004 Block & Spot detection demo
The Arduino block / Spot detection demo plank.
This demo plank has 5 different sensor types, and is used to demonstrate block detection and spot detection on a model railway. Coding is the work of Steve Lomax and can be found in the Block Detection folder of this repository.
The plank uses an Arduino Mega and Geek Robot motor shield running DCC-EX for a command station. We also have an Arduino Nano which is running Steve's sketch.
Steve currently has two versions of code which is explained in two YouTube videos which can be found via these links :-
To be added after 26th June 2024.
To be able to add the sensors using JMRI I need to enable the EEPROM during the DCC-EX software install. I also wanted to add a few extra features to assist us moving forward. This short 2 minute video shows the steps required when using the automatic installer.
- A MERG (model electronic railway group) pocket money kit 7.
- A drop diode detector circuit created by Steve.
- A Current detector module.
- A infrared detector.
- A reed switch.
Details of this kit can be found in this short presentation video which was shown at the 26th June 2024 zoom meeting. https://youtu.be/dyPc-JG-Rmg
- This is only available as a paid up member of MERG.
- It takes it's power from the track and offers two forms of indicating triggering.
Pros & Cons
This is a Vero board device Steve has made from a number of components
Pros & Cons
This is a commercial available unit which is designed for higher amperages than used on model railway layouts.
Pros & Cons
We are using two types of sensors for the demonstration plank.
There are two version for this demo, Steve has created two videos that go into the details behind them.
We used JMRI to add the sensor logic from the Arduino Nano to the DCC-EX command station. This can be seen in the following short video.