DC-Car
How did the DC-Car System Evolve?

The idea for the development of my own decoder came me with my first visit to Hamburg’s Minatur Wunderland in 2003. When I saw what Gerrit Braun had achieved with the cars I knew that I wanted something similar!

I could see how the Hamburg vehicles had been made, but I didn’t want to copy the system as it wasn’t ideal for private use. But how could I make something similar? Why not drive the cars the same way as a locomotive? I had a Intellibox. So why couldn't I control the cars with it? There are no rails and the motor voltage is different - the original cars have 1.2V or 2.4V batteries. After many attempts with available controls etc., failed, I decided to develop and program my own electronics.

My computer and programming knowledge made it for possible to learn how to program Microcontrollers fairly quickly. After some attempts with PICs I opted for ATMEL CONTROLLERS, since at that time they had some very small designs in their range.

The fact that the system must also include collision avoidance was from the outset clear to me. The cars should control themselevs and not need outside intervention. The crucial advantage thereby is that I could use the money saved from not buying magnetic stop coils for the changes to the cars.

Many ideas were born, rejected, developed and put aside.
The main problem was the recognition of the vehicle in front.
Industry offers ideal products for the job (proximity sensors), but they just don't fit into an HO or N scale car.
The simplest solution, using a magnet and reed switch/hall effect sensor didn't have sufficient range.
The cars should drive at least 10 cm behind the preceeding vehicle.
To try and increas the range I tried a stronger magnet. Not only was it heavy but when two cars stood next to each other they were pulled together. I also tried more sensitive magnetic sensors. These gave a 20cm range but also detected cars driving in the opposite direction. Result, gridlock! Then there were many attempts with reflection sensors. With the result that each parked car, each guard rail, each house and anything next to the roadside lead to vehicles stopping.

Then I had a more promising idea, using an infra-red signal from the rear to signal ‘there is another vehicle ahead of you’.

Now finally I could begin building and programming the decoders.

After over a year I finally had a decoder that did what I wanted!

The anti-collision control functioned!

Now new ideas gushed out to add functions to the decoders. Other modellers also made suggestions. Can you make it do that? I believe that for the next few years my wife will only see me sitting at the computer as I program more decoder features and my model layout gets more and more dusty.

However I would like it to remain a hobby and give me enjoyment!

---

Disclaimer:
This page has been translated, with permission, from a page on Claus Ilchmann’s web site.
The original page, in German, is located here.
This translation is provided with no guarantee of accuracy or liability for errors.
Should you decide to use the DC-Car system then you should check that the functionality meets your needs by reference to the manufacturer’s web site.