Track Panel indicator using DCC?

[nealknows]

Hello everyone,

Can anyone suggest what I can use to light up my panel using the DCC track power? I want to use it in my engine terminal to show that power is on in a particular section. Since DCC is AC(or a form of AC), I could use some help in finding some type of bulb to use. The size could be similar to a 3mm or 5mm bulb.

Thanks in advance to all who reply!

Neal

[jrbernier]

  DCC is a Bi-Polar square wave.  Lamps do not care if it is DC, AC, or DCC driving them.  Just make sure the voltage rating is high enough that they do not burn out prematurely.

  Rather than lamps, why not use LED's?   I use LED's from Evan Designs - They have a wide range of sizes/colors that you an hook up directly to you DCC track...

Jim

  

[rrinker]

 Just use a bi-color 2-lead LED, plus a 1K resisot. A bicolor LED has 2 LEDs in the same house, the ones iwthe 2 wires have them wired back to back, so on DC a red/green one will be kind of orange. It's just 2 wires, so other than including the resistor in the circuit, it would be wired identically to wiring a light bulb to the track. There are some other color combintions available, but they are a little harder to find. Evans and others probably also have them witht he resistor built in so it really would be the exact same as hooking up a light bulb.

                            --Randy

 

[nealknows]

jrbernier

  DCC is a Bi-Polar square wave.  Lamps do not care if it is DC, AC, or DCC driving them.  Just make sure the voltage rating is high enough that they do not burn out prematurely.

  Rather than lamps, why not use LED's?   I use LED's from Evan Designs - They have a wide range of sizes/colors that you an hook up directly to you DCC track...

Jim

Jim,

Can I use a BiColor LED with 3 stems and use just one side of the LED with a resistor? I have bunch of these ready to go laying around. If not, I can get some LED's with 2 leads. Really need just one color to show the track is on.

Thanks!

Neal

[MisterBeasley]

Definitely LEDs.  Your DCC track power is a limited resource, so use it wisely.  LEDs use far less power than any incandescents you might want.

Newcomers to DCC often don't realize that you don't really need "dead tracks" for engines that are not in service.  You simply stop them and they will stay there.  I still have "dead tracks" because I have mostly sound-equipped engines, and some of them don't always stay quiet, but they are not necessary.

[skagitrailbird]

I agree with the other posters recommending LEDs over incandescent bulbs. But LEDs only pass current in one direction so powering them with A/C power means they will turn on and off 60 times/second, shortening their lives. To your eye they will appear lit all the time. And as stated if you use a two color LED it will look like a third color since switching from one color to the other 60 times/second your eye will be fooled. A red/green LED will look orange or yellow. There really is no reason for using a two color LED with A/C power.

I did exactly what you want to do and kept the LED’s alive over six years until I had to take down my layout due to a downsizing move.  I wired a second regular (non light emitting) diode in parallel to the LED reversing the cathode and anode leads (think of it as facing them in opposite directions. This allows the current to pass through the regular diode rather than “bumping up against” the LED when the polarity changes.

Thus, your circuit should be one power lead to a resistor (1.0K or 1.2K ohm should be adequate), then to the two diodes in parallel in opposing directions, then to your on/off switch, then to the track. The other power lead would go directly to the track. The on/off switch can be on either lead going to the track.

Good luck.