play back the same sequence of moves over and over. This is a
great way to add variety to demonstration or self-running train
layouts. I plan on using this controller to operate the layout we
maintain at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Rather than just
having the trains run in a simple loop, the controller’s recording
will have the trains running, stopping, and reversing.
Control options
One of the most difficult tasks one faces when designing a
microcontroller-based device is creating a user interface that
allows the operator to operate the unit with ease. Because
the PICAXE 18M2 has the ability to interpret and act on codes
sent from a TV remote control, the user interface can be both
full-featured and easy to use. The remote shown in figure 2
is a Westinghouse unit that sends the Sony codes the PICAXE
is programmed to interpret. Most Sony and multi-brand pro-
grammable remote controls will work. It is possible that some
of the buttons will not match those shown here, but is it a sim-
ple matter to modify the program code to work with another
remote control [2].
This TV remote control’s buttons are used as follows:
Channel Up – increase speed
Channel Down – decrease speed
Volume > or < – change direction
Menu – stop, remembering speed, or start at the stored
speed after a stop
Return – enter configuration mode
Number Keys 1-0 – enter configuration data while in configu-
ration mode
PICAXE circuit - 3
MRH-Jun 2014
