adding tender back ups and cab/fire box lights to steamers ps2

Chris,

You should be able to add the backup light to the existing circuit for the backup light on the PS2 board.

Both of the fire box and interior lights (1 bulb each) can be added to either the front or rear marker lights output on the PS2 board. The will turn off and on together using the soft key LIN if it's present.

In general, they will be always on when the engine is powered on conventionally or when started up under DCS, unless turned off, and will turn off when the engine is shut down under DCS.

If the proper outputs are not enabled in your sound file, I look for a Premier sound file for a similar locomotive to enable more of the outputs like the markers, MARS light, etc. Curiously, the ditch lights are almost always enabled, even for steamers.

As Barry says, I've never seen one where the backup light didn't work, but I'm sure I'll find one now that I said that!

Aren't the marker lights LEDS... What voltage?

The markers are two red or green LED's in series, so the total voltage is around 3V.  The marker outputs are current limited for LED use, as is the Beacon output.

John,

Can't the marker lights on PS2 engines, either 3 volt or 5 volt, be bulbs? I know they can for 5 volt engines and thought they could be for 3 volt engines, as well

Well, they directly power the LED's from the output with no current limiting, so I assumed they would have to be LED's.  They also label the output pin on the schematic as Marker LEDS, I've never tried connecting bulbs to them.

John/Barry,  The PS-2 3V board does have current limiting for the LED outputs.  The smd resistors sit near the connectors.  The LED outputs also use the 5VDC source.  2 LED in series.  I would not recommend using bulbs on it, but it may work.

As stated the rear light is easy and so are markers which are normally available also.

I assume the board is in the tender.  To get Cab and fire box you will have some problems since your tapped out as far as extra wires.

You could double up the headlight for the interior and I would place a 18V bulb across the motor terminals for the Firebox.  This will raise the intensity the faster the motor spins.

Or, you could go with Track lights.

As far as ditch, while they can always be activated, they will also flash when the whistle is blown, which is probably an effect you don't want for steam.

Using a sound file that has them turned on or MARs turned on is the best bet.  These outputs are used in steam for other lighting effects such as number boards.

Need to be careful with a premier file for steam, most likely the drive ratio is different so you will loose scale speed.  Works for diesel, but not steam since the RK drivers are usually smaller than the scale drivers.   G

For firebox glow, I use a pair of the flickering LED's from the battery powered tea lights at the Dollar store.  You get a great effect, much better than a plain bulb.  You do need DC and a filter cap, but they're well worth the effort.

Are the LED outputs on a PS2 board AC, or DC?

DC.  All the outputs on PS-2/3 are DC outputs.  G

Well, they're "sort of" DC.  They a pulsed output, but they don't change polarity.

What does that mean John?  Last discussion was half sine wave isn't AC...

The Feed is pure DC, the return to DC ground is pulsed.

For the LED we don't know if it is pulsed, the FET could just turn on since two LED in series need about 5VDC and the source is 5VDC with a current limiting resistor.   G

Duh!  If the ground return is pulsed, the DC power will be pulsed.  Whatever you power with it will need to deal with that fact.  Last time I checked, you needed a complete circuit for current to flow.

John are you nit picking?  Again, we don't know if the LED circuit is pulsed which was what he asked about.  Any LED whether parallel or series seem to work fine off the circuit.  Are you trying to make it more or less complex?    G

Ok, so with the railking blue comet, I have the markers. Can you just tap off that for fire box and interior light? 6 volt each.  And the board in the tender. I'll open it up take pics so you experts can tell me the plug I need to insert the tender light plug into.  i appreciate the advice.   George, I might be asking for more lights soon, when I figure out all the stuff I need.  

Here are some pics of the thing pulled apart.  In the engine, I see the 2 wires to tap for the light for the cab.  so you tap the engine for the fire box.  ill have to drill out the opening and install a red piece of plastic.  George, so the yellow and white that attach to the motor are the ones you tap for the firebox light.  and use a DC incadesent 18volt for that? 

Also, I am goingto source some kind of engineer and fireman figures and a seat for each to glue into the cab.  I may paint the interior black also to give a more realistic area. 

Seems to me the problem with driving the firebox light with the motor voltage is the glow turns off when the engine stops.  Perhaps some combination of GRJ's idea of using a flickering tea-light LED powered from an engine lamp voltage in combination with the motor voltage would give the best of both worlds.

I can say that the two flickering LED's simply driven by filtered DC look great in the engines I've put them in.  I tried to make a video, but the effect really doesn't come through.

I sand the front flat and then use CA glue to stick them to a clear plastic piece.  That piece gets centered in front of the firebox holes.  The two individual lamps each flickering randomly gives a great effect.

You just have to provide current limited DC to them.  Since they're actually a small circuit doing the flickering, you have to have filtered DC.

Since this is a PS/2 locomotive, if you're tapping off one of the lights, you just treat the purple wire as positive, and use a 270 ohm resistor in series with it.  Then, put a 220uf 25V capacitor directly across the LED's, they're wired in parallel here, and that seems to work well with all I've done.  The capacitor wants to be on the far side of the lamp drive, as I suspect the driver wouldn't like the capacitive load.

Obviously, you need the clearance to put this assembly at the firebox, so I'd check that first.

I'd like to see a drawing (even a crude one) of your circuit... I find that when I try to build a circuit from written instructions I never get it right.  My brain functions visually.

The interior walls of locomotive cabs were (in most cases) painted a green color.  I would paint the backhead black, and the cab floor either black or a weathered wood color.

I use Polly-S Penn Central green to paint my locomotive cabs.

Here you go.

Yes, You can use a double bulb harness to make it easy.  G

Great. So you can get double bulb setups at 3 inches with one single plug?  I will a few of these too in my order! Thanks. George

Yes,  They even come in longer ones for number board lights as an example.  Allows the plug to be routed for those engines that don't use springs and contact pads.  G

Neat idea here!

its great to add cab lights off your firebox light, that is what Im doing.  my 2-6-6-2 UP has a hole in the cab for this!  so does my West Maryland Hudson. so swap out the firebox light and plug in the double, clean and factory like.  ill have to drill out the spots on the blue comet and my crescent, but that's fine with me.  the effects are better.

Chris,  I don't know it the shell has holes for the LED.  You would be best to determine if you can get LED in the shell.  You are correct, you would either need to run two wires up from the tender to power the markers, or install a small 6V Constant Voltage board with a current limit resistor installed.  G

If there's a logical way to install the LED's, you can simply power them from the headlight feed with a 470 ohm resistor in series with the LED's, also wired in series.  Many times there is a spot where the markers would go, but it's not actually drilled out.  My drill fixes that as a rule.   I'm not sure why GGG says you need a constant voltage board, he'll have to explain that to me.

Obviously, if you wanted the markers to actually be controlled by the marker outputs, that would be a bit more complicated.

Those really tiny LED's that are inside my Sante Fe 4-8-4 for the markers would be great to use, very small yellow ones.  I think George meant that if I wanted plug in play, I need that little board, I wanted to get prewired ones and do what you said about drilling out the spots with a titanium drill on my dremel carefully!  those ones MTH has are really tiny, but if a source make prewired super tiny LED, I could get those and just wire them into the headlight leads.  Its tight up on the front of that truck since its articulated. 

http://lighthouseleds.com/3mm-...ight-10-000-mcd.html

I found these from a source I used before 6volt  but 3mm.  not sure if 3mm will work.  I think those ones MTH uses are super tiny 1mm or something. 

Specialty drill bit, eh, guess I gotta get me one of those.

BTW, Digikey sells the tiny 2mm ceramic LED's used in the MTH and Lionel markers and class lights.

John, I don't think I said he "needs".  As Chris stated it is an option for plug and play. Just gave some options, there are more.  He plans on adding cab and firebox lighting too. So if the headlight is tapped for that, he will need another source for markers.  The 2 wire lead allows him to have DCS control.  G

Chris, I Have the green marker also.  If you want marker control just run the extra 2 wires as discussed earlier.  Since you are adding the tender markers you have the 8 pin connector so you can tap into it for the forward markers.   G