Abstract: An improved railroad coupler mount is provided for securely mounting railroad signalling and monitoring equipment (10) on the coupler of the last railroad car of a train. The railroad coupler mount includes a banana shape member (30) which extends through a pair of relief holes (22) in the knuckle (12) of the railroad car coupler. The railroad coupler mount has a tightening means (28) for partially withdrawing the banana shaped member and tightly pressing a support leg (20) against the side wall of the coupler to provide a secure mount which is free of rotation problems. The railroad coupler mount is secured with a locking device (26) which serves the dual function of resisting the total withdrawal of the banana shaped member when the railroad coupler mount is tightened as well as preventing the unauthorized removal of the signalling and monitoring equipment. The railroad coupler mount is attached in a position which avoids damage to the signalling and monitoring equipment due to accidental coupling.

Abstract: A marker light using an array (2) of light emitting diodes (12) in combination with lenses (3) provides a light beam of required intensity, shape and color for railroad applications. The light emitting diodes are arranged in various configurations to form the array (2). The lenses may be Fresnel lenses. Control circuitry (C) energizes the light emitting diodes at predetermined or variable flashing rates. Sensing circuitry (222) senses the failure of light emitting diodes in the array and provides an indication of such failure.

Abstract: A battery condition indicator provides an indication of both the charge used and the life remaining in a rechargeable battery. The time of use of the battery between charges is measured to provide an indirect measure of the charge remaining. The total time of service of the battery is measured to provide an indirect measure of the age or life of the battery.

Abstract: A technique for redundantly encoding data for synchronous or asynchronous serial transmission or recording and the correlative technique for decoding the serial bit stream are disclosed. The encoding technique involves making the second data string of a data string pair the complement of the first data string and formatting to the format H.sub.1 Data H.sub.2 Data where H.sub.1 and H.sub.2 are headers wherein at least one bit is the same in corresponding bit positions of the headers. Decoding involves first detecting the headers and then checking to confirm that the data fields are complements. Also disclosed is a technique for extracting bits from the data stream.

Abstract: An improved attaching device is provided for securely mounting railroad signalling and monitoring equipment (10, 12) on the coupler (36) of a railroad car. A package including a supporting frame (22) to which the equipment is fastened by a draw pull (16) rests on the top surface of the coupler. The supporting frame includes a mounting bracket (32) having an integral rod (50) which extends through the flag hole in the coupler knuckle. The end of the rod projects beyond the bottom of the coupler so that it can be secured. In the second embodiment (FIGS. 8 and 9), the rod (111) has bifurcated extensions (116, 118) which serve to strengthen the supporting frame (80). This embodiment also includes shock absorbing elements (108, 110 and 122). In a third embodiment, a post (162) slidably carries a shaft or rod (188) that is retractable into a locking position with the coupler. A crank (176) is used to retract the shaft into a locking position.