QR @ Pinkenba

RMCQ Show 2024 I wasn't aware of the RCMQ annual event and by chance received a random email from the local club as I had visited a couple times and put my name down on the email list. Still being new to the hobby and the community, it was nice to get an inclusive and engaging email. The event was hosted at the below location: Sat-Sun 7-8 December 2024 – 9:00am – 4:00pm South Pine Sports Complex Cribb Rd, Brendale Qld 4500 It was extremely hot weekend this date, I visited in the later part of the day, but it was still very hot at the venue. The organisers did their best to keep the air flow going at the venue. I will admit I only stayed for about an hour, hopping from fan-to-fan location and did not take any pictures at the time, Westgate did a magnificent job capturing the event and I encourage you to check out the blog  Westgate - South Western Rail: 2024 Pine Rivers Model Train & Hobby Exhibition.   An Early Christmas Present My local model rail hobby shop was at RCMQ S...

Rain Rain Go Away! Annoyed by the rain, I decided to head down to my local model rail hobby shop to have a yarn with the owner about DCC controllers. Looking online there seems to be a gap in the market in what was available in Australia at the time, possibly a result of supply chain fallout from COVID.  In my searches, there was one interesting open-source project I stumbled across  DCC-EX Model Railroading — DCC-EX Model Railroading documentation  for those who are bit techie, there is a great presentation here  "DCC-EX Open Source Model Railroading" - Paul Antoine (Everything Open 2023) . I am keen to explore this solution later and even get involved but was not looking for a new project which would direct me away from my other goals and wanted a plug and play solution for the moment while I developed my hobby crafting skills. When I arrived at the hobby shop the owner was out the front clearing some boxes from the shop entrance. Excited he grabbed my attention an...