Who makes the best over all Z scale Speedometer? What brand / type do you use? Why did you choose the one you have over the others? Now that you have it would you buy the same one again or choose a different model? How difficult is setting up the sensors to get accurate readings?
I use Modelspeed. Its used with a smartphone, and the reason I use it its because it's cheap. It only cost 99 cents. Cant beat the price. What you do is mark off the distance and use the app like a stop watch, then it will display the mph or kph.
Well . . . a quick Bing/Yahoo!/Google search results in: Boulder Creek Engineering's Hot Shot: http://www.bouldercreekengineering.com/ Bachrus - Model Train Speedometer: https://www.bachrus.com/speedometer.php Train Control Systems (a.k.a. TCS-DCC) - TrainSpeed1: http://tcsdcc.com/Zen/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=648 Can't find the manufacturer site (so sells thru private sales): Model Railroad Technologies - AccuTrack: http://www.enginehouseservices.com/...OMETER-TUNNEL-_-ACCUTRACK-II-SPEEDOMETER.html There are some threads using bicycle peds and odometers mounted on rail cars, for a more continuous monitor. These use axle flags but you may be able to use the ties too.
I use a stop watch and run around a 2 meter oval. You have a 300ms uncertainty but as long as the run time is long (>10s) not significant. I figure I really don't need to measure speed to 0.1 MPH (scale). I've also built a speedometer using an Arduino. Mark
I use a similar method to Mark, which I find accurate enough for my requirements. I have a continuous layout, designed using AnyRail. I make a copy of the AnyRail file, then remove everything not in the oval I wish to time, for example, turnouts are replaced with the appropriate straight sections of track. I then use the AnyRail info to determine the length of the oval. I use a spreadsheet to calculate the length of time one loop would take at different speeds, with the appropriate scaling to determine prototype speeds. I use a digital clock to determine the time for one loop, taking the seconds reading as the locomotive passes a point on the track, on two consecutive passes. I can then look at the spreadsheet information to determine the prototype speed. The time calculation is only accurate to +/- 2 seconds, but for a circuit time of 30 seconds plus, I reckon that this is sufficiently accurate. I do all the calculations in metric units, and as I am running passenger trains using Marklin rolling stock, I aim for a prototype speed of between 80 to 120 kph. Rob Pearce (aka ViperBugloss)
Rob, that accuracy improves if you go around more times, like 10 (as Mark noted in the earlier post). .
I've created an app that does this and more. If you wish to try it out, please report any comments/problems via the email me link on the main page. Download from http://pattinson.net/RRCalc.apk It's an android app and calculates -- grade -- scale speed -- helix -- scale measurements -- ohm's -- scaling drawings -- easement calculations -- english/metric conversions
Currently set up for O thru Z And for all you iPhonies, sorry. Don't know C# and programming an iPhone is a pain in the a$$.
