25/5/18 WEEK 4

This week I only managed to finish pretty much most of my testing. I found out how to control DC motors with the Arduino using a polarity switch and external power supply. The voltage was able to be controlled to control the speed of the motor and current - the torque. I decided to avoid the DC motors simply due to the size and bulkiness, plus the difficulty and extra components it requires to operate as a barrier arm controller (e.g. limit switches, polarity reversal switch, external PS to name a few). I also decided on using an IR sensor to detect the train, either having it reflect off train into sensor, or train blocks light to sensor. I personally would like to have a powerful IR LED invisible light shine that gets blocked when the train goes past. I will begin some sketches and designs next week.

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