Strip LED AC to DC Power Conversion?

Randy, haven’t you seen the LED lighting products offered by GRJ? He will help you.

http://hennings-trains.shoplig...regulator-2-pcs.html

romiller49 posted:

Randy, haven’t you seen the LED lighting products offered by GRJ? He will help you.

Rod: Thanks for the information. How do I get hold of GRJ?

Chuck K posted:

http://hennings-trains.shoplig...regulator-2-pcs.html

 

Chuck: Thanks for the tip on the rectifiers. Do you have any idea as to the size of each unit? Do they come with instructions?

Yes - there have been several previous posts in this forum for circuits you can use to convert track AC to DC 12 volts needed to power these strips. Here are a couple of threads:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...rsion-the-end-result

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-dc-power-conversion

Basically, these circuits include:

1. A small 1 amp bridge rectifier that converts AC to DC volts
2. A capacitor to maintain constant lighting over dirty track or through turnouts (anytime track voltage is interrupted).  470 to 1000 micro farads
3. A voltage regulator or current limiting device to avoid excess voltage / current that will blow the LEDs. I prefer CL-2 constant current devices (they look like little transistors). But others use a LM-317 volt regulator.
4. A choke (filter) to avoid problems with DCS signals (if you use DCS)
5. One or more resistors depending on the other components used. 
6. And some circuits include a resettable polyfuse to protect against track shorts if the car derails. 

All of these components are readily available from parts suppliers like Mouser Electronics. I've built my own on a 1" x 2" perforated circuit card, which fits easily inside a passenger coach. There are two slightly different versions based on the size of the capacitor (top is 470 and bottom is 1000). Both work, but the larger cap keeps the LEDs illuminated longer. I've built and installed at least a dozen of these in MTH and K-Line coaches, and they work flawlessly. For additional ideas and circuit designs, see the links above. 

One other point - I use the adhesive on the back of the LED strips as the basic attachment to the roof of the cars, but I don't trust it to remain fixed. So I also add small pieces of electrical tape across the strips (between the LEDs) to provide an extra security in case the strip adhesive fails. 

Randy, the modules are 1/2" x 1" and about 5/8" high if you fold the regulator tab down which is what I do with them.  They have four connections, two for track power and two for the LED strip.  They offer flicker-free lighting with adjustable intensity as well as full MTH DCS compatibility.

 LED Lighting Regulator

I'm using GRJ's lighting modules, they're tiny, they're adjustable as he says and work wonderfully!

It's not that folks can do all manner of this themselves, but it's that GRJ as done it with these features in a tiny package that will fit anywhere, it's available for purchase at a reasonable price, and works well.

It is a little surprising to see the passenger cars going around the layout with out any blinking of the lighting. Just like a real train. But I'm getting used to it .

OTOH, if you are running a subway train in like Chicago, leave the lighting alone. Those cars always blinked when the train ran over switches, etc.

NYC subways blink too, and it's not uncommon to ride in the dark for a few seconds.

Randy Harrison posted:

romiller49 posted:

Randy, haven’t you seen the LED lighting products offered by GRJ? He will help you.

Rod: Thanks for the information. How do I get hold of GRJ?

Hi Randy, GRJ is Gunrunnerjohn

Here is a article from the Forum about this, I use it with no problem:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...-the-light-shine-out  

Marty

Randy Harrison posted:

Chuck K posted:

http://hennings-trains.shoplig...regulator-2-pcs.html

 

Chuck: Thanks for the tip on the rectifiers. Do you have any idea as to the size of each unit? Do they come with instructions?

I couldn't find instructions on the various links guys have provided.  I found the attached 1-page documentation from another OGR thread.

I took the liberty of adding a diagram showing the actual 4-wire connection to the module.  It's important that the connection to the LED strip matches the polarity (+, typically a red wire) and (-, typically a black wire).  On the AC track voltage side there is no polarity so pick either wire to go to center-rail and then the other goes to outer-rail.

An overlooked benefit of using this module is there are a lot of guys here on OGR that have and use this module - myself included.  So in addition to GRJ himself, there is readily available help.  This knowledge-base can be especially useful when attempting something a bit different.

I have used the lighting modules offered by Henning’s and I can highly recommend them.

I have also used the LED strip lights like the ones shown above that I have purchased on Amazon. These LEDs will work with AC or DC power. You can wire/ install the strips directly to AC track power with no issues. If you desire flitter-free lighting then use the Henning modules with the strips.

Has anyone used the GRJ/Hennings LED strip lighting module in 2 rail passenger cars running under DCC (16v AC on the rails)?

No problem at all, anything that supplies 12VDC or around 10VAC to the power input will work great with the 12V LED strips.  It will work fine on a DCC system with 16V.