New Helicopter!

Bought a new helicopter today when I went out shopping with my family. I bought it in Dragon Mart in Dubai. If you are going to Dubai, I would recommend checking it out, it has lots of toy stores that sell models (many of them helicopters) that are quite cheap. Dragon Mart is just outside of Dubai, so a Metro to Rashidiya and then a taxi from there will get you to Dragon Mart. Anyway, it is a great looking helicopter and I look forward to flying it when I get back. It is a 4 channel one and a camera module can be added and turned on or off from the transmitter. The transmitter is 2.4GHz and has an LCD screen on it. It can also change through all 4 modes-which is quite cool! The whole thing was 280 AED but after some negotiation, we were able to get it for 250 AED with some AA batteries for the transmitter thrown in! Thats about £50 or $68. I will give more details after I return as I am yet to fly it.

What is weathering?

Weathering is the process of making a scale train look used. It is a very simple method, but it requires a huge amount of care and detail. Using certain paints, one can make the wheels and other 'steel' parts look rusty or covered in mud or dust. There are lots of detailed tutorials all over the place, so I won't cover it. I am just here to tell you about the various methods of improving your scale train layout.

Update on the Hobbyking Transmitter.

Unfortunately, even though it has been many weeks since ordered, the package has not yet been delivered! So I decided to do some research and I found that items mays spend a long time in UK customs! This is very sad as I am very excited to get it. Once I do eventually get it, I will write a full review of the Transmitter. Until then it looks like I have to wait!

Suppliers in Dubai

As I am off on holiday today, I will have limited if any access to this blog. As you have probably guessed, I am off to Dubai. Hopefully when I am there, I will see lots of interesting things and I am also hoping to pick up a train as well. I know there aren't a lot but I think Hamleys in the Dubai Mall are supposed to have some. I will give feedback on suppliers in Dubai when I get back. So just sit tight and I will do some serious research and shopping!!!

Sreeteja

RC supplies

This is a little different from my other posts but it is included under what this blog was going to contain(everything to do with scale). So, there are lots of RC supply stores in the UK, problem is, most are quite expensive. Now, I found a great site a while back, they were very cheap and had warehouses everywhere, apart from (most unfortunately) the UK. But when I went back to their site I saw there was  a UK warehouse! YAY! So I was browsing through the transmitters, looking to get a new 2.4Ghz 6-channel system, only to find that they don't stock RC transmitters though. After some digging and conversions, I found that it was £25 to buy from the international warehouse(in Hong Kong) and get it shipped here compared to GiantShark's (the cheapest place in the UK) £30 not including shipping (extra £2 or 3). So I went on the with the transaction and ordered it. I am now eagerly awaiting my transmitter, but you do have to wait for quite a long 2-3 weeks for it to come!(Well, it is coming from Hong Kong!). So I would recommend this site to people. It is called Hobbyking and it seems to be all over the place!

Sreeteja

Control your model train layout with a computer.

Yes, it is possible. You can most definitely control your whole model train layout from a single computer. There is lots of different software out there that will allow you to control your locomotives, their functions and points and other cool accessories attached to your DCC layout. It will use an interface to get the computer to talk to the track. These system usually have two middle men, the USB-to-controller interface and the controller. There are some which only have a single middle man, USB-to-track. This means that to will HAVE to use your computer to control it. The cheapest out there seems to be the Hornby E-Link and Railmaster package. This package comes with the interface and the software. It looks very promising and hopefully it will be very good. Although it says it comes with a 1a transformer, apparently you can actually use the Hornby Elite's 4a transformer. My personal opinion is that computer controlled systems are very good. My reasons are that you can view the whole layout with switch points and you don't have to remember the addresses for the locomotives and accessories as it is down for you! This is my personal opinion and you may have your own. Please comment on what you think!

DCC, what is it?

DCC is a method to control lots of different trains, their functions and other accessories. DCC stands for Digtal Command Control. It uses carefully timed pauses to send messages to the locomotive that is to be controlled. The other trains just ignore this as it is not for them. DCC just uses two wires, a controller and a decoder. I will explain what controllers and decoders are a bit later. First though, why is this so good and why should you get it? That is a good question and has three very good reasons.
1) The realism of the whole layout is improved as trains move at different speeds, giving a much more realistic view.
2) It is much easier to set this up than an old analogue system that controlled two trains. No longer is there a huge wiring loom to set up! Just take two wires from the central control station and put one to either rail and you done! Simple as that!
3) Ease of use, when using DCC, extra accessories such as turn points, level crossings and even turntables can all be controlled from one point, which means no running about switching tracks.

Controllers

A DCC controller is where it all happens. There is usually a keypad and some sort of throttle control. The keypad allows for the addressing of one single locomotive or accessory while the throttle control offers a very precise control of speed. Along with giving speed and direction to a locomotive, it can also provide other cool functions, such as lights, steam and sound. All these can be turned on and off from the central control station. The input made by you is transferred into a set of pulses that the decoder at the end can understand. Basically, the functions you enter into the station are coded, sent to the tracks, meet with the locomotives decoder and get decoded by the decoder, telling the locomotive to do a wide array of stuff. Seeing as each decoder attached to a locomotive can be uniquely addressed, you can have many trains on at one point, the only limit is the amps required. Yet that too can be over come with a DCC signal booster for bigger tracks.

As you can see, there is a vast array of controllers. A quick google search will come up with lots. I cannot say which one is best because of two reasons. 1) I don't have them all. 2) It's your personal taste that will dictate whether you like it or not. I cannot tell you. To find the best for you go online and compare them yourself. Lots of these controllers are very expensive. Be careful before buying! My personal taste is in computer controlled layouts. I will talk about them in a later post.

Decoders

A decoder is the second part of a DCC system. It receives commands(in the form of pulses) and power from the rails. The decoder can understand the pulses that are sent through the rails. It has a programmed address so that it will only respond to a message to that address. Having received the signals from the rails, it then powers its functions(lights, motors, etc.). The address system means that no stray commands are carried out by the decoder. When no command is sent by he main station, the previous command is carried out in a loop or an idle message is sent out. This means that the power will still go to the tracks, providing power to the track and it's accessories

So that's the basic DCC setup and components, I will be back with more on accessories soon. Till then, goodbye and please feel free to subscribe!