Looks like you mostly got it figured out. A bigger wire does help but the tortoises also has the wire pivot below the layout which puts more tension on the upper half of the wire. Hope that helps. I know you'll get it figured out eventually. - Jason
Two things to look at: First is the hole below the switch throw bar big enough for the wire to travel the distance that it needs to travel? This includes the hole in the wood mounting bracket. Second, your angle is ok, but the travel of the wire at the throw bar is not, therefore you need to move the servo set up further away from the switch. When I built mine, I measured the travel I needed and designed the mount to give me that travel when mounted. If the problem is the size of the hole, it is an easy fix. The second option is to place a bigger spacer between the servo and the layout. You can do this by adding another piece of wood for mounting, the screws should hold it.
This is really great. I had not bothered with switch control but seeing you doing this makes me want to try it out. The advantage is that with Arduino you can extend the number of switches still using the same board. The boards coming from China are such good value that it makes it easy to use them for all sorts of projects.
Great Video! I hope to do something very similar soon. The only thing I plan to do differently is to use the "Diverging Route LED" output on the Arduino to energize a SPDT relay instead of using mechanical limit switches to control frog polarity. I think a relay will simplify the mounting bracket and allows for much easier tuning of the straight and diverging route positions.
Hi there I've seen the frog switch wired with the frig to coman and track bus to nc& no. And then through a servo stile plug and socket using the middle pin for the frog so if you get it wrong way all you have to do is reverse the plug. Wich also means if the servo fails then you can just unplug the signal and frog wires no messing
Use an aluminum servo arm, and keep the servo as close to the turnout as possible. Mount it solid, using as much surface area as possible for the mounting surface
Hi there. Aside from your level of expertise, which appears to be "on track", I think you have a really clear and engaging presentation model. You are destined for greatness! Well, OK, maybe you're destined for a good RU-vid Channel. Keep on truckin'!
got to reduce drag on throw surface below throw bar I used a thin piece of plastic sheet for throw bar to slide on maybe teflon would be better but in n scale that gave me a smooth throw
These servos are indeed cheap. You need a way to use more travel on the servo to produce the same amount of motion, so you get more overall torque. Also, I would not hardcode the exact endpoints for the servo, as you'll have to re-flash the firmware if the servo wears out, or due to analog drift over tme. You'll want some way to read and write to those values without completely re-flashing the board. A serial routine at boot would be one way.
you should make the angle of the servo bigger, and experiment with the thickness of the wire. so you have more control over the movement. I think you need another mount.
Good morning Drew. Just watching your video again and wondering if youve developed your sketch any further? The rwason im asking is because ive been trying to write a sketch that will handle more than 1 servo and so far have been unsuccessful. My hope is to run up to 5 servos off one Uno. Any help would be appreciated.
i don't remember if you hand laid or you are using Peco track. If it's Peco switches you need to remove the spring. If it is hand laid you might need to get servo's that have more torque in them to move the points. If your points don't move freely before the servo is attached, then you have a problem.
Why did you use both switches for the point polarity? And for the motion of the throw bar it could be the distance between the servo and the throwbar. I use the same servo mounts and there is only a baseboard of 9 mm and a corksheet of 4 mm between the bracket base and the throwbar. I use 0.8 mm spring wire. I am really impressed by the way you are building this lay out. And also the videos are inspiring. By the way, for the electronics I use MERG servo electronics. Works fine and are cheap.
Making the servo actuate the switches AND move the track switch compounds the problem, the mechanism should make use of the full servo travel to get more force. Do the electrical switching with electronics. De-coupling these two ideas makes it all less fiddly and unreliable.
Thanks for the video. Great timing as I have working on under track servo uncouplers. Your sketch will save me working it out. Not my strong point either. If you have a file available would love a copy. Cheers Justin
Glad it helped. Here is the sketch, docs.google.com/document/d/1CADknFjPvnkSOx4BgcfesB2d1I7zokdWkBpiixGhpvc/ This is really just a start and this sketch wouldn't be great for running multiple turnouts. As I progress it'll get a little more complicated, but I can make those sketches available too.
Hi nice channel very well presented and well worth listening to. Great channel. I use the same servo mount that you are using. From TF comment below I thought I would share what I use for the throw bar. Hobbypark Φ1.2mm x L180mm (7.1 inch) Steel Z Pull / Push Rods Parts for RC Airplane Plane Boat Replacement (Pack of 10) They are long enough for me to get two rods out of each push rod in the pack. Have to drill the guide and servo arm a little bigger but they work great.
Hi Drew, I've been working with an airbrush for the past 30 years. I've nearly always used a Badger 150 double action gun. Mine doesn't work properly and it's time to change it. After all this time, I'm stucked. There are probably better units than Badger. I tried a Passche airbrush a few years ago. Bad experience at the end. I also prefer a gun with a bottle. It's easier for me to work with. Would like your impressions ! Tks.
If you've been using an airbrush for 30 years then your experience certainly exceeds mine. I've been relatively happy with my Iwata Neo, but it is really an entry level airbrush. It is the only one I've used, so I'm not sure my opinion is very informed. It is gravity fed rather than siphon, which I feel like makes it faster to switch out paint colors. I had some issues early on with clogging, but learning to clean it properly has helped that quite a bit. I also had some issues with the trigger sticking, but again a good deep clean and oiling has resolved that. I hope this is a little bit helpful.
@@WhiteRiverLine Hi again. Many thanks for answering. I was asking because you seem to be very confortable using an airbrush on video ! I know I must buy a cheap one because I got BIG buildings I need to cover nearly like I would use a spray can. In fact, that's what I did first on some paper mill buildings. I used Krylon Camouflage Khaki color. It did a great job BUT it was kind of first batch of that color. The new one is not even close to that first color... Soooo, I'm stocked trying to mix one and applying it with a none fine airbrush. I'll try to manage something in finding a very good one. Maybe Iwata is the right answer. Thanks again.
This seems rather complicated and expensive? Do I need an Arduino for each switch? If so the Tortoise Switch machine is way less money and much less complicated.
You do not need an arduino for each switch. You could conceivably control all the switches from a single Arduino. So while it is complicated it is actually much cheaper than Tortoises. Tortoise switch machine are probably going to be a good choice for most people.
Great video Drew! Notice that you built your own turnout. I've built my first 3 over the past 2 weeks and have been testing the throw action. Is it possible that the throwbar on your switch is the same thickness as your filler ties? If so I'm thinking it would be good to make it thinner. I'm also sanding the surfaces of my throwbars very smooth hoping that they will slide more freely. Adding graphite from an HB pencil could also help the sliding. I too have a sketch and a working push button so I totally appreciate your video. It will help with troubleshooting for sure!
Wow, When you got to the PROGRAMMING part, you left me in your dust, I've had some programming training (Basic and Adobe Flash, I think it was Flash, but that was 15 years ago). I hope that devise comes with user friendly instructions. Are you going to use bread boards or make a circuit board? You may find that the thow rod needs to be in a SHORTER throw hole on the serevo and a bit heaver throw wire is necessary. I've seen another video where the person had the same trouble with the commercial "slow" throw machines. (to long a throw and to thin a throw wire). I would use some sort of manual switch throw. Oh Well, it's your railroad, have fun. ;-)
I was hoping to make the programming part pretty understandable. I've been tinkering with programming for about 20 years and it's hard fit very many programming concepts into a small segment of a video. I'm still thinking through the wiring. I don't think I'll make a circuit board and at the same time a bread board feels a little temporary to me. We'll see what I can come up with. My goal is neat, simple as possible and easy to maintain.
Idk why but electronics always seem overwhelming to me. Maybe it's because i have such an affinity for mechanical systems that my autistic brain doesn't like dealing with the more abstract concepts needed in electronics. Well, abstract in that you can't really see how things work, if that makes any sense. Maybe I just need to buckle down and learn how they work and then electronics won't seem as daunting
Thanks, Yukon. I can run multiple switches from it. I'm still doing some research and thinking, but I'll probably run all the switches from a single arduino, but that is going to require a couple of other components.
