Subject:
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Re: New Creations: Remote Switch, Remote Decoupler, End of Line Bumper
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Wed, 29 Jan 2003 11:54:24 GMT
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Reply-To:
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jrclark@nospam.aol+nomorespam+.com
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Viewed:
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1154 times
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Nate Jacobs wrote:
> The journey down the long and winding road of trains....
Welcome!
<snip>
> Automatic Switch House
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=32202
> (After Moderation)
Nice design! Haven't built it yet, but it looks rather elegant. The only
thing is that you may find that if you're using MindStorms to control
the point, it is difficult to keep the motor on long enough to throw the
switch, and short enough to keep from tearing the housing apart. Or have
you tested it for this already?
A great stress test was proposed to me by fellow PNLTC member Steve
Barille: Cycle the switch 100 times, leaving the motor on for one full
second in each direction. If the housing is still intact at the end, you
have a winner! (Of course, if you're operating the remote switch
manually, this is less of an issue.)
> End of the Line Bumper with Flashing Light
> About a week ago Rob Hendrix posted a set of instructions for his end of
> the line bumper (http://news.lugnet.com/inst/?n=242). I took his version
> and added a flashing light to the top.
>
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=32201
> (After Moderation)
The only problem with this design is that it is not functional. Well, it
is, but crashing into it puts a good deal of stress on the train's
magnet housing (which is a bit delicate), instead of on the train's
bumpers (which are quite sturdy). Add a pokey-out thing [1] on each side
of the bumper and you will eliminate any potential magnet damage.
> Automatic Decoupler
> I did some digging looking for any designs people had done of an automatic
> decoupler. I found Martin Legault's design
> (http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=16347) and
> Rick Clark's design (http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=18638).
> I then set out to build my own. It works quite well. It is fantastic not
> to have to take the train apart by hand.
Thanks for the cite, but don't underestimate the benefits of manual
uncoupling, either. I use a manual uncoupling tool for most (all) of my
switching. It is much more prototypical in that you can uncouple
wherever you want, instead of being locked into set locations. I waxed
poetic about it here:
http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=16315
Again, welcome to Trains! It looks like you're well on your way. We'll
expect more great things from you in the near future!
Rick C.
[1] It's a technical term.
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