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So I bought this Lionel mainline signal for $5 at a train show and it came with this Sky Electronics relay included in the box.  The seller was selling for a friend and had no knowledge of how the signal works with the relay.  Is this something that would connect to an isolated track section and take the place of an 153 IR device?   Appreciate any instruction on how this works and how to wire it.  I am most likely using it with Fastrack.

Thanks,

Rick

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I found/attached datasheet for the relay.

Where will the power for the signal come from?  Accessory AC?  Is this 14V AC, or settable such as from a CW-80?

Also, do you happen to know the exact model/SKU number and instruction manual date for the signal?  Several recent threads have gone around in circles as different people were referring to different versions and different wiring requirements for what was apparently the same product!

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Last edited by stan2004

No worries!  Just getting ducks in a row.  Two more pieces of information are needed which are attached. (1) Your relay is mounted in a so-called blade socket which if one is not familiar would need its datasheet to understand how it connects to the relay.  And (2) Lionel wiring instructions for the 6-14099.  The good news is there appears to be only one version of this signal.  That's a good thing!

I clipped the relevant diagrams from the different spec sheets.  Lionel does not show how to connect the signal to a generic relay using the isolated section method.  I suppose part of the reason is they don't sell generic relays!  Instead they show how to connect the signal to a 153IR occupancy detector which has an internal relay - so one can extrapolate.

6-14099 wiring to generic relay

So if you ignore the man behind the curtain and skip over the techno-jargon:

sky sknp-2c AC coil relay

The only fly in the ointment is a resistor which I recommend installing if operating at 14V AC.  This is because operating a 12V relay at 14V can make it quite hot.  The datasheet suggests the relay coil winding could get hot enough to boil water (over 100 C.).  In practice, the relay coil will only be on (heating up) for a fraction of the time when a consist rolls over the isolated rail.  So I suppose you could convince yourself that you can get by without the resistor which reduces the relay power.  But to experiment to see that your $5 (what a bargain!) signal/relay works at all, you can wire it up without the resistor and run the isolated-rail wire directly to the relay.  Just don't leave it continuously triggered and go out to watch the football game or whatever.

The annoying part is these resistors are 5-cent parts but if your cupboard is bare, I can imagine paying several dollars after minimum quantities and shipping.   By the way, it looks like a hodge-podge of stuff in that box...wouldn't it be a kick if you find something resembling a resistor!

Perhaps someone else has a different perspective and can assure you it's OK to skip the resistor.

Another alternative is to use a lower Accessory Voltage like 12V or even 10V.

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Ste 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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