Tram Controller Status
I’m continuing to work on the Tram Controller project (main page, past musings), to the exclusion of all else layout-related, which doesn’t make for interesting posts here. But I’ve made a number of decisions in the past month, and it’s probably worth summarizing them and where that puts the project overall. Short answer: making good progress, but slower than anticipated (what else is new; all my projects run “slower than anticipated”).
I’ve also been thinking about the diorama-like layout I’m going to initially use this with. The current candidate plans for that are on the new One Point Five Meter Line page.
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I’ve also been thinking about the diorama-like layout I’m going to initially use this with. The current candidate plans for that are on the new One Point Five Meter Line page.
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Signaling with Arduino
t seems that I can never resist the impulse to make things more complicated. While working on my Arduino sketch (program) for the Tram Controller, the thought struck me that I could add signals at the stations to tell the fictive operators of the trams when it was safe to leave. These would be “starting signals” in typical Japanese practice, and only require two LEDs, red and green. Of course I’m all out of pins, and the only step up from the Uno, which has 20 pins (14 digital, 6 analog) is the Mega with a whopping 70 pins (54 digital, 16 analog).
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One Point Five Meters
One point five meters, or about five feet. That’s how much space I’m giving myself for a short layout designed to display my buildings separate from the main layout. It’s also going to give me a short rail line that I can use with the controller I’m working on for the tram line on the Urban Station scene.
The germ of this idea was a conversation at a local hobby store that holds an annual show in the store to display the model-building skills of its customers. Last month, just before the show, I was asked about some of the pre-built buildings I’ve been detailing for my Village scene. At the time, I didn’t think the couple I’d mostly finished were really in a displayable state, but the idea of perhaps doing some kind of diorama crossed my mind as we discussed how to display something next year.
I also wanted some way to actually see the tram line in operation, as on the layout it’s going to be hidden away behind buildings, providing some background activity without really being visible (something I really need to fix on a future layout). And that led me to think: how small can I make a layout with the tram controller and my buildings?
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The germ of this idea was a conversation at a local hobby store that holds an annual show in the store to display the model-building skills of its customers. Last month, just before the show, I was asked about some of the pre-built buildings I’ve been detailing for my Village scene. At the time, I didn’t think the couple I’d mostly finished were really in a displayable state, but the idea of perhaps doing some kind of diorama crossed my mind as we discussed how to display something next year.
I also wanted some way to actually see the tram line in operation, as on the layout it’s going to be hidden away behind buildings, providing some background activity without really being visible (something I really need to fix on a future layout). And that led me to think: how small can I make a layout with the tram controller and my buildings?
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July 2013 Monthly Status
03 August 2013 00:36 Filed in: Administrivia,Monthly Status
Not a whole lot got done on the layout in July, although I did manage to get the backdrop up for the Hilltop section. The rest has mostly been planning things, and a little bit of work on structures. I’ve also been doing some work on the Tram Controller project, but no substantive progress to report yet.
So a lot of little stuff, but very little to talk about. The design parts of it are both necessary and fun, but I’d like to have more to show for my efforts. Ah well, perhaps next time. It does make for a rather terse summary though.
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So a lot of little stuff, but very little to talk about. The design parts of it are both necessary and fun, but I’d like to have more to show for my efforts. Ah well, perhaps next time. It does make for a rather terse summary though.
Read More...
