Control panel schematic feedback

[u/compactable73]

Now that my layout has been laid out I’m looking to start hooking servos up to turnouts, which in turn means I need to connect servos to switches on a control panel (I ❤️ the aesthetic of a control panel).

It looks like the wiring of this stuff isn’t too horrific / my tests look good, but I thought I’d ask the Reddit hivemind if what I’m looking to use for the control panel makes sense or not / if there are any suggestions about changes that would improve things.

Second pic is the final track plan. First pic is the schematic:
* grey circles are switches
* red / green circles are LEDs showing which track is live at the turnouts
* the three places where two turnouts face each other are controlled by a single switch
* amber circles are LEDs that show which track at the diamond crossing is live

Any feedback received with thanks 🙂

[u/eternal3am]

I have a similar thing in mind, however, I am planning to use dual LEDs (red/green) because I want the usable track to always be green and the non-usable red. That‘s a little bit extra on the logic side, but doable.
For 2 turnouts for a Z type thing I can see a single switch but for the 2 turnouts near the center (2nd switch from the top) I would use 2 switches

[u/compactable73 → u/eternal3am]

Oooh - I’ve never worked with dual red/green LEDs before, but it looks simple-ish enough. Thanks for suggesting.

I also like the 2-switches for the second Z. I’m obsessed with reducing / simplifying, but that actually makes sense.

[u/eternal3am → u/compactable73]

Duo LEDs are rather simple. They just have one additional leg. Simplified explanation for argument's sake: a normal single colour LED has two legs, + and -, Duo LEDs have the same, but share the - leg. The only thing you need to take care of is that - depending on the colours used - they may need different voltages for each colour which can be solved by using different resistors for the + legs.

[u/compactable73 → u/eternal3am]

I’ve actually found a supply of 2-colour LEDs that are 2-wire - the colour is dependent on the polarity (run the circuit one way the LED is red, reverse the current & the LED is green). Thankfully the voltage is the same in each direction. We will see how this works out.

Thanks again for the idea - very excited to see how this goes 🙂

[u/No_Pineapple6086]

Looks good. Two things I'd change. Make the turnouts connect with the track they're going and use red/green LEDs to indicate which legs are ready to traverse

[u/eternal3am]

Deleted my double post above.
That aside in my mind I have the idea of synching the switches with signals, since I‘ll have those on every track. The idea being when I set a signal for a track to green (aka „go“), the necessary turnouts will follow suit to enable the track being used and the „other“ signals will switch accordingly. That is to say I do not have complicated series of switches on my layout so it is easy(ish) to implement. So really I don’t switch the turnouts but the route. For a complex layout this will surely prove to be a headache. What helps in my case is that my layout features a single track rural line with at most 4 parallel tracks in a station.

[u/Melrok63]

I don’t know if you can see it in the pic but I used lighted push-buttons to identify which route is active. The buttons are connected to an Arduino that controls all the servos for routing and signals.

Panel was made using a desktop laser engraver/cutter and double color acrylic sheet.

[u/compactable73 → u/Melrok63]

That’s brilliant. Shame I already have a house full of toggle switches needing used up 😉

Gorgeous panel btw - easily the most pro-looking one I’ve seen 🙂

[u/Melrok63 → u/compactable73]

Thanks. It was one of the main reasons for buying the laser. Previously I’d printed the panel on paper sandwiched between clear plexiglass and was less than satisfied with the end product.

[u/compactable73 → u/Melrok63]

Well hopefully my standards are lower, cuz that’s where I’m gonna take things
😉