More info please These panels look really nice & professional! Could you please take the time to describe how you made these panels? What is the source for the metal led bezels?
Yes, that is very sharp looking. I'd also like to hear more about the manufacturing process, including the printing. -gfh
Thanks! The panel design is based on the "Easy Control Panel" article from the July 2009 issue of Model Railroader. I plan on doing a more detailed post in the future, but the basics components are: 1) 6"x24" Aluminum Sheet (5052 H32 .063") Ordered from OnlineMetals.com (I ordered a custom cut size). 2) Track diagram designed in Photoshop, printed on two 8.5"x11" 3M Full Sheet Labels on a color printer, and attached to the aluminum 3) 6"x24" piece of .20" lexan (That's how the store had it labeled) from local art supply store for the top overlay. 4) 3mm chrome LED holders and SPST sub-miniature toggles, both from Ebay. 5) 3mm Red & Green LEDs from All Electronics. 5) SPST Momentary push-button from Radio Shack. 6) 1" and 1/2" magnets from Radio Shack The panel will be screwed to the top of a wood frame made of 1x3" eventually too. The electronics will be added once all the switches and LEDs are in place. Two Tam Valley Octopus boards with 11 controller boards will operate the toggles and turnout position indicators. Occupancy LEDs will connect back to a BDL168 board via some kind of cable (cat5 possibly). The Emergency Stop button will be connected to one of the CML Electronics DAC10 boards. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing this information. I have been researching different methods for making control panels, I think I just found the method I will use!:thumbs_up:
Looks like a cool layout in the making. I personally like the idea of the Metro. Adds a bit of modern suburban interest.
Last night I finished up the wiring of the toggle switches, LEDs, and Controller boards. 78 soldered connections later the panel was lit up like a christmas tree. Here's a new overview video with some details behind the construction and look at the toggles lit up. I won't be able to wire in the occupancy lights until I have the yard powered and the BDL168 in place. Tonight or tomorrow I hope to get the frame built for it. After that happens the panel will be put to the side while I shift work back to the layout. I want to finish (in no particular order) laying out the staging lead track (the grade portion along the top) including the lift out bridge, drop feeders to the yard and stage lead, and install the yard's switch servos. Metal Plate: http://www.onlinemetals.com/ Magnet Wire: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2036277 3mm Chrome LED Holders: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=230399705111 Sub-Miniature Toggles: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110595294018 1" Square Magnets: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2103429 1/2" Round Magnets: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2104068
Awesome video. Are the LEDs secured with hot glue? How are each of the controllers and the Octopus attached? Thanks for posting.
The LED holders themselves are held in place by a nut that screws on the back of the holder. They come with tiny plastic cap you insert the LED into, and then insert into the back of the holder. The caps didn't always stay in place so I hot glued them all in place. For the switch controller board, I simply hot glued it right to the metal sheet. I put a small layer of hot glue all over the back to isolate the contacts from the metal as well. For the Octopus boards, the fascia controller kits came with 4 small plastic standoffs. So I used those for the boards. I hot glued the stand-offs to the bottom of the Octopus, and then hot glued the stand-offs to the metal sheet.
Thanks. Some of my more recent videos I filmed on my iPhone4 and saved as a 720p HD file. I also have a Sony HDR-HC3 1080i HD camcorder I'll use sometimes.
very good stuff. i need to document my layout construction better. are you planning on signaling the layout?
metro line You could keep a version of the metro line. Add a 90 degree crossing to the left of the depot there . It would be just a dummy line that went nowhere, but you could extend the station platform 90 degrees along side it to imply a connecting line....Mike
Yup. I'll be using probably 3 SIGM20 boards from CML Electronics for signaling. It'll be a basic ABS system, monitoring block occupancy and turnouts. No CTC control or anything (though I could probably do it if I wanted). I also plan on expanding the staging panel in the future to show occupancy, turnout, signal status along with turnout control for the entire layout with CML's DTM30 board.
This weekend I finished up wiring up the control panel lights, namely the occupancy detection LEDs. I first created my wire hareness for the Digitrax BDL-168 board. I bought some ribbon cable assemblies from DigiKey (Part # M1AXA-1036R-ND) made to fit the pin headers on the board, and some dual port 4-Conductor RJ-11 surface mount boxes. In order to keep track of the wiring, I label each jack A & B, and the each pair 1 & 2. So I'd have 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2 for a box. 2A1, 2A2, 2A3... and so one for 4 boxes. I then assigned a track to each pair. It was then just a matter of connecting the LED in the control panel to correct pair and running phone cable between the two. Here's a look at the boxes for the BDL-168 The boxes mounted inside the control panel: And here it is lit up on the wall: All that's left is to run wires to the servo machines and the panel will be done. Just waiting on some rolls of servo cable to arrive.
This week I started running staging bus wires attaching staging feeders to them. I used up all my suitcase connectors so I hit a roadblock until I get more. But I did manage to wire up both Rail A & B to the left and right sections of the Mainline so I had to get an engine on the rails. Still to need to clean the rails at the solder points and some dried caulking at spots, but the engine ran great on the track that had power. The control panel occupancy lights worked great too. I'm going on vacation next week but I'll probably place an order mid-week for more suitcase connectors so they'll arrive just after I get home. Speaking of bus wires, here's what I'm doing for my bus connections between modules. These are Anderson PowerPole connectors. I really like these for two reasons: 1) They are genderless. So there's no worrying about needing to have a female and male to make a connection (cause I know I always ended up with more of one than the other somehow). If you got 2 connectors, your good! Just crimp down, flip on over and connect. 2) They are interlocking. Each connector can slide into a grove on another, so you can easily build block connectors of several wires. Need to add another wire? No problem, just slide it on any existing connector to add it to the block. So what to do the rest of the week? I'm working on the mainline on the peninsula right now. Sub-roadbed plywood is mounted in place. In the process of laying out track for the rough-in, then I'll install the risers for the track, cork roadbed, and finally track. I originally planed on placing the paper mill here on the peninsula, but I'm leaning towards simply having this be an hillside scene or something because the track is all on a grade here. So we'll see.
