Charlestons Testing this morning - slowed the speed and acceleration / deceleration down, seems a lot better. Time to move from track 1 to 4 is approx 9 seconds. Just tweaking the stop positions, track 2 is the datum until the homing routine is sorted, track 1 and 4 just about spot on, track 3 half the thickness of the rail out. Paul
Ian, he's applied to the Oxford dictionary for his very own language. 9 seconds ehh. That's down from the previous nano second then.
There will queues of people just wanting to see and hear that traverser cranking. It sounds a bit like an automated gun loader on a warship, just waiting for recoil as the round is sent down range! Very smooth operation. Marty
The recoil will be Toto, when he realizes he just put his Deltic on full power off the open end of the traverser
Smooooooth!! Very impressed despite not understanding any of it . Its a shame I won't be at Elgin to see it in action. Nice work Paul . Pete.
Just brilliant! Now we need to think of multiple uses for this kind of setup, then a bulk order for Arduino's and stepper motors. Got to be worth a few more recruits to the "Dark Side!" Keith.
I think Paul intends to do more arduino projects but he's up to his eyes in things. Victoria Road beckons. Marty should keep his eyes peeled as a turntable controller is on the horizon as well. No end to the talents of his nibs. bet he's sorry.
Thanks Guy's The homing mods have been completed, and all the positions setup. The sketch also outputs to the serial monitor - a useful tool for fault finding or feed back By putting in print statements to the serial monitor I can get information on the progress of the sketch On start or restart of the arduino the sketch will start to home to the zero point - see video below Then it will move to track 2 After that any move provides the decoder accy address, the position it is moving from the new position and the stepper value of that location Homing video Paul
Oh I forgot to mention ...... that same information could be sent to a LCD screen instead of the serial monitor, but don't tell Toto otherwise I'll have another job. Paul
Ah but ...... the LCD screen is for you to do, as you have the bits in your arduino kit, it'll be a learning experience for you Paul
IT'S finished Number 1 done, currently DCC only, but it works and his highness can pick it up and play. One modification, I replaced the push button with a limit switch for the home position detector, as the push button did not give a consistent zero position. The control system The underside - red bits are NCE BD20, block detectors, his lordship wants this in the future I've used a few of the Wago 3 and 5 way connector block - really easy to use, and take seconds to connect / disconnect - for when you change your mind, or to re-route a wire. and finally Time for a rest - chance would be a fine thing Dundee in 3 to 4 weeks, and I still have to get the points working never mind the rest Paul
Very workman like Paul, well done. Just need our glorious leader to inspect and suggest improvements Pete.
Aye - that's why for final deployment I use the Arduino Nano at approx £1.50 to £2 a pop. The circuit development is done on the Uno plus breadboard, then when working is moved over to a stripboard and Nano. This may get a 3D printed case, but would then need a cooling fan. I still need to add some form of support as the 8mm steel bars flex under the weight which the effects the height of the track . Looks like a move over to 12mm bar and linear bearings for future projects, but traverser 2 will still get 8mm bars as I have all the supports etc. And of course Toto wants some form of manual operation - not sure if he means push buttons or intends using it just once per year Paul
Thanks Paul, when you get past the shows etc you will have to explain a bit more (to all the new Arduino users I think!!) Cheers Ron