Varieties of Common Tomix Lightboards / PCBs.

[cteno4]

I’ve eyed the little tiny hot plates for $15-20 but no pressing needs right now to do much SMD work outside some LEDs and hot plate won’t work on that.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

I’ve eyed the little tiny hot plates for $15-20 but no pressing needs right now to do much SMD work outside some LEDs and hot plate won’t work on that.

 

jeff

 

I use my hot plate to build my LED light boards.  The LEDs are SMD

 

Just use a low temperature solder paste and an IR thermometer to track the heat so it doesn't get to hot and remove as soon as its melted and the job is done.

 

[cteno4]

I was referring to smd leds directly to wires not pc boards. I had wondered if it would be possible  to put smd leds on a hunk of PCB boar base (no copper pads) and heat with led and wires connected with some solder paste and heat to fuse both at once and not have to try to navigate a iron tip in.

 

these little guys just use a 65w usbc power adapter and look interesting and cheap. 
 

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807721795003.html

 

jeff

[Damo Jr.]

On 11/22/2024 at 7:05 PM, chadbag said:

I just use an actual hotplate like you would use with a frying pan on your table top.  It seems to work for what I've done so far with the light boards using small rectifiers and stuff and super small resistors.  Haven't fried any so far.  My goal is to learn and do and also to make the boards be as inexpensive as possible so I can put them in all my trains 🙂

 

I don't remember how much they charge for the service.  It probably is worth it when you factor in the time and everything but I like to do with my hands.  I sit in front of a computer all day for work so making stuff is my relaxation.  I have a simple re-work hot air station, a HAKKO digital soldering iron, a cheapo hotplate, and a cheapo IR thermometer.  Using a small syringe of paste it makes it easy to do the smd stuff.  If you put too much solder paste on you can float the devices and they'll move a little (be a little crooked) but I learned that when it melts it pulls itself to the pads on the boards and so you generally don't get bridges even if you have a little extra connecting too pads before you heat it.  When it melts it separates itself and concentrates on the pads. 

 

Anyway, thanks for posting it.  I think Martin had a project he was looking at last I looked. I need just a simple function one I can add to or integrate on my next version of light board.  I should probably make the light board be able to control two separate strings of lights so you can install both white (florescent light / LED) or yellow (incandescent) and switch between them.  Or whatever -- white and green...  You've given me some good ideas.

 

Thta's tempting!    I recently orederd a heat gun with assorted nozzels for exactly this.      And an LCD screen magnifyer....   getting old scuks.

[chadbag]

I nned an LCD screen magnifier.  But I have a whole assortment of reading glasses from AliExpress ($2 a piece) that I use for soldering and close up work and they work so far when doing decoder work or lights or whatever (or wiring guitars).

 

[Madsing]

Yes. I also need an LCD magnifier. But I start to lack space on my workbench. Maybe one that could display the image on my computer?

[cteno4]

There are a ton of high resolution magnifying camera/lenses to do this sort of work with hdmi output. You just put the camera on a swing arm and then plug it into your monitor. When not in use just swing out of the way. These seem a lot more versatile than the little lcd magnifiers are as with the little ones it’s poorer quality camera and small screen and not so great depth of focus on their cheap lenses.

 

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807197794043.html

 

I’ve thought about doing one, but a lot of the time I do work in the reading chair while watching tv so no monitor close. So I’ve just cheated with the little baby 7” lcd all in one I just hide on the floor and pull out when I need to go past reading glasses once and a while. if I were doing a lot of micro work like small pc boards I would get one of these swing arms and work at a bench for this sort of stuff.

 

jeff

[GeorgeHInch]

While on holiday vacation here I've started mapping out the PCB and where components could possibly sit on it. I sadly don't have the boards from the KiHa but only a similar board, 8521-B1. The odd thing about this specific board is there are no motor functions needed since it is only used for lights on one end and has an open slot for a weight in the middle. 

 

The down side to this board is that there seems to be very limited space for PCB components that fit into the shell above. I'm hoping the boards used on the KiHas reserve more space than the tiny bit on each end. From the look of this, the Attiny @Madsing mentioned wouldn't even fit on this board.

 

If anyone has a Tomix 0508 board from a KiHa that could help me figure this out, that would be awesome. Otherwise it seems like this will have to wait until the new Tomix models get delivered to me sometime next year.

 

[GeorgeHInch]

When I get back to Seattle tomorrow I'm going to pull out my GM tie tamper and start figuring out what progress I can do with that board instead I guess.

[chadbag]

I tried to reply earlier but for some reason I don’t see it. 
 

anyway, though I have not fully taken my tie tamper apart to see how to add a decoder, a small micro Zimo or similar like D&H PD05-A or whatever it is called, may be all you really need.  They have a few function outputs for lighting and are small enough to fix almost anywhere.  

[GeorgeHInch]

@chadbag the tamper is more than just adding DCC. While my goal here is to create drop in decoders for models rather than hacking each one up, the tamper I want to design one for because the built in light board is just terrible. The lights are way too bright and I want to build a board that I can run some SMD LEDs from to the light pipes that already exist in there. 

[chadbag]

1 hour ago, GeorgeHInch said:

@chadbag the tamper is more than just adding DCC. While my goal here is to create drop in decoders for models rather than hacking each one up, the tamper I want to design one for because the built in light board is just terrible. The lights are way too bright and I want to build a board that I can run some SMD LEDs from to the light pipes that already exist in there. 

 

Can you hook up the existing lights to a normal motor decoder and control the brightness of them that way?  I've not really played much with motor decoders function outputs but my understanding is brightness is one of the thins that can be controlled.

 

Not saying you shouldn't work on a custom solution.  Just wondering if a default decoder could be made to work to solve your lighting problem a its probably easier and cheaper...

 

But  new custom projects are always fun to figure out and do.  

 

I haven't tried in a few years but I had problems figuring out how the whole tie tamper came apart.  I had one piece apart but temporarily gave up and never got back, so if you do this, can you photograph or video it and share?