JR 500系 Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 (edited) Slightly more updates: With the recent arrival of the box from Loco1, the track plan is now complete! The trains can now FINALLY make a full complete non-stop loop around the intended layout. Here's a trial test run with the 225-0 series: The same test done, in the dark to ascertain the dirty track areas again: Finally it's time to build that layout! :) Edited January 18, 2016 by JR 500系 6 Link to comment
Pauljag900 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Cool layout mate,coming together and looking good Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 Thanks guys! Work was really fruitful last weekend, and we managed to finish the overhead station, with lights! The station is now complete, with lights! Shot of the inside, with a 500 series Completed overhead station view And of course, some videos using a 500 series: And in the dark! Overall good progress! The overhead station was the hardest as it is in the back and needed lots of wire connections, and also needed to fit and build the platforms (all 10 of them) with lights, people and stuff to look real... I am glad it turned out fine! 8 Link to comment
velotrain Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Glad to see that your long odyssey is finally "on track". Link to comment
Eurostar25 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Good job JR500, and what more appropriate train to test run it with! Keep up the good work! What was your lighting system you used? Homemade or...? Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Glad to see that your long odyssey is finally "on track". Thanks! Me too, feels good to move away from all that buying and actually build the layout for once... Good job JR500, and what more appropriate train to test run it with! Keep up the good work! What was your lighting system you used? Homemade or...? Thanks Eurostar25! The lighting system for the overhead station? That's those 5m cuttable LED stripes which we get from ebay (China) for cheap... Then I measured the length and cut the stripes and asked my guy (I suck at soldering) to solder them together... And connect them together to an external power source... I do think they are too much bright though... Thinking if it was possible to somewhat install an external resistor or some sort to 'calm' down the lights a little.... Link to comment
kvp Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 You can add a higher wattage series resistor. Balancing will be done by the built in limiting resistors and you can control multiple strips tied together with a single resistor. Just make sure it withstands the load and put it under the layout where it gets enough air to remain cool. It's also possible to dim the leds with a PWM dimmer, that pulses the lights with a high frequency, very much like a Tomix CL controller. You can find such PWM dimmers (aka. DC motor speed controllers) for a few dollars on ebay. Just make sure you get the right input/output voltage one for the leds. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Jr, Those little pwm dimmers kvp refers to might be a great solution to dim the whole station together. You can get them on ebay pretty cheap and just wire it in before the power supply and some even include a 12v power supply. Many even have a remote control to dim them with or set off s dance party flashing effect! Hey rave in the station! But back to the led controllers, the are usually built to control a whole 5m strip of these LEDs so will control your station fine and minimal wiring to do. For those connections on wires you loathe to solder there see these little guys http://www.ebay.com/itm/50x-Red-Electrical-Cable-Connectors-Fast-Quick-Splice-Lock-Wire-Terminals-Crimp/141878655667?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D35217%26meid%3D8082283188714e248ff86ebc843b5e15%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D141878654224 Don't give up on the soldering all it really takes is just practice. Most folks suck when starting out but with some practice it gets easier and easier and you get better! Cheers Jeff 1 Link to comment
Robert46 Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks guys! Work was really fruitful last weekend, and we managed to finish the overhead station, with lights! The station is now complete, with lights! Shot of the inside, with a 500 series Completed overhead station view And of course, some videos using a 500 series: And in the dark! Overall good progress! The overhead station was the hardest as it is in the back and needed lots of wire connections, and also needed to fit and build the platforms (all 10 of them) with lights, people and stuff to look real... I am glad it turned out fine! Wow.. amazing progress.. I really like the detailed shot of the overhead station.. the crowds and platform detailing looks so alive under the lighting... :) Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thank you guys for the comments! Thanks kvp san! I'll need to look into those resistors... The commuters will suffer from radiation if the lights are on for too long... Thanks Jeff san! Those niffy little red connectors look interesting! Wonder how exactly do they work though... Put in the wires and then just squeeze the metal plate shut with pliers? Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Yep, basically the metal prong V cuts thru the insulation and the wire is between the slot. I've seen whole layouts using these to do all the wiring! They do get bulky though and things tend to catch on them, so it can get messy. I don't use them often, but having some in the toolbox is always handy and uber fast! 3M makes the nice ones. You do want to make sure to get the size connector to match the wire gauge you are using as a small connector on heavier gauge could cut into the wire, not just the insulation and a big connector on small gauge wire may not cut thru the insulation! Of course there is also crimp connectors, but that requires stripping and then making sure you make a good crimp which usually requires a very nice pair of ratcheting crimpers to do reproducibly well. Jeff Link to comment
malcoJOJO Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 LOVING this layout! I'm in the process of re-doing mine to get it all into one area and this design is fab!I have to roll back though this thread to see more about your process. It's looking great! Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted January 29, 2016 Author Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks Jeff san for the explanation! Thank you malcoJOJO san for the nice words! :) Quick question, does anyone knows what kind of resistor; i.e. the capacity or wattage of the resistor, that I should get for my station? I'm using an external 12v power input... Also, the power input plug will also be shared amongst other lightings for the buildings as we go along building the city. Will this in a way 'pull down' the electric supply and achieve the same 'resistor' effect? All my lightings including those for the buildings are LED stripes of bulbs. Thanks in advance! :) Link to comment
kvp Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) There is a nice online wizard for led arrays: http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz (if you already have current limiting resistors, just substract the existing ohm value from what the wizard calculates and if you want to add a single resistor, you have to add together the wattage of the small resistors for the single one or use the value written as total power dissipated by all resistors) Edited January 29, 2016 by kvp Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 There is a nice online wizard for led arrays: http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz (if you already have current limiting resistors, just substract the existing ohm value from what the wizard calculates and if you want to add a single resistor, you have to add together the wattage of the small resistors for the single one or use the value written as total power dissipated by all resistors) Thanks kvp san! I will need to study a little on that... A good weekend to run trains again. Today the agenda is to ensure both tracks, forwards and backwards, are ready to be run at a moments notice... It might seem even with the cover some more cleaning was required... But all is that too bad. It would surely be worse without the cover... Today's star is the 287 series Kounotori~ Test run At night ~ 1 Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 While it might look stagnant, progress on the layout was not forgotten... Completed fitting out the Kato ground level end platforms... These fitting out works take up ALOT of time as everything is painstakingly glued into place... Overview towards the left of the layout ; the Central shopping areas The paper buildings are now perfect for becoming a good background type buildings at the top left corner... The centre of the layout will feature the 'scene in front of station' type, with shops... The long bridge overlays the town, hence the name Takahashi (Tall Bridge) Here we have the park and the carpark below the viaduct on the lower right, making use of the corner spaces... Now I need a space for the truck terminal... I am thinking of elevating it to 2nd floor as it is taking up too much space on the ground.. Some residential areas will fit on the entrance to the rear overhead station, below the future hill... Plans to make a hill to cover the upper right corner so that the shrine can be built on top of that hill, and eventually having the Tomytec cable car make a round to the shrine from the elevated truck terminal area... 3 Link to comment
railsquid Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Looking good When are you going to update the percentage in the thread title? ;) 1 Link to comment
cteno4 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 We need a little widget that puts a little bar meter in the subject line of project threads to indicate their progress! Jeff Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 Looking good When are you going to update the percentage in the thread title? ;) Thanks! But I feel it's right about 20%... Because there is still a large number of items not fixed in, like road, connecting lights to the buildings, the moving bus system, the hills... I haven't even decided exactly which area is for which purpose; commercial, residential, industrial etc... The Mayor is getting lazy... :P We need a little widget that puts a little bar meter in the subject line of project threads to indicate their progress! Jeff Can we? :P Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 We need a little widget that puts a little bar meter in the subject line of project threads to indicate their progress! Jeff Mine would be depressing to look at, it'd increase by 1% every 6 months ;) Link to comment
cteno4 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 But it moves forward! The helix is coming along nicely! Jeff Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 And a little more fun this weekend! Stay tuned! :) 3 Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 And more teaser! Dung got bitten by the Kintetsu Bug... Gotta stop these third sector rails..... 2 Link to comment
serotta1972 Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Glad I can contribute to the sickness. :) Link to comment
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