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I took the liberty of moving grj's original files for this project over to a new topic just to make them easier to find. The original topic started in late 2016 and is some 7 pages long; these files are found on page 5.

The only thing I have added to this is my user notes in Word format as an attachment. The gerber zip file is also attached below. I want to emphasize that grj is the sole creator of this circuit and these original files! 

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Last edited by Rod Stewart
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I would like to mention how well this board works.  To date, I have built and installed 30 of these modules with no failures.  Further, I would emphasize(as recorded in Rod’s user notes) that a simple increase in value of R2(brightness adjustment) to say, 500 up to 1000, will allow for dimming the lighting even more, for those who prefer that effect.  For my taste, 500 was the preferred value.

The pcb can be ordered here(in sets of three)from Osh Park:  DIY-GRJ-JWA Passenger car lighting PCB  I don’t have an off shore link for the pcb, but others do.  You will need to set up an account to order, but once on this site that will be straight forward.  I ordered my parts from Digikey searched individually then add them to your cart.  Of course you may select any other distributor of your choice, including off shore sources.

Due to the freely given advice from GRJ, Rod Stewart and others, I decided to go ahead and attempt this PCB build, even though a total novice at electronics.

My question is regarding the Voltage Regulator (LM317TG) - it arrived from Digikey in a foil bag with conspicuous warnings about harm to the component from static electricity. What do you fellow forum members do in this case? Antistatic mats and/or spray? Wear a grounding device? Not wanting to invest a whole lot in antistatic measures, may  I just ignore the warnings and go ahead? Would everything still work?

Many thanks for the help. 

Glad to see you are giving one of these projects a try, hope all goes well and you find it enjoyable.

I don't know about the others, but I have never taken any special precautions. I do just as you suggest, ignore the warnings and go full speed ahead. I have worked on many computers over the years, dabbled with electronics and other stuff and never zapped anything. Well that is  from just handling something anyway. (Improper connections, wrong voltages, etc. are another story...)

However, if you are working on carpet or something that can easily generate static, that could be a bit different. If you often get zapped when you touch something in your work area, then some precautions might be justified. Wrist grounding strap or something like that. 

Last edited by rtr12
Bob "O" posted:

Due to the freely given advice from GRJ, Rod Stewart and others, I decided to go ahead and attempt this PCB build, even though a total novice at electronics.

My question is regarding the Voltage Regulator (LM317TG) - it arrived from Digikey in a foil bag with conspicuous warnings about harm to the component from static electricity. What do you fellow forum members do in this case? Antistatic mats and/or spray? Wear a grounding device? Not wanting to invest a whole lot in antistatic measures, may  I just ignore the warnings and go ahead? Would everything still work?

Many thanks for the help. 

Those regulators are practically bulletproof, no worries.  I've used hundreds of them (actually thousands), and I don't do any special handling.  Digikey ships stuff like connectors in similar bags at times, and I'm sure they're not static sensitive!

@Rod Stewart posted:

I took the liberty of moving grj's original files for this project over to a new topic just to make them easier to find. The original topic started in late 2016 and is some 7 pages long; these files are found on page 5.

The only thing I have added to this is my user notes in Word format as an attachment. The gerber zip file is also attached below. I want to emphasize that grj is the sole creator of this circuit and these original files! 

mceclip0

mceclip2

mceclip3

 

Can I substitute the item below for C1? Digi-key does not have ECA-1VM471 in stock.

 

Digi-Key Part Number
P5554-ND
 
Manufacturer
Panasonic Electronic Components
 
Manufacturer Product Number
ECA-1VHG471
 
Supplier 
Description
CAP ALUM 470UF 20% 35V RADIAL

Digikey cart share

I don't know how long Digikey retains a "shared cart".  Above link should get you to a starting point for the parts list for this project including the original and alternate capacitor (choose 1)- presumably at some point the original capacitor will return to in-stock status and it's a bit less expensive.  The idea is you simply click on above link and it loads your shopping cart for a quantity 1 order.  Edit the quantity for each item.  Who knows if this saves time but I've always thought this was a neat feature from DigiKey.

@TedW posted:

The pcb can be ordered here(in sets of three)from Osh Park:  DIY-GRJ-JWA Passenger car lighting PCB  I don’t have an off shore link for the pcb, but others do.  You will need to set up an account to order, but once on this site that will be straight forward.  I ordered my parts from Digikey searched individually then add them to your cart.  Of course you may select any other distributor of your choice, including off shore sources.

Hi, I have made similar boards to these and put in many of my coaches, this looks cleaner than what I have done. My question, when ordering the PCB, you mentioned ordering in sets of three, is that automatically done, say one order @ $3.80 / 3 PCBs? I want to make sure I don't end up with 3 times what I need.

I have never ordered these before, hope I don't sound to stupid.

Ray

@Rayin"S" posted:

Hi, I have made similar boards to these and put in many of my coaches, this looks cleaner than what I have done. My question, when ordering the PCB, you mentioned ordering in sets of three, is that automatically done, say one order @ $3.80 / 3 PCBs? I want to make sure I don't end up with 3 times what I need.

I have never ordered these before, hope I don't sound to stupid.

Ray

When you order boards from OSHPark, they are in quantities of three, that's the way they do business.  It's clear on the website the quantity you are getting.  Right after you drop the ZIP file with the Gerber files in it on the page they calculate the cost and show you this notice.  You can order three, six, nine, etc., they come in groups of three.

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@TedW posted:

Here’s a sample order as an example, choose the 2oz copper option for the same money and more current capability.

Actually, given the fact that the whole circuit only handles milliamps, more current capability is a moot point.

That being said, I actually do select the 2oz copper option, but for a different reason.  It's also .8mm thick instead of 1.6mm thick!  The thickness is why I pick it, no need to have the board any bulkier than necessary.

A question about the 470uF capacitor recommended in GRJ's circuit.

I have been greatly helped by contributors to this thread and thank them for my being able to convert 8 passenger cars to LED's. So far each PCB I have built has worked well. There is some minor flicker at very slow speeds over some of my older switches, but vastly better than the old incandescent bulbs.

I just acquired 2 new passenger cars (Lionel 1927620) that are already equipped with flicker-free LED lighting. I have noted that on track power-up, these cars take several seconds to reach full brightness and on power-off, they decay very slowly, perhaps over 3 full seconds. Is that due to a different capacitor or some other function?

I still have 7 more Polar Express cars to convert and if I can do a simple upgrade on the capacitor, I would do that to get the longer decay time. Of course, it would have to be the same pin spacing to fit GRJ's board and not be too much bigger.

Thanks for all the expertise freely shared on this Forum!

Bob

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