using green lights as train route guides

[stevieedge]

Can you tell me if this would be possible

 would it be possible to use the green lights positioned at intervals on the track so that  when the green lights appear illuminated that is the way the point is positioned, I have tried with some success but there is a delay between each light illuminating and I dont know how to make the lights on the track not being used to appear off until you change the points, 

I am afraid I havent explained that very well but I hope you understand what I am trying to do

[RDS]

When you say Green Lights, are you referring to something on a RailMaster diagram?

[Chrissaf]

I am assuming Stevie that you mean green LEDs placed physically next to the point on the layout to indicate which way the point is switched.

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The reason I am making this assumption, is because the track plan in RM already has a point position indicator in the form of a blue / grey line showing on the point icon. If your point indicators are not showing, then there is something wrong in your RM configuration and should be fixable.

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Now I know that you have RailMaster & eLink, so I am assuming firstly that you use Solenoid point motors and secondly that you use a DCC Accessory Decoder to switch them from within RM.

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There are a number of ways what you want to do can be achieved (assuming my initial assumption is correct), for example fitting a PECO PL13 or PL15 switch to your point motors (assumes that they are of the under-board type and not surface mount), but I feel the easiest (but not necessarily the cheapest) way to do it is to deploy a Gaugemaster GM500D latching relay board for each point that you want to have an indicator associated with. The GM500D product is designed specifically for this type of task (as well as PECO Electrofrog polarity switching).

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The GM500D (the D denotes that the relay board is common positive to be compatible with DCC Accessory Decoders. Do not use the GM500 it will not work with a DCC Accessory Decoder. Only use the D variant) is wired across the three wires going to the point Solenoid motor (therefore supporting both under-board AND surface mount point motors). Thus the pulse that operates the point also operates the latching relay on the GM500D PCB. Being latching, the relay sticks to the direction it was last switched to when the pulse of current stops. The GM500D has a DPDT (2 pole changeover) relay on it. One of the changeover pairs can then be used to light up the LED via a separate power supply (12 volts for example). Now you could either just use one LED to indicate either the straight ahead or diverge route OR you could use two LEDs to indicate which route is switched to.

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The circuit would look something like this. Repeated as many times as neccessary to fulfill your requirement:

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PS - The 1K0 represent 1,000 Ohm 1/4 watt resistors. I only show one LED per GM500D output contact for clarity. If you need a number of LEDs to come on along the track route, just wire additional resistors and LEDs in parallel with the ones shown.

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PPS - If this is not what you meant in your original posted question. Then it would have helped if you had added some extra detail to the text you wrote, and I could have saved the time spent preparing this reply.

[96RAF]

If you are talking about the green (and red) ‘lights’ either side of a point on the RM trackplan that do not illuminate until you use them, then it is because you do not have your points selected so that they set up at RM startup.

 

Tick the box on the setup page and it will ask at startup do you want to set all points. If you have Pro-RM then you also need to set a firing order in each point configuration box (right click each point in the design screen).

 

As stated by others there is a blue/grey line on each point which changes to show which way the point is set. This is enabled in the .inin file. Find the line for this and change it from 0 to 1.

 

After making any changes, save them and restart RM for them to take effect.

Rob