I was wondering if anybody has used these. I thought about putting them in some HO Athearn Locos to replace some blown out bulbs. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Will
I have used a pair of them as ditch lights on a Kato C44-9W engine. They are extremely small and are square, with wires barely larger than a spider web soldered to them.
They could probably be used for headlights if you can find a way to fasten them in place because they are extremely bright. Bruce Petrarca’s web site says they are suitable for headlights and even N scale ditch lights. He has a picture of one on his site at http://www.litchfieldstation.com/xcart/product.php?productid=999002684&cat=22&page=3
These are probably not suitable for headlights, at least in HO and larger. They are TINY - you can make workign caboose markers in HO with them. Great for ditch lights, maybe even step lights and ground lights (which is just the most common term I’ve heard for the lights mounted on the underside of a diesel loco frame, pointing at the ground over each truck). In O or larger you could probably make individual instrument lights in the cab with them. Unless there is a specific lack of space, I’d just use regualr size LEDs for headlights in HO or larger scales, this from someone who is quite handy with the soldering iron. And has a temperature controlled station with multiple tips available, including an ultra-fine one for SMT work. I’ll stick to ‘regular’ size wires whenever possible, thanks.
–Randy
Will,
I have used these for headlights in brass steam locos where they are behind an MV lens. The lens hides the boxlike look when the light is off and diffuses the light a bit. The small leads are a big advantage in brass steam where the headlights are castings standing alone usually from the loco body and holes must be drilled by the modeler. The fine wires allow for smaller holes and the small size LED fits better than bulbs behind trhe lens with no overhang out the back of the casting. I would pay the extra bucks and buy them with leads pre-soldered.
However, in your application, I would probably use regular (or milled) LEDs. The mini-surface mounts also work very well for structure lighting.
Here is a larger mini 6 x 3 without a lens in a brass loco. It is so bright that it always produces a star effect at slow shutter speeds.
Guy
They are great. I used them in a set of Detail West ditch lights. It was tough to get them set in the housings but once complete they look great and are very bright. The lens defuses the light and you can’t tell if it is coming from something rectangular.
Mine can with wires pre-soldered. I couldn’t imagine having to do that myself.
Unless you have a lens to defuse the light, I don’t think they would work well for a head light.
Peter