WEST ORTON

[Steve M]

Some ground signals have sprouted around the layout - all static!

Unfortunately, as you can see from the photos, the track is filthy so some very careful cleaning and hoovering is called for. The recent hot weather has also resulted in some movement of individual rails - no buckling but some expansion gaps are larger than they used to be so I guess others have closed up.

A couple of point motors seem reluctant to move - I suspect the heat but it’s quit likely I’ve disturbed some wiring while installing the signal servos.

A period of cleaning, running and maintenance is on the cards

20220804_121955 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

20220804_122011 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

[Steve M]

Back in the day, we used to have discussions regarding video of our layouts and in particular, which mini camera to use.
Remember the small cube cameras? Not easy to use and some very sketchy instructions but passable results.
Now it has a big brother. Still sketchy instructions but it now comes with audio and wi-fi so you can see the thing working via a phone app rather than the hit and miss approach before.

[dtb]

Always wondered if these cams were a benefit to use apart from sticking them on a flat wagon to give a drivers perspective.

I seem to have survived the recent heat, been up in the attic the last 2 days and all seems good. Motor racing season and the many series I watch and in addition to the new kitchen installation hasn't given me much time recently to spend time on the railway.
Layout looks good Steve and I need to send you some projects.

[Steve M]

Always wondered if these cams were a benefit to use apart from sticking them on a flat wagon to give a drivers perspective.
Layout looks good Steve and I need to send you some projects.

The drivers perspective is exactly what I’m looking for in this case. The new version is an exact fit in a five plank wagon with a bit of packing to get the lens to clear the end planks.
There is an advert in one of the model rail mags for the same unit premounted on a wagon for £90 - this one was £15 from Amazon. Not exactly high resolution but good for the price.

More projects? I will have to give the workshop a thorough clean before then and any work in there will be weather dependent or I will add the heating bill to my prices.

[Chops]

This photography makes one inhale sharply. Evocative and pristine.

[Steve M]

Found some more modelling to do (anything to put off the track cleaning marathon ).

I decided to fit a moving gate / crossing at the entry to the goods shed. It’s all gone well, the gate fits, the new roadway blends in and all the wiring was done when I did the signals. I had to make a bracket to fit the servo which was tested thoroughly before fitting.

This is where the trouble started.

On the servo tester, the gate swings steadily from closed to open and back to closed - in fact there is a full 120 degrees of movement where I only need 90 degrees. But when the servo is plugged into the MERG control board I can only get about 50 degrees.

Tried resetting it, tried it on the tester (again) and now there is no movement at all. There are four ‘ports’ for servos and the other three are working ok so I’m more than a bit puzzled on this one.

[Brian]

Hi Steve
If you're having problems with MERG kits, it may be better to post on the MERG Forum and get suitable answers there?

[Steve M]

Hi Steve
If you're having problems with MERG kits, it may be better to post on the MERG Forum and get suitable answers there?

Probably right Brian, although I strongly suspect it’s me that’s done something daft.
I have spare servos and a spare control board to experiment with first.

Edit: a quick browse of the MERG forum revealed that the standard programming limits the overall swing of the servo, this being exacerbated by the servo horns and the various lever points. It seems some have got round this by using a second servo horn on a fixed mount to one side of the servo as an additional crank. Sadly I was off the day we did levers at school.
When I fitted a servo to the crane, I used a direct drive rather than a crank with the result that 90 degrees is achieved - I will try something similar on the gate as a first step.

[Steve M]

A change of linkage design and using a spare port on a different control board and we have a working crossing.

https://youtu.be/Uaz2zypHQfQ

[bulleidboy]

Very impressive - although after the train had passed, I was expecting the gate to open and the Land Rover to cross the track