61. Using Reed Switches: Model Railway Electrics.

A little basic electrical work that will help you a great deal around your layout. I stay very basic and simple - if you’d liek a more in depth look, let me know. Soon I’ll show you how to make working signals for under a quid! So it can really save you money too! A couple of links to stuff in this video. Hope it’s all useful. 😊
Reed Switches. These ones are plastic so don’t shatter if you bend the wires too close to them. They are just a little larger than a sleeper so can easily be hidden in the base board under your track. They were $8.99 including magnets (Smaller than the ones I used in the video) I forgot to put this on screen during the video - oops. 😳
Link to the reed switchers I prefer…
a.co/d/bJoOHQu
Link to the ‘micro’ LED’s I’m using in this video…
a.co/d/88UGdBL
If you’d like to join me for coffee you can - mine is milk no sugar please!😜
(Use the link here if you'd like help me make these videos!) Thank you.
ko-fi.com/trai...
See you soon.
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Trains Of Thought with Ian Currey. All Rights Reserved © 2025, Ian Currey.
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[@davidparkin2892]

Thanks for one of the clearest explanations I have seen. I am a numpty when it comes to electronics and electrics generally so your video is very welcome. Lots of tips.

[@trainsofthought5071]

Give it a go! 😀 What’s the worst that can happen? Seriously, I’m happy to answer questions or whatever. This channel really has only come to life in the past couple of months but there are already a good number of people with loads of knowledge out there who seem willing to share.

[@goupigoupi6953]

It started a little slow but my patience was rewarded. Extremely useful demo, I was looking for a way to detect a car proximity without using the rail. Thank you!

[@trainsofthought5071]

Thanks. Sorry I took a while to get to the point there. I’m feeling my way with this stuff and trying to stay “dirt basic” on one end while still giving those who already get this stuff something to think about. A couple other basic electronic sessions coming while I wait for bits for the railway to get here. Thanks for watching.

[@johnland7318]

I thought I knew how to solder, but the wet tip and dead solder was New facts. Then the penny dropped - a lack of flux and a free bubble of solder. Cheers

[@trainsofthought5071]

Oh I’m sure an expert will come along ant tell us all we’re wrong 😜 but it’s worked for me for 50 years. The solder of course is flux cored - I only use separate flux for weird stuff (like rails) where the extra time and heat tends to burn off the limited flux in the solder itself. “Dead solder” simply has no flux left, it’s burned off and so is useless. Thanks for watching.

[@johnland7318]

​@@trainsofthought5071if the solder flows - we can assume it's a joint. But figuring what is causing an attempt to solder to just not happen!!! Requires deeper knowledge, thanks!!

[@geobrower3069]

Good presentation of reed switch uses, good basic soldering tutorial for newbies. I concur with the wet tip, too many Utubers just use flux on the tip after wiping clean. I usually use a cloth rag to wipe off the iron tips, this from someone who's been in SMT for 40 years. Geoff

[@trainsofthought5071]

Agreed. The main thing is to get rid of that “dead” solder. Reality is I used a lab coat and the sleeve is where my “rag” was but I rally didn’t want to teach that! 😜 Thanks for the comment. It’s hard to know the level to get to in these videos but I’ll ‘react’ and see where we go. Thaks for watching.

[@Nickkemp1664]

Very nteresting and informative. I'm sure Dad and I experimented with reed swithches on out OO layout 50 odd years ago but I cant remember for the life of me what we were trying to achieve. I do N gauge now but could possibly imbed the switch between the sleepers and use one of the tiny neodym magnets we used to use to build CD type brushless motors for small RC aircraft

[@trainsofthought5071]

Well aware this is basic but by the looks of it, some needed that. I’m onto DCC and automatic running but some can’t get trains running at all. We’ll get there 😜 That’s the problem sometimes - we use a computer to do something simple but by the time we do it can’t remember why! Seriously, we’ll get to the heavy high end stuff but some needed the basics first. That link in the description takes you to much smaller magnets and sleeper like reed switches - though smaller still are available. More to come, thanks for your patience . and thanks for watching. 😊

[@Nickkemp1664]

@@trainsofthought5071 brilliant thanks

[@phil36310]

It gets even better using latching reed switches. And one can make your own for higher amp. curent.

[@trainsofthought5071]

@@phil36310 there’s so much that using a few electrical tricks brings to the hobby. Thanks for watching

[@lindsaybancroft4629]

Thanks for sharing 👍🚂

[@trainsofthought5071]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@peterkrause5187]

Nice 🙂. Would metal filings or other materials be attracted to the magnet at all on the tracks

[@trainsofthought5071]

Yup, probably! 😊 Older Locos had magnetic wheels (or magnets really close to the wheels) to help traction on steal rails. Occasionally they picked up things around the layout but if you have iron filings around the layout you might have another issue 😜 It hasn’t been a huge issue on layouts where I’ve used this. Good question though. Thanks.

[@peternorris6438]

Hope you recover quickly from your slip on the ice

[@trainsofthought5071]

I was sore for a week for sure with ‘lovely’ colored bruises. I suppose we don’t bounce as well as we get older. Thanks for your concern. 😀

[@freedomisfromtruth]

I would suggest buying electronic parts from electronics sellers as MRR sellers probably mark them up lot more for the niche market. You can use them to activate crossing gates in conjunction with a latch circuit and a timer. It would start the gate closing and stay going for certain amount of time or when another magnet in the last car passes.

[@trainsofthought5071]

yes. This could be used to trigger DCC controlled things too. Block or section occupied units don’t always have to be current detectors. Mostly this is to show there are a bunch of ways to do things. I think I must have had that particular Peckett since the dawn of time though. The new ones are very much smaller.

[@trainsofthought5071]

@@freedomisfromtruth I was trying to see where I got these switches. Somewhere I say “these will be expensive because they say model railway on the pack so must have been a higher price. Places like the old “Radio Shack” or “Tandy” are lions gone but would have been where I went in the past. Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment.

[@chriscox4023]

Been. There done that!

[@trainsofthought5071]

😊 I jsut realized some of us will have been there3 done that before some if this stuff was invented! Still a great trick and sometimes the old ways are still just fine. Thanks for watching 😊

[@martinpattison1567]

If you used Latching Reed Switches, then the magnet would switch the item on and then by waving the magnet over the item again it would switch it off. Martin. (Thailand)

[@trainsofthought5071]

Yes. I’m coving very basic principles at this point and trying to create a “flash” for the underground trains pick up but once the principle is established we can try all sorts of fun things. Thanks for the suggestion. and thanks for watching, there are indeed all sorts of applications for ‘latching relays’ reed or otherwise. 😊

[@peternorris6438]

Helpful advice on Reed switches

[@trainsofthought5071]

Thanks. I’m trying to keep it simple and yet still useful.

[@peternorris6438]

Good tips on soldering

[@trainsofthought5071]

Sometimes the simple things are the things once mastered that make the most difference. Thank you for your encouragement. 😀

[@w.rustylane5650]

Guess I could use one (reed switch) to trigger my flasher to the on state. Would need another at the end of the train to switch the flasher to the off state. Ummm. I'll have to think about this for a while. I need to activate and deactivate my flasher circuit I built for a set of cross bucks I put red LED's into it. Cheers from eastern TN

[@trainsofthought5071]

The circuit I show is the simplest of all but there are other ways to do that. I think I’d use the reed relay to trigger another circuit. Perhaps a timed flashing circuit or something. The basics I’ll cover over time, the trick is to string those basic tricks together into a useful circuit. Hope I’m helping?

[@petervik5399]

Enjoying your channel. Do you have to add resisters to all LEDs. Cheers from Aussie.

[@trainsofthought5071]

LED’s are stupid things. They don’t know when to stop! So the core issue is that they will pass whatever current is available and self destruct. LEDs are typically rated at around 20 mA - depending on the color or type that changes a little. If you assume the LED to be a short circuit (it isn’t before I get a bunch of hate mail 😜) but if you assume that then you can work out the values of the resistor by Ohms law depending on the volts you are applying. The actual range of current that will “be OK” is kinda broad so often we just put in a resistor that will AT LEAST limit to 20 mA. Now, mostly, because they are literally pennies a dozen, I use one per LED. You CAN use one for a few but it’s not the best idea. Differing brightness, when one fails harder to find, consistency etc etc. I’ve noticed these days that LEDs are getting sold WITH resistors and in some cases already soldered to the LED. (I have a bag full of 12v rated LEDs that this is the case.) Bottom line, you need to limit the current flow so yes, resistors are needed. Hope this helps?

[@petervik5399]

@@trainsofthought5071 Thankyou for a comprehensive reply which answered all my questions... Cheers Peter. New subscriber...

[@trainsofthought5071]

🙂 hope it helped.

[@pgcroc8484]

Have you programmed both dcc chips on the 2 locos with the same address?

[@trainsofthought5071]

No, each Loco has a different address. All new chips come with ‘3’ as a default. Once installed they are programmed by the user (me) to whatever address you choose. The issue in this particular case is that some older chips will lose their memory and revert to ‘3’ under certain situations and so need reprogramming. I have a couple of Locos which routinely do that and lose their coding and revert to ‘3’. When that happens at the same time it gets to be a problem getting the locos where I want them without them both moving at the same time. There are some situations on this layout where two chips have the same (or very similar) coding but that’s to do with the underground stock that has a chip in each end of the train for the two driving cars. Thanks for asking though and thanks for watching. 😀

[@thomasreeves5580]

@10:44 he starts actually talking about reed switches.

[@trainsofthought5071]

Thanks - I’ll put some chapter marks in once I get a minute and work out how.

[@AnthonyBRADFORD-s3q]

buy sume containers to put thing in label them to help find things

[@trainsofthought5071]

That’s such a simple solution and of course I SHOULD be more organized - Scatter brained sometimes has loads of good intentions. 😀 Thanks for watching.

[@AnthonyBRADFORD-s3q]

@@trainsofthought5071 you are welcome I have a model railway I try to keep thing organized as much as possible make life easy

[@trainsofthought5071]

come and visit and get me sorted out! 😜 Seriously I DO have plans but at the moment no time. I would have more time IF I were organized of course. ha.