But Dad what about the Thomas stuff & signal box so far

I made a mistake about the 'no trains' comment in the previous blog. Son Number 2 received some Thomas related wooden train vehicles (Flora, Alfie, Hiro and something else I can't remember!). Just overwhelmed with all the Lego!

I bought my compressor today at Supercheap, along with a dual action airbrush and assorted bits and bobs. "Some minor assembly required" must be the biggest joke the Chinese play on the West! Eventually got it working but ran out of time to actually play with it.

Here is a photo of the inside of the signal box and the LED (with clear orange painted lens) in place prior to the roof being glued into position.

Ho, Ho, Ho and all that palava

Well I didn't get around to updating the blog last night as I was stuffed (both in the meaning that I was full as a goog and dog tired) from the Christmas weekend. Saturday was the In-Laws Christmas which was great. The father in law won second prize in the local Rotary club Christmas raffle, a 6 burner + wok burner BBQ. So I spent the arvo with him putting it together. Lucky bugger!

Sunday and the big red guy arrived with lots of pressies for the boys, but not one train related gift! Lego Star Wars, Fireman Sam, books and a Wii game console, which went over a treat. Personally I got George Dent's "Airbrushing for Railway Modellers" book and the accompanying DVD "The Definitive Airbrush Expert" from Model Rail/Telerail. It was then getting prepared for Christmas BBQ lunch with my Dad and the immediate family so just the five of us. Then it was playing some of the Wii games in the arvo before Dad departed. It was such a pleasant day yesterday, no humidity or rain, just blue skies and a lovely breeze that I went outside later in the arvo and potted around the garden and chilled out in the pagola until it was time to get a light dinner going. I watched the DVD and read the section on Compressors from the book last night for some pointers on compressor selection as I intend to hit the shops today for the Boxing Day specials. Supercheap Auto seem to have a nicely priced unit so I will be up there very soon to check it and the accessories out!

Through the week I did some more work on the signal box. It looks pretty good on the inside (photos to follow in a future post).

This week I am hoping to install the USB, third MRC and third DS64 decoders, as well as wire up some of the street lighting etc, as well as install the signal box. Time will tell.

Tuesday I have a day pass out to Mr Mackie's for a running session, and then Wednesday is Club Day so I might pop down there with the boys for an hour or so and see what is going on and have a chat.

Until next time.

USB interface card arrived

As expected not much happened this week, due to two main reasons. The first reason was during the week the youngest son was coming down with an illness which became tonsilitis, so he wasn't a happy camper. As the missus was not feeling well as a result of him hanging off her most of the time, I was up to bat most evenings looking after everyone else! The second reason was Saturday was my family's Xmas lunch up the Sunshine Coast at my Dad's place. Weather was comfortable and my brothers behaved themselves for a change. By the time we got home in the late afternoon there was no chance to do any shed time. Sunday was spent at the shops in the morning, mowing the grass, and napping with the still unwell Son # 2 in the afternoon to give his mother a rest (any excuse!).

As the title line mentioned, my order for the NCE USB interface card arrived from the States in PK's MB Klein order during the week. I have downloaded the relevant USB PC driver and purchased a USB 2.0 A B cable to connect my laptop to the interface card. Now I just have to do all the installs (USB card, driver, etc) and then give it a whirl. Some how I think this might be a Xmas leave activity.

I also decided upon my NSWGR wagon orders. Two BSVs (Bogie Sheep Vans) packs (six all up) and one BCW (Bogie Cattle Wagon) pack (3 all up). These will complement the rollingstock fleet intended for Narromine when it finally gets underway sometime in the next few years.

I didn't have any opportunity to progress with the signal box this week.

Well Christmas is not far off. Next weekend will be a similar write off. Saturday with the in-laws and Sunday with Dad at our house. I'm looking forward to getting some stuff done on Illavearf and Beaver Springs over the three weeks I'll be on leave, but I also have to do a few things around the house and shed.

Merry Christmas to all my followers.

Amended mini-panel doco

As a result of yesterday's logic correction here are the amended docs.

Damn!

Well my good friend Mr Mackie has kindly pointed out that my usage of the junction feather on KH-1 is incorrect. My (mis)understanding was that the feather indicated the through route, but in fact it indicates the divergent route. Hence it shouldn't be to control the Mainline but rather what will become known as "the sidings loop". I will have to make the station track the mainline.

Not a big problem. I just have to change my documentation to reflect this.

You learn something new everyday!

Thanks Craig

Mini-panel success and other things

This week has been one of a number of small success stories. After waiting over a week for a reply directly from NCE I posted the same question to the NCE-DCC yahoo forum and over night received three replies. Thanks to Mark Gurries, Rex Beistle and Graeme Brown for their answers which explained and cleared up some uncertainty around the use of the TERMINATOR, NOP and LINK commands. Following hot on their heals (strangely enough) was a reply from NCE. Thanks to Matt for providing additional information. Subsequent to these answers, I revisited my mini-panel programming during the week. Still had problems. Hmmmm. Come Sunday I thought lets go back to programming basics. I would clear out all commands currently in the mini-panel by going through each input and programming a TERMINATE into each memory slot per input. Didn't take too long once you got the hang of it! Using my Operating rules I developed through the week, I started with what I wanted to do at system startup and entered the appropriate commands. Tested these and worked OK. Next the "GOD INPUT" - the one that "makes the mainline active". Tested OK. Then moved on from Input 1 programming each input, testing, and then moving onto the next LINKed input's programming, testing, etc. Then I programmed the alternate Inputs. Once all this was done, it was time for the BIG TEST. A real POWER OFF and ON (power cycle). Did this and it kind of worked. Some of the initial commands didn't work. Maybe at power on Input 31 issued the commands but the other decoders hadn't completed their start up cycle. Let's inject a DELAY command at the start of Input 31 to allow the other DCC systems to get ready to accept commands. Not knowing how long this could be I started with 20 seconds. Another power cycle. After waiting what seemed to be an eternity but really only 20 seconds everything came up as it should. HOORAH!! Time to work on that DELAY command and see what the minimum wait could be, so I reprogrammed it a number of times (16 -> 12 -> 8 ->4). As it all worked OK for 4 seconds I left it at that. I couldn't be bothered checking further in 1/4 sec increments!

So I have included pictures of my Operating Rules and Mini-panel configurations below for reference.

I have also got a link to a movie of the signals in action. This has been speeded up x4 to get through the sequencing it as short a time as possible.

What else happened? Well my order from Kernow Models in the UK arrived on Friday, so on Saturday night I was able to progress a little further with my signal cabin as I had a figure I could use as the signalman. A bit more painting inside so that the light will not escape through the plastic once installed. Now I just have to rig up the LED and somehow install the roof so that it is removable but semi-fixed in place.

Saturday morning I was able to catch up with the father of two (twins) friends of Son # 1 at their house at their birthday party. He has a freelance layout which is currently a work in progress (aren't they all!) but he showed me some of his locos, one of which was a US steamer with smoke. A couple of smartphone videos below (sorry for quality).

The Club Xmas do and modelling competition on Saturday was also well attended but not many actual models went in for the competition. I was unable to put anything in this year as I ran out of time, and have been concentrating on Illavearf's electrics this year. Hopefully next year as we are intending to do different categories. Photos of the winners below (sorry for the smartphone camera quality, it was the only thing I had at the time!).

HOn2.5 (I think) backwoods manual gantry crane

N scale craftsman kit 'backwoods' water tank

 

N scale logging pile driver scratchbuilt



Well that's it for another week.

Mini-panel deliberations and progress with the signal box kit

As previously mentioned I am trying to sort out the interlocking logic between the signals and the points inputs from the mimic panel to the mini-panel. I did inject the DELAY command and that works as it should but I am a bit hesitant at this point in time to say that this is the solution. I am still thinking the commands as issued without the DELAY command are OK, it is the fundamental logic of the interlocking scheme that needs to be sorted out. The Mini-panel is probably not the right device to do in depth signal programming, which may be more the focus of JMRI Panel Pro when I get the USB interface connected and start playing around with it from my laptop.

In the meantime, I was thinking about this on Friday night. Having imbibed a few glasses of shiraz earlier in the evening, I was amazed at the clarity (not claret!) I had of thought when I came up with the idea that perhaps to get around the mini-panel's shortfalls I need to impose layout operational rules and these would feedback into the low level signalling required. Basically a set of assumptions that guide the basic signal programming. It was about at this point that my eureka moment started to pass and I started to nod off on the couch. I never got a chance over the weekend to progress this thought and document the programming required. A job for this week.

Saturday night I spent some more time on the signal box kit. I painted the levers black with silver handles. Black for points only. No interlocking required for lever signals as these have been 'replaced' with the new fandangle electric signals. (Layout operating assumption!). Then I painted the floor and door inside surface a wood colour as the white of the styrene was not right! I thought I had a signalman figure to install but alas no. I little spot was left unpainted so that when he does get installed a clear surface is available. Hopefully something close enough will come in the Kernow models shipment in the next couple of weeks. So now the decision has been made not to enter this kit into the club modelling competition as it will definitely not be finished by the end of this week.

I received the George Dent "Airbrushing for railway modellers" book I had purchased from Amazon a couple of weeks ago over the weekend. Before it was covered up with Xmas wrapping paper as my gift from the boys to me, I had a quick flick through and it looks like it will be a good read. I succumbed also to ordering the accompanying DVD from Telerail through the week.

Now I also have to decide on the number of packs of Eureka Models NSWGR BSV (bogie sheep van) and BCW (bogie cattle wagon) models coming out next year so that I can take advantage of the pre 2012 pricing. I intend to use these on the NSW layout (Narromine) I intend to build sometime in the future, once Illavearf has been completed. As these types of rollingstock are not continually produced, you have to take advantage of buying them when they come on to the market.

Until next week, happy modelling.