Interested in seeing where all those Tsunami DCC decoders come from?
Interesting technology!
Cheers, Ed
Thanks Ed!
Very interesting.
Dave
Glad you enjoyed it, Dave.
Years ago I worked for a time at an Allen Bradley facility that made early versions of computer PLCs for automated systems. There was a PC board pick-n-place machine there that placed, or “stuffed” components on the boards. It was fun to watch and amazing technology at the time. Robotic fingers came up from under the board to clip the ends of the component wires. Then the board passed over the wave-solder machine. No baked solder back then.
The stuff they have today is miles ahead! I can see where my decoder dollar is going when I see what kind of equipment is needed to populate these boards and program the chips.
I wonder how big a sound DCC board would have to be if it used vacuum tubes?
Cheers, Ed
But we could tell people with decoder problems to take the tubes to the machine in the drug store and check them.
I liked the tester at 6:40, reminded me of War of the Worlds. Unless James was there during the fires, he missed a good train trip.
I picked up at begining that Soundtraxx was trying to become a LEEDS building as is my employer. But what reall got me was the automation that assembles the small decoders
There is finally an ‘affordable’ machine to do surface mount assembly -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR69Vmh7qnI
Still a bit steep, but with modelers buying 3D printers and laser cutters these days, it’s not completely outrageous.
–Randy