Cobalt DCC switch machines

After building the yard, I knew I wanted a postive throw for all the turnouts. There are plenty of ways out there, slide switch, Tortoise, caboose ground throws, and hand made springs made from wire/staples.

So after much thinking and the lack of doing a whole bunch of wiring I decided to use the new Cobalt switch machines made by DCC Concepts out of Australia.

You can see in the picture below the size is smaller than the Tortoise, they even have a provision for mounting them sideways for control of crossing gates and semaphores.

After reading up on these I realized that the wiring is super easy. Two wires from the DCC buss, and one wire from the frog,, Bam,, you have a turnout with powered frog!!! There is even more contacts to allow for control from a panel via a push buttom or toggle switch. And you can even power signals/LED's from these machines.

Programming these machines is a snap. You slide the little white switch to the left, to the "set" postion. Select the turnout number you want to control on your throttle and press the button, then once done, slide back to the right. "run" position. That is all you need to do. I use Digitrax with the DT402D. So I started by moving the little white switch to the "set" position, then I selected the Switch button on the throttle, then entered a number, then pressed either T or C. Slide the switch back to the right(run) and that is all that I did. And now I have a switch machine that I can control by using the DT402D throttle.

You are probably asking how does it know what polarity to make the frog? I asked the same thing too. I found out by using a test light on the frog and opposing rail I could check it. If it was wrong, I would just swap the wires out that go from the buss to the machine.

These machines are a snap to install,, I like them, plus it saves on all the extra wiring that you have to do with other machines. I try to make sure that when I position the machine the Thrown and Closed position are the same on the actual track switch. So if you select Throw on the 402D the turnout is aligned for the diverging route and if you select Closed, the turnout is lined for the straight route.

There are some switch machines that I am not able to rotate because of benchwork members, so I need to figure out how to change the Thrown and Closed position.

I have installed 12 so far, I plan to control these with the 402D and push buttons. Even further down the road I will use JMRI Panel Pro to control them also. I choosing to add push buttons on the fascia so you can still throw the turnouts without the main throttle. I have an idea to use a piece of square styrene next to the turnout that is numbered to match the push button on the fascia. I had also thought about fabricating something to fasten the push button next to the turnout, probably drill a hole next to the turnout. So that would keep your attention on the layout and not having to look at the fascia. Any ideas out there???

Over all I am really satisfied with there little machines from the land down under. And,,, the are cheaper than the Tortoise cousin called the SMAIL ( Slow Motion Actuator with Integrated Logic)

Wow look two blog posts in one day. I am on a roll. So hopefully I can keep going on this roll and have the layout progress quicker than it has in the past.

See ya later,

Greg

Backdrop redux

The original backdrop was 1/8" Masonite fastened directly to the sheetrock walls in my garage. Over the years silverfish have eaten through the Masonite in spots. The Masonite that I used was off the old layout, so I had plenty of joints to tape and float. With the temperature changes in the garage caused the joints to crack and peel, so I had to think of a new way to do it.

I was going to use 1/4" Masonite this time,, but the big box stores in my area were out of it, so I found some 1/4" underlayment. I also decided to fasten 3/4" material on the sheetrock first before hanging the
underlayment. The brown spots you see in the picture is where the silverfish attacked the Masonite and sheetrock.

After hanging the underlayment I was really satisfied with the way it came out. You can see in the picture above that I ran the 3/4" material below the bottom of the backdrop, I did that so I would have a surface to secure the new benchwork to.

Here is one coat of paint. The blue that I chose was a match to the blue on the printed backdrop from Realistic Backrounds. I took a section to the local big box and had the paint department match the blue. On the previous layout I had cut the sky out from the prints and just affixed the pictures to the backdrop once the paint had cured for a couple of days.

So I still need to fill the holes and fill the seams, then apply the final coat of paint. I am ready to get the new sections of benchwork up,, so I can start laying the new trackage. 

I thought about asking for help from the forums and other resources for a track plan to use. The area is question is going to be 1'-6" x 14'. Any ideas out there?

Well that is it for now, more to follow.

See ya, Greg

A head ache but well worth it!!

While surfing eBay I came across the new release of the Intermountain F7 in Milwaukee Road,, thinking,,Hmmmmm.

So I pulled the trigger!! 2 F7A's and 1 F7B. I am could see the other kinds of consists in my minds eye, GP30-F7B-GP9,,, GP9-F7B-F7A. Well you get the idea. To make sure that these units would fit my era I did some internet research and found these were still around in 1980 and maybe a little longer.

I received the decoders in the mail first, and I was excited to get the locomotives. So now I have the locos and decoders,, thinking this looks easy,, solder 4 wires in the A's and 2 wires in the B's,, then BAM done.

Wrong,, ended up being a little head ache. These decoders are the DN166i1d, which are the new series of chips from Digitrax.  To make a long story short,, you need to apply kapton tape to the frame anywhere where the motor or the decoder could possibly come in contact with, or the locomotive will not function properly.

The first A unit,, well that was frustrating,, first the wanna be MT 1015 was hard to get out, then proceeded to fall apart, ( no where did that little spring go???!!!!???). No Kapton tape the first try,, decoder took programming,, but nothing from the motor. I hooked up test leads straight to the decoder,, hmmm motor works now,, what the hey!!!!

After applying kapton tape to the inside of the motor frame where the motor might touch and putting tape in the bed where the decoder sits,, BINGO,, we have movement!!! So the A took about 4-5 times of dis-assembly to get right. The B unit took 3 times,, and the other A unit took one time!!!! See I can learn.

I would not have known to kapton tape the entire universe if it were not for Allen Heimsoth, and various internet forums.

Well I have more updates to post, just need to sit down in front of the laptop to get them done.

My next big project is to replace the backdrop in the torn down area. Might get that done this coming week, see ya'll later

Greg

Yup, it's gone....

Well since I posted last, I managed to do some demolition.

  After looking at my backdrop closer, I found an insect problem, SILVERFISH!!. So to combat that, I am going to redo the backdrop also. I plan on tearing down the existing 1/8 masonite, if I would have known about these pesky insects, I would not have screwed the masonite directly to the wall.

     So I plan to place 1x2's on the studs in order to " stand off" the new 3/16" masonite. That should reduce the surface area for the insects to attack, I also treat the affected area before re-construction.

      I figure to tear down, re-install, bed,tape, float in one day, then primer and paint the next,,, two days. Easy peasy. Then the next step is construct the new helix,, and I will leave that for another post.

See ya later,
Greg