Prototype Layout Complete!

Santa was good to me this year.  I got a Kato RDC car, along with the decoder.  I also got the rr-cirkits LocoBuffer USB.  With these additions, I was able to start work on my prototype layout!

I started by hooking up the DS64 and the Zephyr Command Station, and wired up a couple of Atlas turnouts.  This worked flawlessly, and seem to be a very robust solution.  I was able to wire up 2 turnouts to the same port on the DS64, confirming that it can indeed drive 2 snap switches without any trouble.

I then hooked up the LocoBuffer to the command station, and began wiring up the Boulder Creek Engineering IR Detectors that I had gotten for my birthday.  I had a little trouble here... but the bottom line is that the sensors also work flawlessly.

My troubles started when I used a generic wall wart to power the DS64.  That ran the DS64 fine, and it ran the switches without a problem.  However, when I wired up the IR sensor, I found some troubles.  It seemed that the signaling voltage was far below the 12-14 volts needed for the DS64 to register the sensor.  I think it was probably that the wall wart didn't provide the necessary amperage.

The next thing I did was to wire up the sensor, and the sensor only, to a Radio Shack external 13.7 volt 2.5 amp power supply.  Trouble was that I continued to power the DS64 via the wall wart.  Well, I'm not quite sure what I did, but after breaking out the voltmeter, it looks as if I fried that sensor.

At that point, I did some independent testing, and decided that it must be a really bad idea to use two different power supplies on the sensors and the DS64.  The DS64 can take power off of two inputs from an external power supply.  So after breaking out a new sensor, and wiring things up, everything seemed to work fine.  I tested the 3 IR sensors I had remaining, and all of them checked out fine.  So all in all, that trouble got averted.  I'm also pretty sure that I want to use an external DC power supply to power a DC bus throughout my layout for sensors and DS64's.  I don't know if 2.5 amps will do it, but I have some time to figure that out later. 

The next thing I did was dive into the JMRI software deeper.  I was able to use it to verify that the IR sensor data was making it onto the Loconet bus.  It worked great in this regard.  So there wasn't much left but to start creating my prototype layout.

A trip to Lowes yielded some wire and a 6 foot length of 12 inch particle board.  I put some supports under it from left over 2X4's and I had a relatively stable platform.  I then laid out some sections of flex track, attached to 2 turnouts.  It is essentially two spurs that collapse into one track on the other side of the switches. 

I had been using a pair of wired connectors for power, but found that they didn't supply power throughout the layout.  So I used a small length of the 2 pair wire that got at Lowes, and fired up the soldering iron.  I found that wiring power leads to flex track is FAR easier than I imagined it would be.  I must have had a bad soldering experience that I've blocked out, because it really was as simple as stripping down the wire and heating it up with a little solder.  I think having the right wire is the key.  I'm using 24 gauge, solid wire and I think that makes a big difference.  I have no doubt now that this is the way to go.  Solder every piece of track to your rail bus people!

At this point, I was able to drill some holes and mounted the IR detectors (and when I say mounted, what I mean is that I drilled some holes and stuffed the IR detectors into them).  I popped off some of the ties in the track to make room for them.  Not pretty, but serviceable. 

I was able to get a train to move smoothly over the layout at this point.  I tied it down in one spot (near the power leads). 

Now came the fun part... watching sensors go hi and lo when a train moved over them.  It all worked like a charm.  Next post, I'll be talking at length about JMRI and the "fun" I've had with that so far. 

TTFN