Replacing LED

[tstage]

Does anybody know if there are any alternatives to/replacements for the "green" LED headlight in a Athern 2-8-2? It isn't exactly prototypical. The train is great otherwise.

[Anonymous]

This should be easy enough to replace - you need to find the voltage/amperage rating on the existing LED, then find a replacement with the same ratings and the same physical dimensions. I would suggest contacting Athearn - they should be able to tell you what rating the LED is. Bear in mind that this might well void the warranty on the loco however, so you might want to wait until the loco is out of warrenty as in the (unlikely) event of anything going wrong as a result Athearn might refuse to repair it. Hope this helps!

[cwclark]

you can get LED's at just about any electronics warehouse..i use 2mm on my athearn stuff..it's small enough to do the job in most applications... anything smaller doesn't emit much light...just remember that you must have a resistor in series with it.. I use 250 ohm to as much as 560 ohm resistors...usually the long end is the cathode..and also it is a "diode" so it will only work with the train running in one direction...if you want it to work in both directions you'll need two LED's wired in an opposing configuration or one cathode to one anode as the common and two hot wires to one cathode and one anode... mouser, jameco, radio shack, and digi-key have a "white" diode here in the states they are about $8.00 a piece....that's kind'a pricey for an LED but if you want prototype then money should not be an object...