My locomotives are controlled at present by a Digitrax Zephyr Express. When the throttle is advanced it indicates a percentage of power applied via its 2.4" LCD screen. It's a straight rheostat type run from 0 - 100% that must depend on the decoder for power regulation to simulate notching if I get the CVs tweaked right.

 Here is a great link discussing prototype throttle notching:

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/24130

I'm interested in using a sensor that could do something like what a hotbox detector does - count wheels or otherwise detect when wheelsets cross a given point on the track. This would be feeding an Arduino or similar.

I have worked with TCRT5000 IR sensors, and they seem to work quite well for detecting when a whole train or car is in a given location, and they are dirt cheap ($0.10 each in lots of 50) too, which is great. But they are pretty wide angle and seemingly not too suitable for this application.

I am looking at purchasing the Sparmax TC501N. What compressors do you all use?

Jeff

Vallejo paints are now my go to choice for use in my modeling. Used together with Joe’s High Performance thinner and Acrylic painting handbook I have been able to achieve excellent coverage and finish on my models.

I now have over 60 bottles of Vallejo paint and keeping them organized was becoming a problem. Also, it would be very beneficial to be able to rotate them to keep the pigment from settling to the bottom. I was looking at the traditional paint racks available and while some are very nice, they would all take up a lot of workbench space.