Legacy F7 6-34511 Lighting

If the lamps are clear bulbs I doubt they change color based on direction, maybe just on and off based upon direction. IIRC only units with two color leds of Green/Red do so.

BobbyD posted:

If the lamps are clear bulbs I doubt they change color based on direction, maybe just on and off based upon direction. IIRC only units with two color leds of Green/Red do so.

These do. The marker lights on both work correctly when addressed individually but not when in a lash up. 

Welcome to the real world.   In that early Legacy time frame the lighting frequently didn't function as expected when you do an MU.  I have a pair of Conrail SD80's that do the same thing.  The reason is the colors are hard-wired to the opposite direction light output, so whatever the lights on the unit are doing, the marker/class lights will follow.  If it's running backwards, the marker/class lights will also work backwards.  There was no attempt to make the lighting work properly in the MU configuration.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

Welcome to the real world.   In that early Legacy time frame the lighting frequently didn't function as expected when you do an MU.  I have a pair of Conrail SD80's that do the same thing.  The reason is the colors are hard-wired to the opposite direction light output, so whatever the lights on the unit are doing, the marker/class lights will follow.  If it's running backwards, the marker/class lights will also work backwards.  There was no attempt to make the lighting work properly in the MU configuration.

Ah, so basically my set is working fine? What about converting the cab and number boards to LEDs? 

You can convert those to LED's with a 470 ohm resistor, a diode, and of course, the LED.  For number boards, string them in series and use a 220 ohm resistor and diode.  If there are two bulbs in the cab lighting, you can do the same thing with the series string.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

You can convert those to LED's with a 470 ohm resistor, a diode, and of course, the LED.  For number boards, string them in series and use a 220 ohm resistor and diode.  If there are two bulbs in the cab lighting, you can do the same thing with the series string.

Thanks. Could I use a 330 ohm resistor or is 470 lowest I can go? 

Interesting John, since they are sold as an A-A or A-B-A set wouldn't you have to have them set up as a pair for the couplers to work correctly? The parts breakdown for this engine doesn't have the led marker lights in it, when did Lionel change that set up to work correctly?

I think you'll find that brighter isn't always better for the number boards, I frequently go higher in value for those.  If you have two in series, you can go with the 330 if you want brighter lights.

BobbyD posted:

Interesting John, since they are sold as an A-A or A-B-A set wouldn't you have to have them set up as a pair for the couplers to work correctly? The parts breakdown for this engine doesn't have the led marker lights in it, when did Lionel change that set up to work correctly?

I didn't design them, I just traced out the wires to see how they worked.

The older Legacy had the R4LC controlling the lights, and they didn't have multiple lighting outputs, so there were compromises made.  When the RCMC started being used in the 2010-2011 timeframe, there were more lighting outputs available, and they could control the behavior with software.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

BobbyD posted:

Interesting John, since they are sold as an A-A or A-B-A set wouldn't you have to have them set up as a pair for the couplers to work correctly? The parts breakdown for this engine doesn't have the led marker lights in it, when did Lionel change that set up to work correctly?

I didn't design them, I just traced out the wires to see how they worked.

The older Legacy had the R4LC controlling the lights, and they didn't have multiple lighting outputs, so there were compromises made.  When the RCMC started being used in the 2010-2011 timeframe, there were more lighting outputs available, and they could control the behavior with software.

I knew that John   Can't understand why the circuit wouldn't be designed for how the customer would use the item!

Because most of the people designing these trains have no idea how things worked/work in the real world. To them, they are just toys... the more lights and sound the better. Since Lionel is no longer listening to the customers that buy their products, it won't get any better.

BobbyD posted:

I Can't understand why the circuit wouldn't be designed for how the customer would use the item!

You're joshing me, right?