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Lighting Pax Car Interior with LEDs

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  • Member since
    April 2007
  • 229 posts
Lighting Pax Car Interior with LEDs
Posted by RicZ on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 3:39 PM

I want to light the interior of a Proto RDC with a couple of LEDs.  Can I tape the power pick-up from the rails prior to the decoder and use resistors and diodes to light the LEDs?  All help appreciated.

RicZ

  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Metro East St. Louis
  • 5,743 posts
Posted by simon1966 on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 5:35 PM

Why don't you use a function output from the decoder so that you can then turn them on and off via DCC?

Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum

  • Member since
    February 2002
  • From: Reading, PA
  • 30,002 posts
Posted by rrinker on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 5:59 PM

 Yup,install up to 3 or 4 white LEDs with 1K resistors and you shouldn;t exceed the rating for a function on most decoders, depending on if youa lso have a headlight or other lights. A typical white LED wired with a 1K resistor will use approximately 10ma, look in your decoder's instruction sheet for the maximum allowed per function and the total allowed for the decoder, and as long as you don;t exceed this, everything will work great.

                          --Randy


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

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