Led wiring setup


kato

New Member
i have a problem and hope someone can help me..
i have n-gauge setup using peco turnouts and motors and use SP momentary switches to activate the motors and also a 16v AC power supply.
what i need to know and hope that someone can give me a sketch of the correct setup to wire a led (both GREEN) to each turnout so i know which line has the points turned for (mainline or sidings). In other words, if the points are set for the siding, then that led will light up green and the other green led will go out and vice versa. The led's will b on my switch control panel and not the track.
i have attached a drawing of what i think is correct but when i tried it one led only flickered and the turnouts activated so i had to disconnect one of the leads off the switch. I'm not a electronics expert..(tho wish i was nowadays)
any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Kato
 
You should take a look at premade boards to do what you want.
Your set up only has the light on when you press the switch. It will not stay on. USing AC is OK but an LED will work when hooked up in either direction. Not a problem for you . Place a diode across the LED. 1N4001. The bar on the diode should should face the lond lead on the LED. You can go down to 470 ohms it will be brighter. Your board needs a memory switch to keep your light on . You do not have a simple problem.
 
thanx dub

thanx dub for your assistance...only a few problems......I live in OZ..

1. what is a memory switch? and is it used with the SP momentary switch?
2. do i need a diode for both led's?
3. I presume the diode is used in place of the resistor, but is it connected
to the momentary switch the same way?

as i said i'm not electronically minded so you will have to bear with me and if possible can you draw me a sketch showing me....
regards
kato
 
will you have a toggle to control this switch? if so you could run power to each LED off the toggle. only one LED will lite depending on the direction the toggle and switch is thrown. This is how I did it at the club for a siding with a signal at each end. open the switch and the siding signal changes from red to green.
 
toggle

no i want to use the momentary switches that i use to operate the points..when i switch the points i want the line that the point opens to light up green and the other green led to turn off and vice versa wehn i re switch the points
eg..if the turnout is activated to go to the siding, then i want the led to show that is where it is going to...if it is switched to the mainline i want the led to light up and the siding led to go out..
kato
 
The main problem is that your lights will only light up when you press the switch. To keep them on or off you need electronics. Or as Imack stated use a separate switch. The electronic board will costs about 25 bucks the switch 3.

Oval is a 470 ohm resistor. Black is a spdt toggle switch. Squares are diodes. Red is the long LED lead.This will stay lit and work on 16 v AC. This is the simpliest way.
attachment.php


On your diagram, when you switch, the power is only on when it switches, and then it turns off when you release the button.
This is the complicated way.
 
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thanx

ok thanx mate....i think i can understand that now, will give it a try in the next few days.
 
Hey Big G thanks for the link. I could always use another electronics link. I was a frustrated early on. It took me two weeks to make an LED flash. The electronics is a hobby unto itself.
 
Hey Big G thanks for the link. I could always use another electronics link. I was a frustrated early on. It took me two weeks to make an LED flash. The electronics is a hobby unto itself.

Can't have too many electronics links :D I'm going to be using the DPDT/pushbutton method on that page for my turnouts, I thought about using DCC but I'd have no way of knowing which way the turnouts were thrown without installing trackside signals. I may switch to DCC later down the road if I run out of things to do on the layout.

Where in NH are you, Exeter here.
 
NewMarket. Were you on the tour de chooch? I do enjoy viewing the HO layouts I visited Exeter two years ago. I went out to Brentwood last year.

Kato, here is a simple track direction light use 470 ohms for DC operation. If you want more brightness you can try 330 ohms.


attachment.php
 
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I lived in Newmarket for many years, was a captain on the fire dept till 2007.
My train control is going to be DCC, just not the turnout control, yet.

what was tour de chooch? I just got back into the hobby after 15 years!
 
Every thanksgiving weekend NH and MASS has a tour of layouts. Check the link for Tour de Chooch Amhearst RR Society for a bulletin. You will find these bulletins at train shows though you have to wait late Sept or Oct to find the latest one. The weekend of March 27th is the Greenberg Show in Wilmington at the Shriner's Aud.

Sorry about the side track Kato, it's a small world and neighbors like to chat.
 
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thanx dub

thanx dub, but alas i'm now more confused with your skech..i presume the red and green squares represent led's, if so then when are the switches?
i'm not sure if i mentioned that i am DCC not dc...and i don't want to show a track direction light i just want to be able to hook up a led to my points switch on my control panel so i know which direction the loco is going once the points have been switched..i have attached 3 jpg files...one is the points and the other a control panel..the final one is the switch..
as i said before, i'm not that good at electronics...i use 2 sp momentary switches to work the points, but i am thinking of now using spdt that has 3 contectors not 6 like the normal switch..it must be frustrating for you to try to assist me but any assistance would be greatly appreciated..do i have to use a resistor for each led or just one for both?
you can edit the jpg's if you like if it helps me...
 
I thought you would like the directional light. I don't do DCC.
One resistor will work for both LEDs. We are discussing post 6.

You cannot do it automatically the way you want. As I said the LED will shine only when you press the button, the way you had it wired.

Keep the momentary switches.
A regular switch will burn out the switch motor. That is why it is momentary.

That is the difference, you want the LED on but the switch motor only activates( with power) a short time.

You will need the lights to be separate with it's own switch. The two black lines represent the switch and toggle.

So the simple answer is to move the switch(one switch); and switch the lights(second switch) to keep track.

My drawing has one spdt. one 470 ohm resistor, two 1n4001 diodes, two LEDs. Runs with AC power not connected to any track device.
 
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Kato, did you have a look at the link I provided? They have 2 circuits for Peco turnouts. As Dub said you either have to use a momentary switch, or you can use a regular switch with a pushbutton (thats the method I'll be using with my Kato track for indication on a control panel)
 
link

yer m8 i did thanx.....
so you were a firefighter also...so was i..i was a station commander which i think is the same rank as you were...i was a permanent firefighter in sydney for nearly 30yrs...i retired in 2002 thru work injury banged my knees up fighting a fire...
 
somehow i missed this thread.
i'm doing peco turnouts as well. and i want to use momentary buttons to throw switches. for position indication i installed miroswitches below the switch machine. that way my indication will be correct even if i manually throw the witch.

if you don't want to mess with custom stuff, peco makes SPDT and DPDT positions switch attachments for their turnouts as well (i'll be damned if i pay 5-10$ they ask for them though)

DSC_8919-vi.jpg





oh, and here is yet another, in my opinion best, resource about MRR electronics
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/CircuitIndex.html

in particular this page may interest you:
capacitor discharge units.
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/CDPSU.html

i'm building the transistor one
 
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I plan to use a double pole double throw switch (On-On) with a momentary pushbutton. One side of the DPDT switch will be connected to an AC power source and use the pushbutton to control the switch motor, the other side will be connected to a DC power source and control the LED's.

So, throw the switch to change the LED and set up the power circuit for the turnout, then push the button to activate the turnout.

As long as I "switch/push" the lights and track positions will stay in sync.

Doug
 



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