Wednesday 28th July 2021

Worklist:

Wire-up the control panel.

Just S&G this week as Laurence confined to home with car problems.

The main control panel was scrutinised for components and their positions and the general wiring reviewed to decide where to start on the new panel.

4 x 2BA countersunk brass bolts were fitted at 'the business end'. Wires were fitted between the power lead connector and the posts. Geoff made up and fitted a small vero board unit to mount resistors and a diode for the two power indicator LED's to be fitted on the panel lid. Stephen wired-up and fitted two voltage reducers: 1 for the section switch integral indicator LED's and 1 for the point servo controller. Both require 12v, but it was thought prudent to use separate supplies as they are so inexpensive. (The main DC power will come from a 19.5v laptop supply).

Before anything else, a check on the number of connections required for in and out wiring was made. It was decided to add four more nails on the end of the existing strip, just in case. The strip was 'zoned' for power supplies, track sections, points etc and a start made on the wiring. Stephen started on the section switches, soldering short connectors on each switch. The LED power supply will be looped around all of the switches. The feeds to the section switches will come from three rotary selection switches depending on the track zone and which controller (Main or Local) is required. All will be wired back to the connector strip.

Geoff had ordered a plug & socket (A pack of 5 unfortunately) for the new hand held controller wander lead. This was tested with the unit on the main panel and found to be a perfect fit, so the two controllers will be interchangeable. A hole was drilled in the panel end and the socket, with all tails soldered on, was fitted.

Geoff was able to find 2 bezel mounted LED's from a 40-50 year old project. They look perfect for the power indicators and, after a check, they'll be wired in to the new vero board.

A good solid days work.

Wednesday 21st July 2021

Worklist:
Progress control panel.
Finish storage frame guides.

A conference was called to discuss the positions for the main elements to go into the box. The space required for each was assessed and a layout agreed. 

1) Heavy duty latching plug and socket for the power supplies. Geoff had a rummage and came up with an identical unit as the main panel. This will connect to a 16v AC unit for the speed controller and a 19v DC unit (ex-laptop) that will be housed in a floor box. 2BA brass bolts will be located in a plywood yoke bolted to the floor of the panel. Holes have been formed in the panel fascia for LED indicator lights above the terminals.

2) General wiring terminals. Rather than traditional connector strips, the old panel used brass nails in a strip of plywood providing soldering posts. We tossed a coin and went for brass nails again. Geoff made and marked up the ply strip and Laurence and Stephen bashed in the nails.

3) Loom egress hole. One critical factor was where the cable hole was best suited, bearing in mind that the panel will be in two different positions and orientation, depending on whether it is used in the shed or an exhibition. The different mounting options also had to be assessed including the front-of-house option in the shed. It was easy to forget the cut-out for the flooded quarry requiring a position overlapping the fiddleyard. Once agreed, a hole in the panel base was drilled and a wooden block for a rubber lined, steel clamp to hold the wires securely was also fitted.

4) A small Vero board for the three relays required to turn the on-off point switches into forward-reverse switches. Laurence was tasked with preparing a piece of board, but a chance word regarding the new point servo operation made us realise that the relays were no longer needed, as the point control system required on-off switches. Scratch item 4!

Finally, all of the switches were fixed to the panel front. We will have to refit them at some point, once the track diagram (yet to be made) is available.

Stephen completed the manufacture of simple 9mm plywood strips to guide the boards into the storage racking. Geoff apologised for not getting around to the external coat of primer, but it wasn't critical. 

Wednesday 14th July 2021

Worklist:
New control panel

Stephen and Geoff made a start on the new control panel. After deciding the final dimensions, 9mm ply was cut to size, then glued and pinned to form an open top box.

The track and switch diagram was positioned on a piece of 3mm hardboard and manoeuvred to take account of the slightly longer box. The switch holes were marked into the hardboard and the appropriate holes drilled with a stepped drill.

The exterior of the box will be primed ready for next week.

Wednesday 7th July 2021

Worklist:
Review Geoff's investigations into replicating the LED's on the point work servo's remote setup controller.

Fit guides to the new board storage frame.

A full house, with Laurence fully recovered.

Geoff had successfully worked out how to replicate the LED's on the point work setup unit. This entailed a couple of additional wires soldered to the control board and two short RJ45 extension leads. When these had been adapted, fitted with plugs for the control board and wired up, an RJ45 socket was available to plug into the remote adjustment module.

After fitting the remote cable socket in place we checked what was on the other side and decided that it probably clashed with an inspection pit inside the engine shed (of yet indeterminate size and shape), so the three units were moved accordingly. This concluded the wiring on all of the new boards.

In the meantime, Stephen had started to make up strips of 9mm ply to act as guides on the storage rack to allow boards to be slid into place without bashing the angle frame and board ends.

Wednesday 30th June 2021

Worklist:
Continue wiring up the point motors.

Unfortunately, Laurence wasn't too well and was resting at home. We hope he has a speedy recovery.

Geoff had come across a servo/point controller board that he'd bought some time ago and never used. The Megapoints Servo Controller V1.10, was produced by its designer/developer prior to being adopted by MERG(?). It is a 12-way unit almost identical to the current MERG unit.

A position was chosen and the unit was screwed down (using spacers cut from an old biro pen body!).  Two of the servos could be attached directly to the unit while the third needed an extension lead.

The frog feed wires were then fitted through the microswitches on the servo mounts and we'd finished! Geoff likes 'plenty of slack' wiring - not the prettiest, but it's quicker and there's more scope for wire tracing and modifications. It probably reflects the group quite well!

Geoff then demonstrated how to manually program the three servos using the 4 buttons and the two LED's. On his 00 layout and using the MERG modules, he uses a remote programming unit that replicates the 4 buttons and 2 LED's and allows the boards to be laid down for better viewing of the point blades. However, when the circuit diagram of the unit we had fitted was checked, it appeared that the LED's are not replicated through the remote pins, which doesn't make sense. An RJ45 extension lead has been ordered to enable the use the remote programmer on the old-style board, which should then show if we have a workable system. In the meantime, Geoff will investigate how easy it would be to refit the surface-mounted LED's on extension wires!