Search found 142 matches

by minipix
Thu Feb 04, 2021 3:32 pm
Forum: Electrical & Electronics
Topic: Improving conductivity and reliability with... a pencil
Replies: 18
Views: 3264

Re: Improving conductivity and reliability with... a pencil

Yes, adding a little graphite to the wheel backs supposedly aids conductivity from the wheel to the pickup. I run little tank engines, so I need all the electrical assistance I can!
by minipix
Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:24 pm
Forum: Electrical & Electronics
Topic: Improving conductivity and reliability with... a pencil
Replies: 18
Views: 3264

Re: Improving conductivity and reliability with... a pencil

Interesting idea. You'd still need to power your frog (and connected track) to ensure the polarity is always right, and that might require a bit of work as insulfrog points are connected up assuming the frog will be dead. It's probably possible, but you'd need to get the wiring right otherwise you'd...
by minipix
Mon Feb 01, 2021 8:32 am
Forum: Electrical & Electronics
Topic: Arduino Bluetooth DC controller
Replies: 11
Views: 3373

Re: Arduino Bluetooth DC controller

Hi Gigidu94, glad to hear you liked the solution. I'm afraid there isn't really any "code" to speak of, because I use a visual editor with drag and drop blocks to make it. I used the MIT App Inventor (http://appinventor.mit.edu). It was a lot of trial and error, to be honest, and if I did ...
by minipix
Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:16 am
Forum: Personal Layouts - Planning
Topic: Modular DCC Inglenook
Replies: 16
Views: 4457

Re: Modular DCC Inglenook

(Continued...) Once the ground surface was dry I printed out some suitable brick texture onto card, and fashioned a tunnel mouth by hand, to no particular design. I've even put interior walls in, as they'd be visible too. I was pleasantly surprised that the PVA didn't make the printer ink bleed on t...
by minipix
Sat Nov 07, 2020 10:10 am
Forum: Personal Layouts - Planning
Topic: Modular DCC Inglenook
Replies: 16
Views: 4457

Re: Modular DCC Inglenook

Some progress has been made on this little project recently. Thanks to a gift of a rotary cutting tool, I've managed to finish installing my point motors. They're all wired up, and the polarity switch for the frogs works like a charm. Well, sort of. The fly in the ointment is that the point motors s...
by minipix
Sat Nov 07, 2020 9:52 am
Forum: Personal Layouts - Under Construction
Topic: Frontington & Backwoods Railway
Replies: 104
Views: 18847

Re: Frontington & Backwoods Railway

If anyone's interested, here's a video of my October 2020 layout update.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtx5NONjXHY
by minipix
Mon Oct 12, 2020 10:14 am
Forum: Scenery
Topic: How to disguise reed switches?
Replies: 3
Views: 683

Re: How to disguise reed switches?

Hmm, interesting idea. The hall effect sensor, I mean, not the mustache. Although that would be pretty cool too. Those little hall effect sensors are certainly more discrete. In fact they look the perfect size to squeeze between the sleepers on OO scale track. Wish I'd known about this before I boug...
by minipix
Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:35 am
Forum: Scenery
Topic: How to disguise reed switches?
Replies: 3
Views: 683

How to disguise reed switches?

I have an idea to install some little reed switches around my layout, to act as sensors to activate a level crossing or two. I'll mount some magnets on the bottom of my locos, and use an Arduino to handle the logic. But I wondered if anyone had any goods ideas for how to hide or disguise the reed sw...
by minipix
Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:26 pm
Forum: Electrical & Electronics
Topic: Improving conductivity and reliability with... a pencil
Replies: 18
Views: 3264

Re: Improving conductivity and reliability with... a pencil

Sounds like an ideal sort of layout for this technique. Yes, any art supply shop should sell something appropriate. Failing that, online. And if you do find that you're getting too much slippage, just clean your tracks and the graphite will come straight back off again.
by minipix
Sun Sep 13, 2020 9:55 am
Forum: The Workbench
Topic: Taming Smokey Joe
Replies: 20
Views: 2968

Re: Taming Smokey Joe

Next, I had to make it all look pretty. I had started with an old Hornby 5 plank wagon, on the basis that it was a fairly short wheelbase, and I didn't really like the look of it anyway - it was in a bright blue livery with "Crook and Greenway" written on it. So I had not qualms about hack...
by minipix
Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:57 am
Forum: The Workbench
Topic: Taming Smokey Joe
Replies: 20
Views: 2968

Re: Taming Smokey Joe

They say if you have a problem, sleep on it. I'm glad I did. I made some excellent progress as a result. The first idea was to use a strip of metal to pick up electricity from the tops of both wheels on both sides. I pulled apart an old Hornby power clip that was surplus to requirements, so that I c...
by minipix
Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:11 am
Forum: The Workbench
Topic: Taming Smokey Joe
Replies: 20
Views: 2968

Re: Taming Smokey Joe

End2End, those are exactly the sort of axles I'm interested in! My challenge at the moment is finding them within budget. DCC Concepts sells them in packs of 48, which seems a little excessive given that I only want 2! Metal axles are probably easier to come by in smaller quantities, and I can proba...
by minipix
Sun Sep 06, 2020 6:43 pm
Forum: The Workbench
Topic: Taming Smokey Joe
Replies: 20
Views: 2968

Re: Taming Smokey Joe

This afternoon I took Smokey Joe apart (again) and soldered wires to the pickups, as suggested. In case anyone's interested, the motor has to be turned over, and you have to remember to cross over the wires otherwise the polarity will be wrong and it'll run the wrong way. I did think of this beforeh...
by minipix
Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:21 am
Forum: The Workbench
Topic: Taming Smokey Joe
Replies: 20
Views: 2968

Re: Taming Smokey Joe

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Great to see some more photos of the real thing. I ordered a new motor for Smokey Joe, which arrived yesterday. Installing it was a breeze. It certainly sounds much quieter than the old motor, and I'm pretty sure it's a little slower too. Unfortunately the perform...
by minipix
Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:08 am
Forum: Personal Layouts - Under Construction
Topic: Frontington & Backwoods Railway
Replies: 104
Views: 18847

Re: Frontington & Backwoods Railway

Oh, and some other small scenery items I did recently included some low garden walls around the patio, some hedging (visible in the background by the fence) and a scratch-built archway. I made it using a couple of bits of wire, bent into shape using a handle of a tool in the garage, and a piece of t...