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NCE Light It Caboose Marker Light Journals/Blogs
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New member 23 posts rem5142 New member 23 posts
rem5142

After years of not finishing a 555 timer circuit for this cabin car I decided to try an NCE Light It lighting decoder. For this application, it performs very well on the test track. I added a 5.5v 1f super capacitor as a keep alive. The 1f capacitor is overkill. It keeps the decoder led interior light and 0603 marker light led for a few minutes (I was hoping for 10 seconds) and according to my power cab, only draws a maximum of 0.08 amps inflow. Adding the decoder to the caboose took only an hour or so but the truck pick ups and 0603 led light were already on the caboose. I'll add a second markerlight on the other side of the caboose so that the lights will be directional.

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Tim Latham Regular poster 491 posts
Tim Latham

I'll follow

I'll follow along to see how this works out.

Tim Latham

Mississippi Central R.R. "The Natchez Route"

HO Scale 1905 to 1935

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/blog/timlatham

 
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peter-f Prolific poster 1,534 posts
peter-f

Another photo, please

Looks Sweet!   Can we see it in operation?   (what would the rough budget be?)
- regards

Peter
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rem5142 New member 23 posts
rem5142

Here's a video of it working

 
It works very well. I installed the another 0603 amber led on the opposite side of the caboose to make the lights bidirectional. The Light It has 3 outputs. The board mounted warm white led is the first output and can be disabled by cutting a trace and used to control an led off the board.
 
I would like to be able set the marker light leds to be OFF, Steady ON, and PULSING but with the decoder programed as a loco decoder, I can only make the leds pulsing or off using their function keys. The decoder can also be programed as a signal decoder which would alow for all three aspects but I haven't played with programing it that way yet. Conrail's marker lights were pulsing during normal operation but were steady on during an emergency and possibly while a train was stopped.

 

As for cost, I paid $20 for 3 light it decoders and $2.50 each for the super capacitors. The surface mount leds were ordered in bulk a few years ago and are very cheap, less than $5 for 100 if you're willing to wait for them to be shipped from China. (They're all made there anyway)  If you add up everything: the decoder, the leds, the wheel wipers (Kadee centering springs), 30 awg wire, salvaged magnet wire, and the capacitor (a smaller cap would suffice), I figure I paid about $10 to light the cabin interior and both end markers.   

 
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Pete LaGuardia New member 1 post
Pete LaGuardia

do you have the p/n for the

do you have the p/n for the super capacitor?
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peter-f Prolific poster 1,534 posts
peter-f

That's sweet.. thanks for video

I wasn't expecting the light to be blinking - and your programming it to do that shows more of what's available on that decoder... I'll be getting in line, now!

 
- regards

Peter
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peter-f Prolific poster 1,534 posts
peter-f

-- just a cross reference to more stupid NCE tricks

I just wanted to reference  another thread related to Light-it decoders.  When doing a bunch of boards, this speeds things up.

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/nce-lightit-decoders-programmed-enmasse-12210750

find the video here
https://ncedcc.zendesk.com/attachments/token/0BV2g4z8SQK5ScaLIDZa8KCus/?name=NCE+Light-it.wmv

(Another note: With 35V, 1000uF caps,  current is near .03A)
- regards

Peter
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