if the yard tracks are straight, you can mount the sensor and light source at each end of the track (parallel to the track) about an inch above the track.Anything on the track will be detected including (temporarily) cars crossing the turnout when being moved into adjoining tracks.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
OeBBDoes the IR sensors only register if something is sitting on top of it?
No. It registers if somethig is blocking the beam. (Or not blocking the beam). That is all. If you mount them in the tracks pointed up, then yes you would have to be siiting on top of them for them to see you. Buy you do not have to do it that way.
You could put the IR source along side of the track pointing it at say a 45 degree angle. And you could put a mirror on the other side of the track. And then another mirror and another mirror and then the detector at the far end of the track. Break the beam in just one place and the track will show that it is occupied.
Futzing with all them mirrors is fussy work, and you will need a powerful enough IR source, but when you are done it is just one reliable circuit.
Not that the LION is going to do this mind you, him has other ways of doing things that do not involve mystery chips. LIONS like realays that go CLICK. Him can SEE what they are doing. But then, maybe you are not a LION.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Christian:
Yes, the IR sensors only register when something is overtop of them, and some things like empty log cars or tankers may not give enough reflection to trigger the sensor reliably.
If you build the sensors yourself you can have several sensors per track without breaking the bank.
However, as someone once said, a picture is worth a thousand words. With cameras and screens getting cheaper every day that might be a better way to go.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thank you everyone. it was very helpful. I am going to look into the camera first. Does the IR sensors only register if something is sitting on top of it? if so, that seems pretty limited when you have 10 feet of track becuase you would need several sensors per track.
Thanks again,
Christian
This is the unit I was thinking of.
http://www.berkshirejunction.com/
Occupancy Detectors
When you break the infrared "beam", a red LED lights. Works well in all lighting conditions, including night scenes or low light areas. Includes Infrared light source and detector.
Requires 12 volt DC accessory power to operate. (All Gauges)
$12.99 each or 3 for $37.50
Ron High
Cristian.
As an alternative to the above, you should consider block detection using Team Digital blocD8. I too use Digitrax DCC and found this detection sytem was easy to install and configure.
Dwayne A
LION Look at their stduff:
LIONS do NOT spend that much money since him has more than 200 signals.
You go another plan? LION does.
Here is a source.
IR is nice, and you can get the parts from any dead mouse that you happen to have lying around.
LIONS do not know how to wire IRs, there is something about mystery lumps of plastic with leads mystifies the LION.
LION is going to use FEATHERS to detect the presence of a train. LION builds his feathers with a microswitch with a drinking straw attached to it. (I call it a feather because I do not want it to scrape on the cars, so it needs to be soft).
This will work especially well for the LION since trains move through the pockets of him without having to back up. Well, trains do not back up at all on the route of the LION, and there is no reversing switch.
Otherwise the LION used reed switches with magnets under the train.
For a single ended track, LION uses two detectors. The first detector is the one that releases the locking circuit on the relay, and the second detector is the one that pulls the relay in, putting the light on. It will remain on until the train leaves the track when the last detector it rides over will cancel the relay.
If the track has two open ends the reeds would be Release-Pull Pull-Release, so no matter which way a train enters the relay will be pulled while the train is resting there, and when it leaves it will cancel the relay.
Hi Christian:
Have you considered IR (infrared) detectors. They are available commercially:
http://bouldercreekengineering.com/nightscope.php
or you can build your own:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/p/219552/2516789.aspx#2516789
(Highlight the link and then right click on it and select 'Open Link' or words to that effect from the pop up menu).
Hi, Christian
A thread with a similar discussion is here:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/242553.aspx
You are asking about detection on a 10' length of track. Of course you would have to keep the locomotives on this track as well, if you have a track occupied with all freight cars and insulated wheels, a current detector won't see that unless you apply resistors to a good percentage of your rolling stock.
This is where a camera is handy and you will see more information in the thread I mentioned above.
Good Luck, Ed
You will need to connect the bus for each track to a detector. The feeders will be connected after the detection. The detector will "detect" everything after itself. You will need one detector for each track.
I use Team Digital DBD22's for occupancy detection. They are small and cost effective. Each one will detect two tracks so you only need two. Unlike BDL168's they are not diode based so there is no voltage drop across the detector. They have enough output to light an LED so no additional circuit is required.
Martin Myers
Facts: I want to have occupancy detection on my hidden staging area. it is 4 tracks each about 10 feet long. i am using digitrax DCC system.
If i just wanted to detect a train on the entire 10 foot section of track, can i have 1 feeder from the detector and then other feeders from the main bus? If not, do you have to split the wire coming out of the detector so you end up with several feeders all going back to the detector???
What is the best piece of hardware to use? is it the BDL168 from digitrax or something else?
Do you recommend occupancy detectors in this situation or something else? What about a camera using WIFI, etc?
Thank you,
christian