#35 Making a Model Loco Test Board (with Rolling Road, DCC Decoder Tester, LokProgrammer & SPROG)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
- Update: Due to popular demand, a PDF wiring diagram for the test board is now available here: tinyurl.com/loco-tester-rolli...
I've been doing an increasing number of DCC decoder installations and model locomotive repair jobs - both for myself and others - and setting up my tester and rolling road each and every time I needed them was becoming a bit tiresome (not to mention the rat's nest of cables).
So, I decided to put together a wee loco and decoder test board, with LokProgrammer, SPROG and off-board control integration (DCC and DC/Analogue). It also features a rolling road, using DCC Concepts rolling road modules and my own take on a means to permanently integrate them into a test set up.
This is only one way of approaching this and there other examples out there. I do recommend that you do something like this if you're intending to do a lot of decoder installation and maintenance - it saves a lot of time and hassle!
CORRECTION: In the video, I mention the acrylic/perspex sheet as being 6mm when it is actually 4mm. A thickness of 6mm is likely to be too thick and may interfere with the wheel flanges.
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You can buy some components for this how-to project via the links below. Buying via Amazon or eBay affiliate links means I get a (very) small donation and helps to support the channel:
- DCC Concepts rolling road: ebay.to/3bfT63l
- Red and black wire pack: amzn.to/2C1Infx
- Green 2-pin terminal plugs/sockets: amzn.to/2PiVfiW
- Peco straight track: amzn.to/2LGgPM7
- A4 clear acrylic sheet (4mm thick): amzn.to/2Cae1Yk
- M5x8mm black nylon spacer: amzn.to/2Pq7tX4
- A4 plywood 12mm: ebay.to/31uVpLr
- A4 plywood 3mm: amzn.to/2C03bE2
- ESU decoder tester: ebay.to/2S13mVI
- SPROG dcc module: www.sprog-dcc.co.uk
- Green power panel-mount socket/plug (20pk): ebay.to/37WP0ey
- Green power panel-mount socket/plug (2P / 3.81 Pitch): ebay.to/2v7Qe86
- DC power socket: ebay.to/2v30jU6
- DC power plug: ebay.to/2tvNu46
- 3 position, 2-pole switch: ebay.to/2SxKNaX
If you've got a 3D printer, you can download STL file for the 3D-designed parts for free and print yourself a copy:
Switch box/enclosure: skfb.ly/6B6Cy
SPROG3 cradle: skfb.ly/6B6DY
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Thank you very much for watching.
Please comment, like, share and subscribe!
Visit us at: www.strathpefferjunction.com
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Please note: If you choose to follow any of the steps or suggestions outlined in the video, you do so at your own risk and any damage or injury to yourself, your models, your equipment or others is your own responsibility. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Great idea with the acrylic addition, pinched or not. :) Nicely done.
My Rolling Road Christmas Gift arrived yesterday. Your Perspex idea will greatly enhance the joy, I think. Thank you!
Happy new gadget! They're so useful, rolling roads. Thanks for the comment 😀
Finally, exactly what I am looking for, and a Scots Laddie to boot! I am a McDonald on my paternal grandmother's side. Your roller bearing idea is great, and meets my needs perfectly!
Glad it's of use!
That is one heck of a workshop, certainly makes me envious 🤣🤣🤣
After my accident in 2013 which wrecked by back, I had to give up all of my sports and other activities, so I sold everything and invested it in tools and trains. It's now where I hide out and stay sane. The wife hates the clutter though! Lol.
As ever David, amazing your wood working is as good as your decoder fitting, precise. John
Many thanks, John. I used to do a lot more of it (hence the equipment), but now my back's gone, I'm a bit limited. Still, it's really handy having all that stuff for railway modelling projects! 🙂👍🏻
Very cool video mate, i wanted to find a proper video of someone doing this, Keep up the good work mate!
Many thanks indeed. I've had to take a bit of time off as we now have a toddler and my back had been playing up, but I'll get back to making videos and documenting progress when I have a chance. Hopefully later this year.
@@StrathpefferJunction Hope you get better soon, hope your toddler is doing well.
Many thanks indeed. I really appreciate the support. I've also really missed making videos and I'm desperate to get back to building the layout. Hopefully it won't be too far away!
Very nice David, I can see me doing this, I get tired of taking items out of the boxes whenever I need them...Simon
That's exactly what drove me to making it, and I wish I'd done it ages ago. It makes everything so quick and handy.
Another informative and well thought out video all the best tony
Many thanks, Tony. I've got a few more in the pipeline, incl some reviews and also a wee build series. Just need to invent a time machine so I can go back and forth and get more than 24 hrs on a day!
Great little setup there David for working at locos. The strip of acrylic is ingenious. My locos won’t be an issue sitting on there when you fix them up for me. 😂😂 Paul.
Hehe. £100 each is what we agreed, yeah?! Lol
Great video testing board is a stroke of genius I think Dave Howarth did a similar thing with his rolling road but without the test gear as they are a pain keeping from falling over thanks for sharing .. Pete
Ah, many thanks. I'll have to go and check out Dave's video. I was sure someone else must have come up with something similar, because I can't be the only one who's found those rolling road modules a bit of a pain (and also dreadfully over-priced). Thank you for your comment and the support. Very much appreciated. 👍🏻
@@StrathpefferJunction I got my rolling road from Direct train spares which look a bit more stable and worked out cheaper then DCC concepts ones I saw what Dave had done to his a while back and put it on my to do list but still not got round to getting it done lol it will make running in so much easier .. cheers.. Pete
Oh, that's good to know about a cheaper source. It's crazy that these tiny we things are only marginally cheaper than Hornby's much more substantial rolling road. I had thought about making some myself using aluminium L bar and bearings, but I've already got too many jobs on the to do list!
Love you accent; Bill from San Diego, CA, oh and I love the project as well.
I'm looking to update my rather tired rolling road/power unit - can certainly take some hints from you. Thanks. Cheers, jim L
Thank you very much for your kind comment! Happy Modelling.
Excellent work David, need something like that myself. I know what you mean about the DCC Concepts rolling road, its an utter pain putting locos on it with the rollers falling over etc.
This has genuinely been super useful. Even more so than I thought it would be. As for the dcc concepts modules, I really begrudge paying almost £80 for them. They're a complete rip off and will cost a fraction of that to make and package up. I also have no interest in N gauge or the other gauge (maybe o?) that's included. They should really make single gauge packs available. If I could be bothered, I could make about ten sets myself for about £20 max., if that!
I like this and have all of this equipment. I need to do the same thing.
Thanks David!!! I saved this video for later use. Regards Onno.
No worries. Everyone needs a wee test board in their life! Lol
That's brilliant!
Many thanks, Michael. Much appreciated 😊👍🏻
Bit of a craftsman
Well good - Thanks for sharing.
Many thanks indeed for the comment! :)
Great video thanks for sharing
No worries. Thanks for taking the time to watch it. I've found it a really useful gadget, so I hoped it might be useful for other folk too 🙂
More details please 😍
I've built a similar thing, they are very useful. Keith
Many thanks, Keith. Yeah, I've used it about a dozen times just this week doing various jobs. It's one of those things I'm not sure why I didn't make earlier! :)
Do you fancy printing the cradle for the spring and switch box and doing a list of where you got the green sockets etc? Thanks great video
Hi Andrew. Many thanks for the comment. There's a list of components (with links) on my website blog, plus links to the STL files: www.strathpefferjunction.com/making-a-test-board-and-rolling-road-for-analogue-dcc-model-locos It takes too long to print out lots of these for sale (each is about 3-4hrs given I use 0.1mm layer height for a quality finish and tolerance), but I'd be willing to do a special run for you as a one-off. Drop me an email via the contact form on the website if you want to take that forward.
I'm thinking of making a dc/dcc rolling road for all my OO guage locomotives and i could use 2 double double pieces of track so i can put all my rollers on one side. I will use it for all the diesel and electric locomotives plus steam locomotives aswell.
Nice one! They are really useful bits of kits. I used mine all the time, from programming to maintenance.
@@StrathpefferJunction for the first time, I've had 2 of my steam locomotives running on my dcc concepts rollers, it's abit fiddly to do but i managed it in the end.
Very nice. I need something similar, but merg and pi sprog. Suspect I'll need to make it bigger as I'll ideally need n, oo and p4 tracks. Are the DCC concepts rolling road adjustable or fixed to one gauge do you know?
They're adjustable. They do just about everything except O Gauge, if my memeroy serves me right. In all honesty, they're well overpriced, but there aren't many alternative options. I found them a complete pain before I mounted them on the test board, but now they're mounted like that, they work fine and are easy to use.
@@StrathpefferJunction thanks for the info :-) will look at getting some I think.
Fantastic fella. I’d be interested in those cradles too. May I ask how wide you made the acrylic?
I'll measure it when I'm home and let you know. The sprog cradle is a little quicker to print. I could probably do a very small batch, but if I get too many orders, I'll not get the layout finished! Lol. I'll be back later with that measurement.
Strathpeffer Junction cheers buddy. Much appreciated. 😀
Ok. It's 4mm thick acrylic (just realised I said 6mm in the video) and it's 13mm wide. The black spacers for the screws are M5x8mm...you might get away with 9mm, but I'm not 100% sure.
Strathpeffer Junction nice one cheers fella. Appreciate you getting back with the details. 🙂
Please advise fitting door lights on the Bachmann class 450. also the arcing on the rails many thanks.
Hi Paul. I'm afraid I don't have a Bachmann Class 450, so have never fitted lights to the model. I would have thought the it might be possible using micro surface-mount LEDs, such as the 0402 package. The same type, different colour, may also be a possibility for arching on rails. You would need to hook arc light up to a suitable circuit. It would be possible to use a decent DCC decoder to programme flashes if the LEDs were installed on the model itself, or if installed by the third rail, you could use a simple reed switch and magnets circuit or an Arduino to instigate flashes. There's certainly a bit of work in arc lighting effects, but I'm sure it'd be worth it. There's a few forum threads on the topic which might be of use, such as this: www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/83341-third-rail-arcing-circuit
Smart idea.
Many thanks indeed, Eugene.
I think I will have a go at making one of these.
Can you build 1 for me? Without the sprog and ESU module. How much does it cost?
Afraid not at the moment. I've got my hands full with work and out two month old baby just now. Sorry 😔
I got the Sprog II but could not download or install the drivers, the support is really bad so I gave up on all this and bought the Railmaster which is great..
I've very sorry to hear about your experience. I never had any issue with the drivers, so haven't had any need to contact their customer service.
I am now inspired to make a board.I reckon from your accent you are fellow Southerner. Tennessean or from the Louisiana bayou?Stay well.BC
Glad you're inspired! Good luck with it. 😊 Wrong continent, though. I'm Scottish. 🏴
Could you show a plain diagram of the wiring, the colour diagram is a bit hard to read .thanks.
Like what you constructed. Take commissions?
Many thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated. I have considered commissions, but I just don't have the time right now, unfortunately. It may be something that I look at in the future, if life allows.
Could we have a diagram showing where the various wiring goes please . And what does the sprog do and is it needed .
I'll see if I can do a quick diagram over the weekend. The reason I didn't do one for this video is that it really depends entirely on what you're hooking up and how you want it to work. I'll try do a simple one showing roughly what I did, in case it helps. As for the Sprog, it's a small USB dcc device. It enables you to programme your decoders via free JMRI software on your computer, and I think makes programming much, much, simpler. You can also back up cv settings to your computer, incase you have to reset the chip etc. The sprog3 is the higher power one that can also act as a command station and run a layout. In hindsight, the sprog 2 would have been fine for my needs. I think they're pretty much the same from a usage point of views, just that the sprog 3 handles up to 3 amps, whereas the sprog 2 is less. I find it very useful and do most of my no-loksound programming using it.
Excellent thankyou for quick reply
Hi. I've done a wiring diagram and put a link to it in the description. The diagram is what I have done. If you have different components and a different board layout etc., the requirements may differ. Make sure you check for continuity and shorts before you fire up any of the testers or plug in a decoder etc.
cheers for that mate , great help. Not sure if its protected?.. lets me download but doesnt allow me to print it
It is protected from copying, but should be fine for printing. I'll double check!
What was the length and width of the test board?
I used an A4 sheet of plywood I had lying around, so it'll be the length and breath of A4 paper (I can't recall off the top of my head those measurements, I'm afraid). Had I had a larger scrap, I would have gone a little longer by, say, 5cm and wider by 2cm, just to allow for a slightly longer length of track and to allow them to be very slightly further apart (to give locos a little more clearance from one another - they do clear, but not by a huge amount).
Don’t worry about it I have the same kit, I will follow the same basic idea and I will pass on the details back to you.
Hi There there is no download button on Sketchfab site
Hmmm. I'll look into it. There should be. I'll check it out right now and get back to you.
Hi Bob. That's if sorted. I published them, but forgot to turn on the download option. My apologies! It says it'll take a few minutes to make the download live, so if you check back a little later on, it should be fine. Any further issues, just drop me a line and I can email you the files.
They're working now 🙂
Thanx all ok mnow