Subject:
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Re: DCC slowing?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Sat, 23 Aug 2003 14:31:46 GMT
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Viewed:
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2022 times
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In lugnet.trains, Brian B. Alano wrote:
> (not really replying to my own post, but adding the 2 cents of Robert Miles and
> my reply to him...)
> > Hi Brian!
> >
> > Sorry I couldn't post on lugnet, as my cookie has been once again deleted so I'm waiting forever for my sign up again.
> >
> > Anyways, the issue of the slow down actually may be the fault of the train wheels. I spoke with Lar and Kevin Salm during BF and found the wheels actually add alot of friction, causing the engines to slow down around the curves.
> >
> > This also includes the wheels on the engine as well. It seems as the train goes around a curve, the wheels push against a small piece of plastic, causing the friction. Both Lar and Kevin recommended sanding or cutting this piece out. If you look at the wheels next to the flange, you'll see this piece of plastic. If you can't find it, I'll show it to you at the next meeting (which is?).
> >
> > There's not much that can be done after cutting the piece out, since the flange will continue to slide against the sides, but by removing the piece, it'll allow more play.
>
> This does explain exactly why the long, heavy trains had such trouble on the
> curves, and why the banked curve in particular would be problematic. It doesn't
> explain why the motors would get progresslively slower. Overheating explains
> this. Overheating caused, in particular, by excessive friction in the train
> wheels. :)
During the DCC conversion described by Tom Cook, there is some kind of
semiconductor that gets removed from the train motor. I wonder if this
component is somehow responsible for preventing excessive current in the motor
windings? Judging from the ceramic case and the size of the electrical
contacts, this component is rated to handle some power. Does anyone know what
this component is or what its purpose is in the train motor? Is there a way to
leave it in the circuit of a DCC-converted engine?
> > Let me know if there's anything else I can help with. I really need to catch up to you on the DCC programming phase, as I'd like to design a program for use on a laptop to "control" the layout :)
> Have you looked at Full Throttle
> <http://www.lugnet.com/jump.cgi?http://www.drvegetable.com/download_throttle.html>
> yet? It has the DCC interface down pat. It just needs another layer to GUI our
> layout over it. Actually, I envision an architecture that more than just a layer
> of DCC, but this is .trains, not .geeks, so I'll spare the gentle readers that
> discussion.
>
> Maybe we can collaborate with the author (Chris Phillips) to accomplish this.
I'm already working on something like this, although I must admit that it hasn't
been my foremost priority. I am working on a piece of software that I have
dubbed TrainLab. This is an extension of the program that NELUG has been using
to run our level crossings from a PC for several recent train shows. The
program displays any bitmap that you want (I use the Track Designer output
bitmap of our club layout) with special symbols superimposed to indicate the
state of train sensors and level crossings. The program currently supports
RCXes and the Dacta Control Lab hardware to monitor the layout and control the
level crossings.
I am extending this program to support the LDCC command protocol as well as to
allow custom user scripts to be written to monitor sensors and control motors or
DCC decoders from the PC. If you are interested in something like this, I would
appreciate any suggestions that you may have toward its design, and I could also
use your help testing the program. Please contact me by e-mail if you are
interested in receiving further information about this project.
- Chris.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: DCC slowing?
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| <SNIP> (...) Hi Chris and all others, If you open a Lego train motor, you'll find there 3 electrical components in it. First, and largest part, is the motor itself, second is a 'black cilindrical' piece witch is placed in parallel with the motor (...) (21 years ago, 23-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: DCC slowing?
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| (not really replying to my own post, but adding the 2 cents of Robert Miles and my reply to him...) (...) This does explain exactly why the long, heavy trains had such trouble on the curves, and why the banked curve in particular would be (...) (21 years ago, 23-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
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