TrainsRMe1 They are powered by a 12volt power bus, Well, Im very happy to report that the signals in LaShawn Canyon are now operational, the op's won't have to roll though this section of track in the dark anymore!!!, I just want to thank all of you for your valuable info,
They are powered by a 12volt power bus, Well, Im very happy to report that the signals in LaShawn Canyon are now operational, the op's won't have to roll though this section of track in the dark anymore!!!, I just want to thank all of you for your valuable info,
So, what did you do to make them operational?
Rich
Alton Junction
How is the signal and the Tortoise wired to the DC power supply to complete the circuit? There has to be a reason why the LEDs won't light for you.
Also, is it correct to assume that the red, green and yellow wire each has a resistor on it?
It was suggested to me, but I won't be needing it. Thanks for all the help and info, I'll get this done.
gmpullman Oh, I see, Rich... the plot thickens! I'm familiar with the Logic-Rail stuff and for some reason I thought that's what he was refering to. Ed
Oh, I see, Rich... the plot thickens!
I'm familiar with the Logic-Rail stuff and for some reason I thought that's what he was refering to.
Ed
Ed, I don't believe that the OP is using SD-1 signal drivers. Someone suggested that he may need them to control the three LED's, red, yellow, and green.
TrainsRMe1 Sorry Rich, I'm at work so I only have a brief time to post what I need, my Tortise is wired by a 12 volt power bus, The ground is wired to pin 5, while the green is pin 6 red is pin 7, the yellow I had ( according to NJ international) the yellow is spliced to the red. Somewhere there's a problem, I could go without the yellow if that helps, could I have wired it wrong from the tortise?? Thanks. I' Ll post again on my next break, I'm a bus driver here in Portland.
Sorry Rich, I'm at work so I only have a brief time to post what I need, my Tortise is wired by a 12 volt power bus, The ground is wired to pin 5, while the green is pin 6 red is pin 7, the yellow I had ( according to NJ international) the yellow is spliced to the red. Somewhere there's a problem, I could go without the yellow if that helps, could I have wired it wrong from the tortise?? Thanks. I' Ll post again on my next break, I'm a bus driver here in Portland.
The ground wire from the signal should be wired to the positive side of the DC power supply. A wire (e.g., black) should be wired to the negative side of the DC power supply from pin 5 on the Tortoise. For now, leave the yellow wire disconnected.
gmpullman Logic Rail's signal animator is model SA-1 is that what you have? I don't see a SD 1?
Logic Rail's signal animator is model SA-1 is that what you have? I don't see a SD 1?
SD-1 is a Circuitron device.
TrainsRMe1 I was told that I would need a SD 1 Block detector, and since I have two signals I would need two of them!!
Logic Rail's signal animator is model SA-1 is that what you have? I don't see a SD 1? The SA-1 would give you three color operation and can be wired to the Tortoise to show red when the turnout is thrown against the route.
http://www.logicrailtech.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16225&cat=261&page=1
IF your signals are common cathode you should use SAD-CC
http://www.logicrailtech.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16227&cat=261&page=1
Then you use their simple wiring instructions found here:
http://www.logicrailtech.com/sa_inst.pdf
AND this instruction sheet shows how to wire TWO signals to protect an end of siding. Read it, then let us know what part is confusing to you.
http://www.logicrailtech.com/sa-ir_inst_supplement.pdf
Randy is right, we covered all this earlier. I ALWAYS bench test every signal before crawling under the layout. Use a 9v battery and a 1k resistor and note the polarity of the battery when you test so you get the LED polarity correct.
Good Luck, Ed
I assume that the other side of each of the LEDs returns to the power supply, right? You need that to complete the circuit. (Sorry if it seems like an obvious thing, but some people come into this hobby with very little electrical knowledge, while others are pros.)
Another possibility is that you've got the LEDs wired backwards. LEDs are polarized, and the + side of the LED must go to the + side of the power supply or they will not light.
At this point, I would test each of the LEDs using a 9 volt battery and a resistor in series with the LED. This will tell you if the LED is still good, and you can check which side is positive as well.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I've checked them before installing all leds work well and they are protected by resistors.
BroadwayLion If LION was ewe, him would have tested all of this on the bench before bringing it to the layout, just to make sure that everything does work. If you just want indications for a single switch, this is the recommendation of the LION :
If LION was ewe, him would have tested all of this on the bench before bringing it to the layout, just to make sure that everything does work. If you just want indications for a single switch, this is the recommendation of the LION :
Him right.
That is the first thing to do with signals. Make sure they are protected with resistors, then test with a 9 volt battery to be sure that the LEDs are working.
What kind of signlas are these. BLOCK signals detect the presence of a train in front of you and say nothing about authority to use the track at all.
The HOME signal protects a switch or interlocking plant, in which case there would usually be a switch in plain sight.
At an interlocking plant the HOME signal would normally be RED, and when the signal is cleared by the tower operator it would display green for the normal route or Yellow for a diverging route. The tortoise can select between yellow and green, but the tower operator controls between RED and NOT RED.
If Block signals you want, complicated more it gets :
But then, My signals are more fun than your signals!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Among the many questions, how is the Tortoise powered?
See Mr Beasley's post then, and wire them that way, ignore the yellow aspect. With his diagram, if you are approaching the switch and it is lined the wrong way, the signal will show red. When it is lines for your route, it will show green.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
TrainsRMe1 All I want to do is have the signals lit up and have them show the right aspects when the switch is alinened,
All I want to do is have the signals lit up and have them show the right aspects when the switch is alinened,
I can't see the pic in the original post, so I'm REALLY in the dark here, but in general you'd see one signal with two heads when approaching a switch with a diverging route. At it's simplest, each head could display green or red. A signal showing green-over-red would mean the switch is set to the train is going straight on the main route; red-over-green means you'd take the diverging route. You should be able to wire that up with the contacts for the switch machine, but you'll need some sort of detection circuit so that when the train passes the signal, both heads turn to red. (Red-over-Red means 'absolute stop'.)
Thanks, Randy, but I understand that. I have tons of Tortoises wired to control panel DPDTs and I use the Tortoises to control search light signals and dwarfs and the like.
I am just saying that the OP is not clear about what he is doing with the Tortoise and how he has all of this wired up.
I understand the Tortoise and its wiring. I don't understand the OP.
Basically all that can be done is wire like Mr Beasley posted. Doesn;t have to be red and green, could pick any two of the colors. But that's it. And you could connect two signals to the same contacts so that one would show red while the other is green and vice versa.
That's why I am confused about what exactly the OP is doing or trying to do with that Tortoise.
I think we covered this before, but just using the Tortoise contacts can only get you 2-aspect signals. You cna have it show green or yellow depending on the Tortoise position, or green or red, or yellow or red, pick any two colors and be able to switch between them. You can wire two signals to one Tortoise, so that one shows red and the other shows green, so you cna see which track the turnout is lined for. Without getting into block detection and all that, this about all you can do. To get fancier, you need to create detection sections and use block detectors and a signal controller to display the proper aspects, in which case you'd probably need a lot more signals to make anything meaningful. With detection and a controller, the signal at the entrance tot he block the train is in would be red, the next one behind it would be yellow, and the one behind that would show green. That sort of indication you can't do with just one signal and a Tortoise.
First, the Tortoise wiring diagram:
The thing to note here is that the center posts of the two SPDT contact sets on the Tortoise are posts 5 and 6. Physically, we like to think of the "center" as being between the other two, but that is not the case with a Tortoise and frequently causes mis-wiring.
This is a diagram of how I've wired my Tortoises to LED signals to show turnout position.
Common anode is required in order to use the SD-1.
I'll be darned. Most signals do not come with resistors attached. Amazing.
I have quite a few of the NJ International three color signals and they are wired common anode. They came with the resistors attached to the leads, so I have to put the DC- to the resistor and the DC+ to the common wire without any resistor.
I also use some Atlas G type signals that are wired common cathode, so the DC+ goes to the correct color wire after adding the correct resistor and the DC- goes to the black common wire.
I'm not sure what all the OP is asking and what is his main concern.
Is it that the signals do not light?
Is he asking about the need for one or more SD-1 signal drivers?
Or is he concerned over the placement of signals along the mainline?
To me, the first concern would be getting those signals lit. As Dave commented, hopefully those LEDs are protected by resistors. If not, those LEDs will burn out in a flash, literally.
As far as signal drivers are concerned, it all depends upon the type of signal and how it is wired. Incidentally, the SD-1 is not a block detector. For block detection, he would need a BD-1 or BD-2.
We need the OP to come back and tell us how he is attempting to wire these signals and how he has the Tortoise wired. We need a lot more information here.
The NJ International website unfortunately doesn't give a whole lot of info regarding wiring their signals. They say all the instructions are included in the package.
My question is: do you have to install resistors in line with the LEDs when you are wiring them directly to a Tortoise? If the signals don't have built in resistors then you just fried your LEDs. Hopefully not.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!