Subject:
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Train1 Reversing loop
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto
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Date:
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Wed, 25 Apr 2001 13:53:32 GMT
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Viewed:
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450 times
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Hi folks,
I thought I'd mention that in my chunk of the train1 layout I intend
to provide a reversing loop (If S@H delivers my points fast enough)
The basic idea here is that with the reversing loop and a tiny amount
of training about how to throw the switches, you can reverse the
facing of your train without actually picking it up off the track or
playing fun games with Jeff 2's turntable (and/or roundhouse, and/or
Lar++)
Of course, unless you reverse the direction of the main loop, you'll
just have a train going backwards, but hey, nothing's perfect.
***
On another note, has anyone got a reliable way of automagically
operating remote points?
***
Finally, can anyone think of a satifactory way to detect when a
hopper car is full? Here are my criteria for 'satisfaction':
1) I wish to fill a Lego train hopper car with small parts until
full +- a small margin; ie: somewhere between heaping full and
just-short-of-full
2) The conveyor/elevator doesn't exactly feed at a constant rate;
it depends on how full the feed bin is.
3) I want something relatively non-invasive; it'd be nice if the
diorama of the hopper car & elevator was not enveloped by wires
and gleaming LEDs.
4) I'd really like to be able to do this automatically; ie: using
one or more RCXes.
Some ideas I've had are:
A) Detect spillage
- pros: could be quite unobtrusive
- cons: yields an overfull car which will spill while
travelling
B) Light sensor in the car itself
- pros: could detect a full car
- cons: hard to hide; requires RCX on train & wires
between cars
C) Isolate a track segment and build a scale
- pros: pretty darned nifty
- cons: accuracy may be poor; probably requires
separating the car from its neighbours (manually?)
- depending on track config, might cause power
issues
The area I'm planning has a strip mine where either 1/2 bushings or
gold coins are being mined. Dump trucks take product from the mining
faces over to a hopper/elevator station. When a hopper train enters
the siding (dead end) with the hopper/elevator, I'd like to auto-
matically place the car properly, fill it, and take it back out again.
This will be tough.
If I stipulate that only 1-hopper trains enter the siding; and that
they always enter hopper-first, and that the hoppers are Jeff-
standard (in size, weight, etc.) I might be able to do it. I
was thinking of detecting the train with a light sensor, stopping
it on a hump (is that the right term?), magically separating the
hopper from the engine and having it roll down the hump to the
elevator where it's sitting on a scale. Have the RCX detect its
arrival and add parts from the elevator until it's full, then
back the engine down the hump until it picks up the hopper, and
leave.
What I'm looking for are useful simplifying assumptions or mechanisms
from realistic robot-builders: I *know* how hard this is going to
be to make work consistently, but it would be very cool to pull off.
Of course, if someone has an idea of how to lay it out so that I
can fill more than one hopper car, etc, I'd love to hear about it :)
Thanks,
Jeff
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: Train1 Reversing loop
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| (...) (URL) my 2nd attempt. I just use the conveyer, and a given set time to load. It works OK with a mixture of 1x1 bricks (round and regular), but does tend to jam up. I have the RCX code if you want, but it is really quite simple. 9 cars were (...) (23 years ago, 25-Apr-01, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
| | | Re: Train1 Reversing loop
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| "Jeff Elliott" <jeffe@telepres.com> wrote in message news:3AE6D6DC.8E774C...res.com... (...) An eas(ier?)y way would be to place your scale/measuring equipement in the tower before it ever gets near the car. Then dump that container of pre-measured (...) (23 years ago, 25-Apr-01, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
| | | Re: Train1 Reversing loop
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| (...) Have you thought about using a light sensor attatched to the conveyor with the beam directed at a white brick/plate in the hopper. Check every few seconds to see if the white is still visible if so keep filling, if not the hopper is full. i (...) (23 years ago, 26-Apr-01, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
| | | Re: Train1 Reversing loop
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| If you weren't already aware, your reversing loop needs to be electrically isolated from the main line. The idea is that before the train enters the loop, the reversing line is given the same polarity (at it's start) as the main line so the train (...) (23 years ago, 28-Apr-01, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
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