I have been so busy lately I have not had much time to build extensive projects but on a Sunday afternoon I figured I could start this one. It is a simple non moving vehicle that I plan to add running lights, headlights, hazard lights, and possibly sound. At the moment it will be more of a scenery piece.
I added an 8 function switch from radio shack and a charging socket for Faller vehicles. I was just going to use a 5v hard wire but I have 2.4v NiMh batteries and they should last a while with no motor to run. This way I can move it around free from wiring. The switch will be main power on pin 1. Once all the lighting is done it will be easy to switch over to Faller or DC-Car if I so decide.
This is the first vehicle I started experimenting with and originally was built with an Arduino micro and Infrared proximity sensors for distance control. It also had 9v power as well. It is a OEM Faller modified chassis with the body removed.
I found the Arduino was very effective but the 9v battery was too heavy and it caused high load on the dc motor. The Arduino micro offers many possibilities, however it's size is still not ideal for anything in 1:87 besides buses and trucks.
I decided to start testing the DC-Car dc05si decoders in this vehicle.
Here you can see the scratch built shell for the bus test fitted and wired decoder installed.
The bus now uses 2.4v Faller batteries and a new Reed switch. I will update this post soon. I have started to decal the body and getting ready for paint.
After the paint and decals are applied I started adding the lighting. After making up each 0402 LED and installing it I like to test it with a breadboard and 2.6v with a resistor.
After test fitting the LEDs for proper location, I add a drop of superglue to hold the light and wires in place.
I use small zip ties and electrical tape to keep things organized during construction. When wiring with these vehicles I find it easier to wire from the bottom up so you don't have to work around what you've already installed.
Hopeing that this will work, I am using a slightly larger Guage wire as a bus wire that the smaller leads for the LEDs are soldiered to for connecting to the DC-Car chip so I don't have to soldier so many times to the chip and risk damaging it.
Here you can see all of the wiring and lighting completed (may add a few more lights later) but you get the idea. After months of little work here and there I finally was about to get the bus to respond to infrared commands using a DC-Car dc05-si chip. I am happy with its response and quality. I do note how the lighting add the bench effects commands but I expected this.
This is a quick video shot on the work bench of the basic functions being tested. It still needs windows and detailing but this gives you a good idea of where this project is going.
I have had requests for some vehicle building information and pictures so here's a start.
This is a beverage delivery truck that I started but have only made slow progress. The frame is scratch built from brass. I am going to use a resin freight liner FL70 Cab with a Boley beverage truck body. I will post pictures to this post as I make progress. So far I have installed the motor 46:1 from KKPMO and built a AAA 2.4v NiCd battery pack. Check back soon!
While being very busy with work I still managed to get some work done during the month of January. The focus became mostly structures and scenery so that I could look fairly presentable for the big Springfield, MA USA hobby show.
The module in the background in the first photo and the foreground in the second will be redone but was added for the show because I did not have time to build something else.
At this point all of the stop sites, turnouts, controllers, sensors and lights were tested for proper operation.
I added a temporary stop site on the rear of the module with a simple SPST toggle switch. This was to manually stop non dc car vehicles when they got to close from collisions. The show was the first time I had run vehicles for hours without a break. This was good because it really highlights the improvements you can make. The environment was pretty reliable but I did have a little trouble the second day of showing with steering adjustments and battery life. I would like to start experimenting with lipo batterys and see if I can improve run time.
