to the motor, similar to a DCC
decoder’s speed control.
If left idle for many days the
battery will drain down. The
battery manager board will
isolate the battery from fur-
ther discharge to protect it.
The DC-DC converter needs
to be isolated from its load to
reset its operation. So a mag-
netic reed switch is used to
remove the load when not in
use, and limit battery drain.
Headlights
Working headlights are built by gluing sunny-white 0603 LEDs
onto the back of an MV Lens, with a 1/16” shallow hole barely
drilled into its center rear [24]. I use the pre-wired LEDs avail-
able from LedBaron
quite
a bit. For older models, I
like the effect it gives, with
a white LED with a yellow-
ish tint. I used to simply
glue the LED in the back of
the headlight housing, and
cover the front with a clear
styrene disk punched out
with a paper hole punch.
But I think the MV Lens
combination is an improve-
ment. Add some clear glue
26. 0603 White LED & MV
lens with rear hole.
26
27. Loco with “magnet box.”
27
Battery-powered models - 11
MRH-Nov 2014
