Back in June I wrote an article on Flicker free LED's for under $2 for coach lighting.

The drawback with operating on 12V is you cannot use the 5.5VDC rated Gold-caps (Super capacitors) but need to use larger electrolytics for flicker free operation. Also the commercially available LED tape needs a minimum of 7.8V to even light up the LED.

Well the price of 5M LED tape is still compellingly cheap on eBay, than buying 5V LED tape at some crazy price. A little modification and patience lends into a very useful idea, achievable in 15-20 min.

I recently purchased a new micro cut paper shredder and after shredding tons of old paper clutter, I realized that the shredded paper was so fine that it could be used to build model scenery, rocks and landscape.

Most of us own some kind of paper shredder but the stuff from the "cross cut" type really works, since it cuts it very fine. Micro-cut shredders produce much finer particles, so they can be used in scenic modeling requiring smoother surfaces..

I had this challenge of operating a turnout motor and simultaneously operate a signal to indicate the direction the points were set.

Since I do not use the expensive Tortoise or Cobalt turnout motors that have a set on contacts to operate accessories, I came up with this simple idea and circuit to operate both accessories simultaneously, from the same DCC trigger.