Don't worry about the names for these projects. They are all give different names so I can remember what they do and get them ready for sale. It's much more intelligent than calling the project MBF-23A- 476 !! Who is going to remember this number in 10 year's time !!! This project combines a number of features from three of the projects we have previously designed and sold to Model Railway Hobbyists. Now you can get all these features in one module. The first feature is the power supply. This module connects to your track and you don't have to provide 15v AC or a higher voltage to charge the electrolytics. The module has an on-board charging and voltage generating section that accepts almost any voltage and charges the electrolytics to a maximum of 27v. The next feature is the variable voltage (or maximum voltage) for the electro's. You can reduce the voltage to as low as 13v for those solenoid points that do not need a large amount of energy for their activation. The third feature is the reed switch inputs. This allows the module to be used automatically to control a solenoid point so the point gets changed correctly when the train approaches from the other direction. And lastly, the kit comes with a TRACK-PICKOFF connector that fits between the sleepers and connects to the rails with springy connectors.
THE CIRCUIT |
SOLDERING THE KIT Soldering these kits is very simple for me as I build them 10 at a time and have a very good soldering iron and 0.5mm solder THAT IS NOT CHINESE SOLDER. Do not use Chinese solder as it does not contain the correct percentage of tin and lead and it does not "run" or melt or flow properly and does not produce a shiny joint. I can't use Chinese solder so you will definitely not be able to use it. The first things you add to the board are the 13 surface mount resistors. Add a small amount of solder to one land for each resistor and pick them up with tweezers with the numbers showing and solder one end with the solder that is already on the land. Then go around and solder the other ends by adding a small amount of solder to each resistor. The rest of the components are through-hole and it does not matter if you start at one end of the board or with the small components first. Every component is identified on the board and most of the parts have to be fitted around the correct way - so look at the legend on the board. The LEDs must be soldered very quickly otherwise they will be damaged. The mark of a well-designed PCB is being able to put it together with a handful of parts and no other reference. And the mark of a well-designed circuit is 100% operation with every board. You cannot afford to be messing around, "adjusting" the component values and trying to work out why it does not work. That's why every value has a reason and a purpose. This can only be gained by working on hundreds of circuits and gaining the experience, knowledge and understanding. The circuits are provided with all the projects to give you this experience. And to help you fix something, if it "blows up."
OPERATION
CONCLUSION oooooooooooooo000000000000000000ooooooooooooooooo TEST EQUIPMENT Talking Electronics has a number of pieces of TEST EQUIPMENT to help in the design and testing of projects. Of course you can use a multimeter for most of the testing but some of the "tricky" faults need a special piece of equipment. You may only need a LOGIC PROBE once a month, but the project you are designing will come to a stand-still if you can't locate a problem. We designed all these projects because we needed them ourselves. Add one of them to each order you place with Talking Electronics and eventually you will have the whole range.
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