Recent content by SlavaK815

Installed signals I’ve finally installed all the signals on my layout - 26 dwarf signals, 16 tall 2 aspect signals and 2 signal bridges that have 4 of 3 aspect heads. The signals operate according to switch positions and photo or occupancy sensors and connected to 6 of my custom designed...

I've used foam as a base on my first "trial" layout. It was light, but two things I did not like - 1. if you cut it with saw - it would create lots of small chips that get static and hard to clean and get rid of 2. if you cut it with hot wire - it does not smell well at all, so if you work...

Couple of ideas I had for my layout that might be interesting besides signaling and lightning are- * play audio announcements for approaching trains * shut off track power if train triggers sensor and green light is off not sure if Arduino is the best way to implement that, but definitely worth...

Installed one more card to provide signaling for Yard exit on my layout - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDfP5rN1lWM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDfP5rN1lWM

I've also used 22 solid for feeders and 14 stranded wires for bus. In the areas where I had room I used 3M T-Tap connectors and I am pretty happy with them. There are modules where I did not have much clearance and I've used there 18 awg stranded wire for bus and I soldered feeders to bus...

It Works! I've finally assembled few boards and they work as intended. I've published 15 min demo video on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kIIFt95etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kIIFt95etc Slava

My layout is not large – 10x16 ft in HO. I don’t have dispatcher’s room or control panel. Instead I’d like to be able to switch routes using throttle or by hand and have signals display route information and occupancy accordingly. All signals decisions could be done locally using nearby sensors...

I agree that I am doing this for fun just like the rest of my model railroad. It is an opportunity for me to try and learn new things and good excuse to buy new tools. While building my benchwork I’ve played enough with table saw/jig saw/router and broom, so now I want to play with...

Hello fellow model railroaders, It took me lots of time to build bench work/roadbed/track/wiring so in the mean time I was thinking about how to make signals work on my future railroad. Eventually I’ve decided to build my own circuit board that will take various sensors inputs and provide...

for some reason some attachments disappeared. Here is the track plan, center piece has two levels - staging on bottom layer and yard on top.

It all depends how stable your environment is over different periods of the year. Wood expands when humidity increases while metal does not. I did research on wood expansion (you can search on internet, http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr113/ch03.pdf - Physical Properties and...

Nailed the track !!! Finally, after year and a half I've nailed the track! Next on the list is to finish track wiring and install & wire switch motors. Hope to see trains running soon :).

I cut my entire road bed out of 2' x 3' x 1/4" cork sheets using router. I do have few transitions - see in the middle, basically you first set router to cut 1/8" and lower one half of your transition, then set it to 1/16" and cut two quarters, then set to 1/32" and do 4 eights'. You'll end up...

fcwilt - I don't have a particular problem with buzz sound, this is rather theoretical question. I am still laying down track and I have not started experimenting with DCC yet. I have few Athearn DCC ready locos and I bought Digitrax decoders for them - DH126 and SDHX166. Louis - I did not...

I am not an expert in electronic and apologize if this is a dumb question. If I understand correctly DCC decoders use pulse modulation to control motor speed. If I put inductor between decoder and motor I should be able to convers pulse signal into DC on the motor, plus locomotive will get some...