6vac to 6vdc

Full wave bridge rectifier.  AC in, DC out.  85 cents at All Electronics.  A little more at Radio Shack locally, but no shipping charge.

 

Thanks Rob!
Is there any worry about getting the wrong thing or ratings I should worry about?

For example the one you link to says 6 amp 400 volt. If I choose something like that I am assuming I'll have no worries because I'm only using 5 volts and 1.6 amps.

Using electronic components that are rated HIGHER than what you need is always good practice.

 

This bridge rectifier would work fine.

Thank you all!

I'm excited to venture into my first custom enhancement project

Jason

Depending on the relay, you may want a capacitor as well.

 

When you full-wave rectify 6 VAC, you'll end up with about 6.5 VDC, but it'll also be pulsed at 120hz.  Some relays will react faster than that and thus be opening and closing all the time, or at least buzzing.  Adding a capacitor will solve that issue, but then the voltage will climb to around 7.5 volts.  Check the specifications on the relay to make sure it won't overheat at the higher voltage.  What is the coil specification for the relay?

Open voltage on a wall-wart is quite high, too.  A lot of 12 volt DC units put out 17-19 volts without a load.

Good point on the open-circuit voltage Rob, I assumed a real 6 volts.  Perhaps a regulator is the way to go here.

The coil rating says 12 volts dc.
I only want the relay to be closed momentarily. I plan to power the relay from a mini commander acc from electric railroad. Using the high current outputs of that mini commander I can select the voltage output between 2 -18 (as long as it is an even number).

I want the relay to act like a push button when I pulse the high current output of the mini commander. I want the relay to close the loop of a circuit that isn't powering anything just telling it start.  Does this information help?

Is a capacitor needed?

The parts I'm thinking/hoping will work are:
http://m.radioshack.com/radios...productId=2062582%22


http://m.radioshack.com/radios...sp?productId=2062482

I'm choosing these parts based on the posts above, the fact that they are in stock in my local store and the cost is acceptable to me. Will they work? Or have I done all this planning for nothing.

Thanks!
Jason

If the coil rating is 12 volts, 6 VDC likely won't actually close it.  However, with the new information on the source, that's a moot point.  For a relay coil, that 6A bridge is hopeless overkill, if you want something smaller, consider this 1.5A model:  http://m.radioshack.com/radioshack/product/detail.do?itemId=12673807&categoryId=&path=

 

Note the coil rating of the relay is 30ma, so you don't need a lot of power for this application!

Thank you, I'll see if that bridge is in stock. With extra details I provided, will just these 2 components do the job?
Obviously testing it out will tell me, I am just trying to avoid costly mistakes, and learn, and make a sweet upgrade.

Thank you all!
Jason

I'd probably consider a 100uF 25 volt capacitor as well, just to filter the DC and make sure the relay doesn't chatter.

Thank you John,
Hopefully over time will become as electrically component as you and the other forum members that are helping me. I really appreciate it.

My local store only has a 35v capacitor in stock. I'm assuming this would be acceptable?

Again thanks!

35V will be fine, just not one of the 10 volt jobs!

 

Out of curiosity, what are you putting the ERR board into?  I've used these in a number of pieces of rolling stock.

If you don't get enough voltage to drive your relay, we can try a voltage doubler connection that only requires one more capacitor.

The MiniCommander has a programmable output, there's no problem getting the voltage.

Thanks everyone, I have successfully made my little circuit. Ugly looking, I need lots of practice but it works and tests out great. So thank you all for
the help. Also, thank you to my local hobby shop for a few parts and instruction.

And John - I'll make a new post of my project after completion. I've been keeping it a secret from my brother (he also reads the forum), he knows I'm doing something he just doesn't know what (little sibling fun).

Sounds right to me.

Hello John,
Just so you know, I made my post of my project. It is on the 3 rail o gauge forum titled "hogwarts express coach upgrade"

Here is a link (I hope):
https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/5934960406700975

Worked out great O see, glad to be of some assistance.