[Peter_Harvey]

What type of Diodes do I need for Wiring up Directional lights for use with DC and DCC ?

Pete

 

[John Webb]

I'm not certain what bulbs are used in locos these days. 1N4001 will happily handle up to an amp or so. If the bulbs are 'Grain of Wheat' with a consumption of around a few 10s of milliamps a small signal diode such as a 1N4184 will probably suffice. If they are LEDs then they are diodes in themselves and should need nothing extra. Best bet is to consult a catalogue or website for Maplins, All Components or the like for the full details of suitable diodes.
With DCC, although I've never used it myself, I thought you could use function outputs to switch lights appropriately and thus eliminate the need to use diodes?
Hope the above is of help.
Regards,
John Webb

 

[LisaP4]

If you're wiring lights up via a decoder you don't need any diodes, just connect the wires up and the decoder takes care of the directional business. Or you can set them up to turn on/off seperately with differant function buttons or whatever.

 

[Ozzie21]

You should also add resitors if they are leds.Something around [email protected]/2W should suffice. and yes if you are using a decoder then the function output will control the lights. Most if not all decoders will have a default setting to automatically control lights dependent on direction. Also decoders are 12v output to the light functions but current capacity depends on the make of decoder. Most modern models that are equipped with lights use 2.5V 30ma bulbs although thre are a few that use 3.5V50ma and some that use 12V 100ma bulbs. Again this boils down to whose product you are using as there is no standard or at least not one that is applied. Best idea is to check the information sheet that came with the model to see what size bulbs are fitted.

Ozzie21

QUOTE (LisaP4 @ 7 Apr 2006, 04:44) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>If you're wiring lights up via a decoder you don't need any diodes, just connect the wires up and the decoder takes care of the directional business. Or you can set them up to turn on/off seperately with differant function buttons or whatever.