Progress Report 16 January 2000
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We hit a major snag. Having laid all the track for Level 0 we need
to get the barcoding system sorted out and working before we progress any further with track
laying etc. Our original ideas of using an IR Transmitter with dual IR reciever has TWO very
serious flaws. 1. The barcode has a strobe marker on 1 side and data markers on the other side. SNAG! What happens when the vehicle is either placed on the track the wrong way round OR a loco is reversed on a turntable, the strobe and data markers are now also reversed - OOPPSS. This can be resolved by using a triple width barcode with the strobe markers on the outer edges and the data markers down the centre and having the IR Transmitter offset in the track rather than centralised. This only makes SNAG 2 a bigger problem. Doh! 2. The output from the IR Transmitter is 30 degrees and at a 15 millimetre distance (track bed to underside of vehicle) this produce too wide a beam of IR energy. EEK! We need to revisit the methods of directing the output of the IR Transmitter so that it produces its full output but in a very narrow beam. Not an insurmountable problem, but a little ingenuity is required here. We are currently considering the use of fibre optics - mounting the IR Transmitter/Receivers under the baseboard and directing the ouput/input via optical fibres up through the trackbed. We'll keep you posted as we try out these options.
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