Hi guys,
So I know there are quite a few circuits and threads about constant lighting circuits and things but here's what I'm specifically after.
I have a full train of BLI SP Daylight cars that have nice lighting pre-installed. Is there a way to use one of the keep alive capacitors like I use for the locos and wore them into the decoder?
Seems like they would work but where to install them is what has me nervous. I don't think you're supposed to wire them inline with track power so I'm not really sure where in the line to wire them?
Love the cars, just need to put a keep alive on for constant lighting!
Thanks!
Mike
you could use a bridge rectifier and some large capacitors, possibly with a current limiting resistor to limit in-rush current.
but they may not last very long with 12V incandscent bulbs.
LEDs could last longer if a current regulator (LM317) is uses instead of current limiting resistors in series with the LEDs so that they can operate as the capacitor voltages drops down closer to the operating voltage (~3V) of the LEDs
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
I've installed dozens of 'flicker-free' lighting in many of my passenger cars. I use this simple circuit with some modifications as needed in each scenario:
DCC_light anti-flicker by Edmund, on Flickr
Depending on how much room you have in your passenger car for the capacitor you can get anywhere from one to five or more seconds of lighting 'stay-alive' with your LEDs.
I generally tuck the cap into one of the bedrooms or restrooms where it will be hidden from view. In 90% of my cars I use a 680µF 35V cap. If its a brass car with less than ideal pickup I'll bump up the farads, some using 2200µ at 25V if I have the room.
Lately I've been using the LED strips, now that they're available in warm white and aim them toward the inside of the roof for a 'bounce' lighting effect. With Pullmans and the aisle ways and individual rooms this works best to provide an even lighting throughout the car.
I used 1/4 watt resistors here since there's a dozen LEDs in the circuit and lower rated resistors might get too warm in the confines of a passenger car.
Car Lighting LED by Edmund, on Flickr
You can see where I tucked the 680µF cap in the passageway, out of sight. I pulled the window shade down in roomette 22.
The LED strips are aimed upward and a reflective foil is applied to the underside of the roof. Prior to this I was using LED 'string' lights to illuminate indicidual rooms and passageways but this method provides overall even lighting.
Car lighting LED strip by Edmund, on Flickr
The Atlantic Shore on the Century actually had fluorescent lighting so I opted for a cooler white LED:
Atlantic Shore_Century Night by Edmund, on Flickr
The cap provides just enough 'stay-alive' to eliminate flicker without burdening the capacity of most DCC systems. It works great for me and I'll continue to use this circuit from now on. Total cost for each car is about 78¢ including the LEDs.
I have a bunch of the BLI C-Z cars. When I get a chance I'll pry one open and see if there's a convenient way to add a cap to their lighting setup. MTH actually has a decent 'anti-flicker' circuit board included in their passenger cars but they never made it available as a separate item.
Good luck, Ed
Thank you guys for your reply. I'm honestly not sure if they are LED or incadescent in the cars. I need to pull one apart and see just exactly what's in there.
I'll be curious to see what you find out on your BLI cars Ed. For time and just the easy of soldering 2 wires, I'm hoping I can figure some way to get the powerpacks like I use in the locos to work. But if not I'm not opposed to building a small circuit.
I'm also thinking I'd rather just convert them over to LED's if they aren't. I've had the tops of a couple doing the interior details and just assumed they had some sort of constant lighting. The lighting looks great, just need something to keep them on.
Hopefully I can get into that this weekend and see what's in there.
Thanks again for the replies!
I think I've come up with a solution. The lights are incandescent and not LED. So that needs to change.
Voltscooter makes an LED strip that's adjustable brightness and also has the ability to turn the lights off and on with a reed switch. They also are constant and run about 30 seconds after power is removed.
Since I have to up grade to LEDs anyway..... I'm just going to order these boards and have an all in one setup for $25. I know I could do it cheaper but time is more important than funding right now so I think I'll head this direction.
Thank you guys for your input! Much appreciated!
5150WS6The lights are incandescent and not LED. So that needs to change.
I'm surprised your Daylight cars have incandescent lighting but, if I recall, they came before the C-Z cars. I pried one of mine open and found a basic, TWO LED lighting setup.
Broadway CZ car Components by Edmund, on Flickr
Broadway CZ car Opened by Edmund, on Flickr
The track power is picked up by the trucks and transfered to two bronze strips laid in the car floor. You can see them to the left in the first photo. Then there is a diode bridge and a voltage regulator on a board in communication with these strips.
Broadway CZ car Diode by Edmund, on Flickr
And the small LED assembly that is focused into two 'lucite' light pipes fore and aft are what illuminate the car:
Broadway CZ car Contact by Edmund, on Flickr
Kato uses a similar setup. It is somewhat inferior, I believe, since there is a hot spot in the center of each car. BLI's PRR P70 coaches suffer the same drawback.
Broadway CZ car LED by Edmund, on Flickr
The Voltscooter product looks interesting. You could also go with the ESU lighting strip which includes a full programmable DCC decoder but you would have to add your own cap and there is a provision on the board for 'supercaps' if you want longer 'stay-alive'.
ESU_light-strip by Edmund, on Flickr
I tucked the capacitor into a corridor, out of sight:
P-C_Parlor-cap by Edmund, on Flickr
https://sbs4dcc.com/products/esu-50700-passenger-car-lighting-kit-warm-white.html
Good Luck, Ed
Ed,
Well you were correct. I'm not sure what I was thinking but they are fully LED in the passenger cars. So I may not go with the Voltscooter set up. I do have that VS set up in some Amtrak cars and will say they work fantastically! I think they stay on after power is gone for an easy 30-40 seconds.....pretty overkill but awesome if you ask me. And with the reed switch you can turn them off an on which is a nice plus.Anyway back to the task at hand. I think in the long run it might just be easier to circuit that you originally posted. I can get enough to do 30 cars for the price of one of the premade units.
I will admit though. I'm not electronic engineer and have never read plans in my life successfully so I might need some input. Here's what I've gathered so far. R1 is a 100ohm resistor. R2 is a 1000ohm resistor. In between those is a IN4148 diode.
Then of course is the C1 which is the capacitor and that's where you've upped it to a 680µF 35v cap. And then to wire, you wire all that between the incoming power + and - and the LED board. Am I reading all that right?
Thanks for the clarification and popping the tops off those cars, that actually helps significantly!
So I made a couple mistakes. One being that they are LED's. So that's good as I stated before.
I was able to reach out to BLI and after some considerable trouble they have forwarded my question to the electrical engineer they have. Apparently the cars have a very very small capacitor on them. They are going to inquire about adding more or a bigger one or possibly a keep-alive type setup. I'll post here what info they give me.