scoopey

Finally I redid my display unit which shows the traverser position compared to the track layout and the occupied status.

Now just test fitting with my custom designed and 3d printed trolley pole reverser!

And now to the underside...the original microswitch and Cam system has been replaced with a relay board and arduino IR reflector modules. It was a tight squeeze but with the other bank of microswitches gone I was able to use a cable drag conduit to supply power to the detection circuits and power feed to the tracks. This avoids the need for the umbilical.

Completed traverser fitted The new "detection" sensors are added-I modified Arduino reflection sensors. Thought they are not connected to arduino;s they make make handy modules. Unfortunately the reflection did not work quite well so I separetad the IR LED and put in on the opposite side of the "track" and turned them into break beam detectors which work very well. Circuits are held in 3D printed uprights... You have not got a 3d printer.....well neither have I. I designed them in the free online Tinkercad and uploaded the file to Lancashire3D The old position detectors have been mounted in a 3d printed tray.

New traversers are being based on linear bearing rails - I've used two short ones to create a parallel spacing New traverser platforms ready - I retained the original screw drive mount... Spacers made for linear bearing positions And two aluminium profiles to keep them in line - (spacers not yet fixed hence they look a bit drunk!) Two of the bearings in place Spacers in place for second set of bearings Platform complete - Note you will never mount these perfectly parallel so one side has the bearings able to float and move from side to side. This can only be done when gluing the second set of aluminium profiles and running the platform up and down the rails Plastic angle pieces hold the bearings to the the platform

Well its been a while since I last posted. However when there is only the smaller details to go there is not a lot to post. However I decided to totally upgrade and overhaul my Traversers which entailed ripping out the old ones.... Bye Bye old traverser - and thats not all as the sensor mount is going!

Another update - inevitably the further along you go with a model railway/tramway the less noticeable the changes. I've now wired all the internal lights in the buildings and the signs. Still need interior detailing but I could not help but test out the night scene!

This is how I made my shop signs - vinyl laser sticker paper. Most of the signs are fixed to plasticard light boxes to illuminate from behind. The Manchester hotel is lit from the front. The pub will receive similar treatment as soon as the lights arrive from China (they are external swan neck LED lights and I could not make them for half the price!). Sticker sheet! You've already seen this lit!

Testing out the sign lights on the Sandpiper hotel. Out of all the building signage this was the most extensive with 5 lit signs. On the tramway there are only 14 altogether so this building alone has over 1/3.

And now for some custom illuminated shop signs. This is my homage to "Tron" lol. After taking this picture I was impressed at how the sign lines up with the backscene - I created the "virtual" shop sign well before I actually made it. I already had the graphics and photoshopped it onto the backscene which featured a virtual copy of the shop used as the arcade.

The BOS is back...after my winter hiatus where I do other things (since I prefer working in daylight), I finally finished the backscene - actually most of it was finished last year apart from one. If you look closely between the "towers" on the two trams you can see Blackpool Tower in the distance (I photoshopped it onto the backscene!)

Well as with most model railways, you can do the bulk of the work quickly but its the small things that kill time. Before finalising the building lighting I needed to figure out my backscenes because once wiring is added it was going to be a pain to keep moving buildings. I had considered taking a version of street view and using pictures from that. Problem with that is the camera was usually mounted on top of a vehicle and the horizon ends up high. Also trying to patch a photo to fit a specific layout was tricky. Well I tried another approach. My main hobby is 3d art so I decided to create street scenes that can fit the an exact layout. Now herein lay another problem - making the low relief buildings extend into the backscene. Tried to fake it with a substitute "stunt" stand in 3d model. Did not work. I therefore built virtual models of the metcalf buildings and used photos of my buildings to make the textures 1 week and 20 trials I have nearly done the first section. Though any backscene can look right from one angle and wrong from others I am happy with the result of this. The hotel on the left for instance does almost look perfectly aligned It still needs a tweak on the shop side and I used photoshop to fake the double yellow lines on the backscene to match the exact spacing of the actual model!

Well you can use the Czech hedgehogs in dioramas and they are cheap lol!

Lastly, somewhere in this section I have plans and instructions for making 1/16 Czech Hedgehogs...a card version and a plastic (plastruct version) so you can turn your back garden into the D-Day landings!

Its does get "expensive" The older IBU and IBU 2 were designed to swap in place of the Hend Long workings...then you just use an RX. My TX is a Turnigy 9x but modded with the Tank ER9X software from RC Tanks Australia Technically the IBU requires just a 4 channel TX and not my 8 channel. The Turnigy with the new firmware allows you to use the other channels for different "switched" functions. For instance I added a RC relay switch which switches the flashing MG LED from the Hull to the turret Yes it is a bit expensive lol but cheaper than Clarke boards etc. I did notice on Ian's RC Tank Electronics (UK importer of the IBUs) that he does offer a radio combo. He's often keen to help https://www.rctankelectronics.com/