 | | multi train dogbone
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| Hey all, Here's something we've [1] been working on for our next show... It's a dogbone shaped track, that runs 3 trains on it at once, without collisions. It's pure LEGO, no modifications, and needs only one RCX. The center section of track (...) (24 years ago, 13-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) but sometime in the near future I'd like to get some to do RCX-based projects much like this. People have said to me before that there's no good way to electrically isolate sections of track; obviously you've done that. Any secret trick? (...) (...) (24 years ago, 13-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.robotics)
| | | | | Re: multi train dogbone
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| (...) VirtualDub ((URL) do rotate easily. Just use one of the filters. It only output to AVI though so you may need other program to convert it back to MPEG1. (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) Which is nice, by the way -- I appreciate coming across movies I don't have to go to great lengths to play back on Linux. (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| Dan, Very clever layout. How is the RCX deturning when to let the next train go? Is it timed or is it using a sensor to figure out if the track was clear. I would be curious to see how this worked with longer trains, ones with a few pieces of (...) (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) This layout was designed as a tolly line, so it wasn't tested with longer trains. (...) In this case, this was not a problem. However, in a different project, Tom Cook designed an automated level crossing that had to deal with long trains (...) (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| Dan, Really cool. I have integrated some LEGO computer control into a train layout as well. It is great to see others doing the same. I tried to get some discussions going on .RCX a long time ago but to no avail. I have used both the RCX and the (...) (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) hmmm... that could be very useful for a trainyard... (...) ah, cause I don't have the room in our apt to redo it? and yes, I defenitly should have thought of this... :) Dan (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) I've done this before in a rudimentary layout controlled by a Control Lab (8 Inputs, 8 outputs, needs a PC). My tactic was to angle the light sensor in both the horizontal and vertical planes. It looks about 30 degrees back along the (...) (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) Actually, someone has created an ActiveX control for it, so that it can be used under Windows, for instance with C++ or Visual Basic. Not, perhaps perfect (Perl), but a darned sight better than Logo. Jeff (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| Jeff, I saw some source on Dr Dobbs about a year or so ago but it was incomplete. Have you seen something that worked? I got two of these controllers and would love to get some really complex action going on the layouts in the future! SteveB (...) (...) (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) Nice. The delay solution bothers me because: what about stopped cars? (24 years ago, 14-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| I like the angled sensor idea also. As for my delayed sensor, I actually had two sensors and both had to be cleared, I figured the odds of two gaps over the sensors would be pretty rare. Do note that my sensors were (are) Radio Shack light sensors (...) (24 years ago, 15-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) And another advantage off it is that its ' train lenght ' independent. Hooking up one car or ten doesn't mather in this case. Clever solution ! (...) regards, Soete Ludo (24 years ago, 15-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) Steve, Sure have! Here's a URL; you're looking for Lego.ocx, but all the docs & descriptions are there, too. I'm not sure that *all* of the functionality works flawlessly, but certainly most of it does. You need Windows. (URL) used it to (...) (24 years ago, 15-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| Thanks Jeff! Really cool! But I can't find the .OCX link Some questions: Have you run 2 CLabs from one PC? from one application? that would proivide 16 INs/16 OUTs! Also have you pulsed the trains via the CLab, the speed control granularity is (...) (24 years ago, 15-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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| (...) The OCX and source code links are higher up; sorry! (URL) haven't tried running 2; I've (sadly) only got 1. I don't see why it would be a problem, though. In the end, you've got the C++ source code for the OCX, so you should be able to do (...) (24 years ago, 15-Aug-00, to lugnet.trains)
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