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Chris Barker (M4638) has arranged with the Southampton Model Railway Society (SMRS) for MERG members to be able to meet at their clubroom. Meeting Venue: Unit 1b, Kemps Quay, Quayside Road, Southampton, SO18 1BZ.

Evening meetings take place on the 2nd Thursday of each month.
Workshop days normally take place on the 3rd Saturday of each month, unless we are representing MERG at an exhibition.

The club room is well equipped with several work benches, an open area with a 50“ screen that can be used for presentations and discussions, plus catering and toilet facilities.
It is situated on the first floor of an industrial unit. Access is by stairs but unfortunately there is no lift.

The meetings are flexible: You can build, test and fault find your electronic modules. Chris can assist you in developing your soldering skills. We can program the PICs used in MERG designs and have some basic test facilities for CBUS modules and DCC loco decoders and accessories. Presentations are welcome, and advice and guidance always available.

We are assisting in rebuilding one of the Southampton MRS exhibition layouts to enhance its operational capabilities and possibly add some animations.
The layout is being controlled by MERG CBUS and DCC modules. It will be controlled using route selection from a single control panel and one or two CANCABs will be used for loco control.
At the November workshop we continued wiring the MERG modules and track feeds on the scenic section.
The Track wiring on the new rear lower level section for the storage and a reversing loop was completed and the 16 point servos installed and set up using the FCU. An update with pictures is in our area group page on the forum.
Any help would be appreciated as we hope to have it ready for the Southampton show in January 2020.
We can work on it at other times when the club room is open.

The January 2020 meetings will be on:
The evening of Thursday 9th January starting at 7.30pm. The club will be open from 7pm.
The all day workshop will be on Saturday 18th January. The club will be open from 09.45am.

The February 2020 meetings will be on:
The evening of Thursday 13th February starting at 7.30pm. The club will be open from 7pm.
The all day workshop will be on Saturday 15th February. The club will be open from 09.45am.

The March 2020 meetings will be on:
The evening of Thursday 12th March starting at 7.30pm. The club will be open from 7pm.
The all day workshop will be on Saturday 21st March. The club will be open from 09.45am.

The April 2020 meetings will be on:
The evening of Thursday 9th April starting at 7.30pm. The club will be open from 7pm.
The all day workshop will be on Saturday 18th April. The club will be open from 09.45am.

The May 2020 meetings will be on:
The evening of Thursday 14th May starting at 7.30pm. The club will be open from 7pm.
The all day workshop will be on Saturday 16th May. The club will be open from 09.45am.

The June 2020 meetings will be on:
The evening of Thursday 11th June starting at 7.30pm. The club will be open from 7pm.
The all day workshop will be on Saturday 20th June. The club will be open from 09.45am.

If you cannot get to the meetings, you can come and meet us at one of the following exhibitions where we will be manning the MERG stand.

Southampton MRS Exhibition
Saturday 25th January 2020 10:00 – 17:00 and Sunday 26th January 10:00 - 16:30
At Barton Peveril College, Eastleigh, SO50 5ZA (Satnav use SO50 5BX).

Basinstoke MRS Exhibition
Saturday 14th March 2020 10:00 – 17:00 and Sunday 15th March 10:00 – 16:00
At Aldworth Science College, Basingstoke, RG22 6HQ.

Portsmouth Model Railway Exhibition
Saturday 4th April 10:30 - 18:00 and Sunday 5th April 10:30 - 16:30
Mountbatten Leisure Centre, Portsmouth, Hampshire, P02 9QA
To be confirmed.

Contact Chris for more informationvia profile page
Non member enquiries via MERG Area-Groups page
For more information on the Southampton MRS, go to their Web site SMRS website