Building a custom PCB for model train crossing gates with easyEDA and JLCPCB

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Welcome to my latest project! I started working on this earlier in the year, and after a brief hiatus due to a job change, I'm excited to share my progress. This video captures my journey before I forgot everything I learned! When I get some more space in the future I'll build out the actual crossing gate.
Previously, I built crossing gates using an Arduino Mega. With the release of the new Uno R4 featuring WiFi and a built-in LED display, I couldn't wait to revive this project. Initially, I was displeased by the tangle of wires and breadboards, so I decided to create a custom PCB. Surprisingly, it was easy and affordable, thanks to the plethora of RU-vid tutorials available. My R1 version PCB was about $20 for 5 (with shipping/first order coupon) - R2 was a PCB(A)assembled, and was closer to $100 - but tbh it was only so expensive because I used some non standard parts that I think had to be hand soldered, doh.
In this video, I'll focus less on the step-by-step PCB creation process and more on my specific project and the tools I used. One callout is JLCPCB was super helpful when ordering - they reached out after they review the Gerber file and made sure to point out anything that needed to be addressed.
Disclaimer: I'm not an electrical engineer. Everything I know, I learned from RU-vid, websites, and forums. If you spot any mistakes or have suggestions for improvement, please let me know!
Also I'm not a RU-vid creator, I do these projects for me and then share in case the knowledge helps anyone - so these videos are quick/not fancy, ha.

Опубликовано:

9 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 4

@Railroadfan5383 Месяц назад

Hey just a note, the electronic Bells at grade Crossings have a potentiometer inside them that can adjust how fast the bell sound repeats itself. Most of them are set to the same rate, probably because they aren't adjusted when they're installed. But sometimes it does get adjusted, whether by accident or intentionally, and it makes them distinct from others. There used to be one right at the Elmhurst station that rang super fast, which was probably the most unusual one on the west line. Unfortunately it got changed a long time ago. Also keep in mind the electronic bells on the BNSF race track are a different sound, have a different sound because they are from a different company.

@nicholaseby Месяц назад

Hey buddy! long time, hope you're doing well. You still rail fanning? Good note about bell and this is a nice feature I can add - I added control buttons and trimmer to my pcb to do things like adjust servo gates, etc, so this could be neat feature to speed up or slow down playback, or play a different sound file. Are you looking forward to the new atlas/rapido models?

@TheLordTalon 13 дней назад

Every PCB starts as as breadboard with wires. Nice job on the PCB will you be making a 3D printed enclosure?

@nicholaseby 7 дней назад

Thanks! Most likely - I think the next evolution of this will either be a touch screen display or bluetooth to an app. If the former, will need a nice all in one case, which would be fun to 3d print. I recently sold by resin printer because I tried the resin 3d printing service from jlcpcb and was blown away with how good the quality was.