Band new to the hobby. As I am reading about things in the hobby I am seeing both AC and DC when describing accessories and trains. My zw says it puts out 18vac. Where does the DC part come in and when is it used? Please simple terms as I am only a beginner.
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First off, welcome.
Assuming you are using standard o gauge products, then the AC is used to run the basic function of the trains. (Motors, lights)
The DC comes in when the whistle button is pressed. The DC triggers a switch of some kind in the whistle/horn circuit.
Is this a postwar (40's, 50's, 60's) ZW or something more recent? Also, What types of locomotives and rolling stock do you have?
Hope this helps,
Track power for 3 rail O gauge is AC. Many items other than engines will run on either AC or DC. Command control engines (DCS/TMCC/Legacy) convert the AC to DC in their control boards for use with the engines functions. Most of the engines are powered by DC can motors these days. Both conventional and command engines have circuitry to convert to DC for the motors.
Another use for DC is LED lighting which is becoming the standard for train lighting these days. Some accessories made for AC will also run on DC. Many folks convert the lighting in their older passenger cars to LEDs because they use a LOT less current saving more power for running more engines. Newer passenger cars are now coming out with LED lighting already installed. There are probably more uses that I missed, but that's a basic idea of some of them.
Note that TMCC/Legacy locomotives do not run on DC. This warning appears in every TMCC or Legacy locomotive manual.
Your locomotive is designed to operate on 8-18 volts alternating current. Virtually all Lionel and Lionel-compatible alternating-current transformers are suitable.
Do not power your locomotive with direct current (DC). Damage to sensitive electronic components may occur.
First off, welcome.
Assuming you are using standard o gauge products, then the AC is used to run the basic function of the trains. (Motors, lights)
The DC comes in when the whistle button is pressed. The DC triggers a switch of some kind in the whistle/horn circuit.
Is this a postwar (40's, 50's, 60's) ZW or something more recent? Also, What types of locomotives and rolling stock do you have?
Hope this helps,
First off, welcome.
Assuming you are using standard o gauge products, then the AC is used to run the basic function of the trains. (Motors, lights)
The DC comes in when the whistle button is pressed. The DC triggers a switch of some kind in the whistle/horn circuit.
Is this a postwar (40's, 50's, 60's) ZW or something more recent? Also, What types of locomotives and rolling stock do you have?
Hope this helps,
Yes, the 8-18 volts from the ZW is AC.
Are you using the Legacy control system?
There are systems that can use DC and some prefer it to AC, which is why you read about it.
Lionel O gauge conventional and TMCC/Legacy run on AC only
There are some 70s and 80s conventional inexpensive Lionel sets that ran on DC only.
MTH PS-2 and PS-3 run on AC or DC
HO is mostly run on DC
G
First off, welcome.
Assuming you are using standard o gauge products, then the AC is used to run the basic function of the trains. (Motors, lights)
The DC comes in when the whistle button is pressed. The DC triggers a switch of some kind in the whistle/horn circuit.
Is this a postwar (40's, 50's, 60's) ZW or something more recent? Also, What types of locomotives and rolling stock do you have?
Hope this helps,
Yes, the 8-18 volts from the ZW is AC.
Are you using the Legacy control system?
Yes I have a 990 and LCS.
Where does the DC part come in and when is it used? Please simple terms as I am only a beginner.
A different perhaps philosophical interpretation of your question. When the hobby started a hundred years ago or so the operating components (motors, lights, actuators) ran on AC voltage. The semiconductor and modern electronics which run on DC changed everything. Now the first thing engines and accessories do is convert that AC voltage to DC for internal consumption. This allows the O-gauge manufacturers to use mass produced (low-cost) DC-motors, DC-lights (LEDs), etc. developed for mainstream consumer electronics.
As others point out, other scales use DC. And I can't think of another related hobby that uses AC. That is, R/C cars, planes, drones and even trains use DC - albeit DC-battery powered. In fact, from a circuit design viewpoint, it can be a bother (space, cost, reliability) to perform the AC-to-DC conversion needed to drive O-gauge engine electronics.
So someone new to the hobby with a clean slate might rightfully ponder why use AC at all. In one word, compatability.
Where does the DC part come in and when is it used? Please simple terms as I am only a beginner.
A different perhaps philosophical interpretation of your question. When the hobby started a hundred years ago or so the operating components (motors, lights, actuators) ran on AC voltage. The semiconductor and modern electronics which run on DC changed everything. Now the first thing engines and accessories do is convert that AC voltage to DC for internal consumption. This allows the O-gauge manufacturers to use mass produced (low-cost) DC-motors, DC-lights (LEDs), etc. developed for mainstream consumer electronics.
As others point out, other scales use DC. And I can't think of another related hobby that uses AC. That is, R/C cars, planes, drones and even trains use DC - albeit DC-battery powered. In fact, from a circuit design viewpoint, it can be a bother (space, cost, reliability) to perform the AC-to-DC conversion needed to drive O-gauge engine electronics.
So someone new to the hobby with a clean slate might rightfully ponder why use AC at all. In one word, compatability.
Thank You Stan
So I am dealing with AC for the most part and if needed DC is usually converted at the device I am running on AC. Does Converting lighting in passenger cars which are currently using AC conventional bulbs to LED necessitate any major changes? Can I buy parts at , say Radio Shack?
Compatibility issues are largely related to the fact that, in vintage conventional equipment , the relationship between AC and DC becomes a little more complicated.
While vintage universal motors can run on both AC and DC track power, the bells and whistles (quite literally) introduced in the 30's were designed to work with AC track power and will not function properly on DC track power.
As I mentioned in a previous reply, in conventional, a DC pulse from the whistle button triggers the whistle, on DC track power the whistle would blow continuously.
Not to confuse things but I hope this helps with understanding why this hobby still uses an AC track power standard for the most part.
If you use the search function on OGR for something like "passenger car led lighting" you'll get dozens of threads about how to do this conversion. You'd think that someone would have consolidated all this info into one thread but there are so many variations in passenger car types, operating environments/voltages, electronic assembly/soldering skill, etc. that I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer.
I think you probably can get all the items at Radio Shack - things like diodes, capacitors, resistors, an regulator IC chip, and even the LEDs. I think RS still carries meters, soldering tools, wire, and project boards to mount parts. Most guys on OGR use mail-order (companies like DigiKey or Mouser) for these kinds of parts - Radio Shack can be expensive with limited selection. If you're willing to wait a couple weeks, the best prices are from Asian sellers such as on eBay.
If you share exactly what you're trying to do I think you'll be surprised with the breadth/depth of responses you'll get here on OGR - you might even find someone who already did it. I'm confident you'll get better information here than from the person behind the counter at Radio Shack.
On this point I will certainly agree. Radio Shack, even if you find one that's still open, will normally not have anyone behind the counter that knows a diode from a resistor. You can pretty much forget finding the 22uh choke for DCS compatibility at RS, that's not going to happen.
As Stan says, my go-to places are Digikey and Mouser, both have a huge assortment of parts, and they ship very quickly. Normally, I get my orders within a couple days of placing them. For the inexpensive parts needed for LED power, IMO it's not worth the wait to buy from Far East suppliers in small quantity. The one exception is probably the 5 meter rolls of LED's, there are some really good prices on eBay. Item 281306833066 for $5.99 looks pretty good, and it's even waterproof and shipped from the US! It's actually the high density roll with 600 LED's in the 5 meters, surprising price! It looks so good that I ordered a couple rolls. 
Edit: Item 371400618196 is $4.53 from the Far East, also free shipping.
stan2004 posted:Originally Posted by mknight1957:So I am dealing with AC for the most part and if needed DC is usually converted at the device I am running on AC. Does Converting lighting in passenger cars which are currently using AC conventional bulbs to LED necessitate any major changes? Can I buy parts at , say Radio Shack?If you use the search function on OGR for something like "passenger car led lighting" you'll get dozens of threads about how to do this conversion. You'd think that someone would have consolidated all this info into one thread but there are so many variations in passenger car types, operating environments/voltages, electronic assembly/soldering skill, etc. that I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer.
I think you probably can get all the items at Radio Shack - things like diodes, capacitors, resistors, an regulator IC chip, and even the LEDs. I think RS still carries meters, soldering tools, wire, and project boards to mount parts. Most guys on OGR use mail-order (companies like DigiKey or Mouser) for these kinds of parts - Radio Shack can be expensive with limited selection. If you're willing to wait a couple weeks, the best prices are from Asian sellers such as on eBay.
If you share exactly what you're trying to do I think you'll be surprised with the breadth/depth of responses you'll get here on OGR - you might even find someone who already did it. I'm confident you'll get better information here than from the person behind the counter at Radio Shack.
I have to agree about Radio Shack. They shouldn't call themselves that anymore. Too many times I get the "I don't know what that is" answer or the blank look on their faces. OGR is one of the best places to get help next to belonging to a local club that has experienced train runners. I'm lucky on both counts.
mknight1957 posted:Band new to the hobby. As I am reading about things in the hobby I am seeing both AC and DC when describing accessories and trains. My zw says it puts out 18vac. Where does the DC part come in and when is it used? Please simple terms as I am only a beginner.
Read the manuals and follow the instructions for the electrical connections.
When you encounter a situation that is not covered for connecting something requiring DC power, you'll be ready for it, not a "newbie" any longer and can post to the forum for the answer or solution.
Gentlemen,
Guns is absolutely correct about RS and their unknowledgeable employees now. Unfortunately RS took a nose dive long ago, especially with their employees. Guys like Guns and GGG here on the OGR can help you with the knowledge you need, the only item I go into RS for these days, is if I need their Gold Banana plugs right away, other wise the same Banana Plugs can be found for 1/2 the price on the Net.
PCRR/Dave
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