was that easy. After doing a couple I'd say it took less than a minute to put the resistor and wire on. I'm going to use this method for some other projects also. More photos and info when the track laying and wiring is completed for this project. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
Silly question... With DCC, why turn the staging tracks off, except when the whole layout is turned off? Unless you are running DC locos on DCC?
Not silly and if I only had a half dozen locos on the layout I probably wouldn't do it. I'll have a lot more if I actually ever get them all out of their boxes. Just sitting there they are still drawing a small current which can add up. I see where a number of people do this and I'll do it for the staging and some of the tracks by the roundhouse where a number of locos will be parked. Lots of different suggestions and comments ( HERE ). Sumner
Good read; thanks, Sumner. I couldn't help but notice some of the comments on that MRR thread suggested that because a DC loco's motor armature was not spinning, there would be no Back Electro-Motive Force (BEMF, the opposing voltage 'generated' by a spinning motor armature*,) to oppose current in the windings. However, the motor windings do have inductance, which helps limit the AC current from the DCC waveform even in a stalled motor winding. The question is whether the current is high enough to generate enough ohmic losses (heat) to melt the winding insulation, essentially creating a short circuit. However, "coreless" DC motors have low winding inductance to start with, so they would be problematic sitting motionless on a live DCC track. It should also be noted that a spinning motor generates some airflow which keeps the armature (and its windings) cool(er). But if the motor is not spinning, the airflow, and cooling, is reduced. *the maximum, no-load speed for a DC motor driven at a given voltage is defined by the speed at which the BEMF voltage equals the driving voltage, successfully opposing any current flow (ignoring friction, etc.)
WOW those are good reads ive got more reading to do , so ive book marked for later. Even though im not using that much power or any thing else , it might come in handy later on....Thanks
Laying Track in Hidden Staging: Back to laying track in the hidden staging area. . . . . . . . . . Next up is making 4 turnouts that are needed to finish the track in this area. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
love the detailed build. this is great . Great for newbies and even well seasoned builders an those in between. tips and tricks and a few other ideas..............
Thanks and hopefully something will help someone. I know I'm always looking at other's work for ideas and inspiration so some of the things I put out there now I might of moved on from in a year or so as I find a better way to do something from someone else. I enjoy documenting things and a lot of it is for myself. I'll do something I haven't done for a couple years and forgot how or why I did it so use my own site as a reference and reminder for myself Sumner
Layout Cork Centerlines: In the past I've been laying out my track centerlines with a compass, straightedge and templates I've made with different radiuses. It has worked fine but recently I've marked the centerlines a little differently still using those tools. I mocked them in part way with a pencil and then lay and pinned 1 of the two cork pieces into place on the penciled centerline. With half the cork in place I mark the centerline using the edge of the cork. What I like about this is that I get smoother centerlines to work off of and since they were made with the cork in place I know when I glue and lay the cork is is going to look good on the same centerline. Also with half the cork temporarily in place I get a good idea how the track is going to look and work. As a result of that I've been making some changes to the track plan at this step also. Above you can see how I can skip the step of drawing the curve using the edge of the template but …. ….. go onto wrapping the cork around the template and pinning it in place. I'll do a run with the cork from one location to another and If I like it then I'll run the marker along the edge of the cork and mark the centerline. I like using the templates shown above better than using a track compass when possible. Actually there is a lot of times you can't use a compass since you can't get to the pivot point for the compass due to the point being off the edge of the layout or being someplace where you can't use it, such as in the middle of the benchwork as shown above. I also have cut two radiuses on the templates that are 1 1/4” in difference which is the track centerline I use in most places. . Using paper turnout templates, the templates and straightedges it was fast and easy to run some cork into places I knew I wanted it but hadn't put it down on paper or the layout's surface prior to this. I'm making all my turnouts so using the same paper templates I use to build the turnouts to help mark the centerline is cheap and effective. . I realize that some might think this is a wasted step but after doing it I'll use it as I layout the rest of the layout. It doesn't take long to do and I feel I end up with a lot nicer centerline to work off of and have the option to better visualize how the track work will look and function. A couple hours and I can mark the centerlines and spend 10 minutes pulling pins and head onto laying the cork for the final time. Overall I believe I'm actually saving time and I'm going to get better track work following this plan. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
Laying Cork: The day after marking the track centerlines I pulled the cork up I had used for that and started laying/gluing the cork down. Did this over a couple hours on each of the next two day. Getting faster at doing this. . . . Next up is making the rest of the code 70 turnouts for the staging area and finishing the track and electrical there. Then onto the track that will be seen (a lot of the track in the images above). I've already made about 40+ code 55 #6 turnouts for that so might move faster once I start on that. If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
Crossing & Curved Turnout Combo: As I was marking track centerlines to lay the cork and track I wasn't happy with one area of the layout just before the track enters a tunnel to the track elevator. Past the coal mine and heading to the elevator I wanted a small edge of town scene with a train station and three to five small industries that would need service. The double track mainline comes out of the tunnel to a double crossover where trains can either move to the town side of the mainline or the thru side of the mainline. A modified curved turnout is going in after the crossover to quickly get a single track down that will parallel the main line and lead to some industries. This was done to make the space available for the town as large as possible here. I now had a fairly large area just to the right of the double crossover where I wanted to put a grain elevator. I needed to get a track into that area as efficiently as possible that wouldn't make a road leaving town have to cross two tracks and also wanted the two track to the elevator to be on the backside of the elevator. To accomplish that I'm going to put a #6 LH turnout on the inside main track and have the track off of it that will go the the elevator cross the other track. To accomplish this I'm modifying a Fast Tracks paper curved turnout template so that the one side of the turn straightens out (shortening the curve). Then Fusion 360 was used to make a template for the crossing that has a shallow curve on one side and ends up straight on the other side. It is also at an odd-ball angle of a little under 35 degrees on one side and a little over on the other side of the center. I was then able to overlay a Fast Tracks 30 degree crossing on top of the design to help with tie spacing and electrical isolation cut locations. I wouldn't of attempted this when I first started building turnouts but now it is in the realm of something I'll try. Hopefully posting before it is finished won't jinx it. Flex track and being able to build your own turnouts and crossings opens up a lot of possibilities in designing and building ones layout and can add to the fun. If you have considered building turnouts I hope that you give it a try. I had considered coming off the town track to the industries where the ..... I posted the rest of this layout build in the "How To" on here.... https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/crossing-curved-turnout-combo.149617/ ... so no reason to post it all here again but wanted to keep it also in the layout build, Sumner
Double Track Tunnel Portals: When I put the single track tunnel portals up ( HERE ) I had also designed double track portals. I'm finally getting around to putting them up and I'll also try and get the print files up soon, so check back for those. I did about 12 designs (not all shown here) at the time and might come back to this at some point. . . . . . . I will try and get the print files up soon on thingiverse.com and will post the link here when I get that done. You can find the single track portal print files and over 100 items for your railroad ( HERE ). If you came into the build here you can find the main index for the build ( HERE ). Sumner
