September 2013 Monthly Status

September was an eventful month: work began in earnest on the “One Point Five Meter Line”, my short layout for displaying building models and showing off my Tram Controller. Additionally I made significant progress on the tram controller program, continuing the work I’d begun in August on driving multiplexed LEDs and, although I didn’t write about it, refining the sensor code to allow it to run faster.

The tram controller program itself is beginning to come together. It’s still a ways from actually running a train, but I’ve assembled the pieces and made a start on the actual logic that will know where the trains are and perform actions on them, based on the use of sensors and timers. After about six months of sporadic work, I can almost see the end in sight.

As usual I have more projects running through my head than I have time to do. There are a half-dozen buildings disassembled on my workbench (where they’ve been since May) waiting to be painted, lit, decorated, and reassembled. I’m hoping to make a start on those soon, with the completion of the benchwork for the One Point Five Meter line serving as a spur. Once I have a place I can put them, and wiring I can use to light them up and see how they look, I’ll be more interested in getting them done.

But despite the things not done, this month has a definite sense of accomplishment and progress, something I can’t say about the layout(s) every month.