In the pursuit of being able to control as many things as possible digitally, while keeping effort to a minimum, I went down the rabbit hole of controlling some of the scenic accessories via DCC. Currently I have two buildings with functions that I want to turn off and on at will: a lighthouse, and a windmill.
Some time ago I took delivery of my first batch of signals. These are generic 3-light signals made in China. They aren't particularly prototypical - the aspects resemble a type of signal used here in Queensland, as well as some European signals. But the looks are very basic. However, for first experiments and wrapping my head around the subject matter, they are more than sufficient.
Well over two years ago, I wrote about the conclusion of my quest to find point motors. At the time, the Cobalt motors became the solution of choice. But of course, that couldn't have been the end of it.
Truth be told... the Mk1 of the programming box was always more of a proof-of-concept than an actually usable thing. It was used once or twice, but was so unwieldy that it really needed improvement.
Recently I found the time to start on a little project that has been going through my head for a while. I wanted to build a separate test track, in a manner of speaking, which could be easily connected to a digital central or other device, and let me program and check trains away from the main layout.
The next post in this series was originally going to describe how I implemented the first automation experiment in the control software I am using. But I have changed my mind on that, for two reasons. One, I have something else that I'd rather write about at this time. Two, there is a not insignificant chance that I might change to a different control software in the near future. I am already evaluating options and will see where I land, at which time I will of course report on the implementation.