Making Resistor Wheelsets for a Model Railroad
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- We are using several BDL168 block detection boards from Digitrax for our signal system on the UPSF Joint Line.
These boards work by sensing current draw from anything on the rails using even the smallest amount of electricity. Powered locomotives, freight cars with sound, and passenger cars and cabooses with lights that pick up their power from the rails are all detectible just as they are.
But what about rolling stock that needs to be detected but doesn't fall into this category?
Resistor Wheelset has entered the chat
A resistor draws a very small amount of electrical current just by bridging the two different rails together by completing a circuit that runs through the resistor. As long as your car has metal wheels that are conductive, then by adding a resistor and some liquid wire paint to connect each tab on the resistor to each wheel on the axle, that circuit is complete.
In this video I did use the terms "conductive paint" and "wire glue" interchangeably. Not all metal used to make metal wheelsets is electrically conductive. Use a multimeter to check for resistance through each wheel individually. I have had very good luck using Intermountain Wheelsets.
I purchased my resistors from
www.digikey.com
And my conductive glue from
www.allelectronics.com - บันเทิง
very smart idea - thank you for sharing.
This video alone was worth the subscription but I also enjoyed a lot of the others as well.
As more layouts add track detection/ signal systems we may see more choices for commercial wheelsets with resistors preinstalled! Thanks for the sub
@@signalupproductions Let’s hope. I have been saying that about locos with keep alives for years.
Very good explanation 👍
Would it be worth checking the resistance before painting with nail varnish 🤔
In the video I just describe the way I normally do it.
You could test each resistor before gluing on to the axle, then test after the conductive paint dries, then again after the nail polish dries and there's nothing wrong with that.
But once I start there's no saving a bad wheelset, so it's pass/fail anyway. I figure I would save more time with a single routine than testing along the way for something that doesn't matter anyway.
In the event that I have a wheel that doesn't have any resistance then it just gets used as a normal wheelset.
My failure rate is extremely low so I don't have any issues with my process.
Good video! Well done.
Nicely done! I'm new to modeling and am going to start doing my rolling stock axles. This is perfect! One question - where did you get your gauge for checking the wheel spacing? I did a quick search on Amazon and couldn't find anything... Thanks for sharing 🤠
That is an NMRA Standards Gauge. The NMRA is the National Model Railroad Association. They set the standards that modelers follow, and they make that wheel gauge. It also checks track gauge, frog clearance and tunnel clearance. Most model train shops carry them.
How many ohm resistor did you use for the wheels? Thanks
I use 10k ohm, 1/10th watt. Since we have over 500 cars on the layout, I needed to keep power consumption to a minimum.
Hi there - good video 😊
I have insulated axle both sides - presume i treat like plastic?
….and is 10k ohm a magic number - will others do? Thanks JC
If you have a metal axle and both wheels are insulated, then you will need to put the resistor in the corner bridging one insulator, paint the conductive glue like you would for a normal metal axle, but then on the other side paint a bridge across that insulator to complete the circuit. In the end, you want a path for current to travel from one wheel, across the axle to the resistor, then only go through the resistor to the other wheel. The resistor needs to be the bridge across the plastic insulator.
As for the resistor values, you can use a lower value than what the detection system says to use. We use Digitrax BDL168 boards, which say to use 10k. Other systems might say to use 1000, etc. The thing you need to remember is that these resistors are drawing current, just like a locomotive or lighted passenger car. If you have 2 DCC boosters, each 5 amps, then you have 10 amps total for your layout. Ohms law is IxR=E. If you have 1000 freight cars, each with 2 resistors of 1k ohms, and 14v track voltage you will have 28amps of total current draw just from those cars! But using 10k, you would only use 2.8amps, much more reasonable. Calculate how many resistor wheelsets you will use (usually 1 per truck, or 2 per car) and the value of resistor you chose to use to figure out how much of your layout current will be used by the cars. Keep in mind that you also need to allot some of your booster current to your locomotives and lighted passenger cars as well!
@@signalupproductions thank you that’s very clear JC
Thank you JC
Very good video and showing what the values were after fitting on the meter was also helpful. Thanks.