@RSJB18 posted:
After a stiff drink.....
.....
Bob
GREAT JOB Bob. 
Nicely organized and neatly done. 
I have difficulty making my work look that good BEFORE I have a " stiff drink "
@Dallas Joseph posted:GREAT JOB Bob.
Nicely organized and neatly done.
I have difficulty making my work look that good BEFORE I have a " stiff drink "
Usually after a stiff drink my work looks... well... not so good.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Usually after a stiff drink my work looks... well... not so good.
I should mention that there is always a spot on my bench for the adult beverage of choice that day.....🥃🍷🍺
Excellent work Bob, you’re making steady progress.
Andy
@Steamfan77 posted:Excellent work Bob, you’re making steady progress.
Andy
@Pingman posted:@RSJB18, thank you for the part numbers and vendor information. It takes time to supply the information in a post, but it is a great help and resource for folks like me who are following your project and plan to do much the same. Again, thanks.
Thanks Carl and Andy.
The marker lights are installed!!!!
Spent about an hour on the prep last night. I have a small round milling head bit for my Dremell which worked perfectly to thin out the back of the shell. As I removed material, I continually checked the front and made steady progress. Once I had the holes where I needed them to be, I painted the edge with some silver acrylic to simulate a bezel ring. I'm happy with how it came out.
Now I need to finish the wiring and put the engine together.
I added some foil tape over the number boards to stop the light spill.
I'm glad that part of the project is done.
Bob
Attachments
Images (7)
That turned out great Bob. In fact, it looks like it was factory installed. Congratulations.
The interior, crew and marker lights came out great!
I like how it came out but not sure it's something I would tackle. You killed it
@RSJB18 posted:The marker lights are installed!!!!
Spent about an hour on the prep last night. I have a small round milling head bit for my Dremell which worked perfectly to thin out the back of the shell. As I removed material, I continually checked the front and made steady progress. Once I had the holes where I needed them to be, I painted the edge with some silver acrylic to simulate a bezel ring. I'm happy with how it came out.
Now I need to finish the wiring and put the engine together.
I added some foil tape over the number boards to stop the light spill.
I'm glad that part of the project is done.
Bob
Bob, very clean looking wiring and the red/green marker lights are awesome! Your classification as newbie needs to be upgraded big time! We are all watching in suspense as your F3 project continues.
@Pingman posted:@RSJB18, thanks as always for the info and fine photos.
Question: what resistor value have you settled on for the marker lights?
Carl- Guess I should have mentioned that- I used a 220 ohm on the green and 470 ohm for the red. Both 1/4 watt.
@WesternPacific2217 posted:Bob, very clean looking wiring and the red/green marker lights are awesome! Your classification as newbie needs to be upgraded big time! We are all watching in suspense as your F3 project continues.
Scott- I will remain a newbie for a while more.....
Having worked my way up in the electrical trade from helper to Licensed Master Electrician, I know that these things take time. Thanks
@RJ Shier @Tranquil Hollow RR- thank you both.
Bob
Bob, are you going to light the number boards as well?
BTW, Liquid Electrical Tape is perfect for blocking light bleed from the interior after installing lights.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Bob, are you going to light the number boards as well?
BTW, Liquid Electrical Tape is perfect for blocking light bleed from the interior after installing lights.
Already done John. Yes- I need to get a bottle of LT.
Attachments
Images (1)
I should get some liquid electrical tape. I have never tried it.
@Mark Boyce posted:I should get some liquid electrical tape. I have never tried it.
It's OK for insulation, I sometimes use it in low-impact situations. The real use I get from it is as a light blocker for lighting installs, it works great! 
@gunrunnerjohn posted:It's OK for insulation, I sometimes use it in low-impact situations. The real use I get from it is as a light blocker for lighting installs, it works great!
I see that HD carries it. Next trip a bottle will come home with me.
We used to use something similar for insulating cable splices at higher voltages but I don't think I'd put it anywhere near a plastic toy train shell......
Bob
@gunrunnerjohn posted:It's OK for insulation, I sometimes use it in low-impact situations. The real use I get from it is as a light blocker for lighting installs, it works great!
@gunrunnerjohn, what do you use to apply it as a light blocker for lighting installs?
@Pingman posted:@gunrunnerjohn, what do you use to apply it as a light blocker for lighting installs?
A flat toothpick as a rule. The brush in the can is useless for most applications, I just use that to stir the jar. 
Bob, excellent work! The marker lights are sharp. This has been an outstanding project all around.
Andy
@Steamfan77 posted:Bob, excellent work! The marker lights are sharp. This has been an outstanding project all around.
Andy
Thanks Andy. Going to be a busy weekend since we host Easter Sunday dinner. I hope to steal some time to work on it......time will tell.
Bob
@gunrunnerjohn posted:A flat toothpick as a rule. The brush in the can is useless for most applications, I just use that to stir the jar.
Thanks for the tip. I'd used this product long ago and knew the included brush was not for this application. And since I'm going to be lighting some number boards on F-3s soon, the toothpick will be put to use.
I truly wonder what the big brush is used for? You'd be painting a pretty wide swath with that sucker, you'd have to be serious about insulation to make that useful. I keep lots of toothpicks handy as I use them to apply glue, occasionally lube, and of course, Liquid Tape.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I truly wonder what the big brush is used for? You'd be painting a pretty wide swath with that sucker, you'd have to be serious about insulation to make that useful.
Silver paint on marker light holes too.....😁😁
I’ve been following your thread with interest since I’m planning on doing similar upgrades to my newly acquired Santa Fe F3 Warbonnet. I just got the bad news from Jeff at Train Tender that he no longer has the cab interior part number you mentioned back on 4/11, and can’t get anymore. Further he doesn’t know anywhere else that has it. Super bummer for me but good for you!
@texgeekboy posted:I’ve been following your thread with interest since I’m planning on doing similar upgrades to my newly acquired Santa Fe F3 Warbonnet. I just got the bad news from Jeff at Train Tender that he no longer has the cab interior part number you mentioned back on 4/11, and can’t get anymore. Further he doesn’t know anywhere else that has it. Super bummer for me but good for you!
Sorry to hear that, sounds like I got his last pair. Try Lionel, I found some by searching various F units with pullmor motors (assuming your set is the same).
Here's the engine I found when I started looking. Looks like they still have inventory. You need parts #10 & 13
https://www.lionelsupport.com/...Powered-2382-6-24571
They are out of stock on the engineer figures but the MTH figures worked just fine.
Happy hunting.
Bob
So I've been banging my head against the proverbial wall over an issue with the markers for weeks now. They are wired into the front and rear lighting outputs, and are supposed to toggle on and off to match forward/ reverse direction. They work fine on my bench but wouldn't when connected to the AC commander.
John provided a clear wiring diagram which I followed to no avail. 
Well.....I finally figured it out! I had the wrong type of LED's 
. I was using common anode, when common cathode were required. The polarity from the board outputs are reversed (negative output) so the diode was doing what it should and not let the power pass through.
And this my friends is why I'm still a newbie! 
Here's a short video of the test.
Now to take it all apart and swap the led's. At least I can finally move this project toward completion.
Bob
Attachments
Images (1)
Videos (1)
The good thing is, you won't soon forget this lesson! Remember, TMCC = Positive Ground for lighting outputs.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:The good thing is, you won't soon forget this lesson!
Yep- check another one off the list.
Probably an often-asked question, WHY DID LIONEL REVERSE THE POLARITY???????
Nobody really knows, but I have a theory. In command mode the smoke unit has half-wave positive polarity, so having the lighting be negative polarity would reduce the DC offset on the track. That may or may not have been the driver, but it's the only rational reason I could come up with.
@RSJB18 posted:Yep- check another one off the list.
Probably an often-asked question, WHY DID LIONEL REVERSE THE POLARITY???????
Why did they make U the center rail post on some transformers and outside rail post on others??????
Why did they charge more for 4 packs of Fastrack than 4 individual pieces?????
Why can't I get a result on their Search when I type in model number????
What is the secret of life????
(Actually, I know the answer to the last one. It's "Buy low, sell high").
@John H posted:Why did they make U the center rail post on some transformers and outside rail post on others??????
AND-----why "U" not "C" for common????
Why did they charge more for 4 packs of Fastrack than 4 individual pieces?????
Why can't I get a result on their Search when I type in model number????
They need to take some lessons from Google
What is the secret of life????
(Actually, I know the answer to the last one. It's "Buy low, sell high").
And don't forget this one....
Attachments
Images (1)
@RSJB18 posted:So I've been banging my head against the proverbial wall over an issue with the markers for weeks now. They are wired into the front and rear lighting outputs, and are supposed to toggle on and off to match forward/ reverse direction. They work fine on my bench but wouldn't when connected to the AC commander.
John provided a clear wiring diagram which I followed to no avail.
Well.....I finally figured it out! I had the wrong type of LED's
And this my friends is why I'm still a newbie!
Here's a short video of the test.
Now to take it all apart and swap the led's. At least I can finally move this project toward completion.
Bob
I think you got that backwards. Since TMCC has a positive ground you need common ANODE leds and not the more available common cathode ones. That better be right since I sent back a bunch of common cathode ones and replaced them with common anodes.
@iguanaman3 posted:I think you got that backwards. Since TMCC has a positive ground you need common ANODE leds and not the more available common cathode ones. That better be right since I sent back a bunch of common cathode ones and replaced them with common anodes.
Correct, I think Bob just got the terminology backwards. My diagram clearly shows common anode LED's, and I've done many locomotives with a similar scheme. Since he got it working properly, clearly he is using the common anode parts.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:Correct, I think Bob just got the terminology backwards. My diagram clearly shows common anode LED's, and I've done many locomotives with a similar scheme. Since he got it working properly, clearly he is using the common anode parts.
@iguanaman3 posted:I think you got that backwards. Since TMCC has a positive ground you need common ANODE leds and not the more available common cathode ones. That better be right since I sent back a bunch of common cathode ones and replaced them with common anodes.
I had CA led's and they didn't work. The updated video is with CC led's......
Just purchased from Mouser
If you used common cathode LED's with my wiring scheme, they're not lighting!
Just a question, does this unit just happen to have a R2LC-C07 TMCC board? That is the one exception to the rule, it has positive lighting outputs as opposed to the negative outputs from the much more common R2LC-C08.
@RSJB18 posted:I had CA led's and they didn't work. The updated video is with CC led's......
Just purchased from Mouser
I'm with you, Bob! It has been sooooo long since I worked with discrete components and schematics, I forgot which was which; anode and cathode.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:If you used common cathode LED's with my wiring scheme, they're not lighting!
Just a question, does this unit just happen to have a R2LC-C07 TMCC board? That is the one exception to the rule, it has positive lighting outputs as opposed to the negative outputs from the much more common R2LC-C08.
One exception to the rule!! Now you sound like the English teacher!
@gunrunnerjohn posted:If you used common cathode LED's with my wiring scheme, they're not lighting!
Just a question, does this unit just happen to have a R2LC-C07 TMCC board? That is the one exception to the rule, it has positive lighting outputs as opposed to the negative outputs from the much more common R2LC-C08.
And the winner is......
Mystery solved.
Wow John, you're good! 👍👍
Once again.....N-E-W-B-I-E!
I do know my positives from my negatives, wouldn't have made it to 60 as an electrician if I didn't.
Good to know I'm not going crazy....
So what an I gonna do with all the CC LED'S I just bought....😂
Bob
Attachments
Images (1)
Really odd, that board was only made for the C420 engine so that the marker LED's would work without swapping wires, apparently they did those for that production run after they were wired wrong.
