Sure thing Bob.
Roger
Roger, if you have one with a factory error like a selenium rectifier instead of copper oxide, hang onto it; it should be very valuable...;-)
Bob Nelson
I actually have not felt confused. Everyone seems to be able to answer questions so that I understand. Very refreshing and calming. I know it sounds "goofy". Just thank you, again.
What ever. Most of of us here fully realize there is a selenium rectifier in those things. Its nothing to be concerned about. Why confuse her even more?
Actually, there is a diode in any Lionel transformer, like the 1033, that has a whistle control. This is an obsolete copper-oxide rectifier that sometimes fails. It can be replaced by a reproduction part or, frequently, by a modern silicon rectifier, which works very nearly as well as the original.
The word "diode" has an interesting history. Vacuum tubes were described by how many elements they contained: "pentode" for 5, "tetrode" for 4, "triode" for 3, and..."diode" for 2. Vacuum-tube diodes were used as rectifiers. There were also solid-state rectifiers, like selenium, copper-oxide, then later germanium and silicon. Vacuum tubes were given the reference-designation class letter "V" on schematic diagrams, no matter how many elements. The solid-state devices were "CR", for "crystal rectifier". Eventually, as semiconductors replaced vacuum tubes, the name "diode" began to be used for the semiconductor devices that replaced them. The letter "D" was introduced as an optional replacement for "CR". If any difference remains between "diode" and "rectifier", it is that the former is used more for small-signals and the latter for power applications.
Jeannie Deep belly laugh. The non-electrical man having a garage sale mentioned diodes and scared me. Thank you for the reply. No smoke yet except a tiny little bit when I had the locomotive moving. I thought perhaps it was something left from the "smoke" that the locomotive is supposed to produce. Would it be possible after being packed away for 50 years?
Deep belly laugh. The non-electrical man having a garage sale mentioned diodes and scared me. Thank you for the reply. No smoke yet except a tiny little bit when I had the locomotive moving. I thought perhaps it was something left from the "smoke" that the locomotive is supposed to produce. Would it be possible after being packed away for 50 years?
yes if it had an old pill in it or if maybe a little smoke fluid ( oil) still on the burner. Oh if its a pill type you can use the fluid just do a few drops at a time or you will have it everywhere
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
"Are there diodes in the 1033 transformer and might I "fry" them? Any guidance will be appreciated".
No, its all wires and a coil, with a circuit breaker.. Unless you saw it go up in smoke you have nothing to worry about. Very old school.
one way or another you are supose to have that set running to many things are falling place so don't forget us if you need any help we are here for folks like you and we love to help. for your question thats some of the others can answer better as I'm not very electrical my self
You are all amazing. Here is what has happened. After putting everything away, I saw an ad in the newspaper of a sale where there would be Lionel trains. When I arrived the man had no transformers for sale, but he listened to my story and referred me to 2 men that he thought might be able to help. One of them has been a model train enthusiast for many years, but now has a full-time job plus does some sort of sound equipment repair as a part-time job. He has several ahead of me but took my name and number and said he will call me when he finishes the work ahead of me. He thought it might be fairly simple if I do not mess it up before he gets to me. Now I do have one question if someone has time before I get to the library to look it up. Are there diodes in the 1033 transformer and might I "fry" them? Any guidance will be appreciated.
My offer for another 1033 in box that works still stands and as I said you can keep it or return when other is fixed or used for scrap you keep this one. and had another person contacted me almost imediately to pay the shipping as we want your grandchildren and your husband to run trains again no strings attached
Bill
Jeannie,
It is sad to hear you packed your trains away for lack of an operating transformer. I would gladly service your transformer at no charge, including shipping if you wish. Hover your mouse over TrainLarry and click 'Start a Conversation' to e-mail me your response, and I will e-mail my info back. Everyone here wants to help, and see you, your grandchildren (and husband too!) get involved with this great hobby.
Larry
Laughing. Yes, yesterday I packed the train away until I have the money for a transformer. Thank for asking.
Any news, Jeannie?
Hoping that I have no fires or explosions!! (Just kidding.)
So very thankful for all of the help!! Will post the ongoing story. Probably has been a long time since you have tried to diagnose something like this to a dummy operating from only research and absolutely no experience or knowledge. Had never touched a model train in my life. I take the kids to see set-ups and get joy from watching their curiosity.
B and C are the two ends of the 11-volt main winding. U is connected (through the reversing and whistle switch) to the wiper that moves from one end to the other of that main winding. When B and U are connected to the track rails, the voltage between those two terminals is proportional to how far the wiper is from the B end. Similarly, the voltage between C and U is proportional to how far the wiper is from the C end. When you use C and U, I'll bet the control works backwards; that is, you get the most voltage when the control is fully counterclockwise, which is the opposite of normal operation.
Here is an experiment that will tell you whether you have an open circuit breaker: First check to verify that you get no spark between A and C under any circumstance. If you do, do not proceed further. If not, unplug the transformer and connect A and C together. Then connect B and U to the two track rails. Turn the control fully clockwise. Now plug in the transformer very briefly, watching for fireworks and listening for loud humming. If everything is calm, then, with the transformer unplugged, put the locomotive on the track. Plug in again. The locomotive may try to move. Turn the control counterclockwise to see whether the locomotive speeds up. Be ready to unplug if the locomotive won't stop and is in danger of running off the end of the track.
If the locomotive ran, the circuit breaker is probably the problem and should be replaced. But in any case, do not use the transformer until you get it fixed. The way I told you to wire it is not safe, since it defeats the purpose of the circuit breaker and should only be done, very carefully, as an experiment to diagnose the problem.
in all honesty if you connect one wire to an outside rail and one wire to a middle rail you should be able to move the train. I have forced and solder wires to the bottom slit in the rails many times and had no problem.
Like I said I gave you my email address email me and I'll send you a transformer I know works and you can either keep it or you can return it if you want ( I don't care honestly) if you get yours working correctly. I'll even send you a couple of lock-on's to connect your wires to.
Most of us love to help someone get back into the hobby.
Is anyone willing to explain to me why only a track connection to U/C enables the locomotive to move at all? I have not had a chance to try checking the breaker switch yet. It does seem to make sense to me that it is probably the problem. Another transformer to move forward until this one is repaired, huh???
Technically correct, Rob, however posts A-U, with the higher voltage output, are generally used to run the trains.
TrainLarry...hook up terminals A and U to the track and try your locomotive. That is the only terminal combination that the control handle will vary the voltage to...
B-U will also give variable voltage(0-11 volts) to the track.
Rob
What you need to do is hook up terminals A and U to the track and try your locomotive. That is the only terminal combination that the control handle will vary the voltage to. If your loco does not run properly, then the circuit breaker is probably at fault. Unplug the transformer and open it up. The circuit breaker is on top, between the 2 shafts for the handles. You will see one copper wire with a black insulation sleeve connected to it. The other connection is post 'B' of the transformer. Take a short, heavy gauge wire and temporarily connect both the wires together securely. Put the transformer back together. Make sure the control handle is in the off position. Plug in the transformer and slowly turn up the control handle. Your locomotive should now run properly. If it does, shut off the transformer and unplug it. The circuit breaker is definitely bad and needs to be replaced. Do not run your train for more than just a test withiut an operating circuit breaker. If the loco still does not run, try moving the 'Direction' handle back and forth with the power on. Sometimes the direction control switch is at fault. You need to do this to isolate the problem. Cleaning alone may not find or solve your problem.
Thank you so very much for this offer. I am going to take a couple of days to continue my attempt to solve this problem with cleaning and then I may have it narrowed down to what I need. LOL So glad to have found you and know I will be turning to you for help again soon. Sorry about not responding sooner, but did not get an e-mail notification or else I missed it.
I already have been giving an offer to pay for the shipping by another on here I understand your hesident of sharing info and you have to be today. But you have a great group of guys/gals here that love to promote railroading any way they can. all on here know I buy a lot on ebay and in return When I can I will help someone get it going had a guy having problem with an engine told him to pay shipping I would give him some track ( he also had competely rusted track ) what I didn't tell him was I was sending an engine so his son could start running trains also
I understand I was going to offer you a working tramsformer for shipping only But would need a address not sure how old grand kids are but if I can help get them interested I'm all for it. And willing to help as I can.
Bill Rifenbury
Prefer to stay on the public page. Paranoid old lady that has been hacked. Don't understand how all of that stuff happens. I am proceeding with cleaning everything one step at a time now that I know that the transformer is working.
Jennie contact me at lionel027kline@yahoo.com might have an idea to help
Latest update -- Wired U and C to track. Got locomotive to go forward and backward although very slowly. Light was on, too. I think when we put the new cord on the transformer, we messed up. Anyway, I will not give up just yet.
No money and just a lady that is determined to show my grandkids this particular train set. The locomotive is fine. That has been checked. If I cannot get it going, I will have tried and will just write about my experience and leave it with the box of track to tell them about my adventure. Will be sharing this thread, too. Should give them a chuckle and then they can shred the paper and recycle the metal!Thanks again to ALL!!!!
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