I think the key phrase was ‘it shows up in JMRI as another node’ This implies a perilous software path and thus is very cool.
Ah yes. I have had JMRI set up for a while now. I use the ops module to generate switching manifests, and have started to play with the signalling side of it. As previously stated in the thread, I had started with National Instruments digital IO cards and custom C# software, but it quickly got complicated, so I started looking at JMRI because of its large user base and available support.
Some more hardware showed up yesterday. These are the Arduini Micro Pro. A full Arduino ATmega32U4 unit on an incredibly tiny footprint. One of these, combined with an XBee, will control the remote end signals. Here is one compared to an Arduino Uno. These things are TINY yet powerful.
Nice. Was looking over the Atmega32U4 data sheet. Quite a beast.
I’ve been using the xMega32E5s lately.
Playing around more with some signaling ideas. Here’s a quick and dirty semaphore using an Arduino Uno and a tiny 9g servo. This is just testing the positioning speed and angles. I’ll have to add bounce to make it look right.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJhgYGCT5As[/youtube]
Cool!
Neat. But I don’t think you need any bounce. Will we have them for TrainOps???
I think the bounce would look very cool. Bob please post a video. Are you going to write code that simulates acceleration and the mass of the arm, or will you put the data in a table?
I’m curious about your method.
(man that would also make crossing gates look real and not toy-like)
Greg
Bruce: not sure if Ill have one complete, I only have twelve thousand other projects, too.
Greg: I have a few videos of semaphores working, ao id like to get the complete “look” if I can. I can move the servo in one degree increments, and can put different delays between the movements, so I should be able to make it look like it has some momentum.
Bob McCown said:
Bruce: not sure if Ill have one complete, I only have twelve thousand other projects, too.
LOL, Bob, I understand.
Some more hardware showed up yesterday. These are CableGuard demarc boxes. A good size for an OpenLCB node, and a Phoenix Contacts breakout block. A couple of these will be out at major points on the RR to house sensitive electronics.
I’m not sure that they’re all that weather proof, unless you plan to run a seal around the door. They’re more for aesthetics to hide the hard wire connection from “Inside” to “outside”.
Yea, there’s no seal in the door, but I have some tiny neoprene that should fit in the indent around the door. It looks like the box is made for them, they just didnt COME with them.
Lacking that, a bunch of silicone sealer when its wired and closed should do the truck.
The way that knife edge matches up with the channel, unless you intend to use them under water, they should be adequate to the task of keeping the contents dry. Of course, an “O” ring would be better.
If these end up under water, I have more to worry about than my electronics getting wet… 
I would definitely put some kind of seal around the door, just to keep any moisture out of them.
Like the box says “CableGuard demarc boxes”. all they do is hide the demarcation point between “Your” stuff inside the house and the “Company” stuff on the outside…
Did I blow pass a signal and not notice it? Holy crap, I thought the railroad was great! Maybe these lights were only visible at night?
When you guys are “Talking” signalling; are you actually speaking to signals that the operators will depend on, controlled by a dispatcher/operator, or just signals that look like they mean something, but in fact do nothing when it comes to operations.
Few people will ever have pikes that would ever involve CTC, or any automated control system, but a few of us would like to use simple signals to control certain points on the railroad, controlled by a human being.
A good, dependable, inexpensive operating, semaphore signal would be nice, but I’d be just plain satisfied with a light signal, like Bob is working on. The only control needed is a simple DPDT switch at the dispatcher’s console…very simple…
That is the major problem, Ric, with LEDs…visibility of a single LED in sunshine. What we would like is a scale sized signal…but being scale sized, the LED is hard to see in daylight,
What I’m looking at for my purposes is a larger, over sized light, that is not to scale size, but fits into the scene without acting like a spotlight.
If Bob perfects his, my problem will be solved.