Gadget Wish List

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Will_annand

Active Member
Jan 12, 2004
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36
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Huntsville, Ontario
www.muskokacomputes.com
On another Forum, a fellow asked:
"If there were Model Train electronics that could do anything for your train what would if be?"

My wish item is:

A Layout lighting control. Have a box you can wire up with a photo of your town on it.
you touch a window on the photo and the light in that window of the building on the layout comes on. you touch the window again, the light goes off. I have been thinking of Fibre Optics for this, but can not come up with a way to "turn on and off" each individual fibre.

For example I am building the "Downtown Orangeville" diorama for my layout. There are 14 two-story shops and one four-story building, assuming if the "store" is open, all first floor lights are on, and each second (or higher) story window is a distinct room. Plus adding 8 "Street lights". That would be 100 "lights" that could be either off or on.

Now the "control panel" could be mounted in a drawer under the layout, and getting 100 fibres of the correct length is easy and relatively cheap.

However... how can you control them individually?

That is the BIG question....
 
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Woodie

Active Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,093
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36
Northern Rivers NSW Australia
Will,

What you ask, can be done. Using DCC and a computer. You know the ones with "touch screens"?. You'd need to get someone to program it, but just have your pic on the screen, touch what you need, and it will generate the DCC commands to turn the lights on/off or whatever you want.

As far as moving cars on the layout is concerned, I've got a HO sized semi-tralier truck that is remote controlled. It was handed out as a corporate promotion thing I went to a few years ago, and has their logo on the side of the trailer. You can steer it, forwards, reverse but it's either flat out, or not at all. Really meant for playing with on the floor, but it could be driven around a layout. Certainly not at "scale" speed though!!! :thumb:

But as far as "electronic gizzmos" are concerned, I'll get around to having platform announcements for train departures and arrivals on my passenger platforms. Some Australian railfans have recorded the actual announcements, and put them up on the web as .wav files. These announcements are of the prototypes that I model. Just give a click on the file...... mini-speakers on the platforms and........................ Click Here for a listen

Then TOOT.... and of we go!!! :D Specially if I've got a DCC sound decoder in the loco!! TOOT!!

I'd also like "light sensitive" layout lighting. As the room lighting dims, the layout lights come on. First the street lights, then lights in houses, buildings etc. Bring the room lighting back up, and the layout lights all go off again. :) :D

Boy, have I gotta lot to do yet!!! :thumb:
 
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