This article is in the `you can do it too` category. It`s not as difficult as you can imagine for the average model railroader, especially with the information available on the Internet and with articles like this to guide you. I have been looking for a way to construct my own detectors and signal circuits to keep the cost down. Also, there`s a lo
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t of satisfaction that comes from proving to yourself that you can do it. I don`t know a lot about electronics, but I can follow a schematic, I can read a meter, and I know how to solder. The rest falls into the category of "take it one step at a time and doublecheck what you`re doing". Sometimes this is referred to as a "smoke test". You don`t want to see smoke! Bill Payne, fellow member at our Nottawasaga Model Railroad Club (NMRC) knows more about electronics than I do so he is taking the lead on this project. The NMRC layout has just been upgraded to DCC and we would also like to install signals on the layout. There`s nothing like changing signals to keep people fascinated at train shows, even if the indications of the signals aren`t quite right! Before Christmas, 2009, Bill and I had already built and tested some signal circuits we had found on the Internet. The next step was to build some detector circuits that would work for DCC. The ones we are working with were designed by R. Paisley. One of the block occupancy detectors is designed around a 555 timer and the other is based on a 339 comparator. Both take power directly from one rail. The wire with the power passes through the hole in a small transformer. The transformer detects a change in voltage when a train occupies a block and passes this information to the signal controllers. That`s sort of a non-electronic way of describing what`s going on. Here are the...
This project fits more for custom made battery casing that can have more space to hide things inside. This switch with few alterations can be used for any other project as well but is designed based on e-bike needs! This project use a clever functionality of....
The circuit described here uses ultrasonic oscillations and operates based on the propagation velocity of these oscillations in the air. Thus, we can easily determine the distance of two points if the time within which the wave travels this distance is....
Sometimes the precious metals are hidden too deep and are not detected except with complicated devices. In many cases, however, small pieces of precious metal buried near the surface can be detected by relatively simple means. Everyone is very attractive to....
Many times for various reasons we forget or can not water the plants that we have in our homes. And many humidity sensors units just notify us with a beeping sound or with a flashing light, that the pot needs watering. But what if we are away from home? This....
The principle behind a metal detector is really very simple. Proof of this is the circuit that follows, in which it proves that the construction of a metal detector can be done in the minute, with few components that we find very easily everywhere. With the....
The sub-harmonic bass generator is a sound producing unit for guitars. The sound it produces looks very much like that of the bass guitar. The octave generator is sometimes quite unusual since it does not produce any of the usual ways of coloring the sound,....
In the past the sounding (sea bottom measurement) was done with the "bullet", that is, with a heavy lead object that the seamen plucked into the sea hung from a calibrated rope. As soon as the "bullet" reached the bottom, the depth appeared directly from the....
This Amplifier was designed to have the following specifications: Distortion less than 0.1% at full power of 100W even at 20KHz. Power has to be attributed to an extended bandwidth. The output transistors must be protected against short circuits. The power....
A series of LEDs serve to alert the gardener when plants need water. Using two conventional digital integrated LEDs and a series of LEDs, we make a very useful device for gardening. The device detects the amount of water in the pot and alerts the grower.....
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