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Strength Friday v Speed Sunday

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To my coaches, Megan, Ellen and Lilly.  Subject: Strength Friday v Speed Sunday  I thought the recent Friday and Sunday workouts would be interesting to compare. I think I've got a couple findings. While there's more to be gained from a closer look, here's what I've got so far.  To recap, Friday's otw strength workout was 3 x 5 x 1 minute on, 1 minute off, @ 18, 20, 22, MAX pressure. Sunday's otw speed workout was 3 x 6 x 1 minute on, 1 minute off, @ 30, 32, 34, open, MAX speed. For the record, both were hard.  I met expectations at a B-B+ level.  Friday we lost a rep to wakes in the Cut; finished one shy before returning to the dock on time; and I was over the the prescribed rates 2-3 beats. Sunday lost 2 reps to turns and was generally over 30, but not much variation.  Findings.   I don't gain as much speed as I should at higher rates. I don't row as well at rate. I think this is related to not hingi...
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What's going on with trains, March 2025

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My sister, Annie, asked what was up with trains? Here's some status. I love my current layout. It has two loops. A siding. An inner loop with a crossing, or, essentially, a figure 8 within a loop. The 2 loops are interconnected by a double crossover. It has an elevated section that crosses the lower in two places, with the longer via a trestle bridge. All this goodness on a 30" x 60" Ikea desk that cranks up and down.  My command station supports wireless and I typically run trains from my phone or, as shown in the pic, from a tablet using Engine Driver. Both locos' throttles and all 6 turnout controls are displayed on one screen without toggling. There can be a lot of action with this layout. It's easy to run two trains. In the same direction, chasing each other.  Or in opposite directions - on the two loops, inner and outer. The train on the inner loop can simply traverse the loop or can visit the station wh...
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DCC-EX and EXRAIL automation

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A disaster with my Digitrax Zephyr Express meant I had to ship it to the factory in December for repairs with no firm return date. 😬  What should I do? Build a DCC-EX Command Station ? I had the parts 1 . This had been my intent all along. But at the time, I lacked confidence, punted, and bought the Digitrax. An opportunity to correct a mistake? The command station is built around an ESP32 WROOM Arduino UNO compatible board with built-in WiFi I followed DCC-EX's instructions . They're thorough. And include workarounds to the bugs on the Espduino board. Everything came together as intended. Then I uploaded the software using EX-Installer. 2  Easy-peasy. The motor driver shield with 2x 1-1.5 A channels to drive main and programming tracks. Workarounds are visible from pins bent out from the side and jumper wires in the headers.  The combination of the 2 boards is smaller than my mouse. The cables are the power and track connections. Once the command station was assem...
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