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About Us

This is the Cumbria and Scottish Border Area Group blog site, members of 


The Scottish Border Area Group normally meet at the Men's Shed in Hawick, but due to current Covid 19 restrictions we have started this blog site so that our members and potential members can keep in touch with each other. Further information about our group can be found on the MERG website


The recently started Cumbria Area Group covers all of the CA  and LA post codes which is a large geographic this link  area with members potentially having to travel  long distances to meet up. Although a location for meetings has yet to be decided, the Kendal or Penrith area is probably the most central. Further information about our group can also be found in this area of the MERG Website..

 As both of our groups are fairly small, a shared blog for people with shared interests seemed a logical development. You are therefore welcome to share the Blog URL with anyone who you think may be interested.

We have regular Zoom meetings but for reasons of privacy and security, links are for members only and either sent by secure email or found on the non public areas of the MERG website for which a login and password are required,

For non members interested in Electronics for Model Railways, you can use this link to find details of  what MERG membership offers and how you can join us. You can be assured of a warm Welcome.


Popular posts from this blog

Train sequence / timetable using Arduino

                              Following discussions in a MERG Zoom meeting about potential projects for the Cumbria virtual area group I have started this blog to share my ideas for building a train sequence / timetable system based on an Arduino UNO. The trigger for this project was Andy Robb's article in the MERG journal (June 2020 edition). In it Andy describes using an UNO with a OLED display to produce an electronic station display board.  Having tried out Andy's version I started thinking about expanding the idea and have come up the following list of possibilities: 1. Replace my card index train sequence with an electronic version. 2. Have the train sequence synchronised with the on platform displays. 3. Display an analogue clock on the station display and have it display the train times. 4. Store the position reached in the sequence so that it starts where it left off on power up.  To mak...
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Safety in the workshop

 An excellent presentation by Dr. Craig Lennox on workshop safety at today's West of Scotland area group meeting. An amusing but nevertheless serious video was followed by a detailed talk on safety and first aid. I am hoping this talk will be made available on the WOSAG website in due course. The take home message is to ensure your workspace is well ventilated, tidy with no trailing cables. Plan what you are going to do using appropriate tools, avoid distractions and don't rush A clear head is essential. Use PPE where necessary for example ear protection, safety glasses and laser glasses. The risks of burns, cuts, electrical shock and inhalation of dust and fumes were all covered in some detail. Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) are now installed in most supermarkets. A short video was shown illustrating just how easy they are to be used. Excellent talk.  Keep safe everyone.
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Sunday's West of Scotland Area Group Zoom meeting

 Another very well attended Zoom meeting with 34 participants. Davy showed us the commercially available automatic train stopping unit available at £12.53 from Brimar and compared it with the almost identical PMP 15 kit from the MERG Kitlocker at  only £2.65.  With these kind of savings, MERG membership is worth every penny. Chic Thomson treated us to a very entertaining presentation on simulation software for Electronics. INKSCAPE  is a free open  source drawing package. There are many Arduino Simulators available but Arduino Simulator 1.5.1 is an excellent open source offering.  For those interested in PICs simulators are available within the JAL compiler (Just Another Language) and MPLAB Sim is available within MPLAB but seldom advertised. Electronics Workshop 5.1 is a program no longer being developed but a useful tool for investigating any electrical or electronic circuit. Apparently you can Google it but there are a few insecure sites so be careful. F...
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