As you can see from the above I am several months behind in my magzines!!! Anyway, the above-named article described a very interesting --- and, yes, "high Tech" indeed --- method of turnout control. However, the article was WAY TOO brief and didn't tell you anywhere nearly enough about how to execute this. Example: the middle photo on p. 58 shows a "printed circuit board." What kind of PC board? There's no wiring diagram. The closest thing to a diagram is that photo, and the photo doesn't tell you much. Where is there more info about how to do this? Anybody know?
I have to say I think MR did a rather lousy job of layout and editing of this, and it has the potential to be a very interesting solution to turnout control. perhaps I'm the only one who cares since the several subsequent issues of MR dn't contain a peep of Letters to the Editor in reaction to this.
Tom Curtain,
You must be awful busy, or a slow reader.
This is the key to your question:
Use a compact R/C servo and simple Arduino PC board to line track switches
Do a Google search, with the above info.
Take Care!
Frank
EDIT: I did it for you. Click on link:
http://www.arduino.cc/
Ah, yes. The Arduino Uno turnout controller article. That article was above my pay grade. Since I use DCC, the available accessory decoders are more than capable enough to give me whatever high tech turnout controls I need.
From what I can see in the article, that little PC board (on page 56 by the way) is nothing more than a place to land some of the electrical connections when the device to be operated is remotely located from the mini-computer. I don't think it is anything fancy. In my opinion anyone capable of undestanding the Arduino, the programming tools, and C++ programming language (whatever that might be) should have no problem attaching some connection headers to that PC board. Obviously I'm not qualified.
as an embedded developer, i'm puzzled by article
i think using an Arduino board is overkill for controlling a servo used to switch a turnout, even if it is used to move the servo slowly. A simple 555 timer chip can be used to generate a pulse of two widths to control a servo.
A more practical application might be to use the Arduino as a remote to control many servo/turnouts, route turnouts and possible signals or lamps, but then you might need a communication bus between the control panel and Arduino, using an Arduino of course.
on the other hand, it might be a nice intro project to gain experience programming pico-processors.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Tam Valley makes and sell servo controllers for turnouts. Our Club is starting to explore them and we have installed our first one two weeks ago. Using their board, home made panel controls (switches and LEDs) and servos from eBay, they turnout to be cheaper than using Tortoises.
This is not an Ad for Tam Valley, and I am not associated with the company, just a satisfied user.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.