Fantastic work Rich, and just what Hornby should be doing. This will sell like hot cakes I'm sure of it. More than happy to put a prototype through its paces.

 

Great work Rich, if I can help with any testing just ask. Thanks for all (the team) efforts

Regards

 

AS usual, bravo looking forward to more!
Have I got it right you are using a PIC to handle the logic for display?
Any thoughts on a housing?

 

At the moment a Pic does it all. Receives the Aux stream. Does all the maths. 32 binary subtraction in assembler is a pig. Then it drives the Led's.

At the moment they are a bit dim for debugging. Each digit is driven sequentially. A potential problem is because each Digit is only on a 10th of the time the peak current needed to get enough brightness will overdrive the Pic, so some buffers will be needed in the final version. So am waiting for some samples of a 7 segment display driver chip in case this is a better solution. This would also enable multiple displays from one master.

No thoughts on a housing at the moment. I have in mind that people will build into a trackside building or the scenery. Perhaps a nice aluminium extrusion?

Am just able to hold the program in my head at the moment, so no room for anything else.

I'm not really a programmer.

 

Rich,

How did I miss this?

Looks great

It would probably be easier to fit it in to the scenery / buildings etc if the top of the T section was a seperate to the upright. Is that technically possible?

Regards

 

Anything is of course possible.

Am looking for feedback at the moment.

I was going to have a single PCB and this seems like a good configuration. There are 12 connections to the Green Time / Lap section so might be possible to make the top of the board able to be snapped off & joined by a 12 way cable.

The value of this configuration is that the Time / Laps in the Green section will always refer to the Car number at the top of the Red Position section.

Why do you think it would be easier if it was separate? Do you have in mind putting it in a completely separate position or alongside somewhere?

 

Rich,

No reason really just saw it and thought, that the Red would go really well up the side of my Pit Building then the Green could go across the front top so I'm just being selfish as usual!

It would look really Cool, Free standing to infact I can think of several places it could go on my track.

Sorry I didn't get back immediately I had to drive home and although I have e-mail in the car it's not the best to try and respond while driving Ha Ha!

What ever happened to

I have forgotten the name now of a UK wide chain of shops that sold electrical parts PSU's, cables PCB's that sort of thing probably eaten up by the internet

 

To be freestanding it really needs a repeater on the back, so everyone, drivers, marshals and spectators can see it. Alternatively it should be easy enough to find one of those old A201 Event Boards on Ebay, often there are some on there that have seen better days, and build it into that.

 

"TANDY"
I was out taking the dog for a walk and it came to me, thats what I need they would have been ideal to get the parts from. Unlike you guys I don't know what I am buying so it was good to be able to go in and ask for this or that part.

 

Awesome job Rich!! You've gotta be proud of yourself.

-Maltese

 

Looks great.

I'd like one when it's ready. Something that can be worked into the scenery would be good. I've got a scenic rally track and plans for another larger one so it would be nice to be able to work it into the scenery.

 

Looks fantasic, excellent work to the boys and Rich

 

Rich,
Have you seen one of these ? Is it of any use (To You That is?)

 

Rich,
Have you seen one of these ? Is it of any use (To You That is?)

EBAY Search

 

RichG, it is just fantastic work!!!
You must produce a couple of them for sale!!!!!
Do you have any idea about how much it will cost?

 

Great work Rich

. I look forward to seeing the finished version.

Ian.

 

Just what it could look like

 

Rich,
Very nice!
Could it be driven by PC alone?
Does it impose any delay in data stream to PC?

Joe

 

Great job Rich, might be worth trying to get feedback from the forum what a "resonable" price is for such a device to help with your business case calc.
My input would be £50, maybe more if the Alu extrusion looks high tech and well engineered.
Volume? is that before or after Hornby call you and ask to buy the design rights - You have Patented this i hope?

CW

 

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the interest. More than I had expected, given that most of you have a PC connected?

QUOTE Could it be driven by PC alone?
Does it impose any delay in data stream to PC?

It is designed to work directly off the Aux data stream, and will work without a PC being present. If the PC replicated the Aux stream it could drive the display directly.

The Aux IN / Out is at the moment a direct connection, the Tower does not process the data, so no delay. I may make provision via a cuttable link for the data to go in, be processed, and then out again. However this is really just a display device.

QUOTE My input would be £50, maybe more if the Alu extrusion looks high tech and well engineered.

Thanks for the input on price. Am not thinking about the casing at the moment. I feel there are only a few people who have the knowledge & desire to do the electronics, so am concentrating on that. Any other inputs welcome.

A lot of people can probably come up with some form of structure. Am also assuming that some people might welcome it as a "building block" to put wherever they like.

All that said it would be nice to have a Hi-tech structure available.

QUOTE Volume? is that before or after Hornby call you and ask to buy the design rights - You have Patented this i hope?

Volume is an interesting question. It needs to be sufficient to justify a PCB. Probably 50 to 100? There are too many connections for more than a few to be prototyped. I have yet to look into PCB layout and low volume production costs. Will need a double sided, plated through board.

There is nothing to Patent here. It's all very obvious. I don't expect any interest from Hornby, they are more than capable of doing their own. In fact one of the reasons I have held back, was that I was expecting some sort of add on from them.

Anyway this way I can get something that functions in the way I want.

The main input I would like is on the overall format. A tower of 6 digits for positions and then 4 digits at the top for time and laps?

Do people like this format, is the size about right, any other ideas?

The exact functionality and operation will be upgradeable via the trusty Aux cable.

Unlike a certain Powerbase

So the functionality can be bug fixed and improved later.

 

Rich,
QUOTE If the PC replicated the Aux stream it could drive the display directly.
Interesting, that should be easy to do.
QUOTE The main input I would like is on the overall format. A tower of 6 digits for positions and then 4 digits at the top for time and laps?
Yes, the format is ideal.

JoeT

 

Here's how I would like to do it, although I suspect the digits might be too big. The actual space available on the Event Board is 175mm x 90mm. Maybe put the green digits on a cable so people can place them where they want?

 

Nice Martin

The ebay price for an A201 just doubled.

The height including the T is 14.5cm so would fit nicely without splitting.

I am beginning to wonder if I should split the processor from the display. At the moment it is on a separate board that is not in the picture, intention was to put it behind the digits.

The value of being separate would be that although a bit fiddly the display part is quite straightforward, just a lot of connections. However there are a wide range of digit sizes available from 7mm to 100mm high. The ones I am using are 14.5mm.

This would enable people to make up their own displays of whatever size & layout they want. Just a thought?

 

Separate board sounds good, if you're fixing it to an A201 there's plenty of space in the hut to hide wires and so on, but wherever it's placed keeping everything separate and as flexible as possible sounds good. There are all sorts of other pit buildings and so on of other makes, that adorn people's racetracks, which might require different arrangements to make them fit.

 

QUOTE The ebay price for an A201 just doubled.

DEAD RIGHT! insert laughter, ..

Good suggestion Martin! Perfect!!