dj_crisp Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Hi I'm using a Digikeijs DR4018 for controlling lights so have set it up to be 16x switches for LED lights. Does anyone know what the output is as even programming to maximum brightness the LEDs are very dim. It could be that i have used too high a resistor connected to a LED so would be interested if anyone has recommendations? Thanks Will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 (edited) Gosh, was setting one up to do the same today. I have 13.5VDC as the power supply with 1k resistor on warm white 3mm LED and they are quite bright. Enough for the period they are in early to mid 60’s I already have one in situ and works very well. This is my second one and impressed with its uses and versatility. By way if a bit of info, if you use an ECoS to do the initial programming make sure Railcom is off otherwise programming will fail. The hint is that the programming red LED flashes instead of it glowing steadily. After programming turn Railcom etc back on and the DR4018 works as advertised. Edited January 25, 2021 by two tone green 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIMorrison Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Railcom doesn't cause me any issues programming the DR4018 and I have 7 of them set up at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 I could not program mine on my ECoS until Railcom was turned off. initial power on with power and DCC connected then pressing the program button to set the base address resulted in the red programming LED to flash when it should be steady. Looking at the flashing LED it became clear it was also flashing a code with one long flash, one short flash which then repeated. Turning off Railcom stopped the LED flashing straight away and I was able to set the base address and change CV47. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 4 hours ago, two tone green said: Gosh, was setting one up to do the same today. I have 13.5VDC as the power supply with 1k resistor on warm white 3mm LED and they are quite bright. Enough for the period they are in early to mid 60’s I already have one in situ and works very well. This is my second one and impressed with its uses and versatility. By way if a bit of info, if you use an ECoS to do the initial programming make sure Railcom is off otherwise programming will fail. The hint is that the programming red LED flashes instead of it glowing steadily. After programming turn Railcom etc back on and the DR4018 works as advertised. Thanks! Good to know you've got them working well. Im going to double check my resistors to see what I used as I thought it was 1k Cheers Will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 Should be about right. I find the colour coded bands harder to distinguish as I have got older, so I always use a digital multimeter these days to check the value of resistors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Yes. Similar. Use a multimeter. I think mine are coming up as 1.09k on it with the tolerance which it not very tight. 1% jobs. Metal film 0.25 watt. They work and I am happy so all is well here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 This gives you some idea of what the light is like with a 3mm warm white LED and a 1k resistor. There is a colour shift caused by the mobile phone camera but the brilliance is the same. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Roy Langridge Posted January 27, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 27, 2021 (edited) On 25/01/2021 at 18:38, dj_crisp said: Hi I'm using a Digikeijs DR4018 for controlling lights so have set it up to be 16x switches for LED lights. Does anyone know what the output is as even programming to maximum brightness the LEDs are very dim. It could be that i have used too high a resistor connected to a LED so would be interested if anyone has recommendations? Thanks Will My recommendation is to buy a variable resistor (I use one like this: Variable Pot) use it to set the lights to the brightness you want, read the value on a multimeter, and then buy the nearest standard value. Edit: I have one wired up with crocodile clips which makes it easy to test with. Always start with it at the max resistance setting and turn it down. Roy Edited January 27, 2021 by Roy Langridge 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 The DR4018 does have a dimming function so you can turn the wick down but its not an excuse to not get the correct resistor in the first place. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Thanks all I've tried a 470 ohm resistor and have a better light... seems the 1k resistor was too high for my set up 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Good news. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_crisp Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 Thanks all for your help - I now have a bit of light! My phone has made it a little brighter than reality but its a nice glow although this is on maximum brightness! cheers Will 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Very nice, very atmospheric 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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