January 2021
8
As you would with your engine decoder, hook up the light board (or put
the car with it installed on the programming track) and program as you
normally would. CV8: is RESET. This is a good thing to remember.
When in “native” DCC programming mode this LED Light Board will
both Short and Long addresses. Just bear in mind not to set it to an
address that your DCC system and hand controller do not support.
From time to time we stumble across occasional strange behavior in
mixed system environments. For the most reliable (and we think)
simple operation, use the built-in in address programming mode (not
programming tracks) and work your addressed to be organized within
the 2044 address limit.
PERFORMANCE and INSTALLATION
The Caboose LED Light Boards are designed to operate visually best at
about 50% brightness. On my layout I run at about 30%. That is, the
best visual effect for the train cars is 30-50%. The circuit will still
protect the LEDs if you operate at 100%. However, if you decide to
build a really long train all with lighted cars the cumulative effect of the
current drain will affect other action (engines) on the layout. For
planning purposes, 10-30ma (milliamp) or less per car is about average.
We design the board so you
could
run the lights brighter but for both
appearance and current drain it’s better to run at half or less rated
capacity.
The N Scale Caboose board will safely operate at HO voltages up to
about 16V. It should NOT be operated at G scale voltages of 18-20v.
We have other boards that are designed for O and G scale.
