DalaGStanator's Customs, Mods and Experiments

After I got the hang of how that forward/reverse dial worked, I designed an alternative version that acts more like a slide switch. Effectively the same concept, but with a plastic T shape in lieu of the dial. The conductive pins are now small screws, which help keep the wires in a bit more tightly than the nails do. It does have a little too much free movement, so any further revisions should be more restricted.



For the traverser itself, I measured two straight pieces with room for one riser between them to make the base. Two "trucks" were made to support the platform at the ends, joined by a long, flat beam. The rack for the gear based power unit is just corrugated fibreboard, though it should've been strengthened with wooden sticks in the teeth. The cardboard wheels were eventually replaced with wick sustainers to make them roll better.



My current solution for power is the gearbox I used for my last two engines, but with a gear on the axle to mesh with the rack. The motor is still mounted vertically and could be hidden in a control booth. Since the plastic gear had a little too many teeth for the rack, I replaced it with a cardboard "wheel" gear with the same tread. Didn't stop it from slipping/disengaging, however, especially when going backwards. Two additional rails were added to keep it from veering sideways. It would probably work better if I'd use parallel racks with two gears meshing with them, or simply a belt from one end to the other.