Hey everyone I am upgrading the lighting on a Atlas GP40. I am planing on putting in a roof top beacon, brighter headlights, Ditchlights, and Maybe Class Lights. I want them all to be functional, and I want QSI Sound. What do you guys think I should use as materials in this project? Thanks, Mike
If I may, I would suggest the following for the different lights.
Beacon…I would use 2mm or 1.5mm Fiber optic glued to an LED (PLCC2 or 3mm Flat top). The Fiber optic would then protrude through the roof and can be held in place by a few rings of heat shrink tubing (to represent the base of the beacon). You can shape the Fiber optic to represent the beacon and perhaps paint the beacon to the proper color. Conversely, you could drill out the center of the Fiber optic and insert a string Fiber optic painted to the color of the beacon filament and have that filament be in contact with the LED…options, options.
Brighter Headlight…these are available on Ebay. You can go with the 3mm White LEDs or perhaps PLCC3 SMTs or grain of sand SMT LEDs. All of which should be used in conjunction with 1.5 or 2mm fiber optic threaded through the headlight casting and terminated (melted) on the immediate inside of the shell.
Ditch lights…depends on the location of the lights. For Pilot mounted, I would suggest PLCC2 SMT LEDs with proper Detail Associates ditchlight castings cemented overtop of the LED. For porch mounted, I would suggest a grain of sand SMT LED inside of a porch mounted casting.
The class lights require 3 LEDs for white, green and red classifications. I would pass on these are they are typically not used in modern railroading (and very difficult to pull off in HO).
Ebay is a great source for all the LEDs. If you go with SMTs all around, I would suggest some PC board ties to solder them to.
David B
Thanks for the great reply! What decoder do you guys recommend? Thanks, Mike
Any four function decoder should work for you. I have been using TCS decoders for about a year now with no problems.
For sound a QSI Revolution-A . They are made for Atlas type locomotives. Your biggest challenge will be finding room for the speaker in a GP-40.
For the beacon I would skip all the fiber optics, they’re not nessesary and alot of extra work. Just use smt (surface mount technology) LEDs. I get mine from http://www.richmondcontrols.com/ , they come with wires already installed (makes life much easier).
Details West makes a variety of beacon and strobes. Glue the smt directly to the bottom of the strobe/beacon “glass”. Drill clearance holes in the strobe/beacon base and the cab roof. Paint everything first and then glue the base and strobe/beacon in place. Be sure to hook a 1 or 2k ohm resister in line with the smt.
Here’s one I did:
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You can use the same method on the ditch lights. Detail Associares has the lenses that’ll fit the ditchlights. Fothe headlights/numberboaeds, I shorten the light pipe and glue a 3 or 5 mm LED to it, after filing the front of the LED flat.
Extra work with Fiber optics? What you have outlined is EXACTLY what I outlined, except that you use the details west beacon casting.
David B
Don;t forget to rough the top and sides of the piece of fiber optic, otherwise the light will shoot straight up to the sky and not look a lot like a rotary beacon. Also, those concave-end LEDs are available in small enough sizes that they could be used as-is for a beacon in HO. The shoot most of the light out the sides in all direction.
–Randy