HO Scale layout , computer control

As I wrote before  the new track plan(already layed)  is  arranged  for computer control .
But what is computer control ?
It is a  series off connected  devices from train to the computer    in order  them to communicate to each other .
The computer  generates the commands  which are transfered  through connction dvice to the command station and then  to the rails and finally to the dcc decoder inside the locomotive.The locomotive generates current draw  that  is tracked on the tracks  using the feedback device  which sends  info back to the Command station  which also sends feedback back to the computer.
Finally the computer arranges its  choices according to the feedback and the saved preferences (loco proirity etc)
I chose thse solution  of Lenz electronics  which provides  stable , clear and efficient result .
Moreover not to mention that you need a software to control all this mess.
my choice  , finally , was :

1.command station  : LENZ LZV100
2.computer interface : Li-USB-Eth by Lenz
3.feedback generator : Lenz LR101
4.feedback occupancy module : Lenz LB101
5.switch controller : Octopus III with  Octocoder
6.program : Rocrail

 

Back view  of the Lenz Command station . Comparing with the Roco black box  it  seems more rigid  . far better materials(aluminum) and more expensive result.

 

Front side of a Lenz lzv200 same as the LZV100 I purchased . 

 Here is , in German ,  the  complete lenz diggital system . Not all parts must be used in order to  start over with it .  Eveny part you  add , you also add  another tool for your layout.

   Be prepared that all manuals coming with LENZ  products are in German . If you want the English version  use this link :  LENZ USA .
   Each LR101 feedback generator  can handle up to eight feedback input signals . Each LB101 can  detect up to two isolated rails and generate the signal . So each LR101  can be connected with up four LB101 . The occupancy detector LB101 is connected to the LR101 feedback module ,  the LR101 i sthen connected to the LZV100 . The LZV100 is connected  with the  Li/Usb/Eth module (via the XpressNet cable)  and  the Li/Usb/Eth module is then connected to the PC .

  As described before , for  a pc operated layout you will defenately need  a program . I chose  the ROCRAIL which seemed very easy to understand  and will all the utilities I need .
The webpage  of ROCRAIL is here  .
First read the step-by-step manual very carefully  and then start playing with it .  Of course , it provides a virtual utility with which you can test every change you make .


 

HO Scale layout , Wiring modifications

 Today  I  started to relocate and fix the position of the wires . Nothing must be hanging from the layout so I had to fix the position   , to trip excess wiring , to relocate the route of some wires  and  to secure the screwing of  the wire ends .

 Another view . The job is not finished of course  but now I just feel more confident that  I am  on the correct path .

More test to be  done tomorrow in order to check for short cirquits  and blank spots.

Ho Scale layout , New Planning ... start over again...

 First off all , sorrry forr the mess in the photos !
I had an idea to stop the previous layout and start over again . The main reason  was  that  I bought  the LENZ LZV100 and started plans   for computer control .

 I chose the  Roco geoline  rail series . They needed much modification in order to make  the rails  tighter to each other . After some test I found the way to do it  by removing some part (around 2cm) from the thrown position of every switch).
I also added  in the eend of each shelf square retractable shelves of 80x80cm  where I put R2 curves  in order to be able to have full rail trip  and also   not to have space problems in my workshop.

 Here is the shelf retracted

 Here you may see the  Octopus II switch manager  with Octocoder decoder . Also  , on the far left, you may see the LR101 which generates the feedback for the sensors.

 A full view of the mess....

 Below view with some initial wiring. I plan to change everything  and add notes on each wire .

 Here , I installed the laptop for the computer contol

 A more close view of  the devices described above.

 I have not yet found out the final  rail plan . Due to heavy modification  of the Roco Geoline  rails  , I was not able to make a plan in Anyrail  and then make it on the board .

 Here is the first , left , turn(loop)

 Here  is the right  turn (loop) . The  plan is finally closed.

 Here you may see the right loop retracted in order to  give me access to the entrance.. !

 Loop , bridge and shelf connected.

 Some tests arround . Nothing is final . All rails are not permanently fixed so if anythign goes wrong I can make changes..

 A more dramatic view of the Wehrmacht Loco .

 Here is a more updated  view of the layout shelves below.

To be updated very soon....

HO Scale layout "some more cable here"

 The  construction is in progress . I have already completed the remote turnout control  and the live-frog arrangement in most  turnouts. 
I do not permanently hold the cables  as there are more arrangements to be done. Have in mind that the  whole diorama has to be  easily split in half . So all tracks and electrics are supposed to be separated easily for transportation.

 Here you may see  the situation below  the layout. Much  electrics , electronics and complete mess . All wires have to be numbered or tagged . I must also secure them below the layout  .
The front turnout control board is surely not permanent . I just made it  in order to have a good test board (made of paper cardboard ) for the turnout pressure switches .

A neat view of  a single servo that controls the position of a turnout . I later glue  beside  a pressure switch in order to provide power  to the frog of the turnout.

What the plan is ? I first want to be sure that the  tracks are working properly in every aspect , no dead lines , no derailments . Then  I will be ablee to start ballasting ! Can't wait for that !

HO Scale layout "construction addon"

 I prime painted  the whole  track  surface. The paper board shown in the picture are for space arrangement  regarding the station area on the right.

 This is a photo of the bottom of the  layout . The  switching function is arranged with rc modelling servos . The tamper switch is located there in order to make the switvh frog "live" .

 Here you may see the small metal plugs that  give "juice"-power to the frog depending on the switch location .

Another view of the the whole diorama. There is lots of arrangement  to be done , lots of test runs  in order to be sure that the shunting service will be done correctly with no derailments or dissengangements .














A small overview of the electronics I will use:
I bought  the  items  from  http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/

It  consists  of   a series of  items  that  cover the matter  of switch  management.
The main item  that supports the system is  the  Octopus III . This tool  can manage eight switches throught their connected servos .

The management  of the  servos  is  done throught  the faschia controllers. They are actually  pressure switches  with let lights  that  can provide a feedback  of the track switch position (open-close)

In order to be able to  arrange the position of the servos , their speed  and their endpoints (Epa  , as they are called  in rc modelling) , the remote alligner is needed . Do not hesitate to order one together with the Octopus III !! Very useful !

The Final  addition I wanted was the digital addon of the  Octopus III . This changes the whole system and provides the ability of DCC control . What I trully liked was the  ability that it provides  to  use  not only the dcc controller  but also the  fashia controllers . Using one does not interfere  with the other.  Very useful , handy  and  clever .






All of the above items  were bought by Tam Valley Depot  . The people there  are very professionals , fast reactions , fast shipment and very good packing .  I tested all items  and they work properly . The items come with very good colored instructions .

HO scale shelf layout

HO scale shelf layout

The Idea
I was reading here and there  that a shelf layout  with shunting services would have so much interest as a normal layout . So I started making some plans . The first thing to do was some massive re-arrangement of my workplace  in order to accomodate the extra shelf . I put it on the wall a little high  in order to have some room below to make  an N scale shelf layout in the future... So mane ideas so little time  to construct...  .

 The Construction
I used some wood blocks for the main structure and 4mm plywood  for the flat area. I improvised and built the front areas of administrative buildings with a little  of  30s arcitect style.  A flakpanzer is there  to provide some scale idea .

 Another view of the same area . You may see here  the  basic track design . I have already put cock below the tracks .

 A more close view

 Here , I have  prime painted the surface (except the tracks of course)  using can spray paint .  I used a coat of light grey  and another coat of black paint  . No need for ballastick maybe???? No......

Another view here .

Fi-156 "Storch" by BMI review and total mod

Fi-156  "Storch" by BMI  review and total mod 

Last year I purchased a Fi-156 Storch  by BMI . I would like  here to make a review of my idea about the model.

Here are some   information from the website

Hersteller: VMAR/BMI

Spannweite: 1943mm

Länge: 1250mm

Abfluggewicht: 1600gramm

Motor: Pichler Motor BOOST 40 [C2983]

Propeller:Aeronaut 13x8 [7234/57]

Ausstattung: Landeklappen

 After opening the massive box  , I found  the rather big hull and  the  split wings . Have a look here  to  see the basic fitting test I did . You may also see the massive wingspan . I assumed that I needed a bigger workshop ....

 The  fitting is  done  and I headed on to  the more technical construction . Have in mind that the model needs 

-1 servo (mini) for rudder

-1 servo (mini) for elevator

-2 servos  for the ailerons

-2 servos  for the flaps

The   wings are held together  with  two aluminum tubes (very lightweight  ) . Each time  I  have to install the wings  , I need to install the tubes  and  and to adjust all  servo cables  in the  hull . The whole  arrangement  needs lots of time . Double it  as I have to do the same  for assembling  and dissassembling  the model  for  transport. 

After construction , I  had some basic issues 

1. The wheel structure  is very flimsy 

2. wings  are  very flimsy

3. Aileron hinges are awful  giving a scale look  but a very bad movement effect . Also they need securing  with  glue and screws.

4. The company did not provide any info regarding the battery that should be used. Only about the balancing point . 

      At the field  #1

  The  test started  very bad . I went to the field  and   started fitting  all parts .  When everything was ready I  put  the battery and .. boom .. !!  The rudder servo   burnt ! 

   I changed it  and  we were ready for  the  first  power test . My  friend held it vertical   and I  pressed the throttle . I  momently heard a crack noise   and  then silence . The motor/motor mount system  flew many meters above our heads  and we run  here and there  for safety ... . 

    The  result was that the cowl  was ripped of  by the flying motor  . The motor   had  a bent shaft  after the hard landing  and  the whole model was in compolete mess  without being flown .

 

      At the bench #2

      I installed  a  harder  ply 4mm  firewall  and a  alloy  motor mount (instead of the wooden factory one) . I also removed  the bent shaft and installed a straight one from  stainless steel .  Some minor changes  at the wing fitting  made the whole arrangement a little  easier. Then I was trully happy  and sure about the constrution... yes .. of course... !

      At the field  #2

       The  second  try  was a little more successful.  I  launched it  and  had a 10 minute  flight time.  I  saw that it tended to tip stall so  I had to turn it with the rudder. Each time  I tried to turn with aileron/elevator  it stalled. And it stalled badly ! After  a low pass  I  felt that I had no power. What happened? The esc was burnt ! I made  a mistake and trieed to tunt it   while losing height  in order to gain speed. But is tip stalled  and feell of the sky . It broke  in the nose  and the center of the hull . Some pieces of the  wings also broke  but the overall view was of a model that could be repaired. 

     At the bench #3

      I first  wanted to  identify  why the model  tip stalled so badly . The philosophy of the model  is that  it should have very low flying speed , so why to tip stall  that way? 

      My test result saw me (after some investigation ) that  I trully had to reduce the flying weight . As I did not know  what battery  I should use , I used a 5000mah lipo  which is nearly as a brick ! I thought that  a model of this wingspan  could easily handle it . But philosoply (also) of the Fi156 is also of a ultralight plane ... . I re-balanced it  using a 2200 11.1v lipo  . I also removed soem other smaller parts  and I was sure that it lost some weight (more than 300gr) .

        At the field #3

        One again at the field...  I  wanted to  test  the result of the height reduction .  After take of , I tried to make  some flight test  of how iit handles and turns. The tendancy to stall was still there  but not  that much . Also I saw  that  it tended to be uncontrollable  if I throttled it deeply . Also  it  was not a  vstol plane  as I had to  land with lots of speed  as it tended to stall . 

So  I went  back to the bench ...........

        At the  bench  #4

        During my summer holidays  I had some time to  make an allover reconstruction  . My main goal was to  save some weight (in order to reduce wing load)  and to make my life easier  by making a better  wing arrangement.

 Here are some photos  I used for refference. The "storch" nickname came due to the unique way  the landing gear was hanging  during flying . When the plane was  on the ground , it  had the landing gear spread wide.  This is something that the  factory model  does not have . The landing gear  is has some kind of suspension  but it  holds the whole structrure ffirmly in tight angle. This is trully bad , technically , as  the model had  a tendancy to  be unstable during taxing, takoff and landing . I  replaced the landing gear  with my own structure . It kept its suspension  but  I achieved a wide  angle similar to the photo  above.

Here is  the model during the summertime restoration  and weight reduction plan.  I replaced all the internal wooden parts that were broken due  to the past faults  and hard landings. Then  I  coated  it with grey primer paint  and  I ironed  some  olive drab monokote . 

 The  true problem here came  as   I could not find  any similar  monokote color  to this parrticular  green that BMI used . So , I  used the olive drab and  then painted it with  grey primer. After the primer I was able to paint itt  with  two different coats of  green similar to  the splinter  colors of the rest of the model.

 All  lines  that represent the doors and other panels were made with  silver fine marker.

 here I installed the  new landing gear . All parts are compleetely made of stainless steel  as I needed  extra  suspension   and strenght.

The initial battery hatch was  in the lower part of the model below  the pilot. I  closed it firmly  and replaced it  once and for all  with  a hatch above. All of the front structure is removable .
Now the  access  is rather easy  and  the  preparation time is trully limited. I think that BMI should have done it that way . It is also safer for the modeller as  you  do not need  to flip the model  with  the battery power on.

 A closer photo  of the  landing gear

 In  this part of the construction  you may see  the  primer coated  wooden parts . You may also see  the epoxy  hatch  I scratch made  in order to have easy access  to the battery compartment .

 Here are some mode photos I used for  refference.

overall

Overall , until now I am not happy  with the model . It is trully   beautiful but hard to fly  and  strange . The whole construction is rather complicated   and very flimsy . Cannot be flown  in windy conditions  and there is no chance to fly it  as  a Vstol plane . It needs lots of runway to land  and plenty of speed . No  tight  turns are allowd as it tends to stol and cannot recover  nearly at all . The flaps may effect it  positively  at 20%    but  it  is trully  unforgiving . A small mistake  and it may hit the ground like   any other warbird .  Do not underestimate it as it is a high wing construction .