Thanks for the info simon. the ads8 has a line of four marked A and a line of four marked B. Only the side marked A has inserts for dcc, however they are not marked either -ve or + ve. I assumed a connection was needed for all four, as they then powered the opposite side (b). However I thought I read somewhere that only one dcc connection was needed to power all 8. I have not tested the relay, I bought the same as yourself, like I said I followed your how to to the tee, as it was so good. I have tried the listening mode switch but no joy. The more I think about it the more it must be the relay. I did notice after I soldered them that the outer plastic had melted ever so slightly, I have tried to activate them as you suggested an I did not notice any noise, so maybe we onto something. I have three banks of tawcraft decoders operating 12 points so could unplug gone of those to test. I have had a look at your thoughts on your new layout, although I have not made any suggestions. I am modelling my first layout in nearly fourth years on Goathland station and surrounding habitat. As some of our fellow modellers take things a bit to serious I have decided to call it Goatland, just in case I get a barrage of abuse for putting a tree in the wrong place, or not getting it accurate enough. like you said a hobby you can do at your own pace. Once I get something down I will try and upload some of my own how to's has have certainly learnt a lot from getting it wrong. Keep up the good work and I am creating waterfalls and running rivers in my Goatland landscape and always had a fascination for layouts that have them. Fourth years ago it was very difficult to do as the products we have today were unavailable, we used to use varnish and a variety of paints and acrylics to crest at best a poor outcome. Today's products are fantastic and allow massive scope for interpretation. Many thanks once again for your feedback and ideas.
thanks so much for an excellent explanation although I'll need to watch it several times as my brain is 70 years old. I shall refer back to this video many many times. Hope to hear more from Simons Shed. Oliver ROX.
Hi Simon, I am fitting Dapol semaphore signals to my DCC layout. I am running Railmaster via a e link controller with Peco insulated frogs run off ADS- 4SX dcc/dc solenoid decoders. For the life of me i cannot find the relays you quote on the internet .The one you show looks nice and basic so would like to use that particular one. Can you guide me to the site to buy them. As I have 30 set of points i do not want to go buying train tech controllers for 30 set of points. .Also Is there a way of linking the signals to the the point so they are activated when switching the points. Thank you in anticipation. Tony
Thanks Ian, Oliver's a budding youtube star, he keeps watching Nerf gun reviews and copying what they say! He'll have his own channel soon if he get his way!
Thanks SImon - great vid and well explained as a non electrician to non electricians (if you know what I mean) signals are coming up on my list of to do things (although they wont be semaphores) and this has taken away the worries I had, I have Hornby DCC as well and it looks a piece of cake - very logical. Thanks again
Yes I'm definitely in the "non-electrician" category :) Glad it was some help, a lot of it is just the fear of whether you can figure it out, not having done it before.
Hi Simon I know I am late to the party but, why are you using the relay at all? The way you have the accessory decoder wired up it is, it is acting like a N.O. relay already (momentary power on [L and Com or R and Com] and then no power) so you could just wire up the yellow wires with one wire to Com and the other to either L or R and then a short piece of wire between L and R. The capacitor does not affect anything - when it discharges it either holds the N.O. relay closed which connects the two yellow wires or (without the relay) just connects the two yellow wires directly, in either case until the capacitor discharges. Or am I missing something?
Hi Simon, may thanks, i have not noticed any noise at all from the decoder board, but have tested it for power and power seems to be going into the unit. this is my second board as i returned the first one as it was not working.. The light is on to them, i have three, at present, so the AC is working, and the signal move when the two yellows are connected. I am moving the switch in normal elink operating mode, once set up in the planning section.( i have tried to operate them in this mode also but no success) The DCC power going to the board, is the +ve and -Ve set or can they be either way. (its not printed on board) does all A side have to have individual power or is power connection only necessary to one, one works all so to speak. If you could help some more i would be most grateful, I am wondering if when soldering the connections to the relay i have damaged them in some way with too much heat? Keep up the good work, love what you have done on your videos have really helped me. I am back modelling after a nearly forty year break, and as you can imagine things have changed somewhat. great to see Oliver helping you, its one of those hobbies that when you are introduced to it, no matter how old you get, if you enjoyed it as a youngster it sticks with you for life. I remember listening to one of your videos when you said you were making a layout for the very first time, and thought at the time i wonder how long it would take for you to become hooked. keep up the good work guys
Sean Gardner Thanks Sean, it is a hobby that sticks with you, more of a relaxed pace, no need to rush. AM definitely hooked, thinking about building another layout now! It could be the relays, not sure of the exact relay you are using but I tested mine separately to make sure it was working. I could hear a slight 'click' when it triggered. Are you able to test whether any power is sent out from the decoder when you operate it from the e-link, or is there anything else that you could plug in to the decoder to test it? If I remember rightly the ADS8 has 2 sets of power inputs, 1 for each 'bank' of 4 decoders.
Simon l followed you video all be it an old video very helpful.l tested my signal the same way you demonstrate,my signal powered up but would not work,what l did notice was when the signal was at caution the aspect was red which is incorrect the aspect at caution should be yellow on amber your input would be interesting Rgds Stuart
Hi Simon managed to sort it thanks. Schoolboy error in the end. The dropper wire powering the ads unit had come away from its rail solder. Therefore not sending any Dcc power to the unit. However still can not understand why I was recording power in the unit from the other wires? Anyway all working fine now thanks.
Trying to find a vid that shows cobalt motors working in conjunction with dapol semaphore signal.Were ass you can set 2 cobalt motors with same address so as they work together on a crossover.Could using this system with the same address as the cobalt motors.I see no reason why this will not work.Can the cobalt motor run the semaphone ?..with the led,s also.
Hi Simon, great how to on the signals. I have followed you instructions to the tee, however i am using e-link, and for the life of me can not get it to be recognize. I purchased the DCC concepts decoder as you are using so i would know it to work. please could you do a how to for thickos like me. I have connected the two yellow wires together as you did to make the connection and to check the signal works which it does, and the lights are on, but unfortunately can not get it to work with the elink any thoughts would be great
Sean Gardner Hi Sean, Have you set the address for the DCC concepts decoder? You flick the little switch on the decoder board you have connected the signal to, which puts it in 'listening' mode, and operate the signal as if it is already set up, then flick the switch back and it should work. When its set up and you operate the signal you can hear a strange electronic high pitched noise from the decoder board every time you operate it (I assume its the capacitor 'recharging'), that should tell you if its firing, and at least the decoder board is working.
Is it a similar process to programme the DS range of 2 and 3 aspect colour light signals, using the Hornby Select under DCC conditions and a Hornby R044 switch and CDU
Yes that should work. Not tried it myself but some people say it's a convenient way to wire, some say it's not as reliable of the fishplates are not tight etc.
That's what I did, soldered wires to the bottom of the rails and drilled holes in the board to poke the wires down. It's tricky as you can melt the sleepers but with a bit of practise and a low power soldering iron you should be ok!
I made that mistake .Its actualy better with high power.With high power you just touch and its done.some times with the low power.you have to hold longer.
Robert Gilbert Tricky one to answer without trying it as I'm not the best at electronics! The SEEP does have "Auxilary switch" connectors but you can't connect it directly because the Dapol signal doesnt like any power sent down the yellow wires, so it would have to connect to a relay first. Not sure how you would convert the constant power from the SEEP into a short burst required by the signal either...sorry!
DCC controlled = more wiring than you need, and a heck of a lot more cost. Dapol semaphores will work on as little as 6v DC although they don't tell you that in the instructions. You can therefore operate the signal from a simple on/off switch. When you have say tens signals, you only need 11 wires to control all of them with a normal DC supply !!!! Anything using AC nearly always adds more wiring. Anything related to DCC means roughly 4 times more cost. Get real, join a club and learn about basic DC and save yourself a fortune.
Great how to Simon and a nice little piece of kit. You and Oliver made the installation look so easy.
Thanks Steve, always good to have a little helper!
A good how to Simon , not easy to do , think it should help a lot out who want to add these signals ..Oliver did a good job there
thanks David, getting that relay to work did take a bit of trial and error. Oliver is always keen to help, bless him!
Thanks for the info simon. the ads8 has a line of four marked A and a line of four marked B. Only the side marked A has inserts for dcc, however they are not marked either -ve or + ve. I assumed a connection was needed for all four, as they then powered the opposite side (b). However I thought I read somewhere that only one dcc connection was needed to power all 8. I have not tested the relay, I bought the same as yourself, like I said I followed your how to to the tee, as it was so good. I have tried the listening mode switch but no joy. The more I think about it the more it must be the relay. I did notice after I soldered them that the outer plastic had melted ever so slightly, I have tried to activate them as you suggested an I did not notice any noise, so maybe we onto something. I have three banks of tawcraft decoders operating 12 points so could unplug gone of those to test. I have had a look at your thoughts on your new layout, although I have not made any suggestions. I am modelling my first layout in nearly fourth years on Goathland station and surrounding habitat. As some of our fellow modellers take things a bit to serious I have decided to call it Goatland, just in case I get a barrage of abuse for putting a tree in the wrong place, or not getting it accurate enough. like you said a hobby you can do at your own pace. Once I get something down I will try and upload some of my own how to's has have certainly learnt a lot from getting it wrong. Keep up the good work and I am creating waterfalls and running rivers in my Goatland landscape and always had a fascination for layouts that have them. Fourth years ago it was very difficult to do as the products we have today were unavailable, we used to use varnish and a variety of paints and acrylics to crest at best a poor outcome. Today's products are fantastic and allow massive scope for interpretation. Many thanks once again for your feedback and ideas.
Excellent demonstration, Simon where couyi buy this relay
Great how to Simon and Oliver seems pleased with it to, cheers Stu @ Lime Junction.
Thanks Stu, really pleased with the signal, looks great.
Great vid.I will have a go wiring up signal to Hornby decoder.Well done
thanks so much for an excellent explanation although I'll need to watch it several times as my brain is 70 years old. I shall refer back to this video many many times. Hope to hear more from Simons Shed. Oliver ROX.
Hi Simon, I am fitting Dapol semaphore signals to my DCC layout. I am running Railmaster via a e link controller with Peco insulated frogs run off ADS- 4SX dcc/dc solenoid decoders. For the life of me i cannot find the relays you quote on the internet .The one you show looks nice and basic so would like to use that particular one. Can you guide me to the site to buy them. As I have 30 set of points i do not want to go buying train tech controllers for 30 set of points. .Also Is there a way of linking the signals to the the point so they are activated when switching the points. Thank you in anticipation. Tony
Great tutorial Simon. As Oliver said "Good."
Ian
Thanks Ian, Oliver's a budding youtube star, he keeps watching Nerf gun reviews and copying what they say! He'll have his own channel soon if he get his way!
Great job Simon' the signal looks fantastic!
Thanks Steve, 1 more to wire up and I think it adds a big missing element to the layout.
Great video and great helper! Bye Oliver!
Thanks SImon - great vid and well explained as a non electrician to non electricians (if you know what I mean) signals are coming up on my list of to do things (although they wont be semaphores) and this has taken away the worries I had, I have Hornby DCC as well and it looks a piece of cake - very logical. Thanks again
Yes I'm definitely in the "non-electrician" category :) Glad it was some help, a lot of it is just the fear of whether you can figure it out, not having done it before.
Hi Simon
I know I am late to the party but, why are you using the relay at all? The way you have the accessory decoder wired up it is, it is acting like a N.O. relay already (momentary power on [L and Com or R and Com] and then no power) so you could just wire up the yellow wires with one wire to Com and the other to either L or R and then a short piece of wire between L and R. The capacitor does not affect anything - when it discharges it either holds the N.O. relay closed which connects the two yellow wires or (without the relay) just connects the two yellow wires directly, in either case until the capacitor discharges. Or am I missing something?
Hi Simon, may thanks, i have not noticed any noise at all from the decoder board, but have tested it for power and power seems to be going into the unit. this is my second board as i returned the first one as it was not working.. The light is on to them, i have three, at present, so the AC is working, and the signal move when the two yellows are connected. I am moving the switch in normal elink operating mode, once set up in the planning section.( i have tried to operate them in this mode also but no success) The DCC power going to the board, is the +ve and -Ve set or can they be either way. (its not printed on board) does all A side have to have individual power or is power connection only necessary to one, one works all so to speak.
If you could help some more i would be most grateful, I am wondering if when soldering the connections to the relay i have damaged them in some way with too much heat? Keep up the good work, love what you have done on your videos have really helped me. I am back modelling after a nearly forty year break, and as you can imagine things have changed somewhat. great to see Oliver helping you, its one of those hobbies that when you are introduced to it, no matter how old you get, if you enjoyed it as a youngster it sticks with you for life. I remember listening to one of your videos when you said you were making a layout for the very first time, and thought at the time i wonder how long it would take for you to become hooked. keep up the good work guys
Sean Gardner Thanks Sean, it is a hobby that sticks with you, more of a relaxed pace, no need to rush. AM definitely hooked, thinking about building another layout now!
It could be the relays, not sure of the exact relay you are using but I tested mine separately to make sure it was working. I could hear a slight 'click' when it triggered. Are you able to test whether any power is sent out from the decoder when you operate it from the e-link, or is there anything else that you could plug in to the decoder to test it? If I remember rightly the ADS8 has 2 sets of power inputs, 1 for each 'bank' of 4 decoders.
Great video. Very helpful. Thanks Simon
Simon l followed you video all be it an old video very helpful.l tested my signal the same way you demonstrate,my signal powered up but would not work,what l did notice was when the signal was at caution the aspect was red which is incorrect the aspect at caution should be yellow on amber your input would be interesting Rgds Stuart
Hmm really tricky to know what's going on with it, do you have another to compare it to...maybe its a faulty one?
Your accessory decoder appears to have more ports than a Hornby one. And I'm betting it's a lot cheaper (priced per accessory port) as well.
Hi Simon managed to sort it thanks. Schoolboy error in the end. The dropper wire powering the ads unit had come away from its rail solder. Therefore not sending any Dcc power to the unit. However still can not understand why I was recording power in the unit from the other wires? Anyway all working fine now thanks.
Sean Gardner Excellent, glad you got it sorted!
Trying to find a vid that shows cobalt motors working in conjunction with dapol semaphore signal.Were ass you can set 2 cobalt motors with same address so as they work together on a crossover.Could using this system with the same address as the cobalt motors.I see no reason why this will not work.Can the cobalt motor run the semaphone ?..with the led,s also.
Hi Simon, great how to on the signals. I have followed you instructions to the tee, however i am using e-link, and for the life of me can not get it to be recognize. I purchased the DCC concepts decoder as you are using so i would know it to work. please could you do a how to for thickos like me. I have connected the two yellow wires together as you did to make the connection and to check the signal works which it does, and the lights are on, but unfortunately can not get it to work with the elink any thoughts would be great
Sean Gardner Hi Sean, Have you set the address for the DCC concepts decoder? You flick the little switch on the decoder board you have connected the signal to, which puts it in 'listening' mode, and operate the signal as if it is already set up, then flick the switch back and it should work. When its set up and you operate the signal you can hear a strange electronic high pitched noise from the decoder board every time you operate it (I assume its the capacitor 'recharging'), that should tell you if its firing, and at least the decoder board is working.
Excellent instructional. Well done.
Thanks Rob, they are great little signals, add a nice touch to the layout.
do you think a digitrax 64 cound work with this signal in DCC?
Is it a similar process to programme the DS range of 2 and 3 aspect colour light signals, using the Hornby Select under DCC conditions and a Hornby R044 switch and CDU
Good how to video,,, well laid out and explained, but still a bit beyond me at the moment.
How do you get your Hornby Select to work with your n gauge track?
Simon can u use a hornby control unit
great how to mate! glad im DC now haha, might have to get one of these ;)
Thanks James, impressed with the signals, they are dead simple to wire up to a physical switch. But I love to overcomplicate things :-)
could I just solder the power to a set of fishplates on my layout?
Yes that should work. Not tried it myself but some people say it's a convenient way to wire, some say it's not as reliable of the fishplates are not tight etc.
would I be better soldering it to the track in a non obvious place then?
That's what I did, soldered wires to the bottom of the rails and drilled holes in the board to poke the wires down. It's tricky as you can melt the sleepers but with a bit of practise and a low power soldering iron you should be ok!
I made that mistake .Its actualy better with high power.With high power you just touch and its done.some times with the low power.you have to hold longer.
hi simon can I connect this signal to my seep motor switch so when I change the point it activates the signal at the same time ?
Robert Gilbert Tricky one to answer without trying it as I'm not the best at electronics! The SEEP does have "Auxilary switch" connectors but you can't connect it directly because the Dapol signal doesnt like any power sent down the yellow wires, so it would have to connect to a relay first. Not sure how you would convert the constant power from the SEEP into a short burst required by the signal either...sorry!
does this work ok with a Hornby accss decoder.. ? thanks
chefblanc sorry, no idea as I haven't tried the Hornby accessory decoders.
What decoader is that ?
thx
You show at the end the train stops at the red then goes when it clears so what makes it stop at the red
HA Ha.You are the driver
DCC controlled = more wiring than you need, and a heck of a lot more cost. Dapol semaphores will work on as little as 6v DC although they don't tell you that in the instructions. You can therefore operate the signal from a simple on/off switch. When you have say tens signals, you only need 11 wires to control all of them with a normal DC supply !!!! Anything using AC nearly always adds more wiring. Anything related to DCC means roughly 4 times more cost. Get real, join a club and learn about basic DC and save yourself a fortune.
You cant beat a wiling helper Simon, I have a spare ADS8 if you send your address in a PM and cover the postage.
Wow, are you sure? I'll gladly pay the postage and take it off your hands if you have no use for it, I'll send a PM later, thanks!
call 097972768202.
Simons Shed I will try to post it this weekend, if not Monday at the latest.
I only just found you PM. Stuart.
,