Brassman_58 Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Hi all First of all, electricals are definitely not my forte! I am after a clear, simple indication showing which of my 5 fiddle yard roads are switched on or off to receive power from the controller. Please can someone knowledgeable on electrics supply me with a simple diagram on how to wire up a 4-pin illuminated dpst rocker-switch so that it lights up when switched to the on position and power is being fed to the road it controls. I could work it out by trial and error but expert advice would be much safer I think. I already have the rocker switches and I wanted to avoid the more complex wiring of a separate switch and LED arrangement which I already have on my mimic control panel. Many thanks Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Dicky Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Hi all First of all, electricals are definitely not my forte! I am after a clear, simple indication showing which of my 5 fiddle yard roads are switched on or off to receive power from the controller. Please can someone knowledgeable on electrics supply me with a simple diagram on how to wire up a 4-pin illuminated dpst rocker-switch so that it lights up when switched to the on position and power is being fed to the road it controls. I could work it out by trial and error but expert advice would be much safer I think. I already have the rocker switches and I wanted to avoid the more complex wiring of a separate switch and LED arrangement which I already have on my mimic control panel. Many thanks Brian If it is a mains ON/OFF switch designed to work at 230V you will probably find it is already connected internally, of course this means it will switch at low voltage but the light will not work. Try to post the specifications and it might be possible to sort it out. Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium CloggyDog Posted August 11, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 11, 2017 Are you running DC or DCC?? If the former, wouldn't they only illuminate if the controller was turned up, so if the controller was turned down to 0, you wouldn't have any illumination of the switches at all?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 which I already have on my mimic control panel. I'm confused. If you already have LED indicators on your mimic, aren't they giving the indication you want? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 11, 2017 Author Share Posted August 11, 2017 Ok, from the replies I obviously haven't been very clear in my explaination. 1. WHAT: see attached photo of 12A/125V 10A/250V DPST 4-pin 2 position Green LED light mini rocker switch on/off 2. WHY: "Off-scene" fiddle yard consists of 5 parallel road (3 cassette slots and 2 fixed tracks) sliding sector plate. Alignment by peg through sector plate into baseboard frame. Electrical feed from 12V DC supply to fixed tracks by dropper wire. Electrical feed to cassettes by brass plates on bottom of cassette sitting on sprung brass plate with dropper wire on baseboard. Fiddle yard operated independently of scenic section operation - fiddle yard operator indicates that train is ready and for which line using one of three on/off switches which illuminate the relevant indicator LED on the mimic control panel of the layout operator. I hope this is a bit clearer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 A 240 V illuminated switch of this type is going to have resistors to operate the illumination on 240 volts and hence its not going to light on 12 volts. I sort of understand what you hope to achieve but it won't be easy with DC as the voltage applied will vary over the range of 0-18volts and anything that lights on 1.5 volts will go pop at well below 12 v...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted August 12, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 12, 2017 If it is a mains ON/OFF switch designed to work at 230V you will probably find it is already connected internally, of course this means it will switch at low voltage but the light will not work. Try to post the specifications and it might be possible to sort it out. Richard OK, here is the diagram for these type of switches. As it has been suggested, the LED does have a suitable resister built in, and so WILL NOT light on 12 Volts. https://www.jaycar.com.au/medias/sys_master/images/8954900283422/SK0983-dataSheetMain.pdf There are switches available that will do the job the OP requires (use a separate power source for the LED's, rather than directly off the track), but they tend to be rather more expensive. Typically - an Australian version. https://www.jaycar.com.au/30a-12vdc-red-led-illuminated-rocker-switch/p/SK0955 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokebox Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 I'd suggest you go to a local car spares dealer and ask if they have any illuminated switches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Dicky Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 (edited) Ok, from the replies I obviously haven't been very clear in my explaination. 1. WHAT: see attached photo of 12A/125V 10A/250V DPST 4-pin 2 position Green LED light mini rocker switch on/off 2. WHY: "Off-scene" fiddle yard consists of 5 parallel road (3 cassette slots and 2 fixed tracks) sliding sector plate. Alignment by peg through sector plate into baseboard frame. Electrical feed from 12V DC supply to fixed tracks by dropper wire. Electrical feed to cassettes by brass plates on bottom of cassette sitting on sprung brass plate with dropper wire on baseboard. Fiddle yard operated independently of scenic section operation - fiddle yard operator indicates that train is ready and for which line using one of three on/off switches which illuminate the relevant indicator LED on the mimic control panel of the layout operator. I hope this is a bit clearer. I think this is the actual data sheet for your make of switch, according to the circuit diagram I am afraid it is not going to do what you want. I was hoping one side of the switch acted as SPST switch the other side simply switched the LED enabling you to provide a seperate supply to the LED with appropriate current limiting resistor. http://www.honyone.com/uploadfile/MR-6.pdf You can still use it as as two linked SPST switches one to switch the track on and the other to switch a remote LED on a mimic panel but the rocker itself will not illuminate. Richard Edited August 12, 2017 by Tricky Dicky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted August 12, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 12, 2017 Wouldn't it just be easier to use DPST toggle switch, one half doing track switching and the other half controlling a bulb/ led or such? Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 Thanks to all those who have been so helpful with their replies. Even with 12vDC if you don't really understand layout electrics beyond the basics it is easy to tie yourself in knots, but, thanks to all your expert contributions I now know what I have to do. This thread can now be declared closed. Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 Wouldn't it just be easier to use DPST toggle switch, one half doing track switching and the other half controlling a bulb/ led or such? Mike Hi Mike That's what I did on the mimic controller. I thought, obviously erroneously, that this would be a simpler arrangement. Duh! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 I think this is the actual data sheet for your make of switch, according to the circuit diagram I am afraid it is not going to do what you want. I was hoping one side of the switch acted as SPST switch the other side simply switched the LED enabling you to provide a seperate supply to the LED with appropriate current limiting resistor. http://www.honyone.com/uploadfile/MR-6.pdf You can still use it as as two linked SPST switches one to switch the track on and the other to switch a remote LED on a mimic panel but the rocker itself will not illuminate. Richard Thanks Richard That's very helpful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 OK, here is the diagram for these type of switches. As it has been suggested, the LED does have a suitable resister built in, and so WILL NOT light on 12 Volts. https://www.jaycar.com.au/medias/sys_master/images/8954900283422/SK0983-dataSheetMain.pdf There are switches available that will do the job the OP requires (use a separate power source for the LED's, rather than directly off the track), but they tend to be rather more expensive. Typically - an Australian version. https://www.jaycar.com.au/30a-12vdc-red-led-illuminated-rocker-switch/p/SK0955 Thanks for your helpful suggestions Kevin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 A 240 V illuminated switch of this type is going to have resistors to operate the illumination on 240 volts and hence its not going to light on 12 volts. I sort of understand what you hope to achieve but it won't be easy with DC as the voltage applied will vary over the range of 0-18volts and anything that lights on 1.5 volts will go pop at well below 12 v...... Thanks for this expert insight, David. It's great that there are people out there like yourself to help out us numpty's! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassman_58 Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 Are you running DC or DCC?? If the former, wouldn't they only illuminate if the controller was turned up, so if the controller was turned down to 0, you wouldn't have any illumination of the switches at all?? DC so that is a very good point, well made. I should have seen that eventuality. Thanks, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted August 12, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 12, 2017 Thanks to all those who have been so helpful with their replies. Even with 12vDC if you don't really understand layout electrics beyond the basics it is easy to tie yourself in knots, but, thanks to all your expert contributions I now know what I have to do. This thread can now be declared closed. Brian No need to make it sound bad. You picked a product that sounded ideal - a built in light to indicate when power was on, sadly for you, it was designed for a slightly different purpose. But you will learn from mistakes, how do you think most of us acquired this knowledge? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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