Hand-Crank Train Engine w/ JKnuckle
From the workshops of JodianGaming comes a little bit of cheap heaven for those who need to shunt around train cars but don't have the money or capability to use some big powerful train engine. This little hand-cranked peace of heaven, which costs under $14k, is capable of easily moving a couple train cars around the yard.
So why no engine? Well, engines require power and a hand crank doesn't. For sanity sake I did include a little toggleable motor, should you really want to go the lazy route, but the onboard batteries won't keep it running for very long so I suggest you use it sparingly. You'll also want to save the power for more important things, like the radio so you can switch tracks without having to get off the machine.
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JKNUCKLE CONTROL SYSTEM
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To give more of a simulation feel to my train system, I developed a unique "knuckle" and microcontroller combination that allows all of my JKnuckle train cars and engines to literally "speak" to each other. This system works on a Master/Slave control scheme, where the "Master" vehicle sends out the commands and the "Slave" vehicles obey the commands. It's important to note that you can only have ONE train car/engine set as the "Master" in the train consist, or weird stuff will happen (just like in real life). To prevent such errors all JKnuckle enabled train engines/cars are set to "Slave" mode by default. Only ENGINES will have the option to be switched to "Master", usually at the conductor seat.
This enables their control console, as the console doesn't work in Slave mode. So what does this actually mean for you?
Well, if you have a train with 3 engines, you can use the "Master" engine to control the brakes, throttle, and reverse of the other 2 engines. The "Master" engine will also control the brakes of any JKnuckle train cars you have attached to it. The train knuckles always search for a valid signal along the train consist, so it doesn't matter where you install the "Master" train engine, it should be able to control the entire train consist so long as all cars use the JKnuckle system. You can see if the train is connected properly, and the JKnuckle system is active, by looking for a green light on the actual train knuckle.... Happy conducting!
