Dispatcher's Desk

It's been a temporary setup from the start.  A couple short metal filing cabinets and a scrap piece of plywood.  Add to that an old laptop and that was it - the dispatcher's office!  But a few op sessions quickly showed it was uncomfortable, limited in working space, and looked sloppy.  What to do?

The good news is that using the temporary setup showed what was needed for the functionality of the office.  It's a small space - a repurposed hallway that used to go to the kids bedrooms... the same ones that were removed for the layout.  I did not want to remove the hallway as at some point, this will have to be converted back to living space.  So the idea was to cut a single piece of 3/4" plywood into the proper shape, finish it, and set it on stringers attached to the walls.  The desk itself then would have plenty of legroom under.  Experience showed the desk needed a side-table to store the car-card/train packs.  

I elected to use birch veneer topped 3/4" plywood.  It made for a great look.  Finish was with a simple 1-step stain with varnish.  For durability, I added 2 more layers of varnish.  

The desk was cut extra deep.  I wanted to leave room to set the PC, keyboard, mouse adapters, speakers, etc, and still leave plenty of room for a train sheet, track warrants, etc.  The other parts here are the 2 stringers that will attach to the walls, and a shelf that will support two monitors.


Installed!


Add a real PC with some spare VGA outputs and it creates a pretty nice setup.  By the way, if you are looking for a basic PC - no frills - but ideal for a layout running JMRI and maybe a few other apps, check out Blair Technology Group.  They get off-lease equipment, refurbish them, and sell at a very fair price.  Nope, no affiliation or incentives to share this info.  Just a great experience with them.  

3 monitors?  Yep!  Figured out a way to use the ports on the PC to get 3 monitors to work.  This is super helpful when configuring and playing with LCC.  I can have PanelPro open with the panel, a few diagnostic and configuration windows open and running software to show my spreadsheet for tracking I/O.  Pretty nice... and all with old PC technology!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Configure a Node – The Beauty of LCC (With a bonus section on connecting LCC to PanelPro)

Image
Recall one of the drivers for trying out LCC was to avoid writing detailed code.   Yes, I ~can~ write code.   But it is not my interest or hobby.   As such, anything that can help me translate what is in my head to implementation on a chip somewhere with as little brain damage as possible is quite welcome in my book.   Additionally I did not want the brains of the layout to live in a PC.   There are days when I just want to come down to the basement, flip on the power switch, and run trains.   And… if I am going to go through the trouble of having signals, I want them to come up and operating properly immediately.   Yea, I know I can set up a PC to boot up, execute the right programs and get running on its own.   Sorta.   It’s just one more piece of equipment and step I just don’t care to deal with.        Anyway…. So a big part of my hesitation of leaping into LCC was the angst associated with programming ...
Read more

Configuring Push-buttons for Turnout Control in LCC (with BONUS section on Adapting JMRI for Feedback)

Image
So ALL the efforts, costs, brain damage and such to get LCC integrated into the layout is paying off in this one new step.  Let me explain. With LCC, each node is essentially its very own stand-alone microprocessor, capable of processing commands INDEPENDENTLY of a central PC or other server.  It just is connected to at the CAN bus, either looking for commands to respond (consumer) to or to issue them (producer).  SO... this addresses one of the goals of integrating LCC into my layout.  Sometimes I like to come down into the layout room and just run trains.  I don't have others with me, and for me, its a great way to unwind.  When I do that, I don't want to have to futz with turning on a PC and getting it going.  Ya, I know, some say it is not that big of a deal.  But if I am only going to be there for 5 or 15 minutes, seems like a hassle to mess with that.  I just want to through the power switch on, have the layout come to life, and run s...
Read more

LCC and Wiring Continues

Image
Slower than desired, but better to do it right now than try to fiddle it in later.... In my last staging yard, I never did install feeders.  Instead I just counted on the continuity of the turnouts to carry power to each of the 16 staging tracks.  Bad idea.  ~Most~ stayed powered up over the 10 or so years it operated.  ~Some~ randomly dropped out... necessitating fishing and soldering wires onto tracks with 7" spacing between decks.  Not uber-fun at all. SO... with GNW Phase 3, I promised myself ALL track would have feeders every 6' (one feeder per 2 sticks of flex), plus additional feeders in any other complex areas such as yard throats.  This would also allow me to have every other stick of flex not have to be soldered at the track jointers, allowing for expansion and contraction of the benchwork.  BUT... this comes at a cost.  Instead of 16 single ended tracks, I elected to have a 9-track staging yard, each track capable of holding 3 tra...
Read more