Testing Peter Giling GCA50_AN for Arduino NANO

GCA50_AN BOARD FEATURES

Hi All! In this post I'm not showing more digitalizations, basically because I run out of decoders.... but I have a more interesting issue: the new board from Peter Giling GCA50_AN

And what is this board used for? Basically it is a Loconet interface for Arduino NANO. Probably you saw in older posts the board GCA185. You can check as an example how to build a 8 servo module with frog polarization and turnout feedback using that Loconet interface and Arduino UNO:

http://www.clubncaldes.com/2016/03/arduino-8-servos-module-with-feedback.html

It's basically the same board but instead of being an standard Arduino UNO shield shaped board, it is a base board for Arduino NANO giving you the same functionalities:

- Power source to arduino via Loconet

- Sub DB9 and RJ12 connections to Loconet

- J5 and J6 connectors for standard Giling driver boards connection

It can be used as substitution of the old GCA50 board, but having Arduino connected to your Loconet bus and being able to receive and send any Loconet command, you can build any type of device: throttles, sound modules, illumination, turnout control, automation, signaling...

Club N Caldes has all the system based in two of the most famous standards (DCC and Loconet), but everything implemented in Open Source and Open Hardware platforms like Arduino.

This board has also an extra feature: it fits in a Littfinsky LDT-1 box like GCA51:

Here you can see how I tested the board connected to two of the most used boards form Peter Giling: GCA93 ( 8 port current detector) and GCA77 (Interface for turnout coils and illumination):

Make sure the jumper is properly set, depending on how you connect the board to loconet (using the DB9 connectors or RJ12):

HOW TO PROGRAM AND SET UP THE ARDUINO

First of all you will need to upload the desired firmware to the Arduino NANO board. In this case, the example is with the SVLocoIO firmware which is the firmware we created in Club N Caldes as the standard module for illumination control and sensor feedback. You can download it freely from the public GitHub of Club N Caldes:

After you downloaded it, open the sketch (sketch is the name used in "Arduino" terminology for the programs or firmwares) from the Arduino environment:

Make sure the line of code below is commented or directly deleted to use the software with GCA50_AN or GCA185 boards:

If your module was not connected yet to the computer, it's time to do it now using the USB cable. It doesn't matter if your module is also connected to the Loconet network or not, and you don't need to unplug the Arduino from the base board or disconnect anything, everything is safe.

Check in your Arduino environment that Arduino NANO board is selected and the right USB Serial port appears and it is checked:

Now you can select the Upload function from the Sketch menu or click the second button with the right arrow symbol from the tool strip menu. If everything goes ok, it will show the message "Done uploading" in the bottom strip, ignore the rest of messages:

I assume now that your GCA50_AN board is properly connected to your Loconet network and Rocrail is also running and connected to your layout. To set up the module functions, select the GCA50 configuration option from the "Programming" menu:

Clicking the Query button from the Addresses tab it should appear the module 081/001, this is the standard address for any new module (that you should change immediately to avoid conflicts with a new connected board):

In the Easy Setup tab you can read the current configuration clicking the button Get All, and change any configuration and save it again to the board with the Set All button. The configuration you see in the following screen is the right one needed for the GCA77 and GCA93 driver boards as connected in the previous photos: 

Using the test button of the last port, you can see the board responds illuminating the test led I connected:

Thank Peter Giling for your work, and congratulations for another excellent board which allows all railroad modellers who believe in Open Source Communities and like DIY to implement standard and professional digital buses in their layouts. Same greetings for Rocrail people and MRRwA for the Loconet libraries for Arduino and everybody supporting these groups.

Like always, you can order this and any other board directly to Peter Giling sending and email. All information and prices are in the following link:

Click here for Peter Giling hardware page

Kato 2027 C50 50th Anniversary DCC conversion

I was afraid of converting this beautiful locomotive to DCC, but I don't want to have my trains static in a display cabinet. This is the most detailed Kato locomotive I've ever seen, an special edition of the 50th anniversary that comes with a nice box, booklet and DVD:

To open the locomotive, everything is clipped. You don't need to unscrew anything, but for better understanding on how to open it check the following web page that has nice self explaining pictures. Doesn't matter if you don't understand Japanese:

https://jun-papa.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2016-05-03

Isolating the motor is as easy as cutting or desoldering the wires:

And you have plenty of space inside the tender, you can use almost any small N scale decoder and there is a hole to pass the wires to the main body:

Trim the motor wires to the right size and solder them to the motor wires:

Do not forget to isolate it with Kapton tape or heat shrink:

Current wires can be soldered to the little cooper plate as seen in the following photo. You will have to scratch this plate with any sharpened tool to allow tin to stick on:

And there is almost nothing more to do!!! Just one more note (I don't have photos of this step, sorry!) but I had to trim a little bit the shell to be able to close it as there is not enough space for the motor wires:

Cheapest DCC Command Station with Loconet interface

In a previos post I talked about the DCC++ Command Station. This is an open project to build you own DCC command station using the Arduino platform. It's quite simple and easy to mount, and features a full DCC command station with PC interface and compatible with Rocrail and JMRI. This time I want to go a little bit further and be able to build a more standard command station with Loconet interface. There are very cheap and professional command stations like DR5000, for sure much better than this, but building things by your own provides satisfaction, right?

Clicking Here you can read the complete information in my previous post.

Both the protocol and interface of the basic command station project shown in my previous post aren't standard, and despite you can connect to the available Arduino I/O's some sensors, lights or switches, it's not enough for a medium sized layout. Anyway is a good command station to have apart from your layout to program and test locos. It's worth the 12€, for sure.

I took the source code of the DCC++ project (it's open an published in github) and tried (successfully) to add Loconet support, with some goodies like:

• 3 Led to know the state of the command station (ON, OFF, SHORT CIRCUIT)
• 2 Buttons to turn on and off the track current
• 2 relays to switch to the programming track current automatically when a programming command is received
• Display support, showing CV values when reading or writing and current consumption
• External emergency button

My new sketch can only work on Arduino Mega. I had to discard Arduino UNO and Arduino NANO support as the program was too big for them, and I wanted to have a better performance with a lower cicle time.

The source code and the sketch to upload to Arduino MEGA can be downloaded from my public GitHub repository:

https://github.com/ClubNCaldes/LNetDCCpp

The PC interface support does not longer exist in this version of the command station, as my intention is to have a pure Loconet command station, exclusively dedicated to manage the trains. I prefer to have individual devices for each function, so for PC interface I use a dedicated Arduino UNO with an Ethernet shield. I'll post the information about how to mount the PC interface for a Loconet network in the next post. All this has the advantage that I can change any device without affecting the other Loconet devices or having to change any setup.

Having an independent PC Interface allows me, for example, to change my Intellibox Basic command station and use my new Arduino Based DCC++, or a DR5000. It's just disconnect one, and connect another. No changes in PC, software, or any other device.

So let's go with the connection diagram:

 You see the base is an Arduino MEGA with the Motor Shield on top and the bridge between pins 2 and 13, exactly as the original DCC++ project.

Then you have the 3 led to indicate "track power connected", "track power disconnected" or "error/fault/shortcircuit".

Two external buttons to turn on or off the track power, plus an extra external emergency button. Pressing this emergency button will provoque sending an emergency stop message through the loconet network, and not a normal power off message like with the normal buttons.

Relays are also optional, but if you use them the isolated track section will have normal current and will switch to programming current just when needed (read or write command received from Rocrail or the program you use). So you don't need to use manual switches or to have a separated track for it.

The display is not exactly the one from the photo, sorry but I couldn't find the right one in Fritzing software, but the connection schema is correct. I'm using an standard Keypad LCD shield from DFRobot (check it here). Two of the keys of the Keypad LCD shield can be used to turn on and off the command station, so the external buttons are not necessary.

Finally, a loconet shield board (like GCA185 from Giling Computer Applications) has to be used, connected to pins 47 and 48 instead of the usual 7 and 8 when you are using an Arduino UNO.

But there is an important issue with Loconet!

Any Loconet network needs a "Loconet Terminator" and a 12V power source to work. This is always provided by the command station, but in this case we need to add this. In this page from RR-Cirkits you can find information about it. 

You can use an old ATX PC power source to supply the 12V to Loconet and build your own "Loconet Terminator".  A "Loconet Terminator" is just a 15 mA pull up constant current source to 12V.:

If you have a LocoBuffer conected to the LocoNet it has also the option to provide this pull up termination by selecting 'Term" option.

Finally there is another solution to the previous issues, this is using a GCA101 from Peter Giling. This a board that provides you 3Amp power to Loconet, so you will never run out of power to connect more and more modules, and the board has also a jumper to activate the "Loconet Terminator" already included in the board. This board also provides you the PC Loconet interface to connect you layout to Rocrail.

This is the command station mounted in a simple electricity box, but we use it in the club and has been proved reliable enough to drive trains during all week end in exhibitions with no errors:

I hope to have more free time to post other Arduino based modules I have developed. Thanks for reading!!!

Build your own DCC Command Station for 8$

I want to share here the information from DCC++ (https://sites.google.com/site/dccppsite/home) to build a DCC command station using Arduino. It is a complete DCC command station, supporting the full set of NMRA Digital Command and Control (DCC) standards, including:

• 2-byte and 4-byte locomotive addressing
• 128-step speed throttling
• Activate/de-activate all accessory function addresses 0-2048
• Programming on the Main Operations Track
• write configuration variable bytes
• set/clear specific configuration variable bits
• Simultaneous control of multiple locomotives
• Control of all cab functions F0-F28
• Programming on the Programming Track
• write configuration variable bytes
• set/clear specific configuration variable bits
• read configuration variable bytes

But the best thing is that it will only cost you 8$ using the basic Arduino UNO, or 12$ using a more powerful Arduino MEGA. Yes, just 8$!!!! I suggest you to use Arduino MEGA in view of future expansions I want to implement, like a Loconet bus or the possibility to work in digital and analog mode. Don't be afraid about the difficulty to mount the system, you DON'T NEED to solder anything, just plug, upload the program, and run!!!

HARDWARE

To mount this command station you need the following hardware:

Arduino MEGA: It can be found in ebay for 8$, I bought it here. Arduino UNO is also suitable, but I prefer a MEGA board as it is faster and more expandable.

Arduino Motor Shield R3: It will not cost you more that 5$ in ebay, here is where I bought mine.

12 Vcc power supply: I use a power source from an old computer (yellow and black wires provide 12Vcc), but any power source with at least 2Amp can be used. For H0 scale, is better a 15Vcc power source, but for N scale 12Vcc is enough.

SOFTWARE

And the following is the needed software to make it run and manage and program trains:

Arduino IDE: This software is used to program Arduino or upload any already made software/firmware (or sketch in Arduino language) to the board. It will be used only once to upload the DCC++ command station sketch to the Arduino board, or in the future to upload a new program version with more features. It can be freely downloaded from Arduino official page: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

Base Station DCC++: This is the software or firmware/sketch we will upload into Arduino board using the previous Arduino IDE. Just download and extract it in any folder in your computer. It can be downloaded from DCC++ page or directly clicking here.

JMRI: This is the program that "talks" to the command station and allows you to drive trains, move switches, program decoders, ... I plan to change the DCC++ command station protocol to make it more standard and be able to use also other software like Rocrail, but for now it must be used with JMRI. Download this software from http://jmri.sourceforge.net/download/index.shtml and install it. Under "Production Release" section of this page there are JMRI versions for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. This is a very good software, and freeware, and many times I use it to program decoders better than other software.

HOW TO MOUNT IT

Before mounting the Motor Shield r3 on top of Arduino, you have to cut the pad labeled "Vin" in the bottom of the board. This is to isolate the power input of the shield from the 12V power source that Arduino is also providing:

Now you can plug the motor shield board on top of Arduino. There is only one position how the motor shield fits on top, and pins are numbered in both boards, so just make sure pin 0 of the motor shield is connected to pin 0 of Arduino board.

I you are using an Arduino UNO, you have to bridge pin 10 and 12 in the motor shield (blue wire in the following photo), and pins 5 and 13 (red wire):

In case of Arduino MEGA, only one bridge is needed between pin 2 and pin 13:

Connect your 12Vcc power source to the screw terminals of the motor shield. Positive is connected to the screw terminal "VIN", and ground to "GND".

In the same screw terminal block, "A+" and "A-" are connected to your main track, and "B+" and "B-" to the programming track.

Connect Arduino to the PC with a USB cable. Probably your Arduino already came with it. Your PC should recognize then a new serial port.

Now we will upload the firmware (or sketch in Arduino terms) to the board. Go to the folder where you extracted the Base Station DCC++. Inside the "DCCpp_Uno" folder double click the file named "DCCpp_Uno.ino".

This will automatically open the Arduino IDE. You have to set up your connected Arduino board under "Tools" menu, option "Board". And also select the serial port as your computer detected Arduino when connected. This is also under "Tools" menu, option "Port":

Now everything is ready to upload the program, and to archive that you only need to click the upload button on the top left corner. After some second you should receive a message saying "Program uploaded" if everything went ok:

HOW TO USE IT

To set up JMRI to work with your brand new command station, just follow these instructions: http://jmri.sourceforge.net/help/en/html/hardware/dccpp/index.shtml
And you are ready to test your system. First of all, go to "Power Control" option inside "Actions" menú. Click the power on button of the new opened window, and led on the motor shield should light on if everything is correct. Now you can open a throttle, put a locomotive on the track, select its address, and push the throttle up!!! There is also a very good utility in JMRI to monitor the power drained by the track:

Now also Rocrail is compatible with this command station, and allows to use the other pins as input or outputs with the standard sketch from DCC++. You can use a connector to allow up to 4 GCA boards to be connected to the command station:

And you can configure pins as input or output as needed:

Even more, Rocrail has a special slot management with passive slot purge after 30 seconds idle and speed zero and it is compatible also with the Ethernet connection of DCC++ command station.

You can read all the information regarding the use of DCC++ command station with Rocrail here:

http://wiki.rocrail.net/doku.php?id=dccpp:dccpp-en

Enjoy it, now you have the best price/quality relation command station!!!!

New Loconet Sound and Outputs Module with Arduino

I want to share with you the last version (v. 6.2) of the Sound and Outputs module fully compatible with Loconet. You can upload to this module as many MP3 files as you wish, and assign an output number to each one, so you can play them from your central station, throttle or software. From the software, you can set conditions to play sounds depending on locomotives, sensors, time or whatever. It has also 16 outputs that you can use for lighting, motors or any other device.

I use it to provide sound to the stations, with announces and ambient sounds. And I also control the lights of the station buildings and platforms with it. The total cost is arround 40€, much less that a Sound Director from Uhlenbrock (more than 100€) and with extra connections and extra functionality. I've used it also to automate the Faller Mine and any other place in your layout where you want to have individual sounds.

It can be used also as a Loconet Monitor to listen and view all messages travelling in your communication bus.

This is a sample of the module running:

HARDWARE

Let's begin with the needed hardware to build it:

Arduino UNO R3 compatible board

Now you can find them in ebay for less that 4 €. For more information about Arduino and how to use it, refer to the official page: www.arduino.cc

GCA185 Loconet shield for Arduino

You can purchase it from Peter Giling, myself in Spain, or isolate you own boards. See this post about the shield. The board with components can be around 13€ depending on the chosen components.

MP3 shield from elechouse

Arround 20€ and can be purchased here or ebay. Note that the shield comes prepared to communicate via software serial, but hardware serial (pins 0 and 1) is needed, so you will have to solder two pads in the bottom (everything is explained in detail in the shield manual). This shield has a jack connector for headsets, but you can better solder 4 pins to connect 3W/4Ohm speakers. You can reuse the speakers from an old computer.

There is an optional hardware that I recommend:

Sensor Shield v5

Led lights can be connected directly to the Arduino, but it's very useful to use this Sensor Shield v5 in order to have 5V and GND pins next to each signal pin (2€ in ebay):

Mosfet boards

You have to be aware also of the current limitations of arduino, which are 40mA maximum on a single output, and 200mA in total. So for bigger charges better to use MOSFET drivers. You can find them in single boards or 4 channel boards:

SOFTWARE

You will have to upload the software to Arduino. To do it, download the development software of Arduino from the offical page and install it. Then you will have to add the following library to the environment. Download the MRRWA Loconet libraries from the offical page: http://mrrwa.org/download/ clicking on "Download LocoNet library ZIP Archive".

Then, from the Arduino environment, select Sketch -> Include library -> Add ZIP library

Now get my Arduino program directly from here, and upload it to the Arduino board. If the MP3 shield is plugged, you will have to press the "SLEEP" button first in order to deactivate it, or you will not be able to communicate with the Arduino board to upload the program.

CONNECTION

Boards are plugged one on the top of order, in this order: Arduino UNO in the bottop, and on top GCA185 shield, MP3 Shield, and finally Sensor Shield v5 if you are using this one.

If you want to drive lights and use mosfets, they are connected to the sensor shield with female to female Dupont wire:

Now to feed the module, you have several option:

Feeding from Loconet DB9

My favourite is to feed it directly from the DB9 Loconet connector. I use a GCA101 Loconet booster, and using this connector it delivers an extra power line of 12V and 3Amp. 

In this case you have also two options: you can skip mounting the voltage regulator of the GCA185 board, and install both JP1 and JP2 jumper. In this way the shield will feed Arduino with 12V through the Vin pin, and will get 5V to operate from the Arduino 5V pin. In this way the internal voltage regulator of Arduino will provide power to all the shields. I normally do it in this way when only Arduino and GCA185 shield are used. But having an Mp3 on top, the consumption at maximum volume can overpass the capacity of the Arduino voltage regulator. You will notice it if playing a sound the module resets itself. So, next option is recommended.

A best option is to mount the voltage regulator components of the shield, but cutting the pin of the GCA185 board corresponding to the 5V supply. Make sure you do this, if both Arduino and GCA185 are providing 5V to the same pin, it will be a short circuit and one of them will blow up. Doing it like that, GCA185 will be feeding the MP3 shield and all boards above it, so you will have plenty of power for them.

Feeding from Loconet RJ12

Exactly as the previous option, but make sure you connect it to the Loconet T of the Intellibox command station. That's the only one connector providing 12V. The Loconet B has Railsync signal instead. Also, take care on how many modules you connect to the Loconet T. It has only 500mA (that's the reason to implement a power source in the Loconet shield), and one sound module can consume more than 250mA when playing at maximum volume.

Feeding directly Arduino UNO through the Power Jack

In this case, you don't need the voltage regulator components of the GCA185 shield. And make sure you don't put the JP1 jumper. Arduino will be feeding 12V in the Vin pin and it could cause a short circuit. Install the JP2 to feed GCA185 shield from the 5V pin of Arduino.

CONFIGURATION

The program uses LNCV to set up the module. LNCV is an invention from Uhlenbrock that emulates the CV configuration variables in decoders, but for loconet modules. The basis are the same, in each LNCV (LocoNet CV) variable, you can set a number to configure a function. Those LNCV can be set from the central station (if it is a Uhlenbrock one), or via Rocrail. There is a special configuration screen to read and write LNCV variables from modules.

The different variables and its meaning as follows:

LNCV	NAME	DEFAULT	MEANING
0	Module Address	1	Module Address
1	Address pin 2 (J5 1)	1	Address number, setting this one the following are correlatively numbered
2	Address pin 3  (J5 2)	2	Address number
3	Address pin 4  (J5 3)	3	Address number
4	Address pin 5  (J5 4)	4	Address number
5	Address pin 6  (J5 5)	5	Address number
6	Address pin 9  (J5 6)	6	Address number
7	Address pin 10  (J5 7)	7	Address number
8	Address pin 11  (J5 8)	8	Address number
9	Address pin 12 (J6 1)	9	Address number
10	Address pin 13 (J6 2)	10	Address number
11	Address pin 14 A0 (J6 3)	11	Address number
12	Address pin 15 A1 (J6 4)	12	Address number
13	Address pin 16 A2 (J6 5)	13	Address number
14	Address pin 17 A3 (J6 6)	14	Address number
15	Address pin 18 A4 (J6 7)	15	Address number
16	Address pin 19 A5 (J6 8)	16	Address number
17	Config pin 2 (J5 1)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
18	Config pin 3  (J5 2)	4	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight,  4 Output fade, 5 Output fade inverse
19	Config pin 4  (J5 3)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
20	Config pin 5  (J5 4)	4	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight,  4 Output fade, 5 Output fade inverse
21	Config pin 6  (J5 5)	4	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight,  4 Output fade, 5 Output fade inverse
22	Config pin 9  (J5 6)	4	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight,  4 Output fade, 5 Output fade inverse
23	Config pin 10  (J5 7)	4	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight,  4 Output fade, 5 Output fade inverse
24	Config pin 11  (J5 8)	4	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight,  4 Output fade, 5 Output fade inverse
25	Config pin 12 (J6 1)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
26	Config pin 13 (J6 2)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
27	Config pin 14 A0 (J6 3)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
28	Config pin 15 A1 (J6 4)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
29	Config pin 16 A2 (J6 5)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
30	Config pin 17 A3 (J6 6)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
31	Config pin 18 A4 (J6 7)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
32	Config pin 19 A5 (J6 8)	1	0 Output inverse, 1 Output normal, 2 Output pulse thrown, 3 Output pulse straight
33	Maximum intensity	255	Maximum intensity for Outputs of type Fade (1 - 255)
34	Fade speed	10	Milliseconds to wait between each intensity step change. If we set 10 milliseconds and we have the maximum intensity (255), it will take 2550 milliseconds to turn on or off.
49	Mode Sound or Monitor	0	0 Sound (Elechouse MP3 shield), 1 Loconet serial monitor
50	Address first sound	0	Address to assign to the first sound (0 = no sound)
51	Number of sounds	0	Number of sounds (0 = no sound)
52	MP3 Volume (0 to 30)	15	Volume MP3 (0 - 30)
53	Sound Source	1	Sound Source (0=SD card, 1=SPI, 2=Udisk)
54	Output number to stop	50	Output number to stop sounds
100	Config command:		1 - Stores config, 10-Copy USB->SPI, 99 - Reset

The module number to acces to the config is 90010, and by default it has address 1 (you can change it in LNCV 0).

Note the LNCV 100 is not an address to read. It is used to send configuration commands to the module. Writing 1 in this address all configuration is stored in the internal EPROM memory, so remember to save your changes or they will be lost when you power off the Arduino.

Value 10 writen in this command LNCV 100 is used to copy all the contents from a memory stick into the internal memory of the MP3 shield. It has 8Mb of internal memory to store MP3. Seems not very much, but you can upl oad a lot of files, enough for all the announcements of a big station.

If you need any type of clarification or more detailed explanation, please feel free to comment.

I hope you use it and found it interesting enough for your layout!!

Thanks to:

MRRWA people, without they work on the loconet libraries it would have been impossible
Southern Lines Pacific and their Loconet prototype board
Peter Giling and his endless enthusiasm and his awesome electronic designs
The infinite number of pages I browsed with tutorials and instructions about arduino, mosfets, programming, electronics...

Disclaimer:

You must accept that You and You Alone are Responsible for your safety and safety of others in any project in which you engage. With this instructions I hope to enable some Arduino enthusiasts and inventors to keep experimenting and inventing, You are Responsible. You are Responsible for knowing your limitations of knowledge and experience. I test all prototypes and programs I explain, but there can be errors or mistakes, so you are Responsible for verifying its accuracy and applicability to your project. It is your responsibility to make sure that your activities comply with applicable laws and to take all safety measures applicable despite they are not here explained. I disclaim all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense. 

Ichigo and Tama train motorization and DCC conversion

Probably all of you heard once about Tama, the female cat and Station Master of the Wakayama Electric Railways. It is a nice story:

As Tama was feeling too alone, later had a male companion called Ichigo. And this railway company decorated two of their trains in honour of these two cats. Also the station was remodelled to make it look like a cat from exterior. Tomytec did these two trains in their Tetsudou Collection (static models), and I bought them long before. 

But sadly two months ago Tama passed away, so I decided to motorize and digitalize it as my little remembrance.

Tomytec makes special motorized chassis and parts to easily let these kind of models run in an N gauge layout. In case of these two models (Tama and Ichigo), the following parts are needed:

TT-04R, TM05R, 0258 pantograph

Motorized chassis comes also with 3 different lengths of chassis terminations to choose depending the model. Also different lateral pieces are provided:

TT-04R is the set for the non motorized car. Wheels, ballast and couplers of different length are also in the box:

DCC conversion of the motorized unit is pretty easy. First un-clip the metal weight that covers the motor's current pick up strips, and cut them close to the motor.

Decoder (Digitrax DZ123 in my case) is soldered in the way you can see in the following photos:

I wanted also to illuminate cars, so I soldered 3 SMD led in a strip with an SMD resistor of 500Ohm. Just 250Ohm were needed, but I wanted the light less bright. I installed with double sided tape one of this 3 led strips in each of the cars, and added a connector to be able to separate both cars:

The plastic of the body is so thin that light is still too much strong and you can see it through.

So when I have more patience I will open it again and change resistors for a stronger ones, minimum 1KOhm I guess. But meanwhile, the work is finished.

Also the non motorized car needs more ballast, but that's also an improvement I put aside for now. My first idea was to install cab and tail lights, but I found it too much difficult (at least for my skills) in this model because of the body thinness. Light would be seen not only through the cab lights, probably the complete car would get illuminated.