Four lane analogue tracks

Wacky Races in 1/32, or 1/64 if you must

Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Fri Feb 14, 2020 8:35 am

rest of the kit arrived yesterday, not experimented with lane detection as yet (have a few more bits on order to play with that) but managed to get a bit of timing stuff working and one of the displays is set up, very clear, very bright so will be easy to read.

may need to borrow Colin's dremel to modify a few bits of track but will see about that when I come to try an actual track installation and try to get the little 3mm LED and phototransistor installed.

best bit is the thing is totally independent of the actual track electronics so will work for digital and analogue easily enough, hope to have a prototype working next week (though may not be actually installed into the track at first as that may need a bit of butchery to make it work)

:woo:
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Fri Feb 14, 2020 7:15 pm

See if this works...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CQNebyuGxM&feature=youtu.be

you tube video link of the prototype, only shows one track, and isn't actually connected to a track as yet, but to say the kit only arrived yesterday I'm happy enough for now
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby Baldie » Sat Feb 15, 2020 6:12 am

Dont know what I am more worried about.

1. The fact you have a you tube channel

2. You have posted something MI5 may be concerned about
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Tue Feb 18, 2020 7:21 pm

Bit more playing, have wired up the other few displays I currently have and got them working

ended up looking thus

Image

here set up for two tracks (idea is a few more rows of displays for more tracks and a row for the "best lap overall" at the bottom). left to right we have the car number, idea is to be able to show the cars in either lane order or actual race order, and switch between them so whatever is easier to read can be shown. then you have your most recent lap time, followed by your best lap time and finally the number of laps completed - may also swap that to be number of laps remaining and save the count up for endurance racing over a fixed time period.

this is still using a button to count the lap increment points which is not ideal but got it this far

after much mucking about trying to solder down a surface mount integrated circuit with a truly terrible (but cheap) soldering iron (tip keeps coming adrift slightly so the very tip cools down), I gained the ability to use a Schmitt trigger to allow me to use an infra red LED and phototransistor to create a simple 'beam' sensor which I intend to embed below the surface of the track to count the car guide blades.

currently just a single sensor on wires

Image

it measures when interrupted, and works quite nicely.

next up is to make a few more of the sensors with the aim of cutting the track possibly Saturday morning borrowing Colin's drill and Dremel to try and get a few sensors mounted and test the thing before my Normans are obliterated in the afternoon.

also need to get a few more displays ordered and figure so way to get the displays mounted to something for now
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Fri Feb 21, 2020 8:12 am

Spent a bit of time experimenting (MAD SCIENCE!) and have worked out a basic transistor drive circuit using an 8 bit shift register to drive a set of start lights and have them a heck of a lot brighter and the rest of the displays I need have arrived..

also started playing with digital car identification which seems deceptively easy so I'm missing something somewhere, doesn't matter for the analogue bit but amusing regardless.

one I work out how to get the sensors mounted under the track for the lap counter I'm pondering a two lane speed trap using the four spare phototransistors, not important but seems like it would be pretty simple to do and faster is better.. obviously
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby Baldie » Fri Feb 21, 2020 7:30 pm

I have little idea what you are on about but it sounds mad.
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Fri Feb 21, 2020 9:17 pm

Baldie wrote:I have little idea what you are on about but it sounds mad.


If I knew what I was doing I'd be doing it better and quicker

but thats not the Janco way
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:13 pm

Had a bit more of a play, turns out the MAD SCIENCE was not quite as mad as expected, just a bit barking.

drilled the holes a bit wrong which has resulted in a few problems but even so it works, sort of

https://youtu.be/MP375K953RI

video clip of the thing in action with a very basic display.

Also managed to get the switch box made to run the track in either direction in analogue mode for working with four tracks, or just to allow you to run either way normally - e.g. putting the connection base the other side of the track. Royal PitA with the soldering irons, both of which are still basically b%$^&*^d and heating their sides but not the tips.

have now blown up several sensors and an LED, suspect they shorted to the track and the power there fried them. replaced with ones that have some sleeving to insulate the connections.

hope tomorrow to get a few more of the sensors mounted to wires to try this out with two track working. its a bit basic but better than faffing with the digital box and confusing myself even more than usual
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby Baldie » Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:35 am

Who did you get to do the voice over, way too posh for you.
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Re: Four lane analogue tracks

Postby leopard » Sun Feb 23, 2020 7:02 pm

Baldie wrote:Who did you get to do the voice over, way too posh for you.


I have a kidnapped posh bugger in the cellar


had a prototype two lane counter running earlier, and apparently reliably... for a typical value of "reliable", it ran until a bit of sticky tape fell off and one sensor went a little bit nuts.

the actual electronic design is pretty simple, the Arduino board itself then for each lane its one LED, one phototransistor and a pair of resistors and thats basically it. I get a low reading when the transistor can see the LED, when the guide blade of the car blocks it I get a higher reading, and basically count when that occurs.

the swine is the physical engineering of it in so far as actually mounting the flipping things, then working with my irritating soldering irons where the tip doesn't heat up as much as the barrel of the thing. May have to get one not from the reject bin in China

doubt this will be operational for Sunday.. but have the same set up used last time as a backup.
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