As big as you can fit, remember that the working voltage of an electrolytic should be about double the voltage in the circuit.
So get a 50v electrolytic, try maybe 30,000 mfd, but they can get big.
You should also put a resistor and diode in the circuit to avoid big surges when first powering up.
What power supply are you using?
Greg
thx Greg…power supply is LGB #50030 that came with the starter set…
have a couple NIB MRC Railpower 1300 that came with the N scale attic find if one of those would be better…
I do not know what the power output of the MRCs is, but a starter set power supply isn’t really all that good at powering anything more then, well, a starter set.
I meant more like 3300 mfd, sorry.
The MRC unit is an HO unit, not enough voltage or amps for G scale.
The voltage on the LGB is ok, but it’s 7 volt amps, which means on a good day, with a tailwind, down hill, it could give you 1/3 of an amp.
Not useful for any normal loco current, just a small LGB or perhaps a trolley.
Greg
Rule of thumb is 1,000 mfd/amp.
Greg Elmassian said:
I meant more like 3300 mfd, sorry.
The MRC unit is an HO unit, not enough voltage or amps for G scale.
The voltage on the LGB is ok, but it’s 7 volt amps, which means on a good day, with a tailwind, down hill, it could give you 1/3 of an amp.
Not useful for any normal loco current, just a small LGB or perhaps a trolley.
yea, thought that was a typo after shopping around for caps!
will stick with the LGB for now, again this is a simple 10x12 ceiling layout pulling only 5-6 cars…and it is windy in that room, the hvac vents are in the ceiling!
Ron
Thought I’d put this thread to rest, loco & rolling stock is properly lubed, led’s are installed in several cars with circuitry as you folks advised…the challenge here was a ceiling layout with 8" clearance due to the frameless cabinet in one corner, necessitated stick building an R1 radius bridge…put the ceramic xmas buildings in the corners with some foliage, lit it all up and we’re done.
Of course nothing is to scale, nor is this a specific RR, but it serves our purpose, the grandkids (and adults) enjoy it for what it is and I don’t have to unpack/pack it up for the xmas tree!
Many thanks to all for your help on this!
Ron, that’s really nice. You’ve done well.
Ron’s train with all the lights in the cars can tax the 5003 supply.
The LGB 1 amp would work much better.
Also note that the LGB supplies will output more than their rating. My 5003 will run a dual pantograph loco with lights on and operate the pantos. Of course the engine does not run fast, and the breaker inside will have to trip after awhile. I figure if I can run a loco with an under powered supply, it will run great with the proper supply.
So Ron, get a bigger supply for the layout and use the 5003 for bench testing.
Dan,
Thx for the heads up! All seems to be running well, lights and all, as before…we run this only occasionally and slow to moderate speeds for 5-10 min/day if that. there are 2 each - 3 led strips (6 led’s) in each of 5 cars, a sound card in the boxcar & the loco headlight. (note the corner buildings are 7w 110v xmas tree lights, wired to house current, thus are not in the equation.)
That said, am I at risk of blowing something up (loco, car lights) or is it simply the transformer that is at risk?
I see LGB #50081’s (1amp) on ebay at $30++ if I must go that route, if that is a good option.
Thoughts?
Ron
LED lights do help in lowering the current but I find that a bulb at 50 ma is lower than 3 leds in parallel making 60 ma the current. Of course there are 10 ma bright leds available which is the best way to go for low power consumption and indoors will be bright enough. Outside needs much more light for day/evening running.
Some will say do the leds in series, but for a dc/analog track that means at least 10 volts for full brightness with leds taking about 3.3 volts for full brightness!!
Hmm… maybe put a little more analysis into it:
For DCC / fixed track voltage, no question, you put 3 leds in series drawing 10-20 ma total, way more efficient than a single incandescent bulb pulling 50-70 ma.
Now, on variable track voltage, you have to determine what “speed” you are optimized for… at higher speeds, the leds in series are again way more efficient than bulbs.
At lower voltages, you cannot run a bunch of LEDs in series, but most modern LEDs will be plenty bright at 10ma, so still 3 in parallel are almost half the current of a single incandescent bulb.
And Dan, your final sentence is flawed a bit… yes comparing 2 leds in series with one bulb means you need 10v on the track for full brightness BUT (here is the flaw)… if you are comparing to an 18v bulb in the loco, then how bright is your 18v bulb at 10v? Not very bright, so this comparison is actually flawed. NEITHER the LEDs nor the bulb will be at full brightness.
You could have 5v bulbs with a 5v regulator, and get full brightness at about 7.5 volts, but what has been gained?
So, really the bottom line is if you run variable DC, you will not be as efficient (or bright) at low voltages. The best setup for brightness is low voltage bulbs and a regulator, the most inefficient you can get.
Greg
good looking ceiling layout, similar to ours around our living room ceiling. Excellent work! I love the curved bridge, need to build something like that for where my line curves over the entrance to the hallway. Mike
Mike…thx for that on the bridge…
As a newbie to all this I was a bit befuddled at first, but just layed out the R1 track on the bench, cut up a bunch of sticks from 1x pine to lay under the track between each tie, same height as the ties…I couldn’t sacrifice any height with 8" ceiling clearance. Then cut up 2 thin pine strips (bendable), finish nailed them in place to the bench both sides, wood glued, brad nailed & clamped the whole mess in place. The “railings” followed, again just pine 1x cut up about 3/8" square, glued & brad nailed. Pulled up the track, spray painted it with black semi-gloss and swabbed some silver modelers paint here and there with an artist fan brush to give it some character.
Once done ready to remove the bridge from the bench, joked with my wife, the whole thing may go “sproing” into a bunch of sticks like a watch spring let loose! Fortunately it held together very solid and didn’t add any height to the cabinet beneath.
I did have to take apart/cut down the caboose top and tank car 3/16" with a dremel to clear the ceiling.
All in all about 3 days off & on at a leisurely pace…the lights were a challenge for a few more days, but you guys got me thru that once I understood the basic circuitry.
Again, nothing to scale but good enough for our purposes…you folks are WAY more particular and experienced at these things for sure, couldn’t have done it without this great forum.
Ron, I did what you did with my passenger cars. I had some printed circuit boards made and installed one in passenger combine. I used the power pick ups from LBB which just happen to fit in the Bachmann passenger trucks. I used the original Bachmann trucks with metal wheels and the LGB power pickups to feed track power to all the following dars and micro two pin connectors to connect the cars. The circuit has a big capacitor in it so small specs of dirt won’t shut the power off. The circuit does use a CL2, and will power (as near as I can tellj) from two to twenty LEDs. Look in my photos on this board to see the printed circuit. If you’d like the circuit board (assembled or not) write me directly ([email protected]).
Dick…yup, same setup… resistor>bridge rectifier>cap>CL2>leds, worked out well, put one circuit in each car fed off daisy chained track power from 2 cars w/metal wheels. Your circuit board would have been nice had I known…neater cleaner install I’m sure…
If you want a great looking train that will fit in a low ceiling area , look at the LGB FRR line. Should run with no modifications for height.
The Chloe and Olmana are 2 foot gauge RR’s (even the LGB 20140 industrial loco) in real life and in large scale these are small. There is even a Christmas version of the Chloe.
Just make sure you do not pull more than 3 of the 2 axle cars with these engines!!
And if they do a wheelie, plug the smoke stack and add bird shot. (I had to do this on one engine).
good advice Dan…
speaking of smokestack, I believe this loco has smoke capability, that said, what smoke fluid and how much do you use? Any home brews? Will the smoke stain the ceiling?
this would be interesting, wonder if the “smoke” will set off the room’s smoke detector which is almost directly above the track in one area!
Make sure you video when the train passes under it! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-foot-in-mouth.gif)
I would guess the smoke from a model train would set off a smoke detector as in my home the moisture from a shower will set mine off!!
