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AlmightyArjen

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Everything posted by AlmightyArjen

  1. AlmightyArjen
    The motors are driven a L293D chip. Two bits from the microcontroller are used as inputs on this chip and as output there are two wires which you can connect to the motor/switch/whatever. For example 10 as input bits make the motor turn left, 01 make the motor turn right. 00 or 11 as input bits and the motor will not turn. On the L293D are two channels like described above. I use one channel for the motors for the bars and the other channel for the lights. I just use the original pulse-block that comes with the 7866 set. So the only thing I have to do is turn the lights on and they flicker automatically. Got it? :)
  2. AlmightyArjen
    A while ago I made a level crossing using micro motors, which moved the bars very realistic. The problem with that was that it took 2 seconds to lower the bars. Result of that was that you had to place the sensor something like 2 meters before the crossing: this was not very pracital. In the current system, I just use the "motors" that came with the 7866 set, the advantage is that you only have to place the sensor one halve meter before the crossing...
  3. AlmightyArjen
    Hi, I'm busy with a big automation project (fully automated coal terminal) and I wanted to do something else in between. So I made a "quicky": I've automated the 7866 12V level crossing! Two sensors detect trains and the microcontroller (Arduino) lowers the bars. The bars go up again when the last wheel of the last wagon of the train has passed the sensor 2 seconds earlier. Pretty plain and simple! I've made a nice vid: In the video you'll see also my BNSF coal train, which is one of the three coal trains that will run in the project that I'm currently working on.
  4. AlmightyArjen
    Same reason here... It's impossible to remove the sleepers without breaking the half of them...
  5. AlmightyArjen
    In my memory the HE was released in August but I guess I'm wrong?
  6. AlmightyArjen
    I have the new cargo train and the extra cargo terminal is nice, but it's just a little add-on. It cannot compete with the dedicated sets we had in the 80's and 90's. Also understandable: otherwise the new cargo train would become too expensive...
  7. AlmightyArjen
    I'd love to see the creations of other Eurobrickers in a competition indeed! I'm sure that there would be a bunch of structures that would be worth while to build! How do we arrange such a competition??
  8. AlmightyArjen
    True, but a clever parent finds a solution for that. My father took two wooden boards of 1x1m and fixed the rails on them so you could put the whole thing away vertically... Yes indeed, something like that. Or maybe a cargo station wich can be used as a harbour or as a train station...
  9. AlmightyArjen
    That's what I meant with the fact that nowadays kids just want an Ipad, which is also an expensive birthday gift. In that point of view, Lego trains have more competition from other fields of interest, not just other toys...
  10. AlmightyArjen
    Clear story Peterab, I think I'll have to agree with you! But why are the trains these days less popular? Is it because they are battery powered? Or is it simply because the kids these days are interested in other stuff? The best part of a lego train -according to me- is that it brings movement with it. And all kids love that, or don't they these days? When I look back at 1985 when I turned 6 years old, I got the 7727 as a birthday present. I was so happy about it: it still remains in my memory as the best birthday present ever. Can't the kids of today think the same way? Or is it so that the kids rarther get an Ipad as an expensive birthday present?
  11. AlmightyArjen
    It's too bad I think. Why did TLG release the side structures during the 12V and 9V era and stopped with it? Has the market changed? Or does TLG think more commercially than 15 years ago? I mean: maybe before it was important for TLG to have a complete train theme with the side structures, even though the side structure sets didn't make much profit and nowadays TLG is more profit-minded so they won't release sets with a low profit chance?
  12. AlmightyArjen
    Since the RC-trains are released, Lego has stopped releasing side structures for cargo trains, probably due to the fact that "trains" isn't a main theme anymore. If I look back at the 9V and 12V themes, I love the side structure sets that are released in that time. According to you, is there any chance that TLG will release new side structures like cargo stations, level crossings et cetera in the (distant future)?
  13. AlmightyArjen
    The only 4.5V train with a blue battery box is the 7720. But it comes with a black motor... I don't know any blue motors, could you post a picture of it?
  14. AlmightyArjen
    This is one epic MOC, well done! I like the story of the gas and all the details, incredible!
  15. AlmightyArjen
    The display is a module from Sparkfun and it is controlled by an I2C bus. The advantage of I2C is that you only need two wires for the communication. To the same I2C bus is also the pressure sensor connected.
  16. AlmightyArjen
    Not very special but worth mentioning I guess... I'm working on an automated coal load/unload station for a few Lego trains. There will be some pneumatics in the system and I wanted to build a compressor that supplies the compressed air. I've already done that by switching a compressor on after an x amount of switching of the pneumatic switches for an x amount of time. The disadvantage of this system is that a lot of times the pressure in the system is too low. A pressure regulated compressor is the answer! So I bought an NXT pressure sensor from Mindsensors and hooked it to an Arduino chip. The chip regulates the pressure in the system: the compressor is activated when the pressure drops below 30 PSI and is deactivated when the pressure reaches 40 PSI, so there's a hysteresis to prevent frequent on/off switching. The compressor has also a display that displays the current pressure in PSI in the system. The whole thing just needs a 12V or 9V power supply and that's it :)
  17. AlmightyArjen
    Unfortunately the helmet misses a visor...
  18. AlmightyArjen
    Using the servo motor in that way is just brilliant :)
  19. AlmightyArjen
    any plans yet?
  20. AlmightyArjen
    This is once again a wonderful creation! Respect, wel done!!
  21. AlmightyArjen
    The trains stayed intact pretty well indeed. It took me about half an hour to put them all together again... I had a few waggons with coal and the coal-pieces (brick 1x1 round) were all over the place. Unfortunately that is not very well visible in the video.
  22. AlmightyArjen
    Yes I do! One broken bogieplate, you can see it on the 2nd photo and that's it. And a few scratches I assume... Amen. That's the whole purpose of this video. Crashing trains like this is fun, but you don't get to see a slowmo replay unless you make a video of it. Since the crash occurs within a second, it's nice to have the ability to see it again in slow motion
  23. AlmightyArjen
    That won't work: once you cut the power the more heavy trains roll further without the power because of the higher momentum. Next to that those trains (which are then further away from the crossing) will have lower acceleration because they are heavier. So I did some testruns without actually crashing them to determine the distance from the crossing at the beginning. All 9V tracks were connected with each other and I had one power supply. Not a normal 9V regulator, which cannot supply enough current to make 10 trains accelerate quite fast at the same time...
  24. AlmightyArjen
    The timing was difficult. The first idea was to make a train along the bridge crash into a pillar of the bridge, by crashing another train from the side. But that was impossible to accomplish: I'd need a much bigger room for that. For all the trains arriving at the same time, I made sure that the trains were equal in weight. The Horizon Express was much heavier so I that train started a bit closer to the crossing...
  25. AlmightyArjen
    Some Lego purists would sue me if they could for crashing Lego trains but I think the most of you can appreciate the following video 10 Lego trains in one big frontal crash! Enjoy and let me know (here or on Youtube) what you think of it!
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