Hi Mason , Thank you for your kind words .. Very much appreciated. It definitely motivates me to keep making more videos. If you need any assistance on this topic, you can email me at anthonyshobbycorner@gmail.com. Regards - Anthony.
Hi Dylan , Thank you for the kind words. I have been distracted with Summer chores , whereby I have not had a chance to release the 2nd part to this video where I build out the circuit and install it in a Passenger car . I hope to get to it soon .. Hope you have a great summer .. Regards, - Anthony -
Thank you for the kind words .. If you are interested in adding lighting to your passenger cars, and you need some help or further clarity , please don't hesitate to reach out to me via the listed email ( in the "about" section ) .. Regards, - Anthony .
Hi Anthony, For sure you could throw away all of those variants because all of them switch LED too late!!! That means that your train would start without light. 2-5V is too much. Many motors could run from 1V and even less. I have HAG locomotives, it start from only 1.5V. If you use halfway transformer (for example Titan family) it could start it even less than 1V. That is an example. So all of your components include bridges drain voltage which you need to keep to start LED as minimal as possible. For those purpose that LED driver is also pure trash. You need to use LED driver which start LED from 0.3-0.9V. That is possible with some drivers from cheap outdoor solar lamps. But you need to use inductors and some other components (4 different capacitors as well). I still didn't find good driver which could work for all model train voltage range, usually it works from 0.9 to 8 V. That means you need to stabilize voltage before driver and you will loose 1V with one diode and resistor as well. But with old motors 2V LED starting works very well. And very important. Before to make circuit you need to understand what kind of non-DCC regulator you have. Pure transformator, transformator with halfway (slowest motor start) or modern PMW. PWM is not good for LED driver, it is quite difficult to make LED to work with it. One more thing. Common mistake is to raise motor start voltage, because you will kill slow motor control, especially from halfway. For this idea you can not use capacitor for motor, because it would kill idea of halfway control and motor would receive pure DC voltage, so it would work bad. So you only need to make LED voltage as low as science and components could give you. Yours, Alex
Hi Anthony, Sri Lankan living in California here! Love your videos. Is there a possibility of adding a power source -- may be a battery or a capacitor -- so that the lights will remain illuminated even when the train is not moving?
Hi Lester , Pleasure to meet you . And thank you for the kind words . I checked out your channel and also subscribed .. I enjoyed watching the Karaoke vid's of family singing .. With regards to your query on having the passenger cars continue to light when the train is not moving , Well If your layout is running on DCC , then the the passenger cars will remain lit all the time because when you run a DCC system , it feed power to your track all the time ( around 16-18 V ) but the reason your locomotives don't move until instructed, is because they only respond to a special encoded signal sent via the 18v. Now if you have a traditional DC system , well then , you can install a larger capacity Capacitor (2000 uF ) or higher, or even a super capacitor , and the LED will remain lit for a much longer duration ( but not forever ) . Adding a batter is not ideal because you have to ensure the battery gets charged and also , it adds a lot more weight to the passenger car . It is possible to add batteries, but it is not very practical to have batteries in each passenger car . Adding a high power capacitor or going with a DCCsystem , in my opinion are the better options . Do you have a layout ? are you into model trains ? Here is my email if you want to connect ( Anthonyshobbycorner@gmail.com ) Regards, - Anthony .
Hi Mike , It's been a while .. I have been busy with work etc ... and I barely found some time to shoot this vid . I had a subscriber that asked for a video on lighting , so I gave that priority .. We shall re connect again via email ... How are things with you ? anything new on your end ? - Regards, - Anthony -
You do not need it. The idea and components of Anthony is really bad, because it raise starting LED voltage too much. You need to use LED driver with 0.9V.
I watched your previous video and this one related to the CL2N3s. I am interested in using this approach for accessory lighting on a DCC layout. You mention multiple LEDs in series but not in parallel. Is there a reason that multiple LEDs in parallel will not work using a single CL2N3? Thanks for all this valuable information.
Hi Gene , I'm glad you are finding these videos useful. And i will explain why you can't connect multiple LED's in parallel to a single CL2N3. The function of the CL2N3 LED driver is to provide 20mA of current , That's all and nothing more . No matter what voltage you supply it , ( minimum of 5v to a max of 90V DC), it will only supply 20mA max on the output pin. Each LED requires between lets say 12 mA to 20 mA to illuminate properly ( depends on the size and the color of the LED) . Lets assume that each LED requires 20mA to illuminate . Therefore if you connect 2 LED's in parallel to a Single CL2N3, the LED's will require (2x20mA) 40mA of current for both to illuminate (Current accumulates in parallel) . but the CL2N3 can only supply a maximum of 20 mA. Also if you have 3 LED's in parallel , they will draw ( 3x20mA) 60mA of current , and a single CL2N3 can only supply 20mA. So you might able to have 2 LED's in parallel , where they will illuminate but will be very DIM due to the fact that they are only getting 10 mA each. However, since the CL2N3 can take an input voltage of up to 90 VOlts, you can connect many LED's in Series ( As the same current 20mA goes through each of the LED's ) but you will need a higher voltage to get the LED's to light up , and this can be done by increasing the supply voltage to the CL2N3 . If you increase the supply voltage to the CL2N3 , the output pin will reflect a higher voltage , but the current will be limited to 20 mA. This is beauty of the CL2N3. I hope this helps , if you want more clarity , please shoot me an email to anthonyshobbycorner@gmail.com, and I will be more than happy to connect with you and share more info. infact , I have a bread board, which i can use to test and simulate what you have in mind . Regards, - Anthony -
@@anthonyshobbycorner Thanks for the response. I now understand why it is not practical to wire the LEDs in parallel using the CL2N3 driver. My concern with wiring in series is if one of the LEDs burns out, I expect the whole string would go out. Is that true?
@@genejablonski9909 Yes that is correct, however , LED's typically burn out , when the current supplied to the LED for some reason even momentarily exceeds the maximum forward current of the LED. If this happens a few times repeatedly , you will tend to burn out an LED . also sometimes the resistor people use to limit the current to an LED also can burn out etc. Since you are using a CL2N3 between the power source and the LED's you are assured that the string of LED's will only receive 20mA no matter what happens at the power source. Either way , you are absolutely correct in your statement. I have used the Series connection for years now , and so far I have not encountered an issue with a burned LED , Just could be my luck lol .... but It is totally possible . hope this helps .
Hi Gareth , Good question . LED's are current devices. LED's require a minimum Forward Voltage to illuminate. Once you have reached the minimum forward voltage, It's the amount of current that you supply it , that decides the brightness of the illumination of that LED. LED's will consume as much current as you can give it, and it will burn it self out , if you supply it more current that it is designed to handle. This is why one needs to "limit" the current that is provided to an LED, so that it will not exceed the maximum current limit for that LED ( and burn it self out ) . LED's ( based on the color etc, will have different Forward voltage requirements. Some will need about 1.5v , and some will need about 2.1 v . However, Most LED's will operate best at approx 20 mA of current. Anything more , and it will shorten the life of the LED and eventually if you supply it a high enough current , it will burn it self out. I hope this helps . Regards, - Anthony -
@@anthonyshobbycorner thank you for your reply. i'm still trying to understand this all. Things I do undersatnd, a constant current to each LED will result in constant brightness regardless of input voltage level (so long as you are above the threshold voltage). I'm looking to buy one of those cuttable LED strips which are comprised of many parallel branches of 3, for example, LEDs wired in series. The 'cut points' are the parallel connection points. That said, if I have a 12V LED strip and use a current regulator, I would assume I would need to know the nominal current draw for each branch say, for example, 60mA for each parallel branch of 3 LEDs wired in series, and use a 60mA current regulator to supply 60mA to each branch, but then wire the branches in series, I think. I think then a voltage regulator to supply a constant 12V to say, for example, 5 branches of 3 LEDs would work; however, the downside may be that the brightness would not be constant depending on total current draw? Not sure if I fully understand yet. But I'm getting there.
these cuttable LED strips seem to have a built-in resistor to limit current flow. Not sure how that works when you don't really know how many branches you're going to be powering with the circuit. Maybe it's dependent solely on the 3 series LEDs, which is why there's an individual resistor for each parallel branch. And then the resistor is sized to handle a limited current range? Again, not sure how that would work.
@@Salfrado Hi Gareth , those Cuttable long stip of LED's as you said already have resistors built into each cuttable segment. Further they are designed to operate at a pre determined voltage usually marked somewhere on the strip I have some that are meant to run on 12 V . and so , all you have to do is connect them directly to the power source ( set to the recommended voltage ) and you don't have to worry about any additional circuitry , such as current limiting resistors etc .. These strips are designed for anyone to ( without any real knowledge of electronics) to be able to use them . only issue is that i find them a bit too bright , as most of the time there are 3 LED's in a cuttable segment . Of course , you can reduce the supply voltage and the will reduce in intensity. they are great for lighting up houses etc , but for passenger cars etc, they might be an overkill . Regards, - Anthony -
This is the most informative and helpful advice I have found, thank you for doing this
Hi Mason , Thank you for your kind words .. Very much appreciated. It definitely motivates me to keep making more videos. If you need any assistance on this topic, you can email me at anthonyshobbycorner@gmail.com. Regards - Anthony.
Great vid buddy 👍💯👍
Hi Dylan , Thank you for the kind words. I have been distracted with Summer chores , whereby I have not had a chance to release the 2nd part to this video where I build out the circuit and install it in a Passenger car . I hope to get to it soon ..
Hope you have a great summer .. Regards, - Anthony -
Wow
Thank you for the kind words .. If you are interested in adding lighting to your passenger cars, and you need some help or further clarity , please don't hesitate to reach out to me via the listed email ( in the "about" section ) .. Regards, - Anthony .
@@anthonyshobbycorner your welcome
@@anthonyshobbycorner why you tell me that?
Hi Anthony,
For sure you could throw away all of those variants because all of them switch LED too late!!! That means that your train would start without light. 2-5V is too much. Many motors could run from 1V and even less. I have HAG locomotives, it start from only 1.5V. If you use halfway transformer (for example Titan family) it could start it even less than 1V. That is an example. So all of your components include bridges drain voltage which you need to keep to start LED as minimal as possible. For those purpose that LED driver is also pure trash. You need to use LED driver which start LED from 0.3-0.9V. That is possible with some drivers from cheap outdoor solar lamps. But you need to use inductors and some other components (4 different capacitors as well). I still didn't find good driver which could work for all model train voltage range, usually it works from 0.9 to 8 V. That means you need to stabilize voltage before driver and you will loose 1V with one diode and resistor as well. But with old motors 2V LED starting works very well.
And very important. Before to make circuit you need to understand what kind of non-DCC regulator you have. Pure transformator, transformator with halfway (slowest motor start) or modern PMW. PWM is not good for LED driver, it is quite difficult to make LED to work with it.
One more thing. Common mistake is to raise motor start voltage, because you will kill slow motor control, especially from halfway. For this idea you can not use capacitor for motor, because it would kill idea of halfway control and motor would receive pure DC voltage, so it would work bad. So you only need to make LED voltage as low as science and components could give you.
Yours, Alex
But most of us has gone digital, so I believe voltage isn't a problem.
Hi Anthony, Sri Lankan living in California here! Love your videos. Is there a possibility of adding a power source -- may be a battery or a capacitor -- so that the lights will remain illuminated even when the train is not moving?
Hi Lester , Pleasure to meet you . And thank you for the kind words . I checked out your channel and also subscribed .. I enjoyed watching the Karaoke vid's of family singing ..
With regards to your query on having the passenger cars continue to light when the train is not moving , Well If your layout is running on DCC , then the the passenger cars will remain lit all the time because when you run a DCC system , it feed power to your track all the time ( around 16-18 V ) but the reason your locomotives don't move until instructed, is because they only respond to a special encoded signal sent via the 18v.
Now if you have a traditional DC system , well then , you can install a larger capacity Capacitor (2000 uF ) or higher, or even a super capacitor , and the LED will remain lit for a much longer duration ( but not forever ) . Adding a batter is not ideal because you have to ensure the battery gets charged and also , it adds a lot more weight to the passenger car . It is possible to add batteries, but it is not very practical to have batteries in each passenger car . Adding a high power capacitor or going with a DCCsystem , in my opinion are the better options .
Do you have a layout ? are you into model trains ? Here is my email if you want to connect ( Anthonyshobbycorner@gmail.com )
Regards, - Anthony .
@@anthonyshobbycorner Thank you Anthony, I've replied to you via email.
Hi Anthony. We were chatting via email and then it stopped. Umm.... I don't understand why.
Hi Mike , It's been a while .. I have been busy with work etc ... and I barely found some time to shoot this vid . I had a subscriber that asked for a video on lighting , so I gave that priority .. We shall re connect again via email ...
How are things with you ? anything new on your end ? - Regards, - Anthony -
Where is part 2 of this series?
You do not need it. The idea and components of Anthony is really bad, because it raise starting LED voltage too much. You need to use LED driver with 0.9V.
I watched your previous video and this one related to the CL2N3s. I am interested in using this approach for accessory lighting on a DCC layout. You mention multiple LEDs in series but not in parallel. Is there a reason that multiple LEDs in parallel will not work using a single CL2N3? Thanks for all this valuable information.
Hi Gene , I'm glad you are finding these videos useful. And i will explain why you can't connect multiple LED's in parallel to a single CL2N3. The function of the CL2N3 LED driver is to provide 20mA of current , That's all and nothing more . No matter what voltage you supply it , ( minimum of 5v to a max of 90V DC), it will only supply 20mA max on the output pin. Each LED requires between lets say 12 mA to 20 mA to illuminate properly ( depends on the size and the color of the LED) . Lets assume that each LED requires 20mA to illuminate . Therefore if you connect 2 LED's in parallel to a Single CL2N3, the LED's will require (2x20mA) 40mA of current for both to illuminate (Current accumulates in parallel) . but the CL2N3 can only supply a maximum of 20 mA. Also if you have 3 LED's in parallel , they will draw ( 3x20mA) 60mA of current , and a single CL2N3 can only supply 20mA. So you might able to have 2 LED's in parallel , where they will illuminate but will be very DIM due to the fact that they are only getting 10 mA each. However, since the CL2N3 can take an input voltage of up to 90 VOlts, you can connect many LED's in Series ( As the same current 20mA goes through each of the LED's ) but you will need a higher voltage to get the LED's to light up , and this can be done by increasing the supply voltage to the CL2N3 . If you increase the supply voltage to the CL2N3 , the output pin will reflect a higher voltage , but the current will be limited to 20 mA. This is beauty of the CL2N3. I hope this helps , if you want more clarity , please shoot me an email to anthonyshobbycorner@gmail.com, and I will be more than happy to connect with you and share more info. infact , I have a bread board, which i can use to test and simulate what you have in mind . Regards, - Anthony -
@@anthonyshobbycorner Thanks for the response. I now understand why it is not practical to wire the LEDs in parallel using the CL2N3 driver. My concern with wiring in series is if one of the LEDs burns out, I expect the whole string would go out. Is that true?
@@genejablonski9909 Yes that is correct, however , LED's typically burn out , when the current supplied to the LED for some reason even momentarily exceeds the maximum forward current of the LED. If this happens a few times repeatedly , you will tend to burn out an LED . also sometimes the resistor people use to limit the current to an LED also can burn out etc. Since you are using a CL2N3 between the power source and the LED's you are assured that the string of LED's will only receive 20mA no matter what happens at the power source. Either way , you are absolutely correct in your statement. I have used the Series connection for years now , and so far I have not encountered an issue with a burned LED , Just could be my luck lol .... but It is totally possible . hope this helps .
Why not regulate voltage instead of current
Hi Gareth , Good question . LED's are current devices. LED's require a minimum Forward Voltage to illuminate. Once you have reached the minimum forward voltage, It's the amount of current that you supply it , that decides the brightness of the illumination of that LED. LED's will consume as much current as you can give it, and it will burn it self out , if you supply it more current that it is designed to handle. This is why one needs to "limit" the current that is provided to an LED, so that it will not exceed the maximum current limit for that LED ( and burn it self out ) . LED's ( based on the color etc, will have different Forward voltage requirements. Some will need about 1.5v , and some will need about 2.1 v . However, Most LED's will operate best at approx 20 mA of current. Anything more , and it will shorten the life of the LED and eventually if you supply it a high enough current , it will burn it self out. I hope this helps . Regards, - Anthony -
@@anthonyshobbycorner thank you for your reply. i'm still trying to understand this all.
Things I do undersatnd, a constant current to each LED will result in constant brightness regardless of input voltage level (so long as you are above the threshold voltage).
I'm looking to buy one of those cuttable LED strips which are comprised of many parallel branches of 3, for example, LEDs wired in series. The 'cut points' are the parallel connection points. That said, if I have a 12V LED strip and use a current regulator, I would assume I would need to know the nominal current draw for each branch say, for example, 60mA for each parallel branch of 3 LEDs wired in series, and use a 60mA current regulator to supply 60mA to each branch, but then wire the branches in series, I think.
I think then a voltage regulator to supply a constant 12V to say, for example, 5 branches of 3 LEDs would work; however, the downside may be that the brightness would not be constant depending on total current draw? Not sure if I fully understand yet. But I'm getting there.
these cuttable LED strips seem to have a built-in resistor to limit current flow. Not sure how that works when you don't really know how many branches you're going to be powering with the circuit. Maybe it's dependent solely on the 3 series LEDs, which is why there's an individual resistor for each parallel branch. And then the resistor is sized to handle a limited current range? Again, not sure how that would work.
@@Salfrado Hi Gareth , those Cuttable long stip of LED's as you said already have resistors built into each cuttable segment. Further they are designed to operate at a pre determined voltage usually marked somewhere on the strip I have some that are meant to run on 12 V . and so , all you have to do is connect them directly to the power source ( set to the recommended voltage ) and you don't have to worry about any additional circuitry , such as current limiting resistors etc .. These strips are designed for anyone to ( without any real knowledge of electronics) to be able to use them . only issue is that i find them a bit too bright , as most of the time there are 3 LED's in a cuttable segment . Of course , you can reduce the supply voltage and the will reduce in intensity. they are great for lighting up houses etc , but for passenger cars etc, they might be an overkill .
Regards, - Anthony -