![tam valley octopus iii with rocrail tam valley octopus iii with rocrail](http://www.brunelhobbies.com.au/Tam-Valley-Depot/462_ocotIII_PA239180.jpg)
BlockSignaling is not very well known in the US, but they offer a great product line. While a bit more expensive than the MegaPoint controllers, I believe the hook-up will be easier. Great documentation and communications with owner. Very easy to set servo limits and run lights to control panel/signals LEDs and DCC friendly. While there are some different options available for turnout controls, I believe a person needs to go with what they feel fits their needs and capabilities.įor me (maybe not for others) the BlockSignaling items are very nice and user friendly. At age 73, I really don't want to go through a learning curve on Arduino programming or depend on someone else for my programming needs that may not be available when I encounter a problem. My background is in structural engineering and NOT electrical. My thoughts were to present something similar to the Tam Valley item mentioned in the original thread/post, no programming required. My only intention was to pass on some info I have collected for my own layout.
#Tam valley octopus iii with rocrail code#
I've got most of the code written for a 16-servo implementation anyway. If you want to discuss a collaborative, reach out to Joe Fugate (see above, since they've blocked the old contact tool, wisely), have them reach out to me with your email address or give you mine, and we can talk. at each location you could even implement a mixup of the two, with a bit of 'elbow grease'.
#Tam valley octopus iii with rocrail Pc#
So for 75, you might be able to land the whole schmear for under $200, not counting servo cables, 5V power, and a few other little extras.ĭoing it this way opens up the opportunity to network the Arduinos via RS485 (adds about $5 per node, plus $10 for the PC end) and use CMRI/JMRI(all free) on top for a really sharp control approach - or you can use the I/O left over on the Nanos to monitor buttons, drive LEDs, etc.
![tam valley octopus iii with rocrail tam valley octopus iii with rocrail](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1kcXtjblC-Y/X-PXdniZL9I/AAAAAAAACSU/PMD-hBlTGj4tomlrr1_TC5B57X4aexEjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Octopus_Octocoder_Singlets.jpg)
The servos run around $1.50 ea, depending on source and quality. That's not bad, though you can do much better direct from AliExpress, if you go there. So depending on how you spread out the Nanos, you could have the control side covered for between 55 and 85 CDN. Where are you? Somewhere in the US or Canada? I'm in Canada, and I can buy nanos for $7 ea/5, PCA9685 boards for $8ea/3. But beware, this is truly a roll-your-own environment. The trick is, who's writing the software? Oh, wait, there's a plethora of solutions out there, you just need to be able to evaluate and select one. More info, of course, is on the inter-web for the above listed HoltĬan you solder? If price is such a concern, between one and five Arduinos with a total of five PCA9685 servo expanders handling 15 servos each will do what you want. Hope this might be "food for thought" and open up a door to a couple of other vendors for anyone interested. That being said, for me the Walthers servo turnout controllers are out of my price range after you buy all the controlling extras. Servo motors will be a big savings compared to other methods available. I have close to 75 turnouts to be operated on my layout. Please note the MegaPoint and BlockSignaling item prices are adjusted to US dollars as of todays exchange rate with the British pound. I used 12 turnouts as a control number as the Megapoint controller does 12 turnouts. I do not work for, have stock in or in any way connected to the above list vendors other than being a customer of BlockSignaling. The BlockSignalling Smart ServoSwitch SRV4 is designed to operate up to four servos between their Start and Stop positions, whenever a control input is switched. Individually configurable for turnouts, semaphore signals, gates, barriers, doors etc. From website of Model Railroad Control Systems.Ĭontrol up to 12 servos around your layout. The controller provides all of the electronics required to control one servo, such as the popular SG90. VI Tower Blog - Along the tracks in pre-war Circleville, Ohio I am very interested in rolling my own, but at this time I'm willing to trade money for a de-bugged product to make time for other things!
![tam valley octopus iii with rocrail tam valley octopus iii with rocrail](https://images1.sw-cdn.net/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,gravity=auto,format=auto,fit=scale-down,width=1920/product/picture/674x501_25409394_13802945_1540472094_1_0.jpg)
I have been unsuccessful finding other vendors that may have existing Octo III stock.Earlier this week I found I need at least one more in the near term, then learned the sad news of Duncan McCree's retirement and the death of Jack Eiermann that led to the company downsizing their product catalog, I'll have to look (or build) elsewhere for future needs. Four months ago I purchased a couple of Tam Valley Depot Octo III servo control boards, with the intention of standardizing on that product for servo control.