Smoking caboose pcb

WOW, that's got to be more than a simple smoke unit board, it appears to have a microprocessor and more!  Dumb question, did you look on the back of the board to see if the functions are silkscreened by the connectors?

I think that is one of my designs, been a long time though and I am not sure.  As I recall I used an op-amp not a processor to regulate the element. Anyways I don’t think you can run a fan motor, just an element.  I probably left the center pin unconnected as a spacer between the 2 smoke element leads to prevent potential. shorts. 

So this is one of those new caboose with smoke where the smoke output is regulated regardless of the track voltage (within limits). And the smoke just wafts out of the stack? I have one and it's great.

SantaFeFan posted:

I think that is one of my designs, been a long time though and I am not sure.  As I recall I used an op-amp not a processor to regulate the element. Anyways I don’t think you can run a fan motor, just an element.  I probably left the center pin unconnected as a spacer between the 2 smoke element leads to prevent potential. shorts. 

This board is used in the new burning switch tower. Where smoke output is anemic. I’m wondering what is the lowest resistor value this board will drive. Also, the voltage output to the resistor. There is a source for the old suethe smoke units with a bracket on the internet.  That model of tower seemed to work the best. I do not have the tower on hand to check the board John.

shawn posted:

SantaFeFan posted:

I think that is one of my designs, been a long time though and I am not sure.  As I recall I used an op-amp not a processor to regulate the element. Anyways I don’t think you can run a fan motor, just an element.  I probably left the center pin unconnected as a spacer between the 2 smoke element leads to prevent potential. shorts. 

This board is used in the new burning switch tower. Where smoke output is anemic. I’m the lowest resistor value this board will drive. What is the voltage output to the resistor? There is a source for the old suethe smoke units with a bracket on the internet.  The older model of tower that used this smoke generated seemed to work the best. I do not have the tower on hand to check the board John. Ideal, would be a fan driven smoke unit regulated  for a set output with added circuitry so, as to obtain the right visual qumatiy of smoke the user sets as their preference.

SantaFeFan posted:

I think that is one of my designs, been a long time though and I am not sure.  As I recall I used an op-amp not a processor to regulate the element. Anyways I don’t think you can run a fan motor, just an element.  I probably left the center pin unconnected as a spacer between the 2 smoke element leads to prevent potential. shorts. 

That makes sense, I was amazed it needed a uP for a smoke unit.  Don't think I've ever seen that board.

shawn posted:

I know one output is for lighting . The other for smoke. I trying to figure out if the middle pin for smoke is present. Or, if I can run a fan drive smoke unit directly from it’s outputs....

It would be pretty easy to simply wire the smoke unit up on it's own.  What specific smoke unit are you considering?

gunrunnerjohn posted:

SantaFeFan posted:

I think that is one of my designs, been a long time though and I am not sure.  As I recall I used an op-amp not a processor to regulate the element. Anyways I don’t think you can run a fan motor, just an element.  I probably left the center pin unconnected as a spacer between the 2 smoke element leads to prevent potential. shorts. 

That makes sense, I was amazed it needed a uP for a smoke unit.  Don't think I've ever seen that board.

shawn posted:

I know one output is for lighting . The other for smoke. I trying to figure out if the middle pin for smoke is present. Or, if I can run a fan drive smoke unit directly from it’s outputs....

It would be pretty easy to simply wire the smoke unit up on it's own.  What specific smoke unit are you considering?

Any, recommendations on a smoke unit would be appreciated. 

I wonder how it's regulated. Be interesting if it regulates the temperature with a thermistor...

Truthfully, for a caboose, I'd be looking at a pretty small smoke unit.  I've done several for folks using the MTH HO smoke unit and a small DC power supply.  I used a variable supply and put around 6-7V on the heater, and a series resistor to drop the motor voltage down to around 2.5 volts.  I just tuned the supply voltage for decent smoke, but not excessive smoke.  After all, the caboose shouldn't look like it's on fire, it's just supposed to be a stove!  You might have to tinker with the motor resistor to get the right look for the smoke velocity.  I just fit the stack to the existing caboose stack, and rig a simple mount for the smoke unit.

Going in burning switch tower. They use the caboose pub.