The LED route

[Bob.M]

Bob.M

 

 

If it turns out that the LEDs work with the DZ-1000 Switch Machine, .....

As it turns out, the Town & Country LEDs do not work in the O-22 switch controllers. That is not to say that some other combination of leds, resistors and diodes would not work, but I removed the Lionel controller and put the cute little Z-Stuff controller in its place.

[Bob.M]

lionelsoni

Why not just use red and green LEDs in the 022 controller?

 

If it turns out that the LEDs work with the DZ-1000 Switch Machine, that sounds like a good option. I have been told that the incandescent bulbs will not work, i.e. they will try to switch both directions at once. Incidentally, I still have 2 switch controllers from the 50's which do use bare bulbs, green and red, so they would fit right in.

[lionelsoni]

White LEDs are actually blue LEDs with a little phospher added to convert some of the blue light to yellow.  Since this conversion (fluorescence), even if perfect produces only one low-energy yellow photon per high-energy blue photon absorbed, and it's probably not perfect, the manufacturer can claim a brighter light if he diverts only the bare minimum fraction of the blue light into the yellow fluorescence.  That's why white LEDs are as blue as they can be and still plausibly be called white.

The problem with this scheme is that the resulting light contains blue and yellow, which look (sort of) white to the human eye, but does not contain much red.  So, when you look at the thing through a red filter, you don't see much.

The ones intended to imitate incandescent lamps probably aren't any better, since they are simply regular "white" LEDs with their plastic cases dyed a dark yellow to knock out some of the blue and therefore make the yellow a bigger component of the light.  But they don't have any more red than a regular white LED.

There is a way to make a white LED by combining red, green, and blue LEDs in a single device; but I think it is not much used nowadays, because it is more complicated to manufacture.  Why not just use red and green LEDs in the 022 controller?

[Bob.M]

 Just got some LEDs from http://www.towncountryhobbies.com/led.htm. Ordered Monday, delivered today, Friday.

They have a blue tint to them, so they work differently depending on where they are used. Mainly I wanted them to replace (8) number 432 bulbs in my passenger cars. They have a lens pointing up when in the cars, and appear a lot dimmer and a lot bluer than the original incandescent. The cars already have a blue tint to the windows. I measured the current at max voltage of 15.2 vac to be 1.66 amps, including a bumper lamp. After replacing all 8 in the cars, and the bumper light, I read 0.12 amps. Quite a difference.

The other application was in the O22 switch controllers. The Green lens is very bright, maybe brighter than with incandescent, but the red lens combined with the blue tint, as very dim. I may want to get some LEDs without the blue tint. I will report later whether they are compatible with the Z-Stuff switch motors. (If and when I ever get the Gargraves switches I ordered a month ago   )

[freed]

Did an ebay seach with "lionel led" results were 4 page of LED lamps with most of the lamp bases needed. Purchased the 12V LED lamps and they work fine. Best prices is a lot of 100 for around $30. They also come in different colors.

[lionelsoni]

See http://www.richmondcontrols.com/ for LEDs that look like incandescents.

See the September, 2008, CCT for my article on how to wire up LEDs.

You can cut a 5-millimeter LED to fit in place of the traditional light-pipe headlight and polish it with toothpaste.

[jjm]

Seems like the listings on eBay are for 6V, 12V or 24V.  Don't we need 18V?

[ChiefEagles]

I have some I ordered from a vender that advertised in CTT.  I am not at home to give you the info.  They must have the resistors built in but they are very small.  I use them to light the noses of dummy engines and the back light to.  They come in different sizes and colors.  Can be use to light signals and etc.  Whne I get home, will give you the company name and etc.  They are very good as purchased two or three years ago and the ones I have "mounted" are still going strong.      

[Ole Timer]

Did you check ebay ... they have the warm white leds and the resistors either as a combo or you can get an even better deal buying the leds and resistors seperatly ... have the specs on which resistors to use if you want .. and rectifier diodes to ensure many years of useage without burnout ... 18v take a diff resistor than 12v ... a little soldering saves a huge amount of money . You can even get diff colored and flashing leds there .

[steinmike]

You might also want to take a look at www.miniatronics.com - very good site, lots of information.  There was also a thread on this subject a couple of months ago that very good information.

I just went through the same exercise with a Williams GP38 and a RF16 Sharknose.  Part of the problem is the location of the bulb on the frame - so just swapping out the bulb for a LED that has been mounted in a screw or bayonet base is not going to help all that much.  You might want to consider using a smaller LED mounted right behind the headlight lens (or even drilling out the lens and mounting the LED there) - the effect is very dramatic with the engine sending a beam of light down the track. 

Same thing in passenger cars - replacing the three bulbs mounted on the car floor is not nearly as good as using one of the newer roof-mounted lighting sets.

The base mounted LEDS are great in switch controllers and block signals - there is almost no heat at all.

Good luck!

Mike  

[Bob.M]

Mr. S.

 http://www.towncountryhobbies.com/led.htm

Thanks for the link. Lots of interesting products there. I plan to replace the incandescent lamps in the O22 switch controllers and see if they will work with Z-Stuff switch motors on Gargraves switches. When replacing existing Lionel switches, it would save a lot of rewiring.

[Mr. S.]

Man do I have a lot of old Lionel and Williams passenger cars.  I've been thinking about replacing all the incandescent bulbs with warm white LED bulbs for power conservation.  The source I found is:

 http://www.towncountryhobbies.com/led.htm

 If I'm going to do that, why not go wholesale and put 'em in all my postwar and Williams engines, too?  Do they look "yellow" enough compared to the old bulbs, because I was turned off the the blue tint of the other LEDs...

...and why are these twice as expensive:

 http://www.scottsodds-n-ends.com/LED_Lamps.htm

 

Experiences, opinions?

Thanks!