Post by: Stephen K on March 14, 2020, 09:58:06 PM
Post by: Alan on March 14, 2020, 10:04:37 PM
Post by: Stephen K on March 15, 2020, 09:15:10 AM
Post by: Alan on March 15, 2020, 09:54:19 AM
Fundamentally, the parallel connection will yield higher volume. Less speaker resistance = more amp power = more cone movement. Real world can be very different depending on myriad of influencing factors. Dangerous area to make broad brush statements.
I would not worry about working the LM amp. RP has very good internal protection. It will shut down the module before damage occurs. Or if you have death metal as the prime mover sound and the volume cranked to 11 :D
Post by: Stephen K on March 15, 2020, 01:51:38 PM
Post by: nodcc4me on March 15, 2020, 02:11:05 PM
Post by: Alan on March 15, 2020, 06:22:47 PM
The whole amp and Ohm thing completely eludes me.
Post by: KPack on March 15, 2020, 11:29:03 PM
Really though, as long you aren't maxing out the volume you should be fine with things in parallel. If it's too loud it can always be turned down. It's easy to adjust the volume on Railpro, including the individual volume of each sound. Very customizable.
-Kevin
Post by: Alan on March 16, 2020, 09:53:08 PM
Parallel will yield higher volumes. I typically will run my dual speakers in parallel when they are rated to handle the wattage. With a 4 ohm resistance, the Railpro amplifier will output 2 watts of power. Not every speaker is rated to handle 2 watts of max power, and if they aren't they can be damaged. I have a few sugar cube speakers that have a max rating of 1 watt, so I did series on those. They are definitely quieter, but I'm also not at risk of destroying them.
Really though, as long you aren't maxing out the volume you should be fine with things in parallel. If it's too loud it can always be turned down. It's easy to adjust the volume on Railpro, including the individual volume of each sound. Very customizable.
-Kevin
The amp output is double at 4 ohms compared to 8 ohms but you are driving two speakers. So each speaker sees one half of the power. Sugar cubes are 8 ohm if I am not mistaken. That means each dissipates 1 watt staying within its rated power.
Post by: KPack on March 17, 2020, 12:05:10 AM
I believe that's correct. I had a set of sugar cubes I was trying out that were rated at 0.5 watts (didn't realize when I bought them) so I kept the wiring in series to keep them within range.Parallel will yield higher volumes. I typically will run my dual speakers in parallel when they are rated to handle the wattage. With a 4 ohm resistance, the Railpro amplifier will output 2 watts of power. Not every speaker is rated to handle 2 watts of max power, and if they aren't they can be damaged. I have a few sugar cube speakers that have a max rating of 1 watt, so I did series on those. They are definitely quieter, but I'm also not at risk of destroying them.
Really though, as long you aren't maxing out the volume you should be fine with things in parallel. If it's too loud it can always be turned down. It's easy to adjust the volume on Railpro, including the individual volume of each sound. Very customizable.
-Kevin
The amp output is double at 4 ohms compared to 8 ohms but you are driving two speakers. So each speaker sees one half of the power. Sugar cubes are 8 ohm if I am not mistaken. That means each dissipates 1 watt staying within its rated power.
Either way, wiring in parallel typically works better and gives you more room for adjustment. You can always turn down the volume. On that note, if Scale Sound Systems ever gets speakers up and running again, you will definitely want the 4 ohm version of the Coeval (double) speaker and not the 16 ohm. I have both and my 16 ohm is maxed out on volume to be on par with my other locomotives. The 4 ohm version can be kept much lower.
-Kevin
Post by: ON28 on March 17, 2020, 05:32:56 PM
Post by: Alan on March 17, 2020, 06:57:40 PM
Quote
Due to a severely limited driver-supply, all Rectify and Coeval Series speaker production has been put on-hold until further notice. I am working hard to bring an even better performing speaker series to market that will also eliminate these supply issues!
Sorry for the inconvenience and thank-you for your support!
https://www.scalesoundsystems.com/rectify (https://www.scalesoundsystems.com/rectify)
Post by: KPack on March 19, 2020, 02:39:07 PM
What happened to Scale Sound Systems?
The speaker drivers he was using stopped being produced. He tried literally every other speaker available and none of them met his specs to use. They were all too inconsistent with poor sound qualities. He is currently designing his own driver for production. I believe he's getting close to having it wrapped up.
-Kevin
Post by: Stephen K on March 22, 2020, 05:42:57 PM
My Rail Pro system arrived yesterday so today I sat down and started installation on my Atlas Master GP40. It was immediately obvious there is insufficient space to mount this new LM3 on top of the existing circuit board. So I unplugged everything and removed the board. Manufactured a simple tray to replace the old panel so there is a platform to carry the new module. I anticipated the need so I ordered a 9 pin connector harness too. Snip snip and a few solder joints and I have all the red and black power wires connected to the red and black leads of the harness. The motor feed wires on the Atlas are red and black, now connected to the orange and gray leads on the harness. Wired my sugar cube speakers with the brown wires of the 6 pin harness that comes with the LM3. Then came lights and I ran into my first real road block. Again, electronics that I need help with.
This Atlas GP40 has a standard incandescent light for the rear light, no problem. But... The front light is an LED. Hmmm. Guess I need a resistor. Atlas has this LED headlight (along with the ear light) wired to a plug harness on their panel and "apparently" some little part on that panel is the appropriate resistor for the LED headlight. What do I do now? I can get a resistor from Radio Shack if someone can tell me what I need. Or, I could cut that old board apart and patch into the existing resistor if someone can tell me what part it is. Any thoughts or recommendations? Thank you.
Post by: Alan on March 22, 2020, 05:54:27 PM
The color bands are brown, black, red. The fourth color band is irrelevant in this application.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4W-25-Watt-1-Tolerance-Metal-Film-Resistor-40-Pieces-USA-SELLER/324056971361?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4b734cf861:m:mQgs6muWwaTM07bCE4wHfhQ&enc=AQAEAAACUBPxNw%2BVj6nta7CKEs3N0qVyiNCVGko3B9%2FnIG%2Bsft9UCaCjM5bQ4WraLgDazMn4QFIskFuTa8%2BhtH2GLZwlvFpcy0AgVw%2F3NaL6z1ZROtH3sJDQ%2BKOXWqxYgne%2F8oFX%2FEEqP0VZ69abcT%2BeklK0f%2F%2FeSV1VD4SOiL9oo9KOcXPSFmyvj4tMmiXEyez8%2BYjFI88MeXN8k6O51zEg10%2FRLtIPxwtaBZVTr3UaHZAm%2F8sEd6GqQujgu7UbZ78d89NtZwUStMA1OGY%2FQ5lh%2BL9aKb8RBSry09RkIN4p8xWtW0i9EkKy5lIvWYsL5L4FXpn%2FkoPCOhTv9ZpsXmywnpLa7SHUYokm4Ez8z0AkgCucyxO9x0O%2FY0B2QVq07b%2BtlZOL74vcNE0c0q16MBzOaN5JNs3W5LKpvJ370ympNSWNU%2BTCH3nCrycLz28sXtMkM8a%2FlXrK6MvchN0PCSk4ixeeD%2BJhu%2FKVM1cYgRex5PYbo0WgqjeAVVKYvgsBwUoi9dgSFYyi6IGrTB129PPwneuOOosVfXFq%2BBebNkoxAtm5up%2BCu%2Bfyk8fNWLiDke3KXTppYuaK4WmZom4eThnfpcuhHr1mA7W5%2FdQaFTPkEqlwvulek84XR2vjXHkP%2FuT5ajjRzWM6ManIEQnp16%2Bgqu5Cey%2F%2FDL4uVHEV5njkZq1appeAnDEPY1j1EqDCvN6%2FZ%2BOTNlEE%2FQQEZTKkDjlISF2KuYrCB3h7SdY8CLci0DxbHm5TVRtR0cJLtZZuDA2SctdORp%2FDG%2BV0MoahgrtfBwyoVrg%3D&checksum=3240569713619acf2c4b0b834689b9e1f91fada89a98 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4W-25-Watt-1-Tolerance-Metal-Film-Resistor-40-Pieces-USA-SELLER/324056971361?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item4b734cf861:m:mQgs6muWwaTM07bCE4wHfhQ&enc=AQAEAAACUBPxNw%2BVj6nta7CKEs3N0qVyiNCVGko3B9%2FnIG%2Bsft9UCaCjM5bQ4WraLgDazMn4QFIskFuTa8%2BhtH2GLZwlvFpcy0AgVw%2F3NaL6z1ZROtH3sJDQ%2BKOXWqxYgne%2F8oFX%2FEEqP0VZ69abcT%2BeklK0f%2F%2FeSV1VD4SOiL9oo9KOcXPSFmyvj4tMmiXEyez8%2BYjFI88MeXN8k6O51zEg10%2FRLtIPxwtaBZVTr3UaHZAm%2F8sEd6GqQujgu7UbZ78d89NtZwUStMA1OGY%2FQ5lh%2BL9aKb8RBSry09RkIN4p8xWtW0i9EkKy5lIvWYsL5L4FXpn%2FkoPCOhTv9ZpsXmywnpLa7SHUYokm4Ez8z0AkgCucyxO9x0O%2FY0B2QVq07b%2BtlZOL74vcNE0c0q16MBzOaN5JNs3W5LKpvJ370ympNSWNU%2BTCH3nCrycLz28sXtMkM8a%2FlXrK6MvchN0PCSk4ixeeD%2BJhu%2FKVM1cYgRex5PYbo0WgqjeAVVKYvgsBwUoi9dgSFYyi6IGrTB129PPwneuOOosVfXFq%2BBebNkoxAtm5up%2BCu%2Bfyk8fNWLiDke3KXTppYuaK4WmZom4eThnfpcuhHr1mA7W5%2FdQaFTPkEqlwvulek84XR2vjXHkP%2FuT5ajjRzWM6ManIEQnp16%2Bgqu5Cey%2F%2FDL4uVHEV5njkZq1appeAnDEPY1j1EqDCvN6%2FZ%2BOTNlEE%2FQQEZTKkDjlISF2KuYrCB3h7SdY8CLci0DxbHm5TVRtR0cJLtZZuDA2SctdORp%2FDG%2BV0MoahgrtfBwyoVrg%3D&checksum=3240569713619acf2c4b0b834689b9e1f91fada89a98)
Post by: Stephen K on March 26, 2020, 09:38:10 AM
Thanks for the resistor info Alan. Walked into Radio Shack and walked out a moment later with a 5-pack of resistors for $1.50. Such a deal. Got everything installed last night and dropped it onto my test track. BEAUTIFUL! I'm thrilled but with one big exception. Neither of the lights work. :( Everything else is fine but the lights, not so much. I fear I may have wired them to the wrong leads on the connectors.
Ring's wiring diagram for the LM3-S leaves a little bit to the imagination and I guess I imagined incorrectly. I did some internet searching and found a diagram of the proposed NMRA color coding. It seemed to agree with Ring's wiring diagram so I followed it. Used the white lead to the front light, yellow lead to rear light and blue common for both. All off the 9 pin connector, resistor on the white lead to the front LED. No lights.
Is there something I need to do with the controller to activate the lights? Or do I need to go back and rewire them differently?
Post by: nodcc4me on March 26, 2020, 09:53:13 AM
Go into your settings and make sure you have the correct light files on the appropriate buttons. If not, you will have to either copy them from the controller to the module or download them to the HC and then copy them over.
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 10:00:07 AM
Does your wiring match?
What connections are you struggling with?
Post by: G8B4Life on March 26, 2020, 10:45:47 AM
If you place the resistor in the blue wire I believe you can get away with just one.
I would strongly advise against that. While it's possible to do because the resistor can indeed go on either the positive (blue wire) or the function ground wires (white, yellow, green or violet) if you put only one resistor on the blue wire instead of a resistor on each of the ground wires you would have to make sure you only used one output at a time; ever. Failure to do that would quickly result in the destruction of the resistor and the LED's being powered at the time, and possibly damage the LM too.
Alan could explain the "how and why" behind the destruction better if he'd like, I forget all the proper calculations to show it.
- Tim
Post by: nodcc4me on March 26, 2020, 10:54:23 AM
Post by: Stephen K on March 26, 2020, 11:06:54 AM
So I wired the rear incandescent light to the yellow lead with no resistor. Wired the front LED to the white lead with resistor. Connected both to the blue lead.
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 11:07:39 AM
If you place the resistor in the blue wire I believe you can get away with just one.
I would strongly advise against that. While it's possible to do because the resistor can indeed go on either the positive (blue wire) or the function ground wires (white, yellow, green or violet) if you put only one resistor on the blue wire instead of a resistor on each of the ground wires you would have to make sure you only used one output at a time; ever. Failure to do that would quickly result in the destruction of the resistor and the LED's being powered at the time, and possibly damage the LM too.
Alan could explain the "how and why" behind the destruction better if he'd like, I forget all the proper calculations to show it.
- Tim
Death and destruction is not quite right. A resistor in the blue wire will limit the total current that can flow irrespective of the number of outputs active at any given time. Each LED would get dimmer (non-uniformly) as more outputs are made active and their respective LEDs light.
Think of it this way: Imagine each LED as simply a zero resistance wire. The resistor determines how much current will flow in the wire. Adding more wires in parallel to the first wire doesn't make the electrical path any less resistive hence no increase in current flow. Just less current flowing through each individual wire.
Ultimately you are still correct, single resistor in the blue wire is a bad bad idea.
Post by: G8B4Life on March 26, 2020, 12:20:46 PM
Hmm, ok it seems like there is something wrong in my electronics theory there, which wouldn't be a surprise at that time morning (3am); or at all :-[ . It looks like my reasoning that in parallel each LED would try to draw ~10ma (~14v - LED drop (3.5v) / 1000 = ~10mA) is false. If it were true and each did draw that amount then the 1000 ohm resistor would be trying to dissipate nearly 4 watts, way to much for a 1/4 watt resistor hence the frying, however a circuit simulation supports what you said Alan. I'll post the simulator later (appears to be a handy web based tool); I'm going to bed now, it's almost 04:30 and I'm making a lot of spelling mistakes as I type!
- Tim
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 01:14:46 PM
Not to take this too far off topic...
Hmm, ok it seems like there is something wrong in my electronics theory there, which wouldn't be a surprise at that time morning (3am); or at all :-[ . It looks like my reasoning that in parallel each LED would try to draw ~10ma (~14v - LED drop (3.5v) / 1000 = ~10mA) is false. If it were true and each did draw that amount then the 1000 ohm resistor would be trying to dissipate nearly 4 watts, way to much for a 1/4 watt resistor hence the frying, however a circuit simulation supports what you said Alan. I'll post the simulator later (appears to be a handy web based tool); I'm going to bed now, it's almost 04:30 and I'm making a lot of spelling mistakes as I type!
- Tim
Tim, I love that you reason through the problem.
However, it appears one of your fundamental assumptions is flawed. No component "draws current" even though that is the common lingo. There is no suction, vacuum, or otherwise negative pulling force. Rather, components "flow" what is available to them.
How's this for an analogy... a bucket full of water has a 1" hole in the bottom that drains into another bucket below. Does adding more buckets below for the water to drain into increase the rate of water leaving the upper bucket?
As the resistor (hole in top bucket) is setting the total flow, adding components (buckets below) simply divides that flow across each of the components. The total current (volume of water) doesn't change. Each lower bucket simply gets a percentage of the available water. Hence why LEDs get dimmer as you add more of them when flow control (resistor/hole) is on the supply line (blue wire/top bucket).
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 02:22:13 PM
So I wired the rear incandescent light to the yellow lead with no resistor. Wired the front LED to the white lead with resistor. Connected both to the blue lead.
That should work.
HC button assignments?
Bulb and LED known to be good?
Solder / plug connections known to be good?
Post by: Stephen K on March 26, 2020, 02:34:46 PM
Thanks again for all the help!
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 02:49:49 PM
With the loco powered on the track, do you get a little green dot appear on the light button when you press it?
Post by: Stephen K on March 26, 2020, 04:27:14 PM
Post by: faithie999 on March 26, 2020, 04:48:59 PM
yes, green light on the buttons. I just opened it up and checked all connections are solid. One original wire on the front light is questionable, might be broken. But that shouldn't affect the rear light. Since both don't work it almost has to be with the blue common but it all is solid. Next step may include cutting wires to check the incandescent light with a battery source. Who knows. maybe that light is dead and the wire is broken on the front LED.when you re-do whatever wiring you think you need to do, test everything with the shell off. if all is good, you can tape and carefully pack everything into the shell. IMHO, stuffing everything into the shell and reassembling it onto the body is the hardest part of the whole operation!
Ken
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 04:50:19 PM
Use small needle to puncture the wire insulation and make contact with the conductor inside. Test clips on the needle to multimeter, bulb, whatever. The vinyl insulation will self-heal when the needle is withdrawn.
Post by: Stephen K on March 26, 2020, 06:40:10 PM
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 06:50:45 PM
At least you now know the problem. Throw a couple new LEDs in there and be done.
Post by: Stephen K on March 26, 2020, 06:58:34 PM
Post by: Alan on March 26, 2020, 07:22:22 PM
Some popular US electronics suppliers:
http://www.alliedelec.com (http://www.alliedelec.com)
https://www.arrow.com (https://www.arrow.com)
http://www.digikey.com (http://www.digikey.com)
http://www.mouser.com (http://www.mouser.com)
http://www.newark.com (http://www.newark.com)
http://www.onlinecomponents.com (http://www.onlinecomponents.com)
https://www.verical.com (https://www.verical.com)
Post by: G8B4Life on March 26, 2020, 11:20:48 PM
However, it appears one of your fundamental assumptions is flawed. No component "draws current" even though that is the common lingo. There is no suction, vacuum, or otherwise negative pulling force. Rather, components "flow" what is available to them.
Yep, very flawed. After a good nights sleep and playing around with the simulator a bit I remembered what it is was about "death and destruction" correctly. Serious facepalm moment >:( .
And yes, good analogy .
If you were to use a single resistor for all the outputs you should not size the resistor based on all the LEDs consuming ~10mA each at the same time, vis about 200 ohm for the resistor. If you did that you'd need to turn all the outputs on simultaneously to be safe. If you only turned on a single output at a time you'd fry the LED and/or the resistor (if it was only 1/4 watt).
I know you don't need these Alan but for anyone else who is interested I drew these up in the simulator. You can hover your mouse over the LEDs and resistors to see the current being "flowed" with one output active, two outputs active etc.
Wrong way: One resistor sized for each LED to "flow" ~10mA when all outputs are on (open in Paul Falstad's circuit simulator (http://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html?cct=$+1+0.000005+10.20027730826997+50+5+43%0As+320+192+384+192+0+0+false%0Av+496+384+496+96+0+0+40+14+0+0+0.5%0Ar+240+96+400+96+0+200%0Aw+240+96+80+96+0%0Aw+80+192+80+96+0%0Aw+80+224+80+192+0%0Aw+80+256+80+224+0%0Aw+80+288+80+256+0%0Aw+384+384+496+384+0%0Aw+384+256+384+288+0%0Aw+384+224+384+256+0%0Aw+384+192+384+224+0%0A162+80+192+208+192+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+224+208+224+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+256+208+256+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+288+208+288+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+320+208+320+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+352+208+352+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0Aw+80+288+80+320+0%0Aw+80+320+80+352+0%0Aw+384+288+384+320+0%0Aw+384+320+384+352+0%0As+320+224+384+224+0+0+false%0As+320+256+384+256+0+0+false%0As+320+288+384+288+0+0+false%0As+320+320+384+320+0+0+false%0As+320+352+384+352+0+0+false%0Aw+400+96+496+96+0%0Ax+394+194+440+197+4+12+Output%5Cs1%0Ax+394+225+440+228+4+12+Output%5Cs2%0Ax+392+260+438+263+4+12+Output%5Cs3%0Ax+391+291+437+294+4+12+Output%5Cs4%0Ax+392+322+438+325+4+12+Output%5Cs5%0Ax+393+355+439+358+4+12+Output%5Cs6%0Ax+151+88+265+91+4+12+Common%5Cs(Blue%5Cswire)%0Aw+384+384+384+352+0%0Aw+208+224+320+224+0%0Aw+208+256+320+256+0%0Aw+208+288+320+288+0%0Aw+208+320+320+320+0%0Aw+208+352+320+352+0%0Aw+208+192+320+192+0%0Ab+315+163+537+408+0%0Ax+543+283+614+301+4+12+LM%5Cs2x%5Cs/%5Cs3x%5C%5CnOutput%5Csat%5Cs14v%0Ax+81+390+286+423+4+12+Wrong%5Csway%5C%5CnResistor%5Cssized%5Csfor%5Cs10mA%5Csfor%5Cseach%5CsLED%5C%5Cnwhen%5CsLED%5Csis%5Cson%0A))
Wrong way: One resistor sized for one LED to "flow" ~10mA when one output is on (open in Paul Falstad's circuit simulator (http://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html?cct=$+1+0.000005+10.20027730826997+50+5+43%0As+320+192+384+192+0+0+false%0Av+496+384+496+96+0+0+40+14+0+0+0.5%0Ar+240+96+400+96+0+1000%0Aw+240+96+80+96+0%0Aw+80+192+80+96+0%0Aw+80+224+80+192+0%0Aw+80+256+80+224+0%0Aw+80+288+80+256+0%0Aw+384+384+496+384+0%0Aw+384+256+384+288+0%0Aw+384+224+384+256+0%0Aw+384+192+384+224+0%0A162+80+192+208+192+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+224+208+224+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+256+208+256+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+288+208+288+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+320+208+320+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+352+208+352+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0Aw+80+288+80+320+0%0Aw+80+320+80+352+0%0Aw+384+288+384+320+0%0Aw+384+320+384+352+0%0As+320+224+384+224+0+0+false%0As+320+256+384+256+0+0+false%0As+320+288+384+288+0+0+false%0As+320+320+384+320+0+0+false%0As+320+352+384+352+0+0+false%0Aw+400+96+496+96+0%0Ax+394+194+440+197+4+12+Output%5Cs1%0Ax+394+225+440+228+4+12+Output%5Cs2%0Ax+392+260+438+263+4+12+Output%5Cs3%0Ax+391+291+437+294+4+12+Output%5Cs4%0Ax+392+322+438+325+4+12+Output%5Cs5%0Ax+393+355+439+358+4+12+Output%5Cs6%0Ax+151+88+265+91+4+12+Common%5Cs(Blue%5Cswire)%0Aw+384+384+384+352+0%0Aw+208+224+320+224+0%0Aw+208+256+320+256+0%0Aw+208+288+320+288+0%0Aw+208+320+320+320+0%0Aw+208+352+320+352+0%0Aw+208+192+320+192+0%0Ab+315+163+537+408+0%0Ax+543+283+614+301+4+12+LM%5Cs2x%5Cs/%5Cs3x%5C%5CnOutput%5Csat%5Cs14v%0Ax+81+390+280+423+4+12+Wrong%5Csway%5C%5CnResistor%5Cssized%5Csfor%5Cs10mA%5Csfor%5Csone%5CsLED%5C%5Cnwhen%5CsLED%5Csis%5Cson%0A))
Correct way: One resistor for each LED sized to "flow" ~10mA when each output is on (open in Paul Falstad's circuit simulator (http://www.falstad.com/circuit/circuitjs.html?cct=$+1+0.000005+10.20027730826997+50+5+43%0As+320+192+384+192+0+0+false%0Av+496+384+496+96+0+0+40+14+0+0+0.5%0Aw+496+96+80+96+0%0Aw+80+192+80+96+0%0Aw+80+224+80+192+0%0Aw+80+256+80+224+0%0Aw+80+288+80+256+0%0Aw+384+384+496+384+0%0Aw+384+256+384+288+0%0Aw+384+224+384+256+0%0Aw+384+192+384+224+0%0A162+80+192+208+192+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+224+208+224+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+256+208+256+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+288+208+288+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+320+208+320+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0A162+80+352+208+352+2+default-led+1+1+1+0.02%0Aw+80+288+80+320+0%0Aw+80+320+80+352+0%0Aw+384+288+384+320+0%0Aw+384+320+384+352+0%0As+320+224+384+224+0+0+false%0As+320+256+384+256+0+0+false%0As+320+288+384+288+0+0+false%0As+320+320+384+320+0+0+false%0As+320+352+384+352+0+0+false%0Ax+394+194+440+197+4+12+Output%5Cs1%0Ax+394+225+440+228+4+12+Output%5Cs2%0Ax+392+260+438+263+4+12+Output%5Cs3%0Ax+391+291+437+294+4+12+Output%5Cs4%0Ax+392+322+438+325+4+12+Output%5Cs5%0Ax+393+355+439+358+4+12+Output%5Cs6%0Ax+151+88+265+91+4+12+Common%5Cs(Blue%5Cswire)%0Aw+384+384+384+352+0%0Ab+315+163+537+408+0%0Ax+543+283+614+301+4+12+LM%5Cs2x%5Cs/%5Cs3x%5C%5CnOutput%5Csat%5Cs14v%0Ax+81+390+293+423+4+12+Correct%5Csway%5C%5CnResistors%5Cssized%5Csfor%5Cs10mA%5Csfor%5Cseach%5CsLED%5C%5Cnwhen%5CsLED%5Csis%5Cson%0Ar+208+192+320+192+0+1000%0Ar+208+224+320+224+0+1000%0Ar+208+256+320+256+0+1000%0Ar+208+288+320+288+0+1000%0Ar+208+320+320+320+0+1000%0Ar+208+352+320+352+0+1000%0A))
- Tim
Post by: faithie999 on March 27, 2020, 07:37:11 AM
yup, that seems to be the case. Sure was an adventure getting there though. Again thank you everyone for all your assistance. Any suggestions where to look for appropriate LED's?I am using SMD LED's so I have a couple of spare "normal" LED's that I had bought and won't be using. send me an email with your address and I'll drop a couple in the mail today.
faithie999 at hotmail
I think Alan might have linked you to an ebay seller to pick up some 1K ohm resistors. there are US sellers of resistors so you won't have to wait for the china shipping delay. I have bought lots of 5 for just a couple of dollars/free shipping.
ken
Post by: Alan on March 27, 2020, 08:23:17 AM
RailPro users, want to see what is going on inside all those wires inside your loco, check out the site.
Post by: Stephen K on March 29, 2020, 01:08:06 PM
Lights on loco #2 are standard rice grain lights, not LED. 2 up front and 2 at rear. Athearn notes on their exploded diagram that when adapting to DCC resistors should not be necessary. Are they just wrong? Is something different the RailPro that requires resistors on every light? Is there some trick to connecting the blue common? It just doesn't seem like it should be this difficult...
Post by: Alan on March 29, 2020, 03:24:17 PM
Post by: Stephen K on March 29, 2020, 04:19:57 PM
Post by: Stephen K on March 30, 2020, 02:56:44 PM
Post by: Alan on March 30, 2020, 03:06:00 PM
The headlights on this loco are a simple hole in the plastic shell that the 1.5 volt grain of rice light bulb fits into. If I were to replace these with proper 12 volt grain of rice bulbs (instead of LED option) would they be too hot for the plastic? Melting situation?
No, assuming the bulb is the same brightness. Voltage does not matter. The brightness of an incandescent bulb is indicative of its heat. Same brightness = same heat.
Post by: faithie999 on March 30, 2020, 04:34:25 PM
The headlights on this loco are a simple hole in the plastic shell that the 1.5 volt grain of rice light bulb fits into. If I were to replace these with proper 12 volt grain of rice bulbs (instead of LED option) would they be too hot for the plastic? Melting situation?the LED's I sent you have a fairly small diameter, perhaps too small for the hole in the shells you have. however, there are LED's which are about the same dimension as grain of rice incandescents that you can find on ebay.
Post by: Stephen K on April 29, 2020, 09:18:41 AM