Academy Modellers

Academy Modellers is the new home of Stratton St.George.

Please visit our new site at www.academymodellers.co.uk

You can do it...

With Bob away the happy band of modellers decide they should do something rather than go to the pub.

So Bobs parting shot was to give me the second MERG servo kit to make.

Having read the instructions and inserting the first component the wrong way round, I decide there must be an easier way.  So I take a photo of the one Bob built and do electronics "painting by numbers style"!

Several hours later job done! and a photo to prove it!

Whilst all this technical stuff was going on Paul was trying to build a wagon kit.  It would appear that his has lost his touch, spending a large period of time looking for bits on the floor and finally his Pièce de résistance he pours a bottle of plastic glue in his lap..  Luckily his shorts didn't dissolve but I would suggest that he avoids naked flames for the time being!

The gates are working

 

No text necessary.

It's all under wraps.

The project go's confidential.

With the installation of the servo controllers and the "secret" mechanism that connects them to the dock gates complete the first pair of dock gates are automated!

I must add that we need to wire up some proper switched and stuff but it's pretty impressive for a first go.

I would normally publish to photo's to show you how this magnificent feat is achieved, but I was so excited I forgot to take any.

Next week I'll take some video and the wraps will be off!

Servo control of the dock gates

Late last year Bob decided we should motorise the dock gates.. (How cool is that!) After much deliberation and a visit to one show or another we were introduced to the delights of MERG their servo control kit looked an ideal solution to moving the gates.

Bob turned his had to electronics built the kit and purchased some servos from ebay (yes they did arrive).

At last I get to do something I installed the servo set software and we go about test programming the servos.  The software is less than intuitive and after some clowning around we have a historic movement of a servo.  Strangely though the servos appears to have a mind of its own, jumping about all over the place.  At this rate the dock gates will be all over the place....!

The issue is solved when we replace the bits of wire we were pretending were switches with the real thing.

Open the switch it swings one way at the first speed, close and it returns to its start place at the other speed.

Magic

DCC Corner is now replaces by Automation corner.....

Late Nights and LED's

"Late Nights and LED's" wasn't that by the Stereophonics....!

Ramble Ramble Ramble rant rant pharp..  Yes you guessed it writers block.  Anyway a mildly productive evening saw a crew of three.  One worker, one technical advisor and a ....... "What can I do boys?"  Just tell us about the Falcon Jeremy!

Our current fixation with LED's and circuitry means it soldering irons at standby.  The non working under-bridge LED's are removed and the circuit corrected.  Yes I did some homework too, well Bob helped ;-).

At the grand switch on we have more red and green lights than a traffic light jamboree.  Hold on what's that burning smell, not those fancy power supplies.

Sniff...... Sniff...... Sniff....  Pants, it's my soldering iron, it's rolled off the bench and currently burning a hole in the floor.... Ooops.

 

Where's Paul then? "Work Pressure"  Oh so he's watching Turkey v Germany then.. Guess so... Git!