Many thanks to both Engine_1988 and ADCX_Rob for their help in guiding me through this process. Thanks to Rob for sending me the complete circuit and thanks to Engine_1988 for walking me through the testing of the terminals of the SPDT switch and where each of the three wires then led. All of this info is found in the topic “Lionel 167 whistle controller”. The controller I built does indeed send the DC signal to the tender and increases the track voltage by 5 volts, but this has resulted in consequences unforeseen by me. I have experienced before with Lionel PW whistle transformers like the LW that if the voltage has to be quite high to run a given engine (like my 736), then it is too high to activate its tender. If I turn the voltage down, the tender works fine but the engine doesn’t travel at a desired speed. That seems to be happening with the button plus booster I have just put together. I will continue to experiment with it and am very glad to have had the experience of building it.
Correction to previous post. Using a 1033 as booster and a single D battery, the track voltage increases by about 2 volts. For a test track I am using a small loop of tubular O ( 8 curve and 4 half straights) with only the tender on the track.
Additional info for any following this thread. Adding a second D cell in series with the first as Engine_1988 suggested helped a lot to remedy the situation.
Excellent! I’m glad that it’s been at least somewhat successful!
Hi, I’m back. I have built this whistle controller with booster using my original 1034 as a primary transformer, 2 D batteries in series and a 1033 as a booster and am extremely pleased with the result. I now have another question. Is there on the market a small 5 or so volt AC transformer which could replace the 1033? I have looked on Amazon and have seen small transformers for decorative yard lights and wondered if they could be adapted.
Landscape transformers usually work pretty well, from what I’ve read, but you should be careful to ensure that you don’t get stuck with a DC supply. That will not work. But if you can find one that puts out 5v and it’s real AC, then that could do the trick. Some of the newer ones have timers and photocells, which could complicate matters. Before you purchase one, I’d recommend you post a link so that I could take a look and make sure that it is correct.
Oh, by the way, it is possible to still use that 1033 to run trains. A warning, though: I have not tested this and would not recommend doing so until I’ve checked it with my oscilloscope to ensure that the transformers aren’t fighting.
Of course, and perhaps this is the cheapest solution, you could use one of those tiny transformers that often came in starter sets. Like this one, though there are innumerable styles of these, ranging in wattages, case designs, availability, and (few) features. If you’re like me, you probably have several of these stuffed into a box somewhere or maybe running an accessory on your layout. If not, they can be purchased for a pittance, especially when part of a nice, big junk lot. “But Mark,” you say, “how could I use one of those when it boosts voltage by at least a destructive seven volts or more?” The answer is simple: use diodes and rectifiers in series with it (if you’re interested in this system, I can rig up a diagram for this) to drop voltage to a more reasonable 4.5-volt boost.
Mark,
I have yet in my 80+ years ever placed a link in an email or text or forum post. I would very much like to know how to do this.
Oh, it’s fairly simple. First, open the link into a new tab. Go to said tab, and click the box with the link URL in it. Then, select the entirety of the URL and copy it. Then, go to the open editing box here on the Forums (or an email draft or whatever), place your cursor on an empty line (this is not necessary, but for the sake of simplicity it reduces the things that could go wrong), and then paste in the URL. In theory, it should then work. In practicality, the computer may do something goofy, in which case we can proceed from there.
Edit: it does work well to be doing this on an actual computer, not a smart phone. If the only device you are using to visit the Forums is a smart phone, then I can’t help you. My knowledge about smart phones, if printed in 287-point font, would occupy right around three square inches.
I will have to give this a try next time I’m on my computer. For now know that this item on Amazon reads “5V1A Class 2 power supply…” and the brand is Airoads.
I couldn’t find that exact one (but all the Generic Chinese Companies are more or less interchangeable anyway), but if it is this one then it will not work. It’s DC and will really frell with things. Please excuse my Nerdspeak.
I regularly use an iPhone 14 and if I simply copy the URL and paste it in as body text in a post, the Discourse software tries automatically to make the link first clickable, then hot. (Sometimes it fails when the linked site is configured to deny hotlinking, in which case the inserted ‘error message’ allows connection by clicking, as for example with some YouTube videos.
5V1A Class 2 Power Supply Replacement Model JT-DC050V1000-C LED Transformer IP44 LED Light Controller Low Voltage Transformer for Halloween Christmas String Light Inflatable Device - Amazon.com Mark, did this give you the information you need. I never really learned to copy and paste either.
The link works!
Unfortunately, the power supply itself is not suitable for this application; it puts out DC.
Oh, well. I guess I will just stick with the 1033. I was hoping to be able to use something as compact as the two DC batteries so that I could put the whole package into a container about the size of the 1033 or 1034.
I see where you’re going with that. If you keep looking, then eventually you’ll come upon something suitable. Ebay may come up with something suitable, in the long run.