Standard DCC Lighting Kits for Passenger Cars

[Anonymous]

[?]Where can I find [?]?
It seems that all of the existing equipment is made only for DC and I don’t want to modify them. Bulbs/LEDs replacement isn’t always possible, inserting resistors could produce a lot of heat and batteries can’t be hidden properly.
Most of us want to step over to DCC but unfortunately manufacturers aren’t pushing enough that way. Please help my Preiser passengers out of the dark. Anyone a solution?

Regards,

Andre
Brussels, Belgium

[Anonymous]

I use micro-mini LEDs, 1.6mm 20mA, either multiple in series or with resistor and haven't come across any excessive heat problems. If you're concerned about the heat leave a 1/8", or so, air gap between the resistor and surrounding items.

On my test bench I ran one LED with a resistor at 17 volts AC for a week. I had a 1/8" air gap against 20# copy paper, the room temp was set at 76°. Although not enclosed as it would be in a passenger car or structure, the test area had no extra ventalation and I had no problems with heat build-up. The second test was with multiple LEDs in series, same result - no problems.

In the past I have used LED/resistor combinations in other structure (buildings) models without any problems.

[AntonioFP45]

hello snake.

This sounds pretty good! What type of pass. cars are you running? Do you glue or tape the LEDs/resistor directly to the ceiling or do you mount them first on some type of pad? How many LEDs do you put in each of your cars? Do you use contact plates or wires to get track power through the wheels/axles?

[Anonymous]

My layout is not yet complete so am not running anything at this point. However, I have Athearn Blue Box kits for an SP Daylight A-B-A and 10 car consist that I am going to put together.

I plan to use 4 LEDs per car to space the light more evenly plus a resistor as I don't like really bright light. I will have to do some testing for resistor size. For mounting LEDs I use 28 ga. wire and 2-position Molex female connectors as lamp sockets. Glue the wire and connectors to the centerline of the roof and "plug-in" the LEDs. The Molex connector has .100 holes so you will have to "fold" the LED connector wires (legs). I cut the legs to about 1/2" so that after folding them over what I have left to plug in are about 1/4" long. LEDs burn out just like incadesent lights so using Molex connectors makes it easy to replace the LEDs if needed. The resistor I will hide underneath close to the contact plate. Use a 2-position Molex male/female connection between the body and frame so that when you remove the body the lights can be un-plugged. You can make a light diffusion panel to cover the lights and wire from .020 clear Lexan. Cut the Lexan to size and paint with a thin, even coat of white or off-white.

On DC the polarity changes when you back up (reverse direction) your train. LEDs like other diodes only allow current to flow in one direction. If you use LEDs on DC you will also need to add a diode array or bridge rectifier so the lights stay lit during backing.

In a caboose kit that I put together I have one LED/resistor. For structures I normally put one per floor.

[nfmisso]

For about $2 per car, you can make a constant lighting circuit that will work with DC, DCC and AC, which uses LEDs or 1.5 volt bulbs - and eliminates flickering.

Parts:
bridge rectifier, large capacitor, small capacitor (optional), adjustable voltage regulator and three 1/2 W resistors, plus bulbs or LEDs.

E-mail me if you want more details, and a circuit sketch.

[Anonymous]

Hi Dave and Nigel,

Many thanks to both of you for your help.
I think I’ll go for LEDs that create, to my point of view, a more realistic light (softer and diffuser).
Here comes a new dilemma; the white LEDs appears bluish and the yellow headlight LED on my Athearn Mikado looks like green washed yellow (the Soylent Green one) #61514;. Which color are you using?

Nigel, I’ll mail you as soon as I’m back home, current next week.

Regards,

Andre
Brussels, Belgium

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by andre-ingels


Here comes a new dilemma; the white LEDs appears bluish and the yellow headlight LED on my Athearn Mikado looks like green washed yellow (the Soylent Green one) #61514;. Which color are you using?

Try a yellow hi-lighter (marker) or very thin yellow paint over the bluish ones.

[Anonymous]

OK Nigel, I'll try that!

THX

Andre

[AntonioFP45]

Andre-Ingalls

Just an observation as I will also be going the LED route for lighting my Rivorissi cars. I've ridden on Amtrak quite a bit and I've always noticed that the flourescent lights inside the coaches and lounge cars give off a "blue-white" color. So you might not be "off track" if you installed LEDs that appear blue in color. I'm going to try these LED units.

[cacole]

LEDs draw such a low Amperage, usually in the range of 100-200 mA, that heat buildup through your resistor will be no problem at all provided you use a 1/4 Watt resistor.

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cacole

LEDs draw such a low Amperage, usually in the range of 100-200 mA, that heat buildup through your resistor will be no problem at all provided you use a 1/4 Watt resistor.

You are still rather high, peak inrush current is in that range, but continouus current is much lower, like 30mA. See: http://rocky.digikey.com/WebLib/Lite-on/Web%20Data/LTL-14CHJ.pdf for an example.

[Anonymous]

Hello Antonio,

That’s OK for fluorescent lighting in contemporary cars but was it already the same in the early fifties into heavy weight cars? I’m modeling the C&O in the transition era and I think the lights where incandescent at that time. Not sure of it but the rendition of night train windows on photos, paintings and posters sit mostly at the yellow side. Anyway, I don’t know what was wrong with Athearn’s Mikado headlight LED and why I did a fixation on it because all of the other yellow LEDs in my environment are looking nice and clear. So the probability to buy Athearn’s bad one is very small. This being said I’ll wait for certitude about incandescent or fluorescent lighting.
Lucky guy, you’re choice is already done.

Regards,

Andre
Brussels, Belgium

[Anonymous]

Hmm I was wondering about the same thing.

[AntonioFP45]

Andre-ingels,

Gold-White and Warm-White LEDs are available that resemble incadescent light. You're right about the older heavyweight passenger cars not using flourescent lights but rather incandescents. LEDs have gotten cheaper.

Have you decided if you're going to try the Gold-White units?

[cacole]

I've been toying with the idea of installing one or more DCC decoders into some of my passenger cars that will allow the lights to be turned on or off on the fly. By adding interconnecting wires with miniature plugs, it should even be possible to wire the decoders such that only certain coaches turn on or off. Turning off the sleeper, and maybe even the diner, but leaving coach lights on, or even dimming lights, should be possible by using the various functions available with a decoder.

I don't know where they came from, because they have been at the club since before I joined, but I have seen fluorescent-like passenger car bulbs that fit into a standard AG tubular fuse holder. Have any of you ever seen these, or know who makes them? They have a filament that runs the entire length of the tube, and the inside of the glass appears to be coated with the same material that is in a fluorescent tube.

[AntonioFP45]

Cacole,

Sounds like a neat idea. Are you going to go ahead and experiment with your idea?

Re: Car lights at your club.
I'm not sure, but it sounds like the old Walther's "Flouettes" from some years back. Never used them, but I remember reading in the Walther's Catologs from the 70s and 80s that these units imitated flourescent lights. Don't know how many amps they draw though, which for DCC would be a critical factor.[;)]

The advantages of LEDs of course are still, low current and no heat. [:)][:D]

Ask your fellow club members and let us now as well what they're using.

Thanks guy!

[cacole]

AntonioFP45 -- Thanks for the information about the fluorettes. I don't have a new Walthers catalog here at home, but I found them in a Year 2000 issue. They come in two flavors: 16 Volt, and 8 Volt. Walthers also has the sockets for them, at a price (naturally) far in excess of what a fuse holder would cost. They don't give a current rating for these puppies, but that should be easy to determine with a power pack and ammeter The bulbs were $6.98 for a package of 3, and the sockets were $4.98 for 3. I'll check a newer catalog at the club and see if they are still available.

[AntonioFP45]

Hey Cacole,

Glad the info was helpful. [:D][:)]

Just one more thing, though. A very good friend of mine is an electronics expert and owns his own computer business. He recommends using LEDs as they have a very long life span. Once installed correctly, you pretty much don't have to touch them again unless you blow them out with a power surge. [:p]

As I've stated before, bulbs generate heat, don't have a very long life span and tend to pull more current than LEDs. In addition when resistors for bulbs are used, they tend to generate more heat than resistors used for LEDs

Rule of Thumb: For DCC applications, the lower the current on motors, and other devices the better!

Just keep this in mind! Hope that you're successful. Keep us posted!