Signals

[insfil]

Hi All, anybody out there using the Lionel 153IR Infared Train detector to
activate the old #153 Lionel Block Signal, that is, using it to change from a steady green to red then back to green after the last car passes, not a red and green at the same time.

I'd like to hook it up to a seperate power souce and not use track power since
my track is K-Line Super-Snap so any track clip or lock-on is not feasible and
of course don't want to diminish any power from the track as well.

For the size of my layout,which is a double passenger main, 1 freight main, I plan to install 20 #153 signals and 1 set of #152 crossing gates, so before I
purchase the infared devices I've got to get the planning right.

In using the infared devices as I plan, is there anything I may have missed in
the planning stage?
My electrical expirence is limited to putting up and taking down the trains from
under the Christmas tree every year and the infareds seem to be a unique way of cutting back on wireing, relays, insulated track, etc, etc,
Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi:
I got out of "O" gauge over forty years ago but I do remember a presure trigger that Lionel sold that activated devices as the train passes over it and it did not require a lot of wiring.
I hope this will solve your problem.

[lionelsoni]

There is a simple way to wire a signal like that so that it switches from green to red that works with a single normally-open contact or with an isolated control rail. I can't tell you whether it would also work with the infrared controller, since I can't find any technical information about it.

The trick is to connect the green terminal to ground (the outside rails) and the red terminal to the supply voltage, whether track voltage or accessory voltage. Then wire a lamp, for example a 1445, between the (as yet unused) common terminal and the supply voltage (or the red terminal, which you have already connected to the supply). Hide the lamp or cover it so it can't be seen. Connect the common terminal to the control rail. If you can see an objectionable amount of light from the red signal when the green is on, put another lamp in parallel with the one already there or replace it with
a higher-current lamp of similar voltage rating.

You can also do this with a resistor instead of a third lamp, but it will draw much more current, and the resistor will have more heat to get rid of.

[daan]

Just a small question; do you whi***o use the signals also to control your trains, or do you just want to decorate your layout with working signals?
If you want them to control the trains, you need a block system, and it depends on your IR switches wether they can be used alone, or if you need a relais to go with them.
Probably the IR device is laid out with one or 2 potential free contactpairs. That means, you have 2 places to hook power on, 2 places which are normally closed and 2 places which are normally open.
To operate your signal, hook a feed wire to the place you can hook the power on, the green to the normally closed one, and a red to the normally open. When a train is detected the signal turns red.
For influencing another train, make an isolated tracksection in front of the signal (only the middle rail) and hook a wire connected to the train power to the hook on point of the 2nd switch. The normally closed place is connected to the isolated center rail. If a train is detected by the IR switch, the light turns red and an oncoming train stops until the IR switch is set free again.
If the IR switch only has one potential free switch in it, use a single coil relais with 2 contact pairs and wire it like above. The relais will be operated by the normally open contact from the IR unit.