Signal lighting w/ grain of wheat bulbs

[Anonymous]

I am in the process of building my second layout after many years. One of the things I want most to do is have block signals that will use fiber optics, but will use incandescent bulbs instead of LED's. I just he "prototypical" color I have observed over many years. Specifically the "greens" I have seen on other layouts seems a "yellow green" to me. The "reds" are okay, but I seem to

[Anonymous]

I am going to start this again. I am not sure I want to use LED's on my new HO layout because I feel they don't give off true "prototypical" color as do incandescent bulbs, the "grain of wheat" type.

The trick is how to get my three separate bulb colors (red, green, and amber) to all light individually, but more importantly, directly under the same fiber optic line?

Back in 1976 I attended a train show in So. Calif and one of the vendor modelers there had a demonstration of his HO signals using fiber optics and 3 separate incandescent bulbs for color under one signal. As I recall, he had all three bulbs grouped close together in a small circle attached inside of what looked like a small dish, about the size of a contact lens. He could control the light by an electrical switch that rotated this dish from one color to the next, and so on. Green to red, then yellow, and back to green. He even had a "pulse" response that would make the caution "amber" light bright and then almost dim out in very prototypical fashion.

I am not an electrical genious by any means and am wondering if any of you have suggestions and maybe know what I am describing. Also, is heat from grain of wheat going to be a problem? If LED's are the answer, and I am not saying no just yet, is there anyway to make LED's show truer "green" and "amber" color?

[Anonymous]

being in electronics i think i can help!First thing is you get what u pay for!If you only want to spend a 1.00 on a tricolor led then its gonna look bad!I would stick with led's my self just spend a little more per led!As for the bulbs i have seen it done on one of my fathers layout's.He made a small case out of wood and mounted the 3 bulbs in a cylinder shape and centered the fiber optic in the center of the opposing side of the box.Works but alot more time consuming.As for the flashing amber there are a number of ways to achieve this.Email me for more details for that one [e-mail] !And i will end it there:)

[Anonymous]

Devon, thanks for the reply. I am very interested in learning more from you on this. Especially info on LED's but also the 3 light cylinder your father did. I tried your e-mail address ([e-mail]) but it did not go through. Can you continue this here or is there another way for us to communicate? Let me know.

John

[Anonymous]

That address should have worked!
but....
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

One of them has to work!

Talk to ya later