idlemarvel
Neither idle nor a marvel
I recently bought a DIETZ switch light signal from grootspoor. This is a Wn1/Wn2 in German railway signalling parlance, three white lights in an L-shape, two vertical meaning switch straight and two horizontal meaning switch thrown. Prototypically they are used in some German and Austrian narrow gauge systems, like Zillertalbahn for example, which is what my indoor layout is loosely based on.
I got the "kit" form which is the signal body, signal base which fits between sleepers of your track, and 6 LEDs (3 on each side) mounted on a small L-shaped circuit board which includes a resistor and 4 holes to solder your wiring to. It is able to handle 12-24v DC according to the documentation (German only). The wiring is one contact is + common, and the other three one for each light. The body is plastic but the short "pole" is brass tube. The body is basically a box with holes in and a lid held in place with a small brass screw (top right corner in picture below).
I wired it up to a point supplementary switch so that the light changes with the switch position. I used 4 core bell wire which fits in the tube nicely. Very simple. Short video clip below.
The lights are quite bright even at 12v, and although I didn't try this I am pretty sure they would be visible outside. It is quite a nice representation of such signals, and simple to assemble and install. I'm not sure how they would fare if left outdoors, you would probably want to make them removable with a 4-way plug for the wiring and use the supplied base to slip the signal into and out of the sleeper gap. The paint has already scratched off the brass tubing so it could do with another coat of paint once assembled. At best part of £20 it is quite pricey, and for most modellers it would be a simple project to build a plasticard box, short length of brass tubing and mount 6 LEDs on a bit of veroboard. But I am not most modellers with too many thumbs and not enough patience. Overall I am pleased with this model.
I got the "kit" form which is the signal body, signal base which fits between sleepers of your track, and 6 LEDs (3 on each side) mounted on a small L-shaped circuit board which includes a resistor and 4 holes to solder your wiring to. It is able to handle 12-24v DC according to the documentation (German only). The wiring is one contact is + common, and the other three one for each light. The body is plastic but the short "pole" is brass tube. The body is basically a box with holes in and a lid held in place with a small brass screw (top right corner in picture below).
I wired it up to a point supplementary switch so that the light changes with the switch position. I used 4 core bell wire which fits in the tube nicely. Very simple. Short video clip below.
The lights are quite bright even at 12v, and although I didn't try this I am pretty sure they would be visible outside. It is quite a nice representation of such signals, and simple to assemble and install. I'm not sure how they would fare if left outdoors, you would probably want to make them removable with a 4-way plug for the wiring and use the supplied base to slip the signal into and out of the sleeper gap. The paint has already scratched off the brass tubing so it could do with another coat of paint once assembled. At best part of £20 it is quite pricey, and for most modellers it would be a simple project to build a plasticard box, short length of brass tubing and mount 6 LEDs on a bit of veroboard. But I am not most modellers with too many thumbs and not enough patience. Overall I am pleased with this model.
