193 replies to this topic

[Maxlaam]

Well, my exams are over so I have 3 weeks to finish everything.

Progress from today:



The next thing will be the circuit for the light bar, then finishing Phase and then finishing the ride completely. Mostly theming and motor installation though.

Also some very good news, the model has been booked for another expo. Maybe even a 3rd, but negotiations between my friends and the contractor are still running.

[maarten12]

I like those video's you make Max! I just realized that you're soldering in quite a professional way. For example, I don't even have that 3rd hand!

[Helmut]

Cool video Max! Haha, at 3:06 you changed your Hardrock Café Paris T-shirt for the new Dutch Details T-shirt!

[Maxlaam]

I like those video's you make Max! I just realized that you're soldering in quite a professional way. For example, I don't even have that 3rd hand!

The 3rd hand was only used to aid in some tinning and to stop the bar from falling over all the time, haha

But those cramped areas sure call for some innovative hand positions. It's quite a long strip (over 3ft) and my table wasn't really big enough To say the least, my soldering was very very amateuristic... Normaly I trust my connections well enough that I don't need to jank the wires to know they are secure. I pretty much checked every connection at least once to see if it was good enough.

Cool video Max! Haha, at 3:06 you changed your Hardrock Café Paris T-shirt for the new Dutch Details T-shirt!

Hehe, the actual video (part 2) was shot over 3 days. Had other stuff to do as well Just left my tri-pod where it was

[Maxlaam]

Alright, a verbal update for now as it's too dark to take decent pictures with my camera. I wanted to complete the soldering for the LED bar for the lift, but I was too stupid to check if I had the proper resistors, the store was closed by then and I haven't had the time to go to the store the last 2 days. I'll try and get those parts in tomorrow. Furthermore I installed the last chain and the last 2 motors. They all work fine when ran manually. I'll get more in-depth with this stuff in the next update.

On another note, I've not really talked about this yet, but logistically seen this model is a nightmare. I have to break it into 3 chunks, 9 yellows wide and 6 deep. This is the only way it will fit through my door, well rather easily through my door. So having that figured out is one thing. The second thing, I'm not going to reassemble the ride in the vehicle as it is too large/heavy to carry as the base will break under it's own weight. This means that all 3 chunks need to be transported in a rather flimsy state. The model gets it rigidity from itself, breaking it up into parts makes it wobble like a dirty dubstep soundtrack.

So right now I'm mass building braces that are easily attachable for transport and should remove some of the strain from the main supports and stabilize the higher parts of the model. You can sure say I'm quite verbal during this process, in a bad way...

[-=TK=-]

I hope that you can fix the transporting system, since the coaster looks really good. It would be a pitty if the coaster can't be beautiful anymore because lots of things broke in the car. I hope the best for you!

-=Tk=-

[The Stig]

Now you know how the Fun Fair carnies feel

[Helmut]

Yes, I don't know how to get the coaster in our car either. But I'm sure it will work out.

[Maxlaam]

Time's getting short, going to be a long evening as I want to finish up most of the cables today and tomorrow.

Anyway, the final component for the light bar is finished:

[Snake]

Jeez Max, slow down on the soldering. Your going to get lead posining.

[Jogumpie]

I'm looking forward to another of those explaining videos that cover the whole electronics part of this ride.

[The Stig]

I'm looking forward to a kick-ass light show.

[Maxlaam]

Jeez Max, slow down on the soldering. Your going to get lead posining.

You're right on that. I used to solder in the kitchen, turn on the ventilator above the stove and such, open a few windows. Usually sucked the fumes right away. But Phase 3.0 is too big for the kitchen so I work on the kitchen table now, so no ventilation. I'm going to look for one of these soldering fans soon. I've had it influence my lungs before where I had a nasty cough for a few days. That said, my smoking habit isn't too healthy either

I'm looking forward to another of those explaining videos that cover the whole electronics part of this ride.

Will do a longer one when I'm done. Probably multi-part and maybe even one which shows the code, for whoever is interested.

I'm looking forward to a kick-ass light show.

Darn right, most of the LED work is done now, just some uplighting left, but that's not really important as it won't be very noticeable in the day-light. The coding for the light bar will come later, I'm still debating how I'm going to program that.

[Maxlaam]

Transport damage was pretty significant. Not because I didn't handle it with care, but because there was a miss-communication which meant I had to keep the stuff in the trailer for 3 hours, in the sun. The track buckled like crazy...

Anyway I spent an entire day trying to get it to run, and as always, the first 3 attempts are to warm up the oil, after that you have to keep it running atleast once every minute or so.

When I was cleaning all the muck from my wheels I noticed that Hans de Voer, the owner of the real ride, was sitting outside of the hotel/cafe (expo) drinking a beer. I asked if I could take place next to him and well, he was very generous as the supply of alcohol seemed pretty infinite O.O

Anyway, tomorrow I will install the final 10 sensors and hook those up. I tested the coaster by using the Phase 3.0 motor-test buttons, and as expected there was a significant loss of power in my SUB-D cables. It worked, but not as good as I was hoping for. 2 of the 3 cars actually make it round now, without too much trouble. The third car lost it's rear wheel set when cleaning the axles, probably some silicon spray that leaked through to the glue. The second coach still has the sticky chaindog issue, it doesnt always come down properly, causing it to halt between the boosterwheels and lift. I'm very glad Phase has an automatic-train-stall-detection system built in that immediately turns of all the motors if things go mad. It's a bit more advanced that the initial idea was, but it turned out to work great and reliable in the end, not to mention it was incredibly easy to make... Like, beyond belief how easy... Really, really easy.