Adding fiber to your diet

[Anonymous]

I apologize to the poster as I don't remember his/her name. A while back there was a post where I stated that fiber optics was way to expensive for modeling as I only knew of and used glass fiber in computer networking. However, I learned that there is a plastic "model grade" fiber which is very reasonably priced.

I have read many a post where folks are concerned about heat from lighting and/or the use of resistors with LEDs. Via a search engine I find that you only need one lamp/LED to light many locations via fiber, same theroy as passing digital info through fiber in computer networking. Using fiber would reduce the cost of lamp replacement as well as power consumption. Rather than having 4-5-6 or more wall transformers to power all the lights on a layout you could have 1 transformer with a couple three LEDs to provide light to all structures. Fiber could also be used in Engines for step lights, ditch lights, etc. as well as in pasenger cars or caboose.

If anyone currently uses fiber optics I would like to hear about your experiences , any tips or tricks you use and what tools a person would need to get started using fiber.

[BentnoseWillie]

Perhaps you're referring to this thread?

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=13008

I'm too lazy to type all that again, but I will say that my standard headlight and ditch light installation is fiber optics to the light casting, and white LEDs mounted in convenient locations inside the shell, one per batch of lights. Usually that's one LED for all the lights in each end of the locomotive. Most of my prototypes don't use the ditch lights separately, plus there's that "lazy" thing. [:o)]

[Anonymous]

Thanks Bentnose, that is the thread I was thinking of. Sorry I couldn't remember that you were the poster. I just remember that it was good info!! [:D]

For finishing the ends of the fiber, is there any special tools required?

How hard is it to learn how to fini***he ends and how do you mount the fiber to the light?

[BentnoseWillie]

I usually mount the fiber to the LED with a piece of styrene tubing, held to the LED with a piece of heatshrink.

For finishing fibers I made a holder consisting of a piece of 1/4" dowel drilled end-to-end to fit a small piece of copper tubing. This lets me hold the fiber straight over the heat source (I use a soldering iron) while I rotate it so it'll heat evenly.

It takes a dozen or so tries to get the hang of forming fiber. You'll goof the odd one, so start with an extra-long piece of fiber so you can just trim off your mistakes and press on.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Fiber optcis are a great tool that every model railroader should have in his bag. They are especially handy when you want small lights, and have no room for a bulb.

They are also great when when you want to create moving lights. Using seperate light sources and flashing them into different bundles of fibers, you can create things like movie marquees, or fireworks.

[tomwatkins]

Plastruct has fiber optic tubing available in several sizes. I picked up a bag of their .030 diameter for $6.75 at my LHS. I bundle several tubes in a small piece of heat shrink tubing and use it to direct light from an internally mounted bulb to the headlight lens in my locomotives. It works great.
Have Fun,
Tom Watkins

[Anonymous]

A person wouldn't want ditch lights and step lights to be the same brightness. I know they sell fiber in many different diameters and smaller diameters feed less light and larger, more light. Trial and error would seem to be an expensive, and laborsome, way to find the right amount of light.

How does one go about choosing the right diameter fiber? OR Does one buy all the same size and "mask" the end somehow to create more/less light?

[Anonymous]

MR had something about fibre optics a half century ago. I thought it was neat and started using it. Use it to light everything. No easier way to get a light up a pole, or under a building eve. No easier way to get light to the station semaphore. NO finicky little wires to run, no short circuits. It is even easy to light the marker lamps on a caboose (provided your road uses them). It has to be low tech, I use it.

Tom

[fiatfan]

I will eventually use fiber optics, primarily for lighting buildings. Right now, I'm still trying to get track down and some buildings built. I know it's easier to put the lighting in now but I don't want to take the time right now. Maybe someday I will experiment with lighting an engine. So many things to do, so little time! Work keeps interfering with my railroading!

Tom

[Anonymous]

I see there they offer both, "end glow" and "side glow" fiber. It is obvious by the names what they do. My question is, If you are using end glow fiber and scratch the sides, will the light show through the scratched area?

Tom Watkins buys his fiber from http://www.plastruct.com/ - not that Plastruct isn't a good source but does anyone else that is currently using fiber optics have other source options?

[Noah Hofrichter]

There is a company called Scale Rail Graphics, at www.scalerailgraphics.com that sells fiber optics by the foot on there E-bay store. The also make many types of decals for Wisconsin based Railroads, along with selling LEDs for both anolog and DCC headlights. The link to there store is on there homepage.

Noah

[Anonymous]

For those that voted "Yes, I am interested." you might want to check this out. I bought a sampler pack from Fiber Optics Products, Inc. The sampler pack costs $18.50+$1.00 shipping and contains: 3 ft of .25mm, .55mm, .75mm, 1mm & 2mm Unjacketed fiber. 6" of our SGS7 Sideglow cable, 1 ft of the EG25 Endglow cable, 1 ft of LG5-32, 1 ft of LG64, 1 ft of E1000 Simplex,6" of our R1000 Fluorescent Fiber, and Polishing Films and instructions. http://www.fiberopticillumination.com/

I purchased the sampler pack to see and test the different fiber types available. I will be using "super bright white" LEDs (12,000mcd) as the light source.

[AntonioFP45]

For layout lighting I'm considering going with a combination of LED LIghts and using fiberoptic tubes to run the lights to where they're needed (buildings, street lights, etc)

From what I've read LED's last for YEARS, as they produce almost no heat. This elminates the fuss and headache of bulbs burning out randomly and having to disassemble areas to get to lights in "tight corners".

Cheers and God Bless!

[Anonymous]

I put that I am already using fiber. Even though I actually havn't done any installation of it yet, I plan to and have bought severl clusters of fiber optic strands. There are lots of things in this world that use a what in HO scale is a very small bulb. The only way to get these lights to light is my carefully drilling them out, and running fiber optic strands. I discovered last christmas in the lenths I work with, I can get lots of fiber optic strands in a size that will work quite cheaply by buying up those Fiber Optic Christmas trees on clearence sales after christmas. In mosto f my buildings the distances are not long, Just run from where the little light is to a place where I can mount a normals sized bulb or LED. which generally is less than three or four inches.

James.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind trying new things with my layout, as long as I know WHAT it is and WHAT is involved.

I don't like trying new things willy nilly, like to read up on it first, be it in books, magazines or the internet.