Army Look.

After a long time of doing nothing I decided to paint the mountains.

The Dutch mountains part III.

So far nothing has been changed and the project is in a kind of deep freeze state.

But when the days are growing shorter again I will try to put some more effort in this project and will report here about any progress made.

Kuckucks-Bähnel

The toyshop Werst in Ludwigshafen did order 400 Märklin cars with the "Kuckucks-Bähnel" Logo...

 I could not resist and bought both cars although I do not run three rail Märklin anymore.

Back in 2010 we had a Rocrail event with this train: http://wiki.rocrail.net/doku.php?id=roundtable-2010-04-en

If you are interested too, just check if there are some left:
https://www.spielwaren-werst.de/index.php?id=1&sub=1&lang=de&cmd=show_news_details&item=91&page=1

GP-7; Geeeeeeee

Just for the records of RainerK I will add a Blog entry. :-)

Last week I bought a USA Trains GP-7 in gauge G. This baby has been part of the 10 years Rocrail event and has the potential to run by radio instead of DCC. ;-)

For more information about the 10 years Rocrail event see:

http://wiki.rocrail.net/doku.php?id=roundtable-2012-6-speyer

The Dutch mountains part II.

This was not an easy job for a software developer, but it partly did make fun. ;)

I tried also bonding finish, a left over from some years ago, but the gypsum is smoother and feels better in the hands; Yes, its a dirty job. Make sure you have wet towels within reach. ;)

The Dutch mountains part I.

I started to create some hills using poultry netting and paper towels soaked in gypsum.
The castle in the air will become later on some solid ground. ;)

N-Terminal Demo on CBUS

The N-Terminal is now completely running on CBUS.

Used modules:

• CAN-GC1
• CAN-GC2
• MGV93
• CANCMD (MERG)

Start of new N-Demo "Terminal"

The new N-Demo layout measures 140 x 16cm and will have 7 logical blocks.

I decided to use Peco Streamline Code 55 after I had seen a very nice layout at the MGV.

The Relay motor is too weak for setting the double crossing so I will use also for this layout the servo solution.
The servos will be controlled by the MGV136/137 and the RailCom/Current sens by the OpenDCC BiDiGBM.

New rolling stock in N.

For the N-Demo, which will be demonstrated at the coming regular table in Speyer, I also wanted a new locomotive and this time a V160 of the Brawa brand. ;)

Compared with its big brother mentioned in the previous posting this feels very zipped.

The five pole motor does not have flying wheels, but the decoder, Lenz SilverMini, regulation will take care of a 'smooth' running loco.

New rolling stock in H0.

This Brawa beauty, BR 216, came in today. Most of it is diecast and let this loco feel heavy.
I will replace the traction tire axes with normal ones because it has traction enough by weight.

The loco features a big 5 pole motor with two fly wheels.
For the 21 pin decoder interface I choose a Lenz Silver+ type.

The price is amazingly low for such a very detailed piece of metal: 132,- Euro...

Relay as N-scale switch motor. Part III

The relay chassis issue is solved: Just cut out a diamond shaped opening at the position where the wire should come out.
On this photo the cut is too large, but it was the first cut. ;)

The next needed idea is how to mount the relay as under floor switch motor.

Relay as N-scale switch motor. Part II

Today the wanted relay type arrived and I found copper-plated steel welding wire ø 0,8mm in the local hardware store.

The long side of the L-shaped wire is 55mm of which 5mm is soldered on the relay armature.

Now I only need a good idea to get the chassis back on the relay...

BTW: Only one output is needed instead of two for the commonly used dual coil switch motor.

Relay as N-scale switch motor.

Last saturday I was surprised by such a nice and simple idea to set N-scale switches that I wanted to experiment withthis by my self.

Not all I needed I had at stock so I had to make some compromises.

The parts I used for the experiment:

• N-Scale switch undone from the original coil driver
• Bi-stable relais (shouldbe a normal type)
• Paperclip
• DC model railroad Transformer with throttle

I did bend the paperclip in a L-shape and soldered it on the relay armature after I had removed the plastic chassis.

After drilling a small hole in the center of the throw rod I inserted the paperclips short side into it.

No it was time to do the test.

With the relay connected to the transformer, and the switch to the relay, I turned the throttle to about 10V...

Yes! The switch was thrown by the relay!

I like this solution. The relay costs about 1,60 Euro and can also be used to polarize the electro frog of the switch.

Rocrail "Team-Day"

Yesterday, March the 26st, we had a Rocrail Team-Day in Venlo hosted by the MGV.

After a warm welcome we were invited to view the marvelous 1:160 layout, controlled by Rocrail, from Sjaak. We were all very impressed of what is possible in this small gauge and by the many DIY parts and details.

Next we had a long look in a big engine shed located in Blerick with astonishing Locomotives, wagons and all kinds of 'BIG' parts.

The impressions of the afternoon made us hungry which we did satisfy in a Chinese restaurant.

BiDiB Weekend

I received test BiDiB hardware from Wolfgang to implement the BiDiB protocol in Rocrail.

In short this piece of hardware is an occupancy detector capable of handling current- and RailCom detection. If the CS can handle POM and booster cut-outs it can also be used to read CV's on the main.

The implementation in Rocrail has already reached the state of usability, and it makes fun to work on it.

I'm sure BiDiB will be widely accepted in the model railroad scene.

SmartFred

No one seems to be interested in a SmartFred to complement the existing wired Freds.

The big advantage is obvious, but model railroaders love there cables and plugs. ;)

The prototype brought some new controls and ideas which can be used for andRoc; The new slider control already replaced the Android ProgressBar.

Lots of traffic.

Traffic is increasing and luckily Getafix came by to popup some trees within seconds.

The green painted spots are waiting for some 'real' grass.

No comment...

... like to park that way. :)

Road markings.

Using a self cut template of cardboard I added the middle road marking.

For the first markings I used a brush with a little bit too much of white paint on it. The best result is to use an almost 'dry' brush.

I noticed on my bicycle tour that the markings on country roads have a much bigger gap between them. But who cares? Looks OK to me. :)

Air Tunes

Music is something for the soul.

My Marantz CD player does no longer want to play my CD's. Looking for an alternative I found a nice device name "Airport Express" from Apple. This device has the possibility to receive streamed audio and convert it to an analog audio signal which can be connected to the amplifier in the living.

So, my solution looks like this:

On the Mac Mini, used for Plan-F, I shared the iTunes library and connected iTunes with the remote speakers attached to the Airport Express which connects to the living audio system.

On the iPod Touch I installed the free App "Remote" which can be used as remote control for all iTunes libraries available in the home network.

The Mac Mini is upstairs in my hobby room, and I am with the iPod in the living choosing from all available items in the library: Great! :)

The next step is to include the ordered Apple TV in this setup to make iTunes TV, movies and so on also available in the living.

I needed a lot of time to get the Airport Express joining my existing Wireless LAN.

If the WEP Key is a HEX sequence it must be prefixed with a $ sign in the Airport Utility