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RailPro => RailPro Specific Help & Discussion => Topic started by: faithie999 on January 19, 2023, 10:43:36 AM

Title: Indexing a Walthers 90 foot turntable
Post by: faithie999 on January 19, 2023, 10:43:36 AM

while browsing ebay looking for cheap Chinese motors to repower some locos I came upon a stepper motor that I'm wondering if I could control with an AM-1 to index the turntable.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/262671619620?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e90001.m43.l1123&plmtId=700008&mesgId=3024&mkcid=8&ch=osgood&bu=43185147250&trkId=7dce3e8f-47f3-4790-b68e-cd2037bd0e80&cnvId=700003&recoId=262671619620&recoPos=1 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/262671619620?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e90001.m43.l1123&plmtId=700008&mesgId=3024&mkcid=8&ch=osgood&bu=43185147250&trkId=7dce3e8f-47f3-4790-b68e-cd2037bd0e80&cnvId=700003&recoId=262671619620&recoPos=1)

for discussion purposes, I'm thinking of installing 10 tracks around 1/2 the circumference of the turntable, which gives 18 degrees or 10 steps of the stepping motor between tracks.


is there a way to make this work?

I know from a some discussion by Bruce Rogers in a thread from a couple of years ago that there is work to do on the Walthers 90 foot turntable (the original version, kit not assembled, not DCC), just to get power to the bridge track.  the stepper motor install would be after I modded the turntable to get power to the bridge track.

thanks in advance

Ken

Title: Re: Indexing a Walthers 90 foot turntable
Post by: G8B4Life on January 19, 2023, 07:21:41 PM

An AM-1 will not drive a stepper motor by itself, you need a stepper motor driver to do that. The AM-1 should be able to control the stepper motor driver by writing the correct accessory program to do so.

While this example is for Arduino (https://www.makerguides.com/a4988-stepper-motor-driver-arduino-tutorial/ (https://www.makerguides.com/a4988-stepper-motor-driver-arduino-tutorial/)), if you imagine the AM-1 in the Arduino's place it'll give you a very basic idea of what you'll need to do.

I foresee a lot of experimenting in your future is you go down this road.

- Tim

Title: Re: Indexing a Walthers 90 foot turntable
Post by: faithie999 on January 20, 2023, 05:06:26 PM

Tim--thanks for the link.  I'm an engineer, but I have a friend who is an engineer's engineer and I will recruit him to help with this project.

Ken