Geoff - Complete rewiring of points.
Stephen - Complete wiring and assembly of control box.
Laurence - Chivvy the above along so he can have a running session.
As previously reported, John had used quite thin wire for the layout. Whilst not an issue for the track feeds, the solenoid point motors suffered from the current drop - to some extent on the pairs, but definitely on the four-way cross-over. Geoff had started the upgrading (rewiring with thicker wire) in the week, and now finished it off.
Stephen continued to assemble the control panel and complete the wiring-up of a new feed from the power supply, the temporary capacitor-discharge unit and the new (un-tried) hand-held controller. Four bolts had been fitted to the end of the panel to provide a simple interface between on and off board units. A quick sketch revealed the need for two more, which were hastily added nearby. With no preformed loops available, the ends of all connecting wires are wrapped around a drill bit or screwdriver, and a loop formed. The soldered loop slips over a bolt and is secured by the nut, allowing easy removal (!).
With all work complete, the layout was assembled, loom fitted and power applied. A couple of points needed their connections swapped over, and the temporary CD unit couldn't cope with the multiples, but the speed controller worked - sort of. Full, regulated control in one direction, but only flat-out in the other! Another loco confirmed the problem was in the layout. The CD was disconnected and the controller worked perfectly. Geoff assumed there was a 'short' in the point wiring and will look into it in due course.
Two of Stephen's models were employed for testing. A small freelance diesel built on a Tenshodo 'Spud' chassis and a brake van 'kit-bashed' from a Peco van. After track and wheel cleaning (10+ years of dirt on them!) a bit of shunting took place - a very emotional moment - and a wonderful taste of what is to come.
The joke here was that he had struggled to get all the wiring through the frame to start assembling it all, and then realised he could have simply put the front panel through from the other side - doh!
