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PRR Signal Disk Heads Only

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Posted by tstage on Saturday, March 9, 2013 11:09 PM

alloboard

I finally got them all to work by using a 9V battery for testing. I put the black wire on one of the leads of the 9V battery and the colored ones one by one with the black wire.

alloboard,

Because of terminology, I'm still somewhat in a fog here about what exactly you did to test the signal. 

Which terminal of the battery did you attach the black wire to: positive (+) or negative (-)?  You then attached the colored wires (one at a time) to the black wire that's connected to one of the two battery terminals?  What's attached to the other terminal of the battery to complete the circuit?

The way you've described it, you've attached both the black and colored wires to the same terminal.  The LEDs just won't work unless you attach the wires to both terminals.

Tom

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.

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Posted by gmpullman on Saturday, March 9, 2013 11:13 PM

Perhaps this is the place to mention this handy little gizmo?

I might want to invest in one myself... looks like fun! Even if there are already resistors installed, just clamp the other end under the screw terminal to "bypass" it.

http://www.logicrailtech.com/st-1.htm

Ed

Tags: Signal
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Posted by richhotrain on Sunday, March 10, 2013 5:45 AM

alloboard

The signal comes with color codes wires: 2 yellow 2 green 1 blue and 1 white to match the color of the signal lights. The wires came with resistors already soldered on. There was no manual with this signal.

I finally got them all to work by using a 9V battery for testing. I put the black wire on one of the leads of the 9V battery and the colored ones one by one with the black wire.

I will get the same results when I use track power instead of the 9V battery except that polarity does not matter on DCC track power.

This reply raises more questions than it answers.

For one thing, how did you suddenly get the LEDs to work with a 9V battery when they wouldn't work before?  I am not saying that you didn't, but I just wonder what you did wrong in the first place.

Second, are you saying that you put both the colored wire and the black wire together on one battery terminal.  That, of course, would not work because the circuit would not be completed.

I am wondering why NJ International would use the black wire, not the conventional white wire, as the common. 

Did every wire come with a resistor attached except the black wire?

If the wire color matches the LED color, what is the purpose of the blue wire?  The white wire?

How did you get the signals to work with track power as well as with the 9V battery?  A lot of us are interested in how this signal should be wired and what is the purpose of each wire?

Some had asked about 8 wires for 13 LED signals.  How do you control the various lighting combinations?

So many questions, so few answers.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by zstripe on Sunday, March 10, 2013 5:59 AM

Rich,

(So many questions so few answers)

Agreed!!!!

Frank

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Posted by richhotrain on Monday, March 11, 2013 6:41 AM

I don't know if others are as curious as I am concerning the actual prototype operation of these signals.

While these signals were originally installed and operated by PRR, they are now owned and operated by Amtrak. 

I found a link to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor signal aspects protocol that modifies the original PRR protocol.

http://www.railroadsignals.us/rulebooks/amtraknec/index.htm

Now I see how the 13 LEDs are lighted by 8 wires.

There are 2 yellow wires, 2 green wires, 1 red wire, 1 blue wire, 1 white wire and 1 black wire.

The lights work in combinations.  There are only 7 combinations.

Yellow - Top
Yellow - Bottom

Green -  Top
Green - Bottom

Red - Top

Blue - Bottom

White - Bottom

The eighth wire, the black wire, is the common wire.

Getting those green and yellow lights to flash must involve some interesting wiring.

Rich

Alton Junction

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Posted by alloboard on Friday, March 15, 2013 7:36 PM

The black wire went to the positive (+) terminal of the battery and the other wires (one at a time) went to the negative (-) terminal. I attached the wires to both terminals.

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Posted by alloboard on Friday, March 15, 2013 7:43 PM

Thanks allot for the link.

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Posted by alloboard on Friday, March 15, 2013 7:50 PM

The wiring will be directly connected to my Digitrax SE8C Signal Controller.

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Posted by alloboard on Friday, March 15, 2013 7:52 PM

Very interesting device. Thanks for the link.

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Posted by zstripe on Saturday, March 16, 2013 4:19 AM

Well,, I guess I don't have to hang on the clock any longer, my hands were really getting tired.....LOL...

Cheers,

Frank

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Posted by richhotrain on Saturday, March 16, 2013 4:54 AM

zstripe

Well,, I guess I don't have to hang on the clock any longer, my hands were really getting tired.....LOL...

Cheers,

Frank

Frank, we need to lower your expectations. 

Did you visit this thread to learn or to yearn?   Laugh

Rich

Alton Junction

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