I just wanted to post a public atta-boy to Allan on the recent article in MR. I now understand the do’s and don’t’s much more clearly than before. dave

Thanks for the suggestions. There turn out to be no real complications that I was anticipating, so I am able to move forward with what's there and your ideas. ....Tom

While a capacitor across the traces that power the LEDs will help, the voltage range over which the LEDs light is small, so the capacitor can't deliver power very long before the LEDs dim and then go

Note: the LED connection does not have to be 'at' the tortoise. The LED can connect anywhere along the wire from inside control panels to actual motor. (We actually have indicator LEDs wired to the

One thing you should check is the cleanliness of the wheels. Give them a good cleaning by hand running over a paper towel laid on the tracks dampened with 90% IPA (alcohol not India Pale Ale). I then

Put a capacitor at any point across the printed lines that go to the LEDs. This will be on the DC side of the rectifier. Size shouldn't matter much as the current is low, but get the polarity right. I

I've wired a passenger car with an LED lighting unit, but it flickers as there is no capacitor in the circuit to keep the car lit over track gaps, etc. I'm using metal frame trucks, and the axle

I will be doing a clinic on how this works during the LSR Temple convention this year. (May sometime). That will be available online after the clinic. That will cover design decisions and how it was

Greetings everyone, I have just added an oval with a crossover to the introduction to reversing sections in my website at: https://www.WiringForDCC.com/track_2.htm#reversing Allan Gartner Wiring for

This works well with 12VDC and reasonable wire gauge. I run my tortoises on old Ethernet cable, and I find that the longer runs in some cases (> 15')) mean I have enough additional

On 2/23/2022 9:52 AM, Michael Boyle wrote: Hi Michael, A friend of mine has his LEDs connected in series with the power line of the tortoise. Thus the tortoise acts as the current

Hi Don, And "Thank you." Your information is very helpful. I'm using the LEDs to indicate turnout position. I was hoping to avoid running another set of wires from the turnouts to the panel. But it

Michael, With the two lead bicolor LED, the easiest wiring is to connect it, with a series resistor, between the two wires powering the Tortoise switch machine. When power to the Tortoise reverses,

Thomas, don’t forget to add a 5V and 12V power supply to your parts list. DonV

On 2/22/2022 11:44 AM, thomasmclae via groups.io wrote: Hi Thomas, Would you be willing to share your sketch with us? Peace, Mike G.

Hi Don, Thanks for the help. I can use either three lead or two lead bicolor LEDs since both are readily available. With the rotary switch we have one of the leads covered, the second going to the

Michael, If your 12 position rotary switch has a spare "deck" you could use it to switch power to the tracks. But, it's not a great idea, because those switches aren't intended for switching as much

Michael, Welcome to the wonderful wide world of model railroading and DCC! You'll f8ind there are multiple ways to do almost anything on a model railroad. How your LEDs should be wired depends on what

I have a push button panel that controls an 8 track yard. Push a button and the tracks align for the track selected. WIring is simpler than a diode relay, but it does use an Arduino. Parts

Thanks Don. - Michael