Wiring NJ International crossing signals

[OldEastRR]

I have some old old NJ crossing signals, just dummy flasher heads. Then I've got some new ones, with LED double flashers (both sides of signal) and 3 wires coming out of the bottom -- so easy to hook them up. However, I've also got some "old" signals with single heads (facing toward road) LEDs, but only two wires out the bottom. the ground is the metal body of the signal itself, I tested it out and it's true. However ... how to attach a ground wire to the body? It's soft metal, wjhich I assume will melt under a soldering iron's tip, whether I try to attach it either outside or inside the base. Outside I deform the casting, inside I might burn through the LED wires. So how to make a solid connection.

And while on the subject, I'd need 2 solid state flasher unit(s) for the LED sets -- is it easy to build one (post the diagram & parts list) or is advisable to buy a commercial LED flasher circuit? (From my stock of old full-sized transistors, caps and resistors I could probably find components, but if there's a single micro-chip that does the job ...)

[tehachapifan]

Can you attach a picture of the signals in question? The reason I ask is, NJI had a few different signals over the years. Ones that are really old were pretty oversized, had bulbs and I think plastic parts. Then they had the really nice looking and properly scaled unlit (dummy) signal with a wishbone-style gate (they later added working, forward facing LED's to this model). They finished with a number of really great signals, all properly scaled and with LED's. This included a couple signals with LED's facing both directions (with gates and without) and a modern cantilever signal (they also had an old, bulb-based cantilever). All the ones I listed after the early, oversized ones were built out of I believe cast brass and, by my experience, don't melt very easily and is really hard to even drill through. Also, all the brass ones with LED's that I've seen had a wire attached to the bottom of the mast/base, so I'm not sure why yours don't unless they fell off (which they can do). I've had success reattaching these wires with a soldering iron by tinning a spot on the bottom of the base and the wire, then briefly touching the joint while holding the wire in place.

[peteski]

I thought all the NJ International metal crossing signals were investment-cast brass.  Is the metal gold-colored?
Also, the post usually extend past the base so you can plant it in the layout.  You could touch your iron to just the end of that part to see if it melts. Even if it did, it would not affect its functionality.  But if the metal is pewter (which in that size would be very soft and fragile), then yes, soldering iron will melt it.

[OldEastRR]

These seem to be very soft metal -- the crossbucks are brass but that's all. there's no mounting post on the signal base. I guess I'll just have to wedge the base onto a metal post of some kind.

[randgust]

One weird thing about the NJ Brass LED's is that they appear to have the 'reverse' of the LED common side compared to anything else.  I know I tried to home-brew tricolor LED's to match the ones they had with my NJ Brass signal system until I realized that their LED's were the reverse common on a lot of things, presumably including the crossing signals.  Had no problem when it was bulbs.  I can't remember if it was cathode or anode common, but it was backwards compared to the majority of stuff out there.   So not every flasher driver works.

If you get stuck, I found a board to drive the LED flashers successfully, but I'd have to look it up - long time ago.

[peteski]

Most multi-color LEDs (with multiple LED dies in  a single housing) are common cathode (negative), while majority of commercial RR XING flashers are common anode (as are DCC decoders).  The NJI signals are probably wired for common anode operation.