Rapido NER/LNER Dyno function controller for lights

Bucoops · February 13, 2023

Parts:

Dyno car 😁

Tramfabriek wires only function decoder - https://tramfabriek.nl/function-decoders.html out of stock at the time of writing however

2x Alan Gibson 4mm sprung pickups

Small amount of heatshrink (optional)

Plastic tube to increase diameter of pickups

Soldering iron

Selection of drill bits and drill

Superglue to re-attach the pink bench seat which made a break for freedom

Remove the dyno body (clips along the lower edge of the body sides)

Remove the interior and contact springs that go from the lower contacts to the roof PCB (no need to remove the PCB)

I opted to drill a 2.5mm hole from the lavatory compartment through the floor so the decoder could hide in there - the whited out window means you can't see it. I drilled the hole at an angle to reduce any strain on the wires.

I coiled up the yellow wire and then fed the blue and white wires up the tubes where the contact springs were.

I then fitted the pickups to these wires (I shortened them a little bit) - be careful not to have the joint interfere with the tube as it will stop the pickup from pushing against the PCB. I used a bit of heatshrink but as it's in a plastic tube it wasn't really needed.

The expansion plastic tubes should allow a snug but not overly tight fit.

What I forgot to take a photo of was what I did with the black and red wires to the track. I simply tacked these to the copper strips above where the bogie makes contact. This allows removal later without issue.

For the curious (i.e. me!) this is the modern equivalent of a magnectic reed switch - no need to bypass it as it is latching even when power has been removed. There is no need to remove the PCB from the roof.