# 3 Light Signal Kit



## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I am back with a mission.
My friend Matt gave me seven kits to assemble. They are from Oregon Rail.










I have been thinking of how to wire them. For now I will wire the leads separate and feed 6 wires through the tube. I need to test the wire for a fit first. These can be used for a lot of neat things. For now I will go with green and a red yellow to light on track direction directly.

If you have some ideas or informtion please posts.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I've wired a few of these types they can be a pain.
One way to reduce the wire count is to go with a common ground or common hot, that will eliminate 2 wires. I also have wire that is as thin as a hair and has Teflon insulation. Another type if wire is for motor windings and has "paint"(name slips mind) Insulation.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I have 30 gage winding wire. 

Did you do anything to the back of the signal after attaching the wires? 

I was thining of an epoxy block.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Yea I do the epoxy block too!
If you don't have a path up to the lights, I've use a small peice of brass pipe for the conduit to the lights.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Ohhh epoxy, but not yet.


The pole is a 3/32nd brass tube and the 6 #30 wires fit.










The rest of the kit with the very little/fancy LEDs.











The 1.8 mm,3 mm, and 5 mm LEDs.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Looks Excellent!
I'm working on getting my work table done today then I can get busy with some projects I've got in the works. Fred light, and crossing signal flasher circuit are first on the list.


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## Ghio Heavy Rail (Jan 6, 2011)

that lego man is gonna have a hard time fixing that with those claw hands


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

The LEGO man really puts the scale into perspective.....


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Wires*

The first step is attaching the wires. I used a clip from the no hands stand but it is too large. The LED go out and landed three feet away after a good search. SO I go a smaller jewelry clip which is is about the size of the Radio Shack small banana clips. Shown is the first light completed .


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

It takes nerves of steel for the tiny stuff! and a eagle eye when you drop something!! 
Another trick I have found that works great is sticking the part in modeling clay to hold it, it also acts as a heat sink.


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

NIMT.COM said:


> It takes nerves of steel for the tiny stuff! and a eagle eye when you drop something!!
> Another trick I have found that works great is sticking the part in modeling clay to hold it, it also acts as a heat sink.


Thats a great idea NIMT. I think I shall go buy some right now.:laugh:
but in all seriousness it is a good idea for soldering things.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey, Sean ... I LIKE that modelling clay idea! Very clever!

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I lost the green LED. It must of overheated.

Next I fitted the other two in, but first I sliced the frame to help with the fit.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Done put too much juice to the green one did you?
I've got a whole bag of those, that I've poofed! 
What size resistors did they give you for them?
What voltage do you have them running on?


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

It never made it pass the solder.
I use a 3 volt battery to check. The green will get a 470 and 1000 for the yelow and red ,they will run off track power.
I take may time. There are still six others left.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

I've had the same problem, Heat is always a problem with the little tiny buggers! One more thing that might help is too clamp your clip across the leads when you solder. I know they are a real pain in the A**! Try the clay idea I've had great luck with it.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I did a little research on the small LEDs. They are T 3/4 or 1.8mm in size. The 1.8 mm was better for ebay searches. The companies I looked at had then for 3 bucks apiece. Ebay has assortments for 20 bucks you can get a lifetime supply of 5 colors, 100 total for 20 cents apiece. Even 14 cents. They are listed in N scale other. I noticed in general a decrease in prices for large lots in other sizes. Brighter LEDs are coming into the market so these are being discounted. You don't always want super bright ones so these are a good deal.

Aside, from the super small ones Anton has these are small.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I wired up more lights, all work so far. I also discovered that some are two light kits number 114. AAfter testing I color coded the wires for polarity and color. Some progress anyway. 

The little clip works fine. I place the LED in the center, clip the leads to half size. Cut a 12 inch number 30 wire and clean the lacquer with an Exacto knife against a hard surface, and solder. It's a good test for depth perception, trust me.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have tons of wire-wrap wire, maybe I should start doing N stuff.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

It doesn't have to be N. Just go to Ebay for the lights. I was thinking of using them as marker lights on some plastic shells.

I think the LEDs came down in price. Worth a look.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Actually, there are tons of places to get dirt cheap LED's. I use www.besthongkong.com for one place. I've also picked up some of the assortments on eBay.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Today I set up the poles with light brackets, grates and pedestals. They are not that easy to install. Shown is a two light pole and the wired one, is the three lighter. I found the best way to cut the pole is a with a disc then i went in with a rounded tip carbide to smooth the edges.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

What's the finished product look like?


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

WYSIWUG.


That's it. I epoxy the backs next. It will probably look like a spider on the pole.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I guess I'm trying to understand what effect you're going for.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Three, and Two Light Signal Towers*

I am doing this for two friends. They would not attempt to do this and thought I would give it a shot. So I am giving a play by play. It may not be perfect but I am giving it an honest attempt. I can't sit and do it all at once. I stop and then go back to it. It is so small and is easier for me to do it this way. I am sure they want it to work first and foremost and appearance is second. Plus these are the first two with five more left. 

For O scale all you need is a ladder and the face plate. The rest is easy.
There may be possibilities here,it is just something to think about. The fiberglass mesh may make a good ladder too after it is painted up.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Ok, you're making block signals, just trying to determine what was being manufactured here. 

I should have just gone to the start of the thread to see the whole train of thought.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

The fiberglass mesh sounds promising! I've tried some window screen and it just falls apart.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

This is fiberglass screen material against the scale ladder for the HO Kit.

I could try steel quarter inch but those edges are sharp!.












I found this representation.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Test*

Epoxy time!
I pulled the wires in and got the face close to the brackets. Then gooped it. I used super glue first to help line it up. Then I tested the lights again with a three volt battery.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

To drag this out more. 


The base is maple plywood 1/4 but closer to 3/16ths. 3/4 by 1 1/2 with a 3/32nd hole.
I want to anchor the ladder base.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

With the bases are cut, and then I used Bondo Scratch putty to smooth out the sides. Then I painted with a grey acrylic after a ight sanding.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

T-Man,

My son was looking over my shoulder the other day as I was reading this thread. He asked, "Dad, how come there's a lego guy holding that little ladder there?"

Uhhh ...

I told him that Mr. Lego Guy and all of his buddies were on the payroll at T-Man's house. We all know you must have some hired help to tackle all of your ongoing projects!

Nice work on the lights ... looking forward to seeing the finished product.

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

The Lego people aren't unionized like the Elves.
They do add scale to the picture.

I finally found my old picture of a local signal, perhaps I can do one in O scale in the future.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*More Epoxy*

So far the grates were not that great. Both broke upon installation. I used a small clip to straighten them up before I epoxied up the breaks. I made a divot in the base for the ladder and installed the finial. The black base was super glued to the wood base to keep it all straight. The hole has to be square for the pole. I did go back and try to enlarge it by re drilling, but all I did was add a slight lean to one of them.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Have you ever looked at a real pole? Telephone pole, stop sign, even some lamp posts ... often, they lean a bit, too!

Character!

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I got my lifetime supply of of 1.8 mm LEDs with resistors. They arrived today from China, purchased on the 13th. I got red,yellow, green. blue, and white. 

This blue one got sideways in the bag, bent but still usable. 









I'm happy!

Ebay has premade boards and kits with relays and terminal connectors. Interesting stuff. They have 5 and 12 volt operating with 12 volt relays. That is a basic part to the Paisley block circuit and even the reversing unit.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have a large quantity of the 2mm red, green, and white LED's, didn't have much for blue.


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## Xnats (Dec 5, 2010)

Your signal came out pretty good T-Man. I really enjoy reading all your post about circuitry. Your knowledge and custom making skills are very impressive. 
So I'm thinking since you have a life time supply of leds to tinker with, MTF will have plenty of readings on future endeavors


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

T-Man,

What nominal voltage would be used on those LED's ? Is the resistor actually built right in to the LED housing itself?

TJ


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

John, I just like the blue!

Gee Xnats, you are probably the only one to read them all!
This is my first time messing with the small ones , the 1.8 mm, so I had to get some. They are not that common. I just have to figure out a use for them.

Tj they have a "tower" style from what I read on ebay. They go fro 15 to 20 milleamps on 3 volts. They came with extra resistors not built in. 470 ohms I thinks so I got 400 pieces in all.

I checked they are 620 ohm resistors for 12 volt operation drawing .o2 amps.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

T-Man,

With 400 of those suckers, you can afford to loose one or two in the lime green shag carpet!

Thanks for voltage info. Pretty cool that they come in different colors. Think of all of the possibilities! Oh ... wait ... I am SURE that your mind is already whirring away there. Looking forward to the creative results!

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Most LED's don't have the resistor built in, those that do are priced far too high.

Basically, you don't run an LED without current limiting of some kind, that's the quickest way to kill them. I just count on a resistor (and diode for A/C) in the installation.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

TJ it's not 400 LEDs its 200, with 200 resistors.

I compared the kit LED to the New arrival. The base is larger but the domes appear the same.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

My next step is connecting the fine wires to color coded phone wires. I plan to sleeve the fine stuff to protect it.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

The signals are progressing. Below is a 30 gage wire wrapped around the lead three times. The new LEDs are easier for me to work with with the leads parrallel at the back. I compress it with a screwdriver before I solder. I found if I insert the wire between the jaws I can easliy wrap it around the lead. A neat little trick. The owner will do the final painting. So that wraps this up for any new information. It's up to me to finish now.


Hope you enjoyed this. I did. It motivated me to make some O Scale examples. I am thinking of trying A Dwarf Signal too!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

You do make something out of a seemingly worthless pile of stuff.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Seven Dwarfs, ah Signals*

A lot of times it's worthless after, Too!

I finally get to clear a table.
The lights are done. To recap the three kits were two light number114 and four three light kits number 155 from Oregon Rail Supply.

I am going to install them at a friends layout, eventually.









They are interesting little kits. One hard part was the grates, most of them did split, not always at the pole but the edges. The epoxy covered the wires and some came out better than others. The lights supplied had leads sticking straight. It was easier and probably better to leave them be, instead of bending them back. It kept the light fixture closer to the pole. I did gouge out the back of the face plates to easily fir the lights in and glued into place.

I am sure they will like them. Plus I got to mess around with some tiny LED lights.


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