Episode 97 18 Train Detection

G`day Folks,

Welcome to Gormo`s Shed...

This week I have a very basic train detection system for you that is suitable only for hidden areas.

This is because it is visually unsightly and will look awful out on your main scenic board. However, out of sight, out of mind as they say.

I have a hidden area which is actually a storage room next to my train room. I have no means of seeing what`s going on in there when a train is passing through it travelling up to the branch or back the other way to Great Chesterford Junction.

I originally opted to use a webcam set up utilizing some old PC`s that I had , however the PC`s weren`t up to the job and the setup of the cameras was very difficult. Also they would need a light on in the storage room to work properly.

So............thinking cap on and research done as well. There are all sorts of electronic sensors available to do the job. Infra Red is probably the way to go if you have the pennies to purchase such a system but, me being a bit of a tightwad, means that I had to come up with something I could make and something that was reliable.

The main criteria was to be able to illuminate an LED for a couple of seconds as a train passed over the sensor. The LED would be one of a series placed in a mimic panel in the train room, and it would allow me to follow the path of the train on the panel and thereby reassure myself that all was well next door.

The simplest method is to employ reed switches in the track, activated by magnets under the train. The problem with a reed switch though, is the fact that it will only send a momentary pulse to the LED which will look like a trail of flickers around the mimic panel.

For me .....the answer was to re-invent the reed switch. A Gormo Gizmo if you like, but heavily borrowed from the humble reed switch. My reed switch is 160mm long and activates an LED for approx. 2 seconds. It is just made from wire, is as cheap as chips and as ugly as sin......but it works reliably time and time again. It is totally independent from the rail system, therefore it is suitable for DC or DCC. It won`t interfere with any other electronics.......so it`s a go`er for me.

Check it out in the video below

Train Detection



http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Ed,

It`s old school but it works.

I am currently working on the track plan for the mimic panel. It will be nice to get the system operational in the back shed.

http://www.clickGormo

 

I agree with you Toto,

Thanks Paul.....................there are all sorts of options.......as simple or as complex as you like and to suit any budget.

The method I have this week is the starting point.......the basic no bones beginnings of train detection.......uncomplicated and basic and simple.

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Gary, Richard & Steve,

There is always more than one way to tackle a problem.

That`s one of the benefits of this hobby, for the older guys especially, it keeps your mind active. It`s good to push yourself both mentally and physically as you move towards your twilight years.

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Ron, Toto and Pete,

Pete....I think my panel will show train movement fairly well as there will be at least eight sensors around the back shed, possibly even more. I will be able to follow the path of the train as it moves from sensor to sensor.

I have also slightly improved the sensor itself due to the difficult install in the back shed. The baseboards are a hollow board system which has required a re-think to move most of the workings to the top of the board. No dramas really......it`s just slightly different.

Young Stud..???????.......

http://www.clickGormo

 

Thanks Ian,

Yes the KISS principal was used there unlike other parts of the railway.....

I doubt much will be done for a while. We are expecting over 40 degrees celsius again today and tomorrow and the ozone quality is poor. People are being advised to stay indoors so the shed might be out of bounds for a while.???

http://www.clickGormo

 

Stay cool chaps....

http://www.clickGormo