I recently completed a project, installing LEDs in place of the original incandescent bulbs, in a pair of Athearn Genesis F7A units.
There are three lamps on the F7, a Mars light in the upper housing and a pair of dual head lamps in the lower housing.
For this project, I purchased surface mount LEDs from Ulrich Models. These LEDs are manufactured by Richmond Controls.
The LEDs are square shaped and fit up against the plastic lamp housing. I used a tacky white glue to hold the LEDs in place. Each LED is wired with a 6" long pair of insulated leads.
I use NCE DA-SR decoders in the Athearn Genesis units. These decoders can be programmed to simulate the rotating Mars light.
I need to give a lot of credit to mlehman (Mike) who referred me to these LEDs and provided some initial advice on installing them.
Here is a video showing the completed project.
Rich
watch?feature=playerdetailpage&v=qhhXS4 zFQA
Alton Junction
Rich,
That looks really great,,,,Thanks for sharing,,,,And your first video also...
Cheers,
Frank
Those Fs came out looking great. I know people sometimes argue that LEDs can't match the looks of bulbs, but I think the more accurate-toned white LEDs has made up a lot of that.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
mlehman Rich, Those Fs came out looking great. I know people sometimes argue that LEDs can't match the looks of bulbs, but I think the more accurate-toned white LEDs has made up a lot of that.
I should mention that the color of the LED is Golden White, which is softer than Sunny White, the other available LED color.
To a certain extent, which color is preferable is a matter of personal taste. I go with the Golden White ones for most loco lighting purposes, but all my prototypes are pre-1975 (more or less). The lighting for locos produced in the last several decades might be the place to use the Sunny White ones, but that's a preference of mine, not a guideline.
Another thing to consider when installing LEDs is using higher ohm resistors. I typically use a 2200 ohm or higher for most of my install now. Again, I model older equipment and it's just another artistic option to consider. 1k is still a good all around value to use, but you can't hurt things by adding some ohmage, either.
One thing I haven't tried yet, but some of my narrowgauge buddies are using are the SMD resistors, which take up very little space and make for a neat install.
I second Mike's suggestion about using SMD resistors, especially if space is tight.
I get mine through Digi-Key:
http://www.digikey.com/ca/en/digihome.html
I also agree with using golden white LEDs for 1950's - 60's equipment as opposed to the sunny white ones.
If you do find that your LEDs are too white you can tint them with a diluted mix of Tamiya Clear Yellow. Go easy on the yellow - you can always add a second or third coat to get the tint you want. Note that if possible you should tint the Led and not the headlight lense or the lense will look yellow.
Dave
EDIT:
Rich - great job on the lights! And the video!
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Ulrich Models supplied 1K ohms, 1/4 watt resistors, but they leave the LEDs too bright.
Eventually, I will convert the resistors to the 2.2K ohms that Mike suggested.
Another advantage to using the 2.2K resistors is that if you are going to install a bunch of additional LEDs in a single locomotive i.e. number boards, ditch lights etc. the higher value resistors reduce the amperage drawn by each LED so you won't exceed the maximum current allowable for functions on your decoder. With some decoders this is not a big concern but with others there may be a relatively low maximum milliamp limit.