Do It Yourself Digital LED Strip Lighting in Marklin passenger Cars

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Do It Yourself Digital LED Strip Lighting in Marklin passenger Cars - About $2.25 USD for the whole car. You still have to buy the Marklin current conducting couplers

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SCWHIPPLE		#1 Posted : 23 February 2013 02:56:17(UTC) Retweet
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! 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. 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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GSRR		#2 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:02:46(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC) Posts: 1,339 Location: USA		........ Edited by user 24 February 2013 21:29:26(UTC) \| Reason: Not specified
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kimballthurlow		#3 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:08:12(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 18/03/2007(UTC) Posts: 6,764 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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SCWHIPPLE		#4 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:28:24(UTC) Retweet
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!
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GSRR		#5 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:30:34(UTC) Retweet
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
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GSRR		#6 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:35:59(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC) Posts: 1,339 Location: USA		Originally Posted by: SCWHIPPLE 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
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SCWHIPPLE		#7 Posted : 23 February 2013 03:50:37(UTC) Retweet
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?
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GSRR		#8 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:17:59(UTC) Retweet
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):
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SCWHIPPLE		#9 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:30:40(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: GSRR 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.
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SCWHIPPLE		#10 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:37:21(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: GSRR 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.
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GSRR		#11 Posted : 23 February 2013 04:49:51(UTC) Retweet
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?
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Danlake		#12 Posted : 23 February 2013 06:07:25(UTC) Retweet
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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SCWHIPPLE		#13 Posted : 23 February 2013 17:08:44(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: GSRR 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?
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GSRR		#14 Posted : 23 February 2013 17:15:07(UTC) Retweet
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 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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SCWHIPPLE		#15 Posted : 24 February 2013 20:56:16(UTC) Retweet
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!
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SCWHIPPLE		#16 Posted : 24 February 2013 21:01:57(UTC) Retweet
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!
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GSRR		#17 Posted : 24 February 2013 21:06:29(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 01/03/2009(UTC) Posts: 1,339 Location: USA		Originally Posted by: SCWHIPPLE 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! Stephen. ..... r/Thomas
		ETE 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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SCWHIPPLE		#18 Posted : 24 February 2013 21:22:27(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: GSRR Originally Posted by: SCWHIPPLE 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! 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
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3rail4life		#19 Posted : 24 March 2013 08:27:26(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/12/2011(UTC) Posts: 426 Location: Northern California		Bumping this post for awesomeness 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 easy and cheap too Gordon

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river6109		#20 Posted : 24 March 2013 09:40:26(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC) Posts: 14,875 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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rbw993		#21 Posted : 24 March 2013 15:18:07(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,053		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
		Modeling Immensee, mile/km 0 on the Gottard. SBB Era V.

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NZMarklinist		#22 Posted : 24 March 2013 16:55:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/03/2011(UTC) Posts: 1,757 Location: Auckland NZ		Originally Posted by: river6109 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 , this is a Marklin forum
		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


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3rail4life		#23 Posted : 24 March 2013 20:26:49(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/12/2011(UTC) Posts: 426 Location: Northern California		Thanks John, Your work is top notch , 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


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SCWHIPPLE		#24 Posted : 27 March 2013 00:09:44(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: 3rail4life Bumping this post for awesomeness 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 easy and cheap too Gordon Gordon - that looks fantastic! I need to learn to take better pictures!
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SCWHIPPLE		#25 Posted : 27 March 2013 00:12:02(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: rbw993 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.
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rbw993		#26 Posted : 19 April 2013 02:08:51(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,053		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
		Modeling Immensee, mile/km 0 on the Gottard. SBB Era V.

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SCWHIPPLE		#27 Posted : 20 April 2013 01:25:08(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: rbw993 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 . I wish there was a chapter around here. Steve
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rbw993		#28 Posted : 20 April 2013 14:32:47(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,053		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
		Modeling Immensee, mile/km 0 on the Gottard. SBB Era V.

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Drongo		#29 Posted : 27 April 2013 12:01:41(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,253 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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SCWHIPPLE		#30 Posted : 27 April 2013 23:41:16(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: youngagain ... 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.
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Drongo		#31 Posted : 03 June 2013 13:06:27(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,253 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 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 Regards Greg
		Take it easy . . . . or any other way you can get it !!!!

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rbw993		#32 Posted : 03 June 2013 22:41:49(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 19/08/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,053		Lights look great Greg. But I am a little concerned about 12X's engineer and his driving habits!!!! Roger
		Modeling Immensee, mile/km 0 on the Gottard. SBB Era V.


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SCWHIPPLE		#33 Posted : 04 June 2013 14:58:05(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 29/01/2012(UTC) Posts: 75 Location: in a house		Originally Posted by: rbw993 Lights look great Greg. But I am a little concerned about 12X's engineer and his driving habits!!!! Roger Have a thought for the passengers in the unlit car down in the underworld below!
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nunk		#34 Posted : 30 August 2013 12:14:22(UTC) Retweet
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


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nunk		#35 Posted : 02 September 2013 12:02:22(UTC) Retweet
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


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


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Drongo		#37 Posted : 03 October 2013 12:31:09(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,253 Location: Sydney, NSW		Originally Posted by: nunk 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 !!!!


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nunk		#38 Posted : 03 October 2013 13:06:48(UTC) Retweet
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


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Drongo		#39 Posted : 03 October 2013 14:05:11(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 03/06/2008(UTC) Posts: 1,253 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
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BrandonVA		#40 Posted : 03 October 2013 14:27:12(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/12/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,533 Location: VA		Originally Posted by: nunk 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
		My (new) layout progress - BrandonBahn III My previous layout - Brandonbahn II (click here)


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3rail4life		#41 Posted : 03 October 2013 17:27:01(UTC) Retweet
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


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


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3rail4life		#43 Posted : 06 October 2013 03:21:30(UTC) Retweet
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


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aswap5		#44 Posted : 24 October 2014 08:53:55(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 14/10/2013(UTC) Posts: 34		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


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GlennM		#45 Posted : 12 August 2016 13:23:16(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,971 Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England		Originally Posted by: river6109 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.


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river6109		#46 Posted : 12 August 2016 13:50:56(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 22/01/2009(UTC) Posts: 14,875 Location: On 1965 Märklin Boulevard just around from Roco Square		Originally Posted by: GlennM Originally Posted by: river6109 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
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1 user liked this useful post by river6109		GlennM
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GlennM		#47 Posted : 12 August 2016 15:39:56(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,971 Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England		Originally Posted by: river6109 Originally Posted by: GlennM Originally Posted by: river6109 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.
		Don't look back, your not heading that way.


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kiwiAlan		#48 Posted : 14 August 2016 14:29:34(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 23/07/2014(UTC) Posts: 8,480 Location: ENGLAND, Didcot		Originally Posted by: GlennM 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 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.

1 user liked this useful post by kiwiAlan		GlennM
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GlennM		#49 Posted : 14 August 2016 15:11:36(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 09/05/2011(UTC) Posts: 2,971 Location: Somewhere, But Nowhere Near Manchester, England		Originally Posted by: kiwiAlan Originally Posted by: GlennM 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 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 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.


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Minok		#50 Posted : 14 August 2016 23:28:05(UTC) Retweet
Joined: 15/10/2006(UTC) Posts: 2,319 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 Edited by user 17 August 2016 01:45:05(UTC) \| Reason: spelling corrections
		Toys of tin and wood rule! --- My Layout Thread on marklin-users.net: InterCity 1-3-4 My YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@intercity134

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