I enjoyed watching this. Just a minor correction. Cathode is the Negative side, usually the shorter leg and connects to the "anvil" side of the LED when you look inside the LED. Often it corresponds with the flat side of the LED. Anode is the positive side. Thanks for a great video.
Hi Charlie, I watched the video you did using the little module you aquired from ebay and decided that it could be a useful addition to the lighting controls I am installing in my rolling stock, after hunting ebay for the units and having no luck at all I then spotted this video and remembered that you were associated with McKinley Railway. This system looks like it can work for me as no special modules are needed and just a steady hand with a soldering iron, a well devised modification for the model railway. Well done Charlie.
Mckinley, Nicely done. This will keep Charlie out of trouble for years. Also under these lock down conditions stop's him from climbing the walls. Cheers, Chris Perry.
Charlie - this is a neat little trick BUT the use of 3 red rear-facing lights was limited and on unfitted trains, the side lamps were used to face FORWARDS so that the driver could see that the train was complete (not required on fitted trains of course). Your LEDs should be slightly altered to show a red light rearward and a white light forward - presumably by changing the painting/buffing arrangements. Still a great video and a neat trick for van lights!!
To get the white Light forward would involve getting a separate white LED for each side. So you'd need to fit two LED's on each side. The LED's used in this video are red and do not have a white side, which is common of LED lights
Great videos, so well produced. Sad to hear of the loss of your filmmaker. Perhaps when things get back to normal, you will document how you make buildings for your new stations(s) and also how you make elements of your scenery, like trees and buildings? Mayny Thaks Ray Wilson
Hi David and co, hope you are all well. Missing the uploads massively! Just wondered if there was any progress! Obviously I’m guessing the lack of vids is due to Charlie being unable to visit. Hope you find a way of making some content soon. eric
That is a very neat use of these miniature latching relays, a great idea and so simple well done plus thanks for sharing. As used here the relay will most likely do the 50 million operations it is specified for, certainly outlive most of us!! To do this application with integrated circuits etc to match your spec would need some form of memory, so for me at least would be over complex. Some comments if I may - 1) There is no power up inrush current limiting circuitry to the buffer capacitor, this could give rise on certain DCC combinations of power supplies/ layouts/ lots of instances of this or similar circuits from causing nuisance tripping of DCC power supplies. This as the inrush currents add in this scenario. A simple enhancement I suggest is to fit a 47 ohm 0.5 watt charge up resistor in series with the top LHS half wave rectifier diode on each PCB. (The 100uF capacitor appears as a short circuit and will draw a nasty spike of current limited only by the track wiring and track resistances to the DCC psu). This might not be a problem if you only have a few such instances of this circuit. Certainly at McKinley you have multiple and hefty supplies and your stock is well spread. So any such issues will likely be masked/ minimised. However modellers who have a small or sensitive DCC psu and multiple instances of this or similar (e.g. some DCC hold up circuits, or if not set up correctly too) and the surge currents may become significant and/ or may interfere with other equipment. 2) You (correctly) specified 1N4004 rectifier diodes for the relay coil flywheel diodes, these have 30A peak current capability and that range of diode is what should be used for such a relay coil flywheel diode. The RS part 671-5477 you detail is pulling up signal diode type IN418 which has a peak current capability of 2A - I suggest to folk to avoid this as they may be on the verge of failing in this role. IN4002 and 1N4003 are other suitable and perhaps more cost effective diodes to use. 3) DC Analogue - yes it can be used - see my comments on direction enhancement to "Timbersurf" for options to enhance.
What's happened to progress and running trains?? We all love your detailed updates. Has HADES proven a success or a total disaster as it's just too BIG and complex?? BIGGER is not always better. A Dream in the making but not the operation!!
Nice video Charlie. When I did my apprenticeship we were taught to solder the smaller components first so that they remain flat, saves using blue tack or burning your fingers holding the component in place :) - could have used different coloured wiring rather than knots :)
Great idea. Could develop further to mount the reed swiches underneath and embed a magnet in the track. You'd get the same directional movement automatically
From watching Charlie's video, I seem to remember the lamps were a combination of red and White, not all red and they didn't need the hand of God and a load of on-board electronics to operate them.
A little confused here , im sure from my school days , that a positive bias voltage needs to be applied to the Anode. The cathode is the negative bias voltage. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
That is not completely correct - half correct to be exact! So for dc analogue use (do NOT try my suggestions on DCC) - - 1) It will when there are enough volts to allow either of the latching coils to energise, but in one direction only (that gives positive volts). Thereafter the LEDs will start to pass current/ glow when ever there is more than about 3.8V in the given one direction only. This is because the supply is always half wave rectified to give a positive voltage on the top rail. In the other direction the diode blocks any current flow and any charge on the capacitor if there is any is rapidly lost (2/4 secs max), out goes the lights. 2) Replacing the feeder half wave rectifying diode (circuit top LHS) with a full wave rectifying bridge (it inserts between both rail pick ups and the shown circuits i.e. 4 discrete connections - you need to understand how to do this - I stress this is NOT a direct swap out) and this circuit will then operate in either direction under analogue control. 3) Further connect a 9V battery that feeds its positive via a series IN4002 diode to the positive rail of this circuit (top of the reed switches) and the lights will stay on all the time; the dc analogue supply taking over and supplying the LEDs when reaching top speed (greater than about +/- 9.5Vdc). The OV/ negative of the battery goes to the 0V of the circuit = the bottom line of the circuit. 4) You can further enhance by adding a battery on/ off switch in series with the battery positive terminal to conserve your battery when not in use. Hope this helps Stephen
@@TimberSurf And that is exactly what I said, please do me the courtesy of re reading all the way through this time and thoroughly digesting before commenting. Item 1 Half wave = "but in one direction only" "This is because the supply is always half wave rectified". Item 2 "full wave rectifying bridge" "will then operate in either direction under analogue control" I couldn't have been clearer could I !!!!!
Neat, really nice result. Would add; if you wire each group of 3 LEDs in series, then you can use one 6.8k resistor, rather than three 10k resistors. And as others have said, you got your anode and cathode backwards, my chemistry teacher had a good mnemonic, she hated cats, so the cathode is negative. ;-)
Very cool, but a layout with the stature of McKinley Railway isn't producing professional PCBs for stuff like this? :-) JLCPCB is only a few clicks away...
Another great video - and grand to see Charlie is still as sprightly as ever! Tell me, what make are those LED lamps - I've been using the increadibly fragile DCC Concepts ones - yours look far more robust. Also what brand are the pickups - only ever seen the coiled spring type before. I imagine that if McKinley are useing themthey must have passed Davids reliability testing!
A wonderful tutorial on how to add lamps to a brake van 👍. Even though it may look complicated to start with, it really isn't as long as you know what your doing. Where did you get the pickups from for the track power input? Stay safe, GWR
Has anybody tried putting the reed switches running front to back, one each side of the van so you can select the lights by having a fixed magnet trackside always on the left hand side in direction on travel. One directional track only
Great video Charlie, but wouldn't it be a lot easier to use the Train-Tech tail lights which come on with movement. No hand of God with a magnet required!
The question is are the electronics cheaper to build than a cheap DCC decoder? Admittedly this works on a DC layout. Also why not use the copper tracks as tracks. You could reduce the number of links required.
I did it differently and using only a single LED with miniature on off switch underneath and a coin cell battery and holder hidden inside the van. Hand of god needed if the van light needs to be on.the other end.
This just cries out for a PCB.. Anyone able to post up the internal dimensions (max length and the width) of the van... I'm bored and want to play. Wouldn't cost much per board to have JLPCB or any other PCB house in China run them up.
Tomorrow it will be a year since this video came out 😴/😟 Good that Charlie was / is / gona be filming there this month 😏 (I don´t know when, just asked about here on this canal some weeks ago) So soon there should be something new on this canal 😎
Sadly, the person responsible for videoing McKinley trains has now passed away. Charlie from Chadwick was approached, but he has responsibilities towards his own channel, which is fair enough. I think it's safe to say that this channel is no more as I think you'll find that CZcams has rules on time limits regarding uploading. As Monty Python would say: "This channel is a dead channel, a deceased channel, and is no more!" 😁
@@platformten5958 did you watch Chadwick Model Railway today, till the end? 🤔 Polly Parrot was just stunned by some greater serious adverse event, Norwegian Blues can be easily disturbed and get stunted by globe wide trouble. ⚠️
@@lassunsschaun6859 Yes, I did watch the last 'episode' of Chadwick Railway and noted Charlie's comments. If you had done your research properly, you would have seen that I acknowledged the future uploading of McKinley Railway vids in the 'comments' section. I am repeating myself now, in true parrot fashion. 😀
Hi Dave. I have acknowledged your return in the 'comments' section of your Spring Update 2021 video. Welcome back, and I would like to see more of the guy who does all the weathering etc. of your rolling stock. Take care! 👍
Bad thing about relays: they can fail in various ways Good thing about relays: when they fail, you can bodge them with stuff in your car and get the circuit somewhat working again, and not spend the night in a lay-by near Aberystwyth with no working tail lights
Anybody have any contact details for David (the layouts owner)? I've tried to make contact with him via his own company, but he just ignores my messages. I would not mind, but I would like to talk to him about a major project I'm undertaking and I would like his input. Any help would be apreciated
Hello Kevin, I have just seen this message and have not seen any emails or messages from you in the past. If you still want help please post a reply to this message. David
@@dattouk Hi David, thanks for the reply, but you have already spoken to Charlie with regard this matter, but I've mislaid your personal email address that Charlie passed over to me (Long story short, my email server crashed), hence the lack of a response via email. Is there any way we can get together for a chat (off here) as I'm still interested in talking about the project.
Nice for a change to see somebody associated with model railways who knows how to solder i.e. does not insist on plastering everything in flux paste. The "multicore" in multicore solder refers to multiple cores of flux within the solder, a fact that many muppets producing so called "instructional" videos about soldering seem oblivious to. Leave the horrible muck alone in the tin in the shop....where it belongs. If you need to plaster everything in solder paste to get the solder to flow, you just ain't doin' it right. Anyway, this is a clever idea for being able to switch tail lights on and off easily. Just one small grumble. The anode of a diode is the positive end and the cathode is the negative, not the other way around as stated in the video.
Loving the channel, however annode is positive and cathode is negative startingelectronics.org/beginners/components/LED/ also the circuit diagram does not correspond to the video as the resistors are not going to the same contacts at all for A or B and only 2 are to the same place for C and D.
I miss you David. I do hope you and your team are well.
I enjoyed watching this. Just a minor correction. Cathode is the Negative side, usually the shorter leg and connects to the "anvil" side of the LED when you look inside the LED. Often it corresponds with the flat side of the LED. Anode is the positive side.
Thanks for a great video.
Opps - Thanks for the info!
Great video especially with Charlie Bishop narrating it 👍🏻 Well done to all the McKinley team and hope your all keeping safe and well 😃
We're missing you here, I hope you're ok!
Same! Hoping it's covid restrictions that's put a halt on the videos, my absolute favourite project I've been following!
Thanks. We are all here, busy and now back on air.
@@dattouk Great, really happy to hear that!
Hi Charlie, I watched the video you did using the little module you aquired from ebay and decided that it could be a useful addition to the lighting controls I am installing in my rolling stock, after hunting ebay for the units and having no luck at all I then spotted this video and remembered that you were associated with McKinley Railway.
This system looks like it can work for me as no special modules are needed and just a steady hand with a soldering iron, a well devised modification for the model railway.
Well done Charlie.
Nice job Charlie, and excellent easy o follow pics and narrative.
Best wishes to you, David and the team.....stay safe and stay healthy.
Cheers
Bob
Mckinley, Nicely done. This will keep Charlie out of trouble for years. Also under these lock down conditions stop's him from climbing the walls. Cheers, Chris Perry.
Charlie - this is a neat little trick BUT the use of 3 red rear-facing lights was limited and on unfitted trains, the side lamps were used to face FORWARDS so that the driver could see that the train was complete (not required on fitted trains of course). Your LEDs should be slightly altered to show a red light rearward and a white light forward - presumably by changing the painting/buffing arrangements. Still a great video and a neat trick for van lights!!
To get the white Light forward would involve getting a separate white LED for each side. So you'd need to fit two LED's on each side. The LED's used in this video are red and do not have a white side, which is common of LED lights
@@EsotericArctos But there are white LEDs for sale...
This channel is massively underrated, it’s brilliant!
Glad you like it. we have fun building it. Thanks for watching.
Any new videos coming out soon, it's been a couple months ?
why new videos are not coming to the channel? please keep posting the great work. I love your videos.
What a great little project for lock down I just need to order some parts and hope they arrive before insanity does 👍🏻👍🏻
I thought this sounded like Charlie from Chadwick.
I swear it's him
@@craziej2k1 it is him. He does their vids
Great videos, so well produced. Sad to hear of the loss of your filmmaker. Perhaps when things get back to normal, you will document how you make buildings for your new stations(s) and also how you make elements of your scenery, like trees and buildings?
Mayny Thaks
Ray Wilson
THANK YOU SHARE THE VIDEO
GREAT IDEAL
Hi David and co, hope you are all well.
Missing the uploads massively! Just wondered if there was any progress!
Obviously I’m guessing the lack of vids is due to Charlie being unable to visit. Hope you find a way of making some content soon.
eric
Hi Eric.. You guessed it. Very frustrating, but we are back in business now.
I admire your attention to detail.
That is a very neat use of these miniature latching relays, a great idea and so simple well done plus thanks for sharing. As used here the relay will most likely do the 50 million operations it is specified for, certainly outlive most of us!! To do this application with integrated circuits etc to match your spec would need some form of memory, so for me at least would be over complex. Some comments if I may -
1) There is no power up inrush current limiting circuitry to the buffer capacitor, this could give rise on certain DCC combinations of power supplies/ layouts/ lots of instances of this or similar circuits from causing nuisance tripping of DCC power supplies. This as the inrush currents add in this scenario.
A simple enhancement I suggest is to fit a 47 ohm 0.5 watt charge up resistor in series with the top LHS half wave rectifier diode on each PCB.
(The 100uF capacitor appears as a short circuit and will draw a nasty spike of current limited only by the track wiring and track resistances to the DCC psu).
This might not be a problem if you only have a few such instances of this circuit. Certainly at McKinley you have multiple and hefty supplies and your stock is well spread. So any such issues will likely be masked/ minimised. However modellers who have a small or sensitive DCC psu and multiple instances of this or similar (e.g. some DCC hold up circuits, or if not set up correctly too) and the surge currents may become significant and/ or may interfere with other equipment.
2) You (correctly) specified 1N4004 rectifier diodes for the relay coil flywheel diodes, these have 30A peak current capability and that range of diode is what should be used for such a relay coil flywheel diode. The RS part 671-5477 you detail is pulling up signal diode type IN418 which has a peak current capability of 2A - I suggest to folk to avoid this as they may be on the verge of failing in this role. IN4002 and 1N4003 are other suitable and perhaps more cost effective diodes to use.
3) DC Analogue - yes it can be used - see my comments on direction enhancement to "Timbersurf" for options to enhance.
Brilliant video! I've been meaning to do something similar, but in N and with solid-state components…
What's happened to progress and running trains?? We all love your detailed updates. Has HADES proven a success or a total disaster as it's just too BIG and complex?? BIGGER is not always better. A Dream in the making but not the operation!!
Lockdown my friend. Most frustrating. Back on track now.
Nice video Charlie. When I did my apprenticeship we were taught to solder the smaller components first so that they remain flat, saves using blue tack or burning your fingers holding the component in place :) - could have used different coloured wiring rather than knots :)
Malcolm, he said he used all black to help disguise its presence from the back of the lamps
@@ZappaTime ah.. missed that.. that would make sense
Great idea. Could develop further to mount the reed swiches underneath and embed a magnet in the track. You'd get the same directional movement automatically
Please put ads on your videos to help support the layout then expanding will be much easier👍🏻
From watching Charlie's video, I seem to remember the lamps were a combination of red and White, not all red and they didn't need the hand of God and a load of on-board electronics to operate them.
Nice one Charlie!
I like it. Simple but effective.
Any progress?? BIG venture with little updates.. Is the layout running as per design brief?? We're all keen to see it..??
A little confused here , im sure from my school days , that a positive bias voltage needs to be applied to the Anode. The cathode is the negative bias voltage.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Nice tutorial Charlie! You should mention this circuit only works for DCC!!!
That is not completely correct - half correct to be exact! So for dc analogue use (do NOT try my suggestions on DCC) - -
1) It will when there are enough volts to allow either of the latching coils to energise, but in one direction only (that gives positive volts). Thereafter the LEDs will start to pass current/ glow when ever there is more than about 3.8V in the given one direction only. This is because the supply is always half wave rectified to give a positive voltage on the top rail. In the other direction the diode blocks any current flow and any charge on the capacitor if there is any is rapidly lost (2/4 secs max), out goes the lights.
2) Replacing the feeder half wave rectifying diode (circuit top LHS) with a full wave rectifying bridge (it inserts between both rail pick ups and the shown circuits i.e. 4 discrete connections - you need to understand how to do this - I stress this is NOT a direct swap out) and this circuit will then operate in either direction under analogue control.
3) Further connect a 9V battery that feeds its positive via a series IN4002 diode to the positive rail of this circuit (top of the reed switches) and the lights will stay on all the time; the dc analogue supply taking over and supplying the LEDs when reaching top speed (greater than about +/- 9.5Vdc). The OV/ negative of the battery goes to the 0V of the circuit = the bottom line of the circuit.
4) You can further enhance by adding a battery on/ off switch in series with the battery positive terminal to conserve your battery when not in use.
Hope this helps Stephen
@@stephenpike3147 You miss the point! Unless a bridge rectifier is used, the circuit as shown, will only work when running in one direction!
@@TimberSurf And that is exactly what I said, please do me the courtesy of re reading all the way through this time and thoroughly digesting before commenting.
Item 1 Half wave = "but in one direction only" "This is because the supply is always half wave rectified".
Item 2 "full wave rectifying bridge" "will then operate in either direction under analogue control"
I couldn't have been clearer could I !!!!!
I too thought this sounded like Charlie from Chadwick. If not he has a voice double...
He is their new camera "crew".
Indeed it is. We've just filmed 6 videos so hopefully we're back!
Neat, really nice result.
Would add; if you wire each group of 3 LEDs in series, then you can use one 6.8k resistor, rather than three 10k resistors. And as others have said, you got your anode and cathode backwards, my chemistry teacher had a good mnemonic, she hated cats, so the cathode is negative. ;-)
Pancake! Positive Anode Negative Cathode!
Very cool, but a layout with the stature of McKinley Railway isn't producing professional PCBs for stuff like this? :-) JLCPCB is only a few clicks away...
Another great video - and grand to see Charlie is still as sprightly as ever! Tell me, what make are those LED lamps - I've been using the increadibly fragile DCC Concepts ones - yours look far more robust. Also what brand are the pickups - only ever seen the coiled spring type before. I imagine that if McKinley are useing themthey must have passed Davids reliability testing!
A wonderful tutorial on how to add lamps to a brake van 👍. Even though it may look complicated to start with, it really isn't as long as you know what your doing. Where did you get the pickups from for the track power input? Stay safe, GWR
Has anybody tried putting the reed switches running front to back, one each side of the van so you can select the lights by having a fixed magnet trackside always on the left hand side in direction on travel. One directional track only
Good vid, need to do something like this!
Great video Charlie, but wouldn't it be a lot easier to use the Train-Tech tail lights which come on with movement. No hand of God with a magnet required!
The question is are the electronics cheaper to build than a cheap DCC decoder? Admittedly this works on a DC layout. Also why not use the copper tracks as tracks. You could reduce the number of links required.
Got confused .. it's this Charlie ???
great video, is it possible to email you in relation to some probems i am having with train controller?
I did it differently and using only a single LED with miniature on off switch underneath and a coin cell battery and holder hidden inside the van. Hand of god needed if the van light needs to be on.the other end.
Hi, very good idea. Could you reproduce the circuit diagram on a pdf or similar. Finding it difficult to read from your video. Many thanks
Sorry for the late email. Contact me on mckinley at mckinleyrailway.com
Hi .Where can I get the spring loaded wheel contact wipes?
Hello asking out of interest but could there be a video on fitting Kadee couplings on stock that dont have nem pockets??
Good point. We did that in 2000-2003. I avoid non NEM pocketed stock like the plague these days. Did you have any stock specifically in mind?
@@dattouk well some stock by hornby and bachmann use ether clip on couplers or screw on couplers
Top, tenho também um canal sobre trens da rumo logística aqui de Araraquara sp
Obrigado pelo feedback. Espero que você também esteja se divertindo
This just cries out for a PCB.. Anyone able to post up the internal dimensions (max length and the width) of the van... I'm bored and want to play. Wouldn't cost much per board to have JLPCB or any other PCB house in China run them up.
👍👍👍
Tomorrow it will be a year since this video came out 😴/😟
Good that Charlie was / is / gona be filming there this month 😏 (I don´t know when, just asked about here on this canal some weeks ago)
So soon there should be something new on this canal 😎
Sadly, the person responsible for videoing McKinley trains has now passed away. Charlie from Chadwick was approached, but he has responsibilities towards his own channel, which is fair enough. I think it's safe to say that this channel is no more as I think you'll find that CZcams has rules on time limits regarding uploading. As Monty Python would say: "This channel is a dead channel, a deceased channel, and is no more!" 😁
@@platformten5958 did you watch Chadwick Model Railway today, till the end? 🤔 Polly Parrot was just stunned by some greater serious adverse event, Norwegian Blues can be easily disturbed and get stunted by globe wide trouble. ⚠️
@@lassunsschaun6859 Yes, I did watch the last 'episode' of Chadwick Railway and noted Charlie's comments. If you had done your research properly, you would have seen that I acknowledged the future uploading of McKinley Railway vids in the 'comments' section. I am repeating myself now, in true parrot fashion. 😀
Its been a long wait for us too. A very frustrating 12 months. The videos will be coming out in a burst now we have our camera man back.
Hi Dave.
I have acknowledged your return in the 'comments' section of your Spring Update 2021 video. Welcome back, and I would like to see more of the guy who does all the weathering etc. of your rolling stock. Take care! 👍
Where is the McKinley railway located. Is it a secret?
Bournemouth
Haven't seen a video recently? This covid related?
Bad thing about relays: they can fail in various ways
Good thing about relays: when they fail, you can bodge them with stuff in your car and get the circuit somewhat working again, and not spend the night in a lay-by near Aberystwyth with no working tail lights
Anybody have any contact details for David (the layouts owner)? I've tried to make contact with him via his own company, but he just ignores my messages. I would not mind, but I would like to talk to him about a major project I'm undertaking and I would like his input. Any help would be apreciated
Hello Kevin, I have just seen this message and have not seen any emails or messages from you in the past. If you still want help please post a reply to this message. David
@@dattouk Hi David, thanks for the reply, but you have already spoken to Charlie with regard this matter, but I've mislaid your personal email address that Charlie passed over to me (Long story short, my email server crashed), hence the lack of a response via email. Is there any way we can get together for a chat (off here) as I'm still interested in talking about the project.
Thought that was the Legend himself Charlies voice!
Thought that meself Chopbumcookhouse G!
Nice for a change to see somebody associated with model railways who knows how to solder i.e. does not insist on plastering everything in flux paste. The "multicore" in multicore solder refers to multiple cores of flux within the solder, a fact that many muppets producing so called "instructional" videos about soldering seem oblivious to. Leave the horrible muck alone in the tin in the shop....where it belongs. If you need to plaster everything in solder paste to get the solder to flow, you just ain't doin' it right. Anyway, this is a clever idea for being able to switch tail lights on and off easily. Just one small grumble. The anode of a diode is the positive end and the cathode is the negative, not the other way around as stated in the video.
Opps. Thanks for the note.
Loving the channel, however annode is positive and cathode is negative startingelectronics.org/beginners/components/LED/ also the circuit diagram does not correspond to the video as the resistors are not going to the same contacts at all for A or B and only 2 are to the same place for C and D.