I saw a locked thread from 2 years ago talking about ordering these directly from Lionel. Anyone have or using one of these?
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I "roll my own" with a relay and a couple of electronic parts. The MSRP of $29.95 is absurd for something this simple!
Gunrunner/Greg,
Any luck with these. I called Lionel Customer Service this morning and the girl looking them up said they didn't even show on the computer. I got the standard "Check back after the first of the year".
John, if you were able to build these from scratch could you provide a parts list? Is this a "Radio Shack" type of project? I'm trying to keep my 2-animation Block Signal footprint small on my layout and would love to just use something akin to the 153E seen in Greg's link to the Lionel Video.
Appreciate any help you guys can provide.
Thanks!
Fud
I sent an email to Lionel - They only produced a few (not sure how many is a few) of these and will no longer make them. I should have updated this post. I got the answer last week.
The 153IR seem to have been discontinued as well
Just a guess, but one reason it may have been discontinued is because its functionality can be cobbled together for quite a bit less as GRJ suggests. Dale H also has a roll-your-own write-up here:
http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/Re...Rail-Block-Detection
Also, there seem to be off-the-shelf equivalent widgets like the MRAPR from Azatrax which is less than $10 http://www.azatrax.com/track-power-relay.html
With a bit of legwork sketching out the hookup, tracking down parts, soldering, etc. the 153E can be duplicated for a lot less than $30 out-of-pocket. But I get how this is not for everyone. In the big scheme of things $30 for a Lionel branded product with video documentation on how to hookup, etc. might be the preferred option.
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Years ago I was able to find used 12VAC DPDT relays real cheap at a local surplus electronics store which I'm still using. But they ran out of them a few years ago and don't have them anymore.
How about these guys who bought Scotts Odds-and-ends: Relays
Still a bit pricey.
Bill
You can get 12V DC relays for peanuts, I prefer them anyway. I add a choke, a diode, a resistor, and a large capacitor. This eliminates the contact chatter and gives me a nice solid contact closure. The choke is for DCS compatibility, the resistor is to limit the inrush charging current for the cap to avoid arcing, the diode use should be obvious. 
Gents,
Thanks for the excellent feedback and assistance! I think I'm going to give those relays from Azatrax a try. I'll let you know how I make out.
Thanks again!
Fud
I just ordered some today. For $9 its hard to beat the convenience.
I have a spot where a 153IR is facing close to a wall. If I turn the sensitivity down to stop the wall triggering it, the train does not set it off. So I'll handle it the old fashioned way with an insulated rail block.
I think he has some pretty nice stuff on that website. JMO
cbojanower posted:The 153IR seem to have been discontinued as well
Where do you get your info from?
Rod Miller
I just bought three 153IR's last week. Trainworld for $29.99 each I think. Might have been a bit less.
Thanks. I don't think they are discontinued.
Rod Miller
This thread is from 2014. If you look at the Lionel website a new version of the 153IR was introduced in 2015.
I'm speculating that there might have been a gap where the 153IR was unavailable as the new version was being released. There was a recent OGR thread showing the guts of the 2015 version vs. the 2002/earlier version(s). From an engineering perspective the newer design appears better engineered and manufacturable. Given a choice I'd want the new version...in my opinion of course.
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Also, since 2014, our own Gunrunnerjohn designed what amounts to an improved 153E available from forum sponsor Hennings Trains.
http://hennings-trains.shoplig...r-insulated-tra.html
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It's a three year old thread that I got a lot of use from today including what you just posted here.
i tried hooking up an Azatrax relay to a lionel dwarf signal - i followed the directions - the dwarf signal i have has three wires - red, black and yellow - i but the red wire in the NO and the Yellow wire in NC - the black wire to accessory power common, i then powered up the relay and only green light is on - i "triggered" the outside rail to the insulated section between the two isolating points and the green light goes off - but the red light does not come on - can anyone provide a wiring diagram of how to connect the dwarf signal to the Azatrax relay? i have been successful in using the 153ir and the #148 dwarf signal and that works - but i bought a few of the Azatax relays and thought i would try them - i used about 14v accessory power and 18 v to the track
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This is the diagram I used. The red wire from the signal went to NO, yellow to NC and black to aux power common. Not sure what I am doing wrong
If you swap red and yellow (red to NC, yellow to NO) does it operate backwards...that is, is Red on normally, then Green on when triggered?
thanks - i will try in morning - i think that may do it - will post what i find tomorrow - thanks again
here is the diagram - i tried switching the yellow and red wires - no luck - now my red light will not come on - i wonder if i screwed it up somehow - i tried connecting just to transformer then triggered the yellow wire - and the green light went out but red light did not come on - switched the wires and no red light on then i triggered bu grounding the yellow wire and the green light came on. the problem i was having was the red and green lights would be on when a car was in the insulated section - so i read that a relay was needed - but i could not get iit to work and now i think i screwed yp the red LED - if anyone could provide help with wiring up the Dwarf signal i would appreciate it - i have one more #148 signal that i would like to try with the right wiring help
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I use Automotive relays to turn track power on and off. Contacts are good to 25 or 30 amps. Coils are 12 DC. They are cheap and plentiful.
I also have 28 V dc coil military relays from many years ago. It takes a large voltage to get the relays to snap.
CW80 accessory power is AC? LEDS are usually DC. the power may not be compatible.
From https://www.lionelsupport.com/...50DwarfSignalnew.pdf
The #148 already has the "relay" function built-in. No external relay required!
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thanks - i tried that - red light would come on when train inside the insulated block - but green light would not go out - clean track, clean wheels - still did not work - read somewhere that a relay was needed - but it dod not work either - i have an older Lionel signal that works fine - just having problems with the #148 version. i did manage to screw up the red LED so i opened up the signal and see there is a circuit board inside that doesn't allow access to replace the red LED - so i think i will just use the "older" signals and the MTH version which works perfectly
Yup, it seems the 148 LEDs are not user-serviceable:
The following photos hijacked from a different OGR thread about an LED-based signal head; out of curiosity, did the circuit board in your 148 look like this?
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the circuit board did not look like this - it was impossible to see since Lionel used a rubber cement to hold it in place - no where near as complex as the one shown - it didn't appear to be able to remove the LED's with out rising out and breaking the circuit board. I am really disappointed in the #148 ( newest version) the MTH version and the older Lionel work fine - the only way i could get the #148 to work was with the 153ir anyway - thanks to all that sent information
