Hi team,
I recently was given a Light Works USA animated sign as a gift, and boy was I blown away! I love it. 46 different modes! I have placed it on the backside of a building about 2.5 feet away from the facia. The power and mode switch are under the layout and the sign is powered by 2xAA batteries.
I would like a cheap and simple way to control the sign from the facia, and have it turn off automatically after, say, 60 seconds. This is the sort of control you would find in a museum. I would also like to power it from the layout rather than using batteries.
Any ideas? I first thought of mechanical timer push buttons that switch on an electrical device, then turns it off after a few minutes, but the cost was rediculous (over $60 AUD in Oz). Is there such a device in the states, or should I start my Electronics 101 course, playing with capacitors, resistors and the like?
Any help appreciated.
Cheers, Ross
Roscoe,
I’ve used two of these voltage regulator kits from Jaycar to give a 12v and 9v supply bus off a 15v DC power supply on my layout, and they can be configured for voltages down to 1.3 volts. For the timing, I would suggest one of these timer kits. Unfortunately I haven’t used one of these timers - I’ve got a couple of the now out-of-production DSE Funway 2 timers - but it looks like they have an onboard relay that would be able to trigger the sign, and the switch to trigger the timer could be mounted on the fascia.
I know the Jaycar kits are easy to build - the instructions are well detailed and the components are marked on the circuit board as well. They just mostly require good soldering skills, which you’ve probably already got.
Hope this helps,
tbdanny
Hey thanks tbdanny!
At only $20 I 'll have a look at it.
Thanks,
Ross
If you’re at all handy with electronics, a 74LS123 or else a 555 timer chip would be a useful place to start. Either of those could easily provide the timing component without a lot of fuss, though you would probably need to use a transistor of some kind to interface to your light. If you didn’t want to build it, I’m sure you could find something similar in the back of one of the electronics magazines pretty cheaply. If you’re in the States, or have access to US magazines, try “Nuts & Volts” magazine, they have a section in the back of every edition where various suppliers tout their wares-- some would surely be similar to what you have in mind. Or perhaps for a few dollars more, you could find a larger unit that would even be "computer compatible that would interface a number (perhaps 4 or 8) similar lights, and maybe even permit additional methods of control. There are lots of ways to accomplish what you’re asking.
John
Circuit 1 in this picture from Rob Paisley’s site will do what you want:
However the commercial item listed will also do what you want and if you really don’t understand about things like 555 timers, then it is probably the easier thing to do. Use a regulator set for 3 volts and you cna use one pwoer supply to power both the timer (12-15 volts) and the animated lights (3 volts) via the relay on the timer.
–Randy
Hey thanks Randy! I’ll have a chat to my rail gang and see which way to go.
BTW spent a year working in Allentown many many years ago. I wish had the train bug back then. So many opportunities to research and model nearby. Oh well, any excuse to return one day in the future.
Cheers,
Ross
Light Works (Miller Engineering) sells a 3.0 volt Wall Adaper for $6.95, it will power up to 5 signs. They also see a 4.5 volt one so buy the right one. 3 volt for animated signs and 4.5 for fixed signs. Ckeck out their website for more details.