"I was having problems with the sensors for my grade crossing flashers... As soon as I replaced the sensors with the ISE sensors, all the problems went away and the crossing signals have worked flawlessly." – Jason Klocke.  View Jason’s spectacular CGW layout here.

The TrainSpotter makes detection of locomotives or rolling stock easy and reliable.  Just place the sensor where its invisible light beam will reflect off the object of interest and you're done - no time-consuming or frustrating adjustments!  Based on modern silicon technology, this reflective infrared proximity sensor is tolerant of ambient (background) lighting conditions, be it completely dark or under full lights, with no false triggering.  Combined with a discrete under-track installation, this low-profile sensor solves many of the challenges that plague other optical detector products.

This version comes with the sensor separated from the control board and is ideal for space constrained applications.  The control board also includes terminal blocks for easy connections.

Features

• Small size (Sensor: 0.25" x 1")
• No adjustment needed!
• Simple, discrete under-track installation
• Variable release time up to 23 seconds (or 23 minutes with Long Delay option)
• Two opposite polarity, open-collector outputs (40V / 250mA capable)
• Tolerant of ambient (background) lighting conditions (no false triggering)
• Terminal blocks for connecting power and outputs
• Qwiic Connect compatible sensor with 18" cable
  
• Powered from 5V to 24V
  

Typical Applications

• Activate grade crossing signals
• Trigger sounds
  
• Build an automatic interchange
• Indicate end-of-track in hidden staging yards
• Detect block occupancy for signal systems
• C/MRI track occupancy inputs

Installation

The detector is designed to be installed up through the benchwork in a 3/8 inch (10 mm) hole.  Because the sensor itself is so small, only a single hole is required and no complicated drilling jigs are needed.  The sensor can be secured in the hole using a variety of methods such as hot glue or by using a bracket.  An example mounting bracket can be found here.

Electrical Connections

The CKT-IRSENSE-2PC needs 5-24 volts of clean direct current (DC) power to operate.  Two opposite polarity outputs are provided, both of which are “open drain” (otherwise known as “open collector”) and act like a switch to the ground or negative lead.

Logic level outputs can be generated by connecting a resistor to pull up the output to the positive supply.  Other devices, such as LEDs or relays can also be driven directly and the outputs from multiple sensors can be connected in parallel to combine them into one signal.

Specifications

By default, the release time is programmable from 0.1s to 23s using an external resistor or the onboard potentiometer.  A long-delay option is also available with release times from 6s to 23 minutes - contact us for details.

The activation time is preset to 0.1s.

The sensing distance varies with the reflectivity of the object being sensed, but is typically 1.5".

Documents

The complete gEDA design files are available on GitHub.

User Manual

Base Schematic

Sensor Schematic