Source for fibre optic rods?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

The subject says it all. I had 3 or 4 sizes which I bought from a now defunct hobby shop. I’ve Googled, searched here and several online hobby shops and come up with zilch. I still have the packaging but there is no info on it. Anybody have a source? The size I’m looking for is approx 1/16.

Thanks, Dick

2

1/16 sounds very large. Here is a source of smaller diameter if you can substitute: http://www.micromark.com/fiber-optics-experimenters-kit,9279.html

3

maxman,

Hergy may be talking about plastic rod, like the “light pipes” used in some locomotives, instead of fiber optic line. Not sure where to get that or how ‘special’ it is. I do know that people use clear plastic sprue from old kits as a substitute in many applications. Not sure it that will work for Hergy.

4

Well, if that’s the case he needs to get with the program!!!

How about this: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/pls/pls90291.htm

5

There you go.

Is acrylic the same as Lucite? I’m thinking that might have been the brand name, unless I’m getting that confused with the same thing in a floor polish?..It’s heck getting old. [;)]

6

Try us plastics heres, the web site

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24128&catid=440

Hope this helps

7

Hergy

If you would like to deal with a North American supplier Digikey is excellent! Digikey can be a bit challenging to search through because they have so much stuff, but their prices are good and their service is tremendous, even for small orders. I get my orders delivered the next day in most cases for an $8.00 shipping fee. I recently ordered some heat shrink tubing which was sold in 4ft. lengths. Instead of winding it into a small circle to ship it (which would leave kinks in the tubing) they sent it in a long narrow 4ft. box, still for only $8.00 shipping!

Dave

8

Thanks for the replies everybody. I’m going to try the rods at Hobbylinc. Those should work fine for what I have in mind. I just bought a couple hundred surface mount LED’s and my intent is to replace the awful bulbs supplied with Athearn’s otherwise great Locos. I called the rod I have fibre optic, but for all I know it may be lucite (or maybe even Kryptonite). 1/16" will be just about right for headlight openings.

Dick

9

I don’t know what they are intended to be used for, but a hobby shop in Tucson, Arizona has a large rack of lucite rods from 1/16 inch or so up to 1/2 inch diameter.

I could go there and get a brand name but it’s a 70 mile drive for me. You might be able to get an answer from them by email by asking Alan what they are. Their email address is thehobbyplace@gmail.com

10

I’m not sure what you’re doing with the surface mount LEDs and the round rod. Would it not be easier to just find a regular LED and mount it in the headlight opening?

11

I’m pretty sure that the material shown at the hobbylinc site is a Plastruct product.

12

some outfit paid me a whole bunch of money to bury some of that stuff in my front yard a while back. they never even dug a hole, just pushed it through underground. i can’t get at it because it is 7 or 8 feet down.

charlie

13

http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Unjacketed.htm

Try this company I ordered some and it has worked well .The unjacketed fiber is what I used . I ordered in sizes .5 mm, .75mm, 1mm,1.5mm,2mm,3mm priced from .08 c ft to1.17c ft you can order any quantity all my orders were 10 feet or under and they are quick. Make sure you are looking at the per foot ordering and not the whole spool ordering.

Ron High

14

One club member does some amazing work w/ fiber optics for all his lighting. Should really have him do a clinic on his technique. Bundles the appropriate size and runs and sets them into shrink tubing w/ the LED. Class lights w/ 2 color LED, lighted No. boards etc. No light leakage. Have melted the ends w/ a match to use as lense. Some of the very thin fiber optic can be routed easily out of the way and hot glued to cab interior etc. I only have limited experience just running headlighting. on a couple locos.

15

Thank you Bob & Ron,

This is the type of lighting I’m trying to accomplish. I found a cheap source for the surface mount LEDs, but haven’t been able to find a source for suitable fibre or acrylic rods till now. Let there be light (I hope)!

16

Circuitron is probably the company you were thinking of as they do supply hobby shops with different size fiber optics and 1/16" is one of the sizes the offer. You can also find Circuitron in the Walthers catalog.