It's Mike Fifers Fault

If you been on the nScale.net forum for any amount of time you have undoubtedly seen a post or thread authored by Mike Fifer. He and Robin run what, in my humble opinion, is the best online N scale hobby supply on the web, Fifer Hobby Supply. They have phenomenal customer service, competitive pricing, and a true understanding of the hobby. The ACT, The Albuquerque Carnuel & Tijeras RR is a great example of his skill and craftsmanship. Check it out if you haven't already done so.

As for the title of this blog entry, one of my recent projects was inspired by one of the pictures I saw on MIke's ACT Railroad. You see, Mike has some hidden track on his layout and has a nifty little TV screen to monitor the track. It got me thinking about doing the same thing for the hidden track that is part of a helix on my layout. I wrote Mike and asked him where he got his components and he kindly wrote back right away with the details. I searched the Internet for mini security cameras and came up with a whole bunch of options on EBay. Try a search for the following: Mini CCTV Digital Video Camera Surveillance Spy Camera if you are interested. I got my two  for $16 each plus shipping. They have RCA jacks for power, audio, and video and look like this:

If you look at the first 2 pictures from the left you will see that the camera is mounted on a Switchmaster motor that allows the camera to pivot 90 degrees. The picture on the far right shows a fixed camera the looks up the on coming track. The Switchmaster is wired just like any slow-motion turnout machine except it has a DPDT switch that has a center off position that has momentary contacts to either pole. It acts like a joy stick and controls the movement back and forth. The yellow video jacks also leads to a standard DPDT center off switch. Since my new TV (we'll get to that next) only has one input for composite video I must toggle between the fixed camera and the movable one. I also have a power switch that turns the power from a 9 volt wall wart on and off.

That leads me to the new TV..... The old 10" black and white dinosaur that has graced my garage for years just wouldn't do so I looked online at Tiger Direct and found a cool 23" Sceptre LCD that had inputs for a computer (VGA), my cameras (Composite/AVI), HDTV, and Cable. It was close to $400 bucks but, as I saw it, necessary. Here's a picture of the cameras monitoring the helix...very necessary as far as I am concerned.

As you might guess,  management, (that would be my wife Beth), took one look a my fancy new TV and said....well, I won't repeat what she said, but I can tell you what I said. I blurted out......It's all Mike Fifers fault...... Sorry Mike but it's all I could think of at the time. Once she calmed down she realized that I could work on the train and watch NASCAR or the NFL at the same time. Gets me out of the living room and her some peace and quiet on Sunday's.

Thanks to Mike for adding serenity to my thirty year marriage.  

The new TV is also hooked to a spare computer that has a USB web cam connected that allows my far away grand kids to see the train when we Skype each other. I also have an Excel spreadsheet that catalogues my locomotives and their decoder info. All very necessary don't you think?????

I'd be happy to share any details and give you permission in advance to blame me for any expenses that might be incurred.

JohnC