F-UnitMad Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hopefully someone might know this!! I have an old Life-Like (American) Truckstop sign that has a bulb in it that flashes. The thing is powered by 16v AC; All I had to do was connect it to the AC outlets of my analogue controller. As I'm converting my layout to DCC, I'm wondering if this AC accessory could be powered directly from the bus wires, instead of still having to use the analogue controller. As this is for an upcoming Exhibition, the less stuff I need to take, the better! I suppose the quickest way to find out if it works is to try it myself - but I don't want to blow or melt anything by mistake, & thought I'd ask on here first..... (plus I don't want to have to try & find another sign like it again....!!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbishop Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I think the answer is no, because AC has a sine wave and DCC has a square wave. Perhaps you could tap your AC transformer in advance of the DCC box. But could an expert confirm, please. Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 On the whole, accessories cannot just be connected like this. If it is just something as simple as an incandescent bulb with a mechanical bimetallic flasher and you do not use Railcom feedback it should be fine, but if it has flashing electronics it will most likely not be suitable. It sounds like the sort of accessory that will work on DC and if so you can make a bridge rectifier from four fast diodes like UF4001 or similar to make it compatible with track supply. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 ... Perhaps you could tap your AC transformer in advance of the DCC box... That's a simple solution if it is accessible and in the right voltage range. The TR150 specified for my Lenz 100 set puts out a nominal 16V AC, I would use that without hesitation on such an accessory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Sorry for the delay in feedback to everyone... Perhaps you could tap your AC transformer in advance of the DCC box. Good idea, which I would do, but my NCE Booster is supplied by a 12v DC Transformer. Looks like if I want the sign to work, I'll have to take my old analogue controller with me, just for the AC output. Ah well.... Thanks everyone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Jordan - is it worth converting the sign into/with a flashing LED - circuits are simple, and would run off a telephone charger/wall-wart or similar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 It highly likely it will work as is. Suggest you try it. Worst case the DCC booster will see it as a short and shut down. I can't image the DCC voltage is high enough to blow the bulb, but if you think it is running brighter, you can always add a series diode or resistor to lower the power going to it. Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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