Part of what of what we hoped to achieve through the construction of Sodor was to find new and effective tools and resouces to apply, these would need to be as fuctional as existing tools whilst hopefully reducing cost.
Here is one of the latest projects, a DCC 8 way arduino based relay decoder. This decoder costs far less than an off the shelf equivalent and provides exactly the same usability.
As with our DCC Arduino servo decocder, this device is intended for budget builds, needing little customization.
The decoder consists of 3 components. An arduino mega, 8 way relay shield & dcc packet sniffer. These components are then assembled and put into a custom 3D printed enclosure.
The relay is operated by 5v, this can be powered either by the arduino 12v dc plug or by the arduino 5v usb input.
There is a separate plug for the DCC input.
The relays can handle up to 230v 10A.
Meaning most applications can be used. Examples include, smoke units, lights and sound.
It is operated by a dcc command, similar to using a turnout (open / close) . Each of the 8 has a separate dcc address.
This decoder – more information found here: https://sas-railway.org/product/8-way-relay-dcc-arduino-decoder
