Subject:
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Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:52:19 GMT
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Viewed:
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11409 times
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In lugnet.trains, Brian Davis wrote:
> In lugnet.trains, Tim David wrote:
>
> > simply have a loop (i.e. a double ended siding) and
> > have another train bypass the charging train.
>
> Sure - but then it's not automated. You have to get the first train onto the
> siding, or (if it was running around the track through the siding in the first
> place) you have to throw the switch so any other train bypasses the siding on
> the main line. the problem is while a train recharges, that piece of track is
> out of commission, and either has to be manually switched around or the line
> goes down while the train recharges.
>
> Understand I can already think of at least one solution (& I'm sure there are
> others) - an NXT-controlled point with the recharging station on the side loop
> (double-ended siding). By timing the train you can determine when it is loosing
> power (slowing down). If it's going too slow, the NXT throws the point & parks
> the train, and could start a different train out of the same point just prior to
> that (I was doing this with the RCX before, just not the recharging). Then you
> can completely automate this using a charging station, an NXT, and maybe two
> sensors (one to detect/time the trains, one to run the IRLink to control the
> trains) and one motor (to throw the point). Actually that means on NXT could
> shuttle something like three trains (one motor per point), with one or two being
> in the charging station. Now even if the train takes twice as long to charge up
> as it does to run down, you can have continuous train traffic, and you still
> have a lot of automation left over. since the NXT is sensing that a train is
> "low battery" by the speed, it even gives you an easy way to swap trains - use
> the handheld remote to set the current train to "low speed", which the engineer
> NXT will interpret as "time to swap the low-power train out".
I just want to say that there are some REALLY innovative ideas being thrown
around here. All this talk of automated recharging on sidings and automated
points is just making me giddy. Keep the ideas coming!!!
-Dave
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: New Press Release about Power Function Trains
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| (...) Sure - but then it's not automated. You have to get the first train onto the siding, or (if it was running around the track through the siding in the first place) you have to throw the switch so any other train bypasses the siding on the main (...) (17 years ago, 28-Mar-08, to lugnet.trains)
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