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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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Learning about turnouts

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NY Central #1906 steaming down the mainline I have two #6 turnouts and a double crossover in my first layout. I thought the #6 turnouts we're non-power routing based on my reading. But the first attempt layout proved that wrong.  With a power routing turnout, the track in the direction of the turnout's setting is powered, and in the other branch, non-powered. When the turnout is toggled, power is moved to the other branch, and the previously powered branch is now non-powered. I learned this multiple ways. First, I thought my dual loop layout could be powered by a single piece of terminal track powering the entire layout. The layout is small, so I thought that would be good enough. However, the power routing turnouts and crossover break current in the non-powered direction. So, initially only one of my loops worked. Second, the initial layout had a second spur leading off the first. But without a power connection on that spur, it would always be dead.  Third, attempting to r...
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Fremont Lookout Day Hike

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Katherine and I had a really nice day hike yesterday from Sunrise to Fremont Lookout. We initially planned on Burroughs, but rather than negotiate snow on the trail, we headed north to the Lookout, our first hike there. From Fremont Lookout We left Seattle around 8:30, arrived at Sunrise 2 hours later and were on the trail a half hour after arrival. A spectacular clear day with a nice breeze that kept temps cool; it was over 90 in Seattle. Lots of fellow day hikers, but not unbearable. Katherine packed an ample picnic lunch, much of which was packed back down the trail. From Fremont Lookout The view from the Lookout was great. To the north was Mt Baker, Mt Shuksan, Glacier Peak and others. Looking west we could see the skylines of Seattle and Bellevue. Looking east we could see the lift towers of Crystal's Campbell and Rex chairs. Lots of climbing parties - ascending and descending - could be seen on Rainier with binoculars. This is an easy day hike. The visitor maps put the dis...
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