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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#1 Posted : 23 February 2013 02:56:17(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Make your own LED passenger car lights. With a little solder and some hobby time, you can save a lot of money!Woot
I owe the inspiration for this project to my wonderful Dutch friend who is an electronics Genius!



and with no subtitles:





Here are some parts with links - but who knows how long the links will last...
LEDs are about 14 dollars a roll of 300 (70 cents per car at 15 per car) (or 7 dollars a roll on ebay - but wait 3-5 weeks shipping)
https://www.amazon.com/HitLights...61738477&sr=1-2&keywords=300+smd+warm+white
Capacitors are about 10 cents - they are 25 Volt and 330 microfarad (newark.com or ebay or amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/Amico-Rad...ords=25v+330uf+capacitor
Bridge rectifiers are about 25 cents (more than 25 Volts) (newark.com)
10 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-2...&hash=item3a797fd871
50 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/50pcs-2...5%26sd%3D251146524785%26
100 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-PCS...&hash=item5655972461
Resistors are 7 dollars for 1000 (amazon.com)
https://www.amazon.com/Amico-Axi...eywords=1k+resistor+1000
The wheel pick up things are 4.25 for 4 on ebay, but are kind of flimsy.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-Whee...&hash=item2a2813b9ec
or these ones are the same price, are made of stiffer metal, and you just cut out the centre prong
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HO-Whee...&hash=item2a2813bbad
The heat shrink tubing is on ebay too for 100ft-3/32" for $10
http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-FT-...&hash=item257b241e04
Wire is basically free?

Here is a wiring diagram of the whole thing on a piece of paper. It is actually working when I took the picture.

In this picture there are two resistors (1Kohm plus 1Kohm which make a dimmer but more realistic light. I tried it with up to 6 resistors (or 6 Kohm).
The current the circuit uses is:
1 resistor - 3.7 milliamps (kind of too bright and cartoony)
2 resistors - 2.1 milliamps (more realistic) (you could always get one 2K resistor instead, if you dedice this is what you like)
6 resistors - 0.8 milliamps (about the same brightness as the Marklin LED lighting which is kind of dim)
You can choose how many you want depending on what you like, and keep it the same in all your cars. That is why I did not use a turnable variable resistor, as you would end up with all kinds of different brightnesses in the different cars.

The reason this works with almost no parts is how you reverse the plus and minus on the two LED strips. You know how two AA batteries are 1.5V and 1.5V makes 3V. Well this is the same kind of thing reversed. It takes the 16V, and uses half (8V) on one strip, then the other half (8V) on the other strip. I know that the strips are rated at 12V, but then they are really bright.

In case you are interested, below is a graph of what the pulses from the Central Station look like coming out of the full wave bridge rectifier when there is NO capacitor. That would make the LEDs flicker.


And then when you add the capacitor it looks like this. It is much smoother and the lights do not flicker:

And by the way, I do like Monty Python.ThumpUp

Here is an example of the completed project on a bi-level car. All you need to do is extend the wire in the middle to move the two led strips farther apart.

Edited by moderator 16 August 2016 16:28:16(UTC)  | Reason: to add a new video with no subtitles

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Offline GSRR  
#2 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:02:46(UTC)
GSRR

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Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
........

Edited by user 24 February 2013 21:29:26(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
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Offline kimballthurlow  
#3 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:08:12(UTC)
kimballthurlow

Australia   
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC)
Posts: 6,653
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Hi Schwipple,

Thanks for the video - well done.

regards
Kimball
HO Scale - Märklin (ep II-III and VI, C Track, digital) - 2 rail HO (Queensland Australia, UK, USA) - 3 rail OO (English Hornby Dublo) - old clockwork O gauge - Live Steam 90mm (3.1/2 inch) gauge.
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#4 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:28:24(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
GSRR - thank you very much for embedding that somehow. I guess I will learn how to do that too. Makes it a lot nicer!
Offline GSRR  
#5 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:30:34(UTC)
GSRR

United States   
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
Hi Stephen.

It might be helpful if you have a part list with some prices and useful web links.

As an example to compare cost against say the S12K – 12v Lighting Strip Kit from Trainaidsa that costs $12.


http://trainaidsa.com/shop-leds.shtml#s12k



r/Thomas

ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
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Offline GSRR  
#6 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:35:59(UTC)
GSRR

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Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
Originally Posted by: SCWHIPPLE Go to Quoted Post
GSRR - thank you very much for embedding that somehow. I guess I will learn how to do that too. Makes it a lot nicer!




Stephen. When writing your post, look at the toolbar at the top of the dialog box. See the [BB/]?

You need to select that. You will find this, [YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]


Then insert the direct linl...

Edited by user 24 February 2013 21:08:20(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#7 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:50:37(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
To answer your question:
LEDs are about 14 dollars a roll of 300 (70 cents per car at 15 per car)
Capacitors are about 25 cents (newark.com)
Rectifiers are about 25 cents (newark.com)
Resistors are 5 dollars for 1000 (amazon.com)
Wire is basically free?
So you are looking at about $1.25 per car, not counting the coupler and the current springy thing which you have to get even with the TrainAids solution.
Does that sound right?
Offline GSRR  
#8 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:17:59(UTC)
GSRR

United States   
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
There is the Marklin 72021 kit for the couplers, etc.

Did you use this, or get the pieces separately?





GSRR attached the following image(s):
image.jpg
ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#9 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:30:40(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: GSRR Go to Quoted Post
There is the Marklin 72021 kit for the couplers, etc.

Did you use this, or get the pieces separately?






I used the 72020 current conducting bars. Th actual couplers are very expensive.
Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#10 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:37:21(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: GSRR Go to Quoted Post
There is the Marklin 72021 kit for the couplers, etc.

Did you use this, or get the pieces separately?







And the set 7319 - seemed the cheapest way to go.
Offline GSRR  
#11 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:49:51(UTC)
GSRR

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Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
OK, so you are using the older drawbar style coupling? I replaced those with the RTS couplers.

What if anything do you do for the end lights at the back of the coach?



ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
Offline Danlake  
#12 Posted : 23 February 2013 06:07:25(UTC)
Danlake

New Zealand   
Joined: 03/08/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,571
Hi Schwipple,

Excellent video - well done!

Very easy to follow.

Brgds - Lasse
Digital 11m2 layout / C (M&K) tracks / Era IV / CS3 60226 / Train Controller Gold 9 with 4D sound. Mainly Danish and German Locomotives.
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#13 Posted : 23 February 2013 17:08:44(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: GSRR Go to Quoted Post
OK, so you are using the older drawbar style coupling? I replaced those with the RTS couplers.

What if anything do you do for the end lights at the back of the coach?





Did you find a place to get the RTS couplers cheaply?
Offline GSRR  
#14 Posted : 23 February 2013 17:15:07(UTC)
GSRR

United States   
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
Hi Stephen.

I cannot recall price, but I got them from Robert at http://www.rjftrains.com/

Member here also rjftrains.

If you belong to ETE, let him know.


r/Thomas


ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#15 Posted : 24 February 2013 20:56:16(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
GSRR - I removed the second video, since it was just the same as the first one but without the music.
You could just hear me breathing and listening to Mystery Science THeater 3000 videos, so it was not so good.
Thanks for your help though in helping me to load videos. I don;t know if it is even possible to delete that now from the posting you did.
Cheers! Wink
Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#16 Posted : 24 February 2013 21:01:57(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
I would like to thank GSRR, kimballthurlow, nevw, Danlake, DaveB, 3rail4life, intruder for saying 'thank you' to my post.
That will inspire me to make another video in the future!
ThumpUp
Offline GSRR  
#17 Posted : 24 February 2013 21:06:29(UTC)
GSRR

United States   
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,339
Location: USA
Originally Posted by: SCWHIPPLE Go to Quoted Post
GSRR - I removed the second video, since it was just the same as the first one but without the music.
You could just hear me breathing and listening to Mystery Science THeater 3000 videos, so it was not so good.
Thanks for your help though in helping me to load videos. I don;t know if it is even possible to delete that now from the posting you did.
Cheers! Wink




Stephen.

.....


r/Thomas
ETE UserPostedImage ECoS iTrain TouchCab C-Gleis German Era Id & IIIb USA Era IIIb SBB Era III SJ Era IV GC Era V
Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#18 Posted : 24 February 2013 21:22:27(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: GSRR Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: SCWHIPPLE Go to Quoted Post
GSRR - I removed the second video, since it was just the same as the first one but without the music.
You could just hear me breathing and listening to Mystery Science THeater 3000 videos, so it was not so good.
Thanks for your help though in helping me to load videos. I don;t know if it is even possible to delete that now from the posting you did.
Cheers! Wink




Stephen.

If you back to your first post you can edit it, for example fixing the YouTube post. I will delete the 2nd video link now.


r/Thomas




Awesome Thomas! Thank you.
Steve
Offline 3rail4life  
#19 Posted : 24 March 2013 08:27:26(UTC)
3rail4life

United States   
Joined: 23/12/2011(UTC)
Posts: 426
Location: Northern California
Bumping this post for awesomenessThumpUp ThumpUp ThumpUp Thanks again Steve, this should be a sticky, I ordered all the bits and this my first coach done. I watched the video over and over again until I got it right, now it is easyCool and cheap tooThumpUp

ice 2 lit

Gordon
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Offline river6109  
#20 Posted : 24 March 2013 09:40:26(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
Looks great,

I do all my interior light from scratch, especially carriages with separate apartments. I also have 2 separate circuits, e.g. Aux 1 & Aux 2.
the idea behind having 2 circuits is, when the train is in the station both circuits are activated (Aux 1 + Aux 2) but you will find it rarely all lights are on while traveling through the country side.
Aux 1 = activates some of the interior lights, toilets & markerlights and Aux 2 activates the rest of the apartments (not all have led's from above = as most trains are never fully occupied)
all my led's come off one common wire and every 3 led's receive a resistor.
my electrical 4 pin couplers come from Roco and I must say they're not cheap = Euro 12.00-14.00 a pair.
the 4 pin coupler can take the following wires (ESu colour scheme): Aux 1 = green, Aux 2 = purple, middle track wire = red, common wire (blue)

the middle track wire supplies current for any other function decoder when needed, e.g. 14 car consist.
the brown wire = track = is not needed as most of my Roco carriages have a metal housing for the metal axle so any additional function decoder , the track contact is taken straight from the metal housing and but in today's standard loco having highefficiency motors, the Märklin axle connectors aren't that resistant, to restrict pulling a train.

open interior seat carriages, I use a diffusing light strip.

John
https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
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Offline rbw993  
#21 Posted : 24 March 2013 15:18:07(UTC)
rbw993

United States   
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC)
Posts: 954
Thanks Schwipple. Your post and vid gave me the impetus to go ahead and finish lighting my passenger cars. I have two left to go and then I think I'll go back and redo all the Marklin kit lighted cars to LED. Your method provides much more even lighting throughout the cars.

A couple mods I use are:
1. I doubled up the resistors in series to tone the illumination down a bit.
2. I struggled with the "Universal" wheel contacts at first. They are very thin and flimsy. I found that if I solder on a short piece of wire crosswise (one that fits inside the truck) it prevents them from getting out of shape.

Thanks
Roger
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Offline NZMarklinist  
#22 Posted : 24 March 2013 16:55:36(UTC)
NZMarklinist

New Zealand   
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC)
Posts: 1,757
Location: Auckland NZ
Originally Posted by: river6109 Go to Quoted Post
Looks great,

I do all my interior light from scratch, especially carriages with separate apartments. I also have 2 separate circuits, e.g. Aux 1 & Aux 2.
the idea behind having 2 circuits is, when the train is in the station both circuits are activated (Aux 1 + Aux 2) but you will find it rarely all lights are on while traveling through the country side.
Aux 1 = activates some of the interior lights, toilets & markerlights and Aux 2 activates the rest of the apartments (not all have led's from above = as most trains are never fully occupied)
all my led's come off one common wire and every 3 led's receive a resistor.
my electrical 4 pin couplers come from Roco and I must say they're not cheap = Euro 12.00-14.00 a pair.
the 4 pin coupler can take the following wires (ESu colour scheme): Aux 1 = green, Aux 2 = purple, middle track wire = red, common wire (blue)

the middle track wire supplies current for any other function decoder when needed, e.g. 14 car consist.
the brown wire = track = is not needed as most of my Roco carriages have a metal housing for the metal axle so any additional function decoder , the track contact is taken straight from the metal housing and but in today's standard loco having highefficiency motors, the Märklin axle connectors aren't that resistant, to restrict pulling a train.

open interior seat carriages, I use a diffusing light strip.

John



John you lost most of us there Laugh , this is a Marklin forum Blink
Glen
Auckland NZ

" Every Marklin layout needs a V200, a Railbus and a Banana car", not to mention a few Black and red Steamers, oh and the odd Elok !

CS1 Reloaded, Touch Cab, C Track Modules, K track layout all under construction. Currently Insider
Offline 3rail4life  
#23 Posted : 24 March 2013 20:26:49(UTC)
3rail4life

United States   
Joined: 23/12/2011(UTC)
Posts: 426
Location: Northern California
Thanks John,

Your work is top notch ThumpUp , I hope someday to be to handle similar challenges. For now I am just going to use one function on the lights for on/off, using the existing couplers fitted with current conductors. I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to LED's. and a lot of coaches to illuminate.

Cheers,

Gordon
Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#24 Posted : 27 March 2013 00:09:44(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: 3rail4life Go to Quoted Post
Bumping this post for awesomenessThumpUp ThumpUp ThumpUp Thanks again Steve, this should be a sticky, I ordered all the bits and this my first coach done. I watched the video over and over again until I got it right, now it is easyCool and cheap tooThumpUp


Gordon


Gordon - that looks fantastic! Love I need to learn to take better pictures!
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#25 Posted : 27 March 2013 00:12:02(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: rbw993 Go to Quoted Post
Thanks Schwipple. Your post and vid gave me the impetus to go ahead and finish lighting my passenger cars. I have two left to go and then I think I'll go back and redo all the Marklin kit lighted cars to LED. Your method provides much more even lighting throughout the cars.

A couple mods I use are:
1. I doubled up the resistors in series to tone the illumination down a bit.
2. I struggled with the "Universal" wheel contacts at first. They are very thin and flimsy. I found that if I solder on a short piece of wire crosswise (one that fits inside the truck) it prevents them from getting out of shape.

Thanks
Roger


Yes, I played around with the resistors too. I think your way looks more realistic, but since I have kids looking at mine, a little brighter is more appealing to them. I will try your stiffening technique on my collectors and see what happens. Thanks for the tip.
Offline rbw993  
#26 Posted : 19 April 2013 02:08:51(UTC)
rbw993

United States   
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC)
Posts: 954
Just ordered another roll and and 20 more rectifiers. Going to give a talk on this at our up coming ETE meeting this weekend. I will be sure to give you credit.

Thanks again,
Roger
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#27 Posted : 20 April 2013 01:25:08(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: rbw993 Go to Quoted Post
Just ordered another roll and and 20 more rectifiers. Going to give a talk on this at our up coming ETE meeting this weekend. I will be sure to give you credit.

Thanks again,
Roger


Roger
I have done about 20 cars so far, and am very pleased with the results too. I am planning on adding a diagram to this thread with helpful hints this weekend some time. I am hoping it will make it look less scary so more people will try it. Good luck with your ETE lecture ThumpUp. I wish there was a chapter around here.
Steve
Offline rbw993  
#28 Posted : 20 April 2013 14:32:47(UTC)
rbw993

United States   
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC)
Posts: 954
Stephen,
There is a Washington DC chapter which I am sure includes folks in the general area. I will email you directly with the contact info.

Roger
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Offline Drongo  
#29 Posted : 27 April 2013 12:01:41(UTC)
Drongo

Australia   
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,221
Location: Sydney, NSW
Hi Scwhipple,

Thank you very much for your great video - it really shows everything on how to do the internal lighting. Also, thank you for giving the links to be able to easily buy the components. I wish companies that supply these type of products would spend some time in producing this kind of video. The only criticism, and it's very small indeed, is that the written instructions could be a smaller font and at the bottom of the page - just like subtitles in a foreign movie. This way the image of your work is easier to see. Perhaps you could upload the video again without the text? Anyway, a fantastic job and I really appreciate your efforts.

Regards
Greg
Take it easy . . . . or any other way you can get it !!!!
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Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#30 Posted : 27 April 2013 23:41:16(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: youngagain Go to Quoted Post
... Perhaps you could upload the video again without the text?...



Thank you for your excellent criticism. I will see if I can get that done this weekend.
Offline Drongo  
#31 Posted : 03 June 2013 13:06:27(UTC)
Drongo

Australia   
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,221
Location: Sydney, NSW
Hi Steve,

I just want to thank you again for the video regarding the lights in the carriages. After some trial and error I finally mastered the technique and I thought I'd show everyone a little of my work. I can't believe that I did it all with your help. I'm really pleased and grateful.

This is a photo of my latest work - all done with the generous help and advice by forum members. The loco with upgraded mfx decoder and internal carriage lights

UserPostedImage

A night view. It's fantastic how much light the LED's give and according to the CS2 all 4 carriages consume 0.036 amps Love Love Love

UserPostedImage

Regards
Greg
Take it easy . . . . or any other way you can get it !!!!
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Offline rbw993  
#32 Posted : 03 June 2013 22:41:49(UTC)
rbw993

United States   
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC)
Posts: 954
Lights look great Greg. But I am a little concerned about 12X's engineer and his driving habits!!!!Scared

Roger
Offline SCWHIPPLE  
#33 Posted : 04 June 2013 14:58:05(UTC)
SCWHIPPLE

United States   
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC)
Posts: 75
Location: in a house
Originally Posted by: rbw993 Go to Quoted Post
Lights look great Greg. But I am a little concerned about 12X's engineer and his driving habits!!!!Scared

Roger


Have a thought for the passengers in the unlit car down in the underworld below!OhMyGod
Offline nunk  
#34 Posted : 30 August 2013 12:14:22(UTC)
nunk

Australia   
Joined: 06/08/2013(UTC)
Posts: 66
Location: Logan Village, QLD
I intend installing lighting in my 3 coaches that came with the 29640 “Era III” Mega Digital Starter Set. The coaches are 28.2 cm in length and similar to 43910 and 43920. I believe that the Power Coupler kit 72021 is appropriate for the couplers.
However, I'm not certain of the correct pick-up shoe/slider to use; 73404, 73405, 73406 or something else. The coach bogie pivot point is offset c.7mm from the centre of the bogie towards the centre of the coach.
Should it be fitted at the leading or trailing end of a coach?
Any advice would be appreciated.
I intend using the DIY LED lighting as shown in the video posted earlier in this thread.

Thanks,
Neil
Offline nunk  
#35 Posted : 02 September 2013 12:02:22(UTC)
nunk

Australia   
Joined: 06/08/2013(UTC)
Posts: 66
Location: Logan Village, QLD
I think I have this sorted now. 72021 CCC and 73406 slider are the appropriate parts.

Neil
Offline nunk  
#36 Posted : 03 October 2013 11:57:20(UTC)
nunk

Australia   
Joined: 06/08/2013(UTC)
Posts: 66
Location: Logan Village, QLD
I'm trying to follow the method shown in the video but unfortunately a number of the steps are obscured by a big right hand. In particular I can't see the removal of one wheels/axle set from the bogie. The commentary says to use needle nosed pliers but just HOW this is done is completely obscured.

Could someone explain the exact technique to me please?

Cheers,
Neil
Offline Drongo  
#37 Posted : 03 October 2013 12:31:09(UTC)
Drongo

Australia   
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,221
Location: Sydney, NSW
Originally Posted by: nunk Go to Quoted Post
I'm trying to follow the method shown in the video but unfortunately a number of the steps are obscured by a big right hand. In particular I can't see the removal of one wheels/axle set from the bogie. The commentary says to use needle nosed pliers but just HOW this is done is completely obscured.

Could someone explain the exact technique to me please?

Cheers,
Neil


Hi Neil,

The wheels are removed by gently widening the wheel supports and gently pushing the wheel axle up. It's fairly simple to do and I know that you don't want to break anything, but there's a fair bit of flexibility in the wheel bogies. I've done a few carriages and they look fantastic and if I can do it then I'm sure you can.

Regards
Greg
Take it easy . . . . or any other way you can get it !!!!
Offline nunk  
#38 Posted : 03 October 2013 13:06:48(UTC)
nunk

Australia   
Joined: 06/08/2013(UTC)
Posts: 66
Location: Logan Village, QLD
Thanks Greg. With some trepidation I did as you suggested and successfully removed one wheel/axle set from the bogie. The fact that it's 25C here at the moment enhances the flexibility of the plastic 'bearing' section. By the way the axle ends are tapered.

Do the axles and wheels need to be 'cleaned' of any coating (if present - I'm not certain) in order to ensure excellent contact between the ground spring (72050) and the axles/wheels/outer rails? Or will use just 'bed-in' the assembly?

Cheers,
Neil
Offline Drongo  
#39 Posted : 03 October 2013 14:05:11(UTC)
Drongo

Australia   
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC)
Posts: 1,221
Location: Sydney, NSW
I didn't do anything with the wheel axles - just installed the springs.

We're having a winter's day here - Sydney's weather is erratic around this time.

Greg
Take it easy . . . . or any other way you can get it !!!!
Offline BrandonVA  
#40 Posted : 03 October 2013 14:27:12(UTC)
BrandonVA

United States   
Joined: 09/12/2011(UTC)
Posts: 2,533
Location: VA
Originally Posted by: nunk Go to Quoted Post

Do the axles and wheels need to be 'cleaned' of any coating (if present - I'm not certain) in order to ensure excellent contact between the ground spring (72050) and the axles/wheels/outer rails? Or will use just 'bed-in' the assembly?

Cheers,
Neil


Neil,

If you have them out, just check to see that the wheels aren't dirty. If the car has been run a lot I would try and clean them with a cloth even if they look ok. They seem to pick up a surprising amount of dirt.

-Brandon
Offline 3rail4life  
#41 Posted : 03 October 2013 17:27:01(UTC)
3rail4life

United States   
Joined: 23/12/2011(UTC)
Posts: 426
Location: Northern California
Hi Neil,

Removing the wheelsets is the easy part, I clean the axle and wheels if needed.

The tricky part for me, is replacing the sets back in the bogie, I try to open the space between the retaining pins gently with a small screwdriver or tweezer, to make seating the axle a little easier.

Cheers,

Gordon
Offline nunk  
#42 Posted : 06 October 2013 00:54:54(UTC)
nunk

Australia   
Joined: 06/08/2013(UTC)
Posts: 66
Location: Logan Village, QLD
I've found that I can't readily fit/hide/secrete a 330uF capacitor (13H x 10D) within my 43010/20/30/40/50 coaches. However, I can fit 3 x 100uF (11H x 6.3D). In parallel, these will provide 300uF. Will this be sufficient to overcome potential flicker?

Thanks, Neil
Offline 3rail4life  
#43 Posted : 06 October 2013 03:21:30(UTC)
3rail4life

United States   
Joined: 23/12/2011(UTC)
Posts: 426
Location: Northern California
Hi Neil,

That sounds like it should work. My solution for tight spots has been to use SMD caps and SMD rectifiers which end up being much shorter and easier to hide.

Cheers,

Gordon
Offline aswap5  
#44 Posted : 24 October 2014 08:53:55(UTC)
aswap5

India   
Joined: 14/10/2013(UTC)
Posts: 32
Dear Schwipple,

What a wonderful project. I was looking for a way to do this and found your post just now. So, months after you posted it, I have been inspired to try the same thing - I need to alter a few things, because my coaches are really old and the niceties, e.g. current conducting couplers, for instance, won't be possible :-(, so the result is bound to be considerably less elegant. Soon I'll start burning myself with the soldering iron and teaching my daughters words they hadn't heard before!

Thanks again.

Ashok

Offline GlennM  
#45 Posted : 12 August 2016 13:23:16(UTC)
GlennM

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC)
Posts: 2,877
Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England
Originally Posted by: river6109 Go to Quoted Post
Looks great,

I do all my interior light from scratch, especially carriages with separate apartments. I also have 2 separate circuits, e.g. Aux 1 & Aux 2.
the idea behind having 2 circuits is, when the train is in the station both circuits are activated (Aux 1 + Aux 2) but you will find it rarely all lights are on while traveling through the country side.
Aux 1 = activates some of the interior lights, toilets & markerlights and Aux 2 activates the rest of the apartments (not all have led's from above = as most trains are never fully occupied)
all my led's come off one common wire and every 3 led's receive a resistor.
my electrical 4 pin couplers come from Roco and I must say they're not cheap = Euro 12.00-14.00 a pair.
the 4 pin coupler can take the following wires (ESu colour scheme): Aux 1 = green, Aux 2 = purple, middle track wire = red, common wire (blue)

the middle track wire supplies current for any other function decoder when needed, e.g. 14 car consist.
the brown wire = track = is not needed as most of my Roco carriages have a metal housing for the metal axle so any additional function decoder , the track contact is taken straight from the metal housing and but in today's standard loco having highefficiency motors, the Märklin axle connectors aren't that resistant, to restrict pulling a train.

open interior seat carriages, I use a diffusing light strip.

John


John,

I am an absolute luddite with electronics, I wish I had listened during physics lesson as school, instead of trying to do homemade pyrotechnics with the Bunsen bruners, but may I ask if you use the Roco 4 pin coupling does that mean you could avoid the need to earth each coach at the wheels, and just have the earth and live running through the coaches for the full length of the consist, and have one common earth point and one common feeder from a slider?

BR
Don't look back, your not heading that way.
Offline river6109  
#46 Posted : 12 August 2016 13:50:56(UTC)
river6109

Australia   
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 14,636
Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square
Originally Posted by: GlennM Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: river6109 Go to Quoted Post
Looks great,

I do all my interior light from scratch, especially carriages with separate apartments. I also have 2 separate circuits, e.g. Aux 1 & Aux 2.
the idea behind having 2 circuits is, when the train is in the station both circuits are activated (Aux 1 + Aux 2) but you will find it rarely all lights are on while traveling through the country side.
Aux 1 = activates some of the interior lights, toilets & markerlights and Aux 2 activates the rest of the apartments (not all have led's from above = as most trains are never fully occupied)
all my led's come off one common wire and every 3 led's receive a resistor.
my electrical 4 pin couplers come from Roco and I must say they're not cheap = Euro 12.00-14.00 a pair.
the 4 pin coupler can take the following wires (ESu colour scheme): Aux 1 = green, Aux 2 = purple, middle track wire = red, common wire (blue)

the middle track wire supplies current for any other function decoder when needed, e.g. 14 car consist.
the brown wire = track = is not needed as most of my Roco carriages have a metal housing for the metal axle so any additional function decoder , the track contact is taken straight from the metal housing and but in today's standard loco having highefficiency motors, the Märklin axle connectors aren't that resistant, to restrict pulling a train.

open interior seat carriages, I use a diffusing light strip.

John


John,

I am an absolute luddite with electronics, I wish I had listened during physics lesson as school, instead of trying to do homemade pyrotechnics with the Bunsen bruners, but may I ask if you use the Roco 4 pin coupling does that mean you could avoid the need to earth each coach at the wheels, and just have the earth and live running through the coaches for the full length of the consist, and have one common earth point and one common feeder from a slider?

BR


Glenn,

this is how I do it, 4 pin Roco electrical couplings, all the wires come from the loco decoder, except when you have a driving cab car, the common goes through the whole train (blue wire) I than have 2 Aux wires, 1 red wire (for additional decoder) and track wire from wheels (depends where the function decoder is.
so there is no pick up shoe except for the loco.


John

Edited by user 12 August 2016 17:36:32(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

https://www.youtube.com/river6109
https://www.youtube.com/6109river
5 years in Destruction mode
50 years in Repairing mode
thanks 1 user liked this useful post by river6109
Offline GlennM  
#47 Posted : 12 August 2016 15:39:56(UTC)
GlennM

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC)
Posts: 2,877
Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England
Originally Posted by: river6109 Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: GlennM Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: river6109 Go to Quoted Post
Looks great,

I do all my interior light from scratch, especially carriages with separate apartments. I also have 2 separate circuits, e.g. Aux 1 & Aux 2.
the idea behind having 2 circuits is, when the train is in the station both circuits are activated (Aux 1 + Aux 2) but you will find it rarely all lights are on while traveling through the country side.
Aux 1 = activates some of the interior lights, toilets & markerlights and Aux 2 activates the rest of the apartments (not all have led's from above = as most trains are never fully occupied)
all my led's come off one common wire and every 3 led's receive a resistor.
my electrical 4 pin couplers come from Roco and I must say they're not cheap = Euro 12.00-14.00 a pair.
the 4 pin coupler can take the following wires (ESu colour scheme): Aux 1 = green, Aux 2 = purple, middle track wire = red, common wire (blue)

the middle track wire supplies current for any other function decoder when needed, e.g. 14 car consist.
the brown wire = track = is not needed as most of my Roco carriages have a metal housing for the metal axle so any additional function decoder , the track contact is taken straight from the metal housing and but in today's standard loco having highefficiency motors, the Märklin axle connectors aren't that resistant, to restrict pulling a train.

open interior seat carriages, I use a diffusing light strip.

John


John,

I am an absolute luddite with electronics, I wish I had listened during physics lesson as school, instead of trying to do homemade pyrotechnics with the Bunsen bruners, but may I ask if you use the Roco 4 pin coupling does that mean you could avoid the need to earth each coach at the wheels, and just have the earth and live running through the coaches for the full length of the consist, and have one common earth point and one common feeder from a slider?

BR


Glenn,

this is how I do it, 4 pin Roco electrical couplings, all the wires come from the loco decoder, except when you have a driving ca car, the common goes through the whole train (blue wire) I than have 2 Aux wires, 1 red wire (for additional decoder) and track wire (depends where the function decoder is.
so there is no pick up shoe except for the loco.


John



Thanks John I like this solution for specific consists that never change. ThumpUp ThumpUp ThumpUp
Don't look back, your not heading that way.
Offline kiwiAlan  
#48 Posted : 14 August 2016 14:29:34(UTC)
kiwiAlan

United Kingdom   
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC)
Posts: 8,082
Location: ENGLAND, Didcot
Originally Posted by: GlennM Go to Quoted Post

I am an absolute luddite with electronics, I wish I had listened during physics lesson as school, instead of trying to do homemade pyrotechnics with the Bunsen bruners, but may I ask if you use the Roco 4 pin coupling does that mean you could avoid the need to earth each coach at the wheels, and just have the earth and live running through the coaches for the full length of the consist, and have one common earth point and one common feeder from a slider?

BR


Don't worry Glen, there are some of us around that understand this stuff BigGrin BigGrin BigGrin

I am looking at doing a similar thing to put lighting in the Trix Orient Express coaches that I have, instead of getting the Marklin lighting sets. I'll probably need to use a 72021 coupling set to hook them to the Marklin ones I have, but I'll have a think about that.

Lokshop don't sell RTS couplings anymore, in fact about the only place I could find them was on ebay, so I got 100 while I was at it. Should keep me going for a little while, but I'll be using a significant percentage of them on the Marklin Orient Express coaches.

I bought a warm white LED string similar to that in the video, off ebay. It was real cheap for a 10 meter string. I bought it as a source for the LEDs figuring I could remove them off the flexible backing to use for projects, but it can be used as strings of 3 LEDs cut off from the reel. I'll try and remember to bring it to Nigels as well, so you can see what it consists of, if you can wait that long.

thanks 1 user liked this useful post by kiwiAlan
Offline GlennM  
#49 Posted : 14 August 2016 15:11:36(UTC)
GlennM

United Kingdom   
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC)
Posts: 2,877
Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England
Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan Go to Quoted Post
Originally Posted by: GlennM Go to Quoted Post

I am an absolute luddite with electronics, I wish I had listened during physics lesson as school, instead of trying to do homemade pyrotechnics with the Bunsen bruners, but may I ask if you use the Roco 4 pin coupling does that mean you could avoid the need to earth each coach at the wheels, and just have the earth and live running through the coaches for the full length of the consist, and have one common earth point and one common feeder from a slider?

BR


Don't worry Glen, there are some of us around that understand this stuff BigGrin BigGrin BigGrin

I am looking at doing a similar thing to put lighting in the Trix Orient Express coaches that I have, instead of getting the Marklin lighting sets. I'll probably need to use a 72021 coupling set to hook them to the Marklin ones I have, but I'll have a think about that.

Lokshop don't sell RTS couplings anymore, in fact about the only place I could find them was on ebay, so I got 100 while I was at it. Should keep me going for a little while, but I'll be using a significant percentage of them on the Marklin Orient Express coaches.

I bought a warm white LED string similar to that in the video, off ebay. It was real cheap for a 10 meter string. I bought it as a source for the LEDs figuring I could remove them off the flexible backing to use for projects, but it can be used as strings of 3 LEDs cut off from the reel. I'll try and remember to bring it to Nigels as well, so you can see what it consists of, if you can wait that long.



Always good to know BigGrin

I saw somewhere that there are anew type of conductor coupling replacing the old RTS coupling?

Yes if you can bring the roll it would be useful, I can also bore you with lots of silly questions.

BR
Don't look back, your not heading that way.
Offline Minok  
#50 Posted : 14 August 2016 23:28:05(UTC)
Minok

United States   
Joined: 15/10/2006(UTC)
Posts: 2,310
Location: Washington, Pacific Northwest
My order of 8x 72021 conducting coupling sets just arrived (2 couplings, two wheel ground pickups, some wiring per box). Thats 8 cars worth, so as my train length will have 4 passenger cars, that's 2 trains.
That will get me power and ground throughout 8 cars. As the last car on a train doesn't really need a conducting coupling I may have 2 spares but that doesn't get me anywhere unless I can mount those on the 2 locomotives (which I doubt).

So I've got the kit to power through 8 cars.
Missing still, how to get the power off of the locomotive's pickup through the locomotive decoder/controller (will need some micro relays for this, and conducting loco couplings and some internal wiring there).
And the lights themselves. So I'm reading this with interest to see how things work out.

For me its a trade of time and resources, so purchasing the Märklin lighting kits may still be the way I go for the quick installation vs building a kit per car from parts and them needing to debug it at least once. Granted even with the Märklin kits I'd likely need to install capacitor components per car.


Just as documentation, as it took me a while to figure out the differences between the Märklin kits, the 72021 comes with
1x ground pickup from the wheels w attached brown wire with a pin on its other end.
2x (conducting coupling + hardware to lead that conduction into the cabin though the pivoting wheel-set)
1x internal wiring pair: red and brown with flat friction connector females on one end, and pin/socket on the other
Marklin 72021 Conducting Coupling Kit.jpg

Edited by user 17 August 2016 01:45:05(UTC)  | Reason: spelling corrections

Toys of tin and wood rule!
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thanks 3 users liked this useful post by Minok
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