Uncoupler Kit
PLEASE MAKE SURE THE POWER IS NOT CONNECTED WHEN YOU MAKE OR ALTER WIRING CONNECTIONS
This kit is for uncoupling OO gauge tension lock couplings for example the ones used by hornby Bachmann and Dapol. It is designed to be inconspicuous and fitted to track already laid down
Installation
Cut away the existing sleeper between the rails. Drill an 8mm diameter hole inthe centre of the space which was occupied by the cut away sleeper. Increased accuracy may be obtained by drilling a smaller pilot hole first.
Fit the coupling sleeper into the hole. The hole is deliberately drilled oversize to give same movement so that the uncoupling sleeper canbe easily lined up with remnants of original sleeper. Superglue in position.
Bend a U shape in 0.5mm diameter piano wire. Piano wire also called spring or music wire is a hardened steel wire useful for connecting movng parts to servo motor cranks. Push the wire down the two holes in the replacement coupling sleeper. Bend over sufficient of the top of the U shaped wire to support the uncoupling plate. Transparent acetate is recommended as this will be very inconspicuous. The uncoupling plate is glued to the bent over piano wire.
Mount the servo motor under the baseboard so that the centre of its crank arm lines up with one of the lengths of piano wire protruding under the baseboard. (if you use the holes at the very end of the crank then the crank will move through a smaller angle when raising and lowering the uncoupler. A larger angle is preferable as it will give finer control.
Plug the servo motor into the control board. Wire the control board to the power supply and control panel mounted push button switch. (a push to make type switch is required). This is shown below.
Switch power onto the control board. Now hold down the delay push button on the control board. After about 5 seconds of being held down the servo motor arm will move. The servo motor arm is now in the middle of its range. (it will move about 80degrees clockwise or anti clockwise from this position. Fit the crank onto the servo motor pointing about 10 degrees below the horizontal. With the uncoupling plate resting on the sleepers bend the nearest piece of piano wire so it passes through the hole in the crank. Now position two coupled wagons over the uncoupling plate. Press and hold down the pushbutton switch. By pressing set up button 1 and set up button 2 adjust the height of the uncoupling plate so that it rises enough to uncouple the wagons without rising so much that it lifts them off the rails. Release the control panel push button switch and wait for the ramp to lower.
Uncoupling
The train needs to be positioned over the uncoupler so that both coupling hooks can be raised by the uncoupler. Also the vehicles to be uncoupled must have slack in the couplings. Ie the engine may need to be reversed . If the couplings are tight then the hooks on them will be fixed beneath the bar of the adjacent coupling and the whole wagon will lift up when the uncoupler is operated regardless of what type of uncoupler is used.
This board has one Servo motor control circuit.12 Volts DC is connected to terminals + and 0. The push button switch (push to make type) connects between terminal S and 0.
The servo motor arm rotates clockwise and anti clockwise. moves backwards and forwards. This board allows you toset how far the arm will travel. It allows you to set the speed the servo arm moves at and it remembers these settings after you have switched the power off.
The remembered 2 position settings and the remembered delay can be changed if required.
The Servo motors plug into the connectors labeled b r y corresponding to the brown red and yellowwires in the servo motor leads. Some servo motors have white red and black wires in which case plug in the lead so the black wire goes to the brown position and the white to the yellow position.
The board works best with 12 volts DC but can be powered with9 to 16volts either AC or DC.The power supply is connected to the+ and 0 terminals as shown below.
How to set up the servo positions
When first powered up the servo motor arm should be near its mid position. The motor arm can move up to 80 degrees either side of this.
You now set the two positions the servo motor arm moves between. When you press the control panel push button switch (this connects the 0 terminal to the S terminal)the Servo motor armwill move tothe raised position.
Setting these positions is easy. First press the control panel push button switch switch and keep it pressed whilst adjustments are made. (if it is impossible to do this then you could temporarily use a toggle on off switch whilst the adjustments are made. Now press either ofthe set up buttons(marked with the clockwise or anticlockwise arrows) until the servo arm reaches the position you want. You can press set up button 1 and set up button 2 in turn until the servo motor arm is exactly adjusted to position 1. Release the control panel push button switch and wait for the servo to return to its initial position. You can now adjust the delay time with short presses of the push button switch inbetween raising and lowering the uncoupler with the control panel push button switch. Now make any fine adjustments to the lowered position of the uncoupler with the set up button. If you make all these 3 adjustments in this order they will be remembered in the boards memory when the power is switched off.
Resetting to Mid Position
In the event of becoming confused you can reset the motor to its mid position. This is simply done by holding down the speed button until it resets. This takes about 5 seconds.
How to set up the delay
Seven different delay times can be selected for the raised ramp to return to the lowered position. The delays are indicated by the LED. When the motor is stationary the LED repeatedly shows a series of between 1 and 7 flashes. 1 flash gives the longest delay. The speed is changed by pressing then releasing the button next to the word ‘delay’. Every time the ‘delay’ button is pressed the motor will run faster and the LED will display 1 fewer flash. When you reach the longest delay (1 flash) pressing the “delay” push button willreturn the delay to the shortest setting (7 flashes).The delay setting is remembered in the memory
Heathcote Electronics, 1 Haydock Close, Cheadle, Staffordshire, England, ST10 1UE
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