I’m looking for indicator lamps I can mount on my control panel. Probably 3mm dia; red or green color. I would like to use a lamp I could plug into a socket so if it burns out, I could replace it. I’d prefer a bulb that wouldn’t get too hot over a 1-2 hr run session. Need incandescents for this application; can’t use LED’s. What voltage bulb would be suitable? Right now I have a homemade tester made w/ a red bulb from an Atlas HO bumper that looks to be about the size I want, but have no idea about its voltage. Any suggestions??
Why do you think you need screw-in bulbs? If you don’t impress too much voltage onto a bulb it will last for thousands of hours. Using a bulb rated for 14 Volts but powering it with only 10-12 Volts, for example, will significantly increase the bulb’s expected lifetime, and it will still be plenty bright.
The two priimary sources for small bulbs that I would recommend are All Electronics and Micro-Mark.
All Electronics (http://www.allelectronics.com) has T-1 (3mm) bulbs rated at 14 Volts @ 45 ma with 10 inch wire leads, catalog number LP-6, priced at 75 cents each or 100 for 54 cents each. These come only in clear color, so a colored lens would need to be used with them.
Micro-Mark (http://www.micromark.com) has Grain-of-Rice bulbs in either clear or assorted colors (clear, green, amber, red), catalog numbers 83155 or 83156, priced at $49.95 for 40 bulbs. These bulbs are rated for 12 Volts @ 30 ma and have 6 inch leads.
Powering either of these types of bulbs with only 9 or 10 Volts would significantly prolong their life – so long that they may never burn out even if used in a continuous mode and they do not generate very much heat, either. I have used the All Electronics bulbs for locomotive headlights with no problem of them causing plastic to melt or warp.
The smallest screw-base incandescent bulbs I know of are made by Chicago Miniature and are listed in the Mouser Electronics catalog (http://www.mouser.com/chicagomin). These bulbs come in sizes T-1 3/4 (5mm) or T-3 1/4, rated for various voltages from 2.5 to 28. And then you still have the expense of a socket and lens to contend with. Mouser’s catalog numbers for these bulbs are 606-CM40; 46; 222; 1821; 1769; 373; 8362; 335; and 399, ranging in price from $0.71 to $2.22 each, plus the required socket and lens.
3mm bi-color (red
Thank you for the information. Would like to ask you about some control panel issues…perhaps by email. My email is jehu817@lvbw.net.
jehu817
Just in case nobody has done this before,[#welcome]
I have two comments:
First, rather then communicate via e-mail with only one responder, why don’t you communicate through these forums. You can still address your question the the specific responder but you might get answers from others that could be very helpful, not only to you but to others reading the forums as well. It is entirely your choice.
Second, I would ask why you say you can’t use LEDs? I am no expert but it is my understanding that in most cases an incandescent bulb can be replaced with an LED/resistor combination giving you a much longer life expectancy and, if you wish (with a little more complex wiring), multiple colours from the same indicator.
Dave
I’m curious. Why can’t you use LEDs?
My control panel indicators are all LEDs. One nice item is the dual-color LED, which gives me either red or green depending on which leads I put power to. LEDs are cheaper, use less power, don’t heat up much at all and basically last forever.
Hello,
Try using tower LEDs. They are only .070 in diameter with a larger rectangular base. They come in red and green and are small enough to fit along side on the pushbutton on the control panel. You can push them in from the backside of your control panel.
Jerry
Okay, here’s the story: I’m wiring a a layout In DC w/ block controls and a 2 cab system. I’ve designed a Control Panel w/ toggle switches to control tunouts and to power blocks. Toggles for the turnouts are of the On-On type and I have wired in bi-color LED’s (red/green) for their operation. No problems there.
I’ve also used DPDT (On-Off-On) toggles to control block power w/ bi-color LED’s wired in so that if Cab A is in use, a green LED shows; if Cab B is in use, an orange LED shows. No problems there.
I have a turntable which is controlled by an Atlas Controller. I want to be able to see when I have power on the turning track. I’m having trouble trying figure out how to wire that up. When I put an LED into the ‘mix’ it only lights when Cab A is in forward mode. I know it’s a diode; I know it will only light when current flows in a given direction.
I also have five other sections (2 reversing loops and 3 reversing sections) which will be controlled using Atlas Controllers. Again, how do I wire in my LED’s to show power in the loop. How can I wire in LED’s to show matching polarity within the loop as compared to mainline polarity?
I have several books on model RR wiring, but I haven’t come across specific solution s to my problems, so ANY help would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.
Sounds like you need a rectifier between the power source and the LED. A rectifier will take either positive or negative power in and will give dc power out always with the same polarity. They can be made with four diodes or purchased ready built. Sorry but I am not expert enough to be able to suggest a specific component for your needs and I can’t find the diagram I have used in the past to make them.
Maybe others can help.
Also, you might get better responses on the ‘Electronics and DCC’ forum.
Dave
I assume with the DPDT on-off-on toggles for the cab selectors, you are using one one set of terminals for the cab selection, with a common rail wiring system, leaving the other contacts free to hook up your LEDs?
The issue witht he reversing sections is you need to switch the polarity to the sections BEFORE the loop - loop polarity stays the same. So somewhere int he mix you need a DPDT toggle wired as a reverse switch, with an X on the back (sounds liek you have Tortoises for turnouts, so wired the same as those toggles). You need a total of 4 of these. Two for each cab. One conencted to Cab A feeds all the NON reversing cab selectors, and has one side common to all NON reversing sections. The other feeds the cab selectors for the reversing sections, and has one side common to all the reversing section cab selectors. Same on the Cab B side. All the cab selectors thus get wired exactly as you’ve done the ones that work. If you want to change the direction of a train while it’s inside a reverse loop, use the reverse loop direction switch. To allow the train to proceed throught he reverse loop, while it is is the loop, flip the ‘regular’ direction control. If your power packs have direction switches, they will no longer be used.
–Randy