# Imitating Lionel in Large Scale



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I've been playing with ideas for additional applications for the $11 MRC AD322 decoders and one thing that came to mind would be to use decoders in conjunction with toy motors to operate Water Towers and Coaling Stations.

To keep costs down and installation simple, my thought would be to find some way to use cheap motors (perhaps from broken toys) to turn a pulley with perhaps a rubber band or bungee type cord to raise and lower water spouts and coal chutes to simulate (or maybe actually feed) water and coal operations.

The problem with using decoders while running trains is that the power the decoder uses reduces the power available for trains but (as I see it) decoders could control coal and water actions when trains are stopped so power would not be a problem. Additionally if the decoders have a switch (on/off) capability they could be used to turn layout things like saw mill sounds and station lights on and off simulating operating hours. As far as I can tell the AD322's do not have a switching capability but I could be wrong.

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerry, take a look at these pages, there are several inexpensive motors that ar*e geared way down so you could get some nice slow motion control. *

*http://www.hobbyengineering.com/SectionM.html*

*http://www.hobbyplace.com/robotics/gearbox.php*

You could use the ditch lights output, F5 will turn it on and off, 200 ma capability. 

Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Greg,

That's a good idea.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

you said look at this page ....... then I saw no link 

did I miss something 


the other thing you can do is use a tortoise switch machine as the current draw is low and it has a inline movement 

http://www.circuitron.com/index_files/Tortoise.htm


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I swear the link was there last night, look now.... weird... 

Greg


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

well fancy that .... now they are there 

and some cool stuff too ......


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Well, I edited to add the links, but I swear I had one link in it before.... dementia is setting in... 

Greg


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## Peter Osborne (Jan 5, 2008)

I'm planning to use F5 to power a relay to control the smoke feature in an USA NW-2 as the function outputs are limited in their amperage. I've not checked but I think if you leave the lighting effects in default mode, that F5 provides a steady off or on current to the ditch light hookup, so it seems that would work to operate a relay. 

Peter.


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

F5 should work fine to run a relay defalt should be just on and off ........ 


just remember you need a dioide on the coil of the relay to keep the voltage spike from going to the decoder .....


If you do not know the voltage spike is caused by the collapse of the electromagnectic field created in the relay coil to throw the relay ...... 

as the field collapses it induces a electric charge of the opposite polarity to the leads of the coil ....

this is shorted with the dioide .....


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Actually, I think the ditch light output is two outputs, and they both blink... I don't think they are constant on, the blinking is in the MRC.... same goes for strobe... 

Regards, Greg


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## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

defalt should be on off stanard fuction output ........ 

you need to change CV64 from 0 to1 to make the light effects to work 


even with CV64 turned on you can use F5 to turn the dich lights steady on and off 

either way it should still work


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