I just put a bright white LED in an F7A Took out the original light and replacer it with a 900 ohm resister and a LED. Man what a light!!! Comming out of the tunnel or through a grove of trees, looks like there is a flashlight fastened to the loco. I am looking fordward to tonight.
I am running HO in DC. Mike
You like em like I like em. Bright!
Some may say too bright but I think its great. If you decide you want a more “golden” glow just pick up a bottle of Tamiya Clear Orange paint. White LEDs are much cheaper, so you can save your money by dipping them.
Bright WHITE.[:(] With BLUE overcast.[:(][:(]
My Genesis F7 has four lights- a two L.E.D. setup won’t cut-it.
I had plans on getting a manufacuerer to make the light pipes (design, setup, manufactuer), so the golden white 1mmX1.5MM L.E.D. S.M.D.- that only Richmond Controls distribues, will clip on to them, and then you just have to glue them in the bezels.
Anyone game?
What you mean game? If you think its a great idea take the risk and go for it.
Looks great Mike. Fred
I put lights in my friends F. Two LEDs, One constant and one a MARS light. So you can get a nice effect with 2 LEDs.
As far as light pipes, you are trying to take the hard way. Have you considered fiber optics?
I use fiber optics where small lights are needed, I usually have a 3mm white LED dipped in the paint somewhere in the loco with fiber optics running to the actual light on the loco. If you slip a piece of heat-shrink over the LED, position your fiber optic strands in the center of it and then put some sort of putty to hold the fibers in place and seal the front of the heat shrink you get very little light loss in transferring to the fiber optics. If light leakage out of the back is causing a problem just paint the back of the LED black.
A good way to get good light transfer between an LED and fiber optics is to drill a hole in the LED. Seriously. Drill sized for a press fit of the fiber in the end of the LED - use a pin vise and drill by hand, do NOT drill all the way to the little whisker of wire you can see if you look carefully fromt he side of the LED, or it will be ruined. Center the hole over the middle of the light emitting part of the led. Pusht he fiber in, hook up the LED and verify it still works, then secure with a dab of glue and add shrink wrap to really hold it.
–Randy
Thats an interesting idea. I suppose that wouldnt work as well for multiple strands just because there isnt much space?
There is a company that is going to send me their fiber optic scrap to see if there is anything I can use to make it work. All I wanted from them was a 1mm fiber optic rod.
All the ideas you guys have posted above, I have thought of. I have been working with different ideas for the last two months.
Hiring a lawyer to run a patent rights search would probably cost more than producing the adaptors.
Now darn it; If there was only something we could do about all those wires.
Blue showing up in the light may not be too much farther behind for the prototype. Some of the newer automobiles have those halide lamps which cast a bluish tint- sometimes blinding you if the car is coming at you from a wrong angle- from a side street, etc.
Due to the brightness of the lamps, it may not be too much longer before locos begin using them for a light source too.
So one could say that modelers are just slightly ahead of their time?