Lighting for Athearn diesels?

[Anonymous]

Don,
Pardon my ignorance, but what's an MV lens?
Tim

[Anonymous]

The best looking light is miniatronic's 1.2 mm bulbs. They are 1.5 volt bulbs, so you'll need to put in a resistor off of the decoder, I used 560ohm resistors, they give a pretty bright light, and the bulbs seem to last a long time too. The best part is they are small enough, you actually put them in the hole, and secure the wires with sticky-tack stuff. I have a couple of locos with them already, and I'm planning on installing them in a few more.

Hope this helps ya out,
Greg

[Don Gibson]

BEST & EASIEST is JSR lighting boads ($10+ bulbs) @ Caboose Hobbies.

They have fwd, rev,and constant, 1.5 v. lighting, and drop-in athearn.engines. I use on ALL my Athearn, Stewart, and older Kato.

If you want flashing beacons or ditchlights you have to spend $30- $40.

EDIT: Things to think about:
1.5v. bulbs won't deform / melt the plastic.. The large headlight holw in an "F-7" can be filled with a MV lens and a grain of rice bulb cemented into a cavity in the MV lens. Looks very realistic.
Should work on DCC as it's a V.drop diode board to motor,.

[Jetrock]

Bridge rectifiers are pretty small, as are diodes--there are quite a few bi-directional lighting kits based on grain-of-wheat bulbs that do exactly this, and they can be quite tiny. Also, it generally is not good for an LED to receive current in the wrong direction--it shortens the life of the LED.

[rrinker]

I prefer the Golden White LEDs for first-generation diesels. Looks nicer to me than the bluish white of the other white LEDs. The downside is that when off, the GW LEDs are an orangish color, so using them directly as the headlight is kind of out. Behind fiber optics or acrylic light bars, they are fine.
I use a 1K 1/4 watt resisor for mine. Some sites mention the exact value to use is 750 ohms, but with 1k they are still PLENTY bright.
Hook-up is easy. On the LED< one lead will be shorter, plus there is a flat spot on the casing next to this lead. Put the resistor on this lead, and connect it to the function output on the decoder, white for the front light, yellow for the rear light. The longer lead goes to the blue function common on the decoder.
Don't short cut and use 1 resistor for multiple LEDs. At pennies each in quantity, it's no real savings, and a mistake could blow both LEDs and/or the decoder.
As you learn more about LEDs, you will find the flat, shorter lead is the negative, and the longer lead is the positive. So the hookup to the decoder sounds wierd. But the blue wire on the DCC decoder is the positive. Each function (white, yellow, etc) is the negative side.
NEVER hook an LED up without a resistor. Those "12 volt" LEDs already have a resistor internally. LEDs are current-driven dvices. Connecting them directly to power with no resistor causes them to use too much current and destroy themselves, usually spectacularly. The purpose of the resistor is to limit current not voltage.

--Randy

[cwclark]

tony...nix the bridge rectifier idea!..it still will not work using LED's unless you put about three of them in there and that leaves no room for other things...(like motors, flywheels, decoders...ect...)....the only way to get bi directional lighting is to use two LEDs wired anode to cathode...or use a grain of wheat bulb...Chuck

[AntonioFP45]

CWClark,

You offer some very valuable info! I'm currently upgrading my Athearns. Very helpful.

Thanks!

[cwclark]

the bridge rectifier has a draw back..you loose about 1 - 2 volts when it is installed...but it will put out a constant voltage no matter what the polarity is...you might want to e-mail rrinker..he's good with this kind of stuff..i want to say solder the two ac terminals together and put the - and the + in series with the led setup but i don't want to tell you something wrong...ask him..he's an electrical engineer and is good with this stuff..i'll have to go thru a couple of them before i find out exactly how it works and wires to an LED...something for me to do this weekend!...chuck

[cwclark]

ok i re-read your post..an F7 huh?...that's a mighty big headlight...ok...nix the fiber optics and just use the white led in it's place..you can glue the bulb on the backside of the head light socket with C/A glue then run the wiring and the resistor back to the frame and the motor to connect it..since an F7 doesn't have lights in the back then you'll need only one LED and make sure it lights when the train moves forward..if it doesn't, then turn the wiring to the LED around...if you want the light to run forwards and backwards there are two things you can do...use 2 LEDS (cathode to anode,) or use a 12v grain of wheat bulb and nix the resistor... ...Chuck

[cwclark]

that's exactly it!...when the train goes forward the front LED will light the headlight...when the train goes in reverse the rear light will light...same as the prototype are supposed to operate the lights...that's why wiring one short lead to one long lead of the LED's works forward and reverse...be sure you do install a resistor..if you connect full power to the LED it will pop in your hand like a firecracker and it hurts like the dickens...you can get the resistors from radio shack..(the 1/4 watt will work fine) it also doesn't have to be exactly 580 ohm...you can use as low as a 500 ohm and as high as a 600 ohm..if you want it exact, then take a 500, a 50, and a 30 ohm resistor and solder them together in series to accompi***he same result...

[rrgrassi]

You can also go to www.richmondcontrols.com. They have premade kits with turned LED's to fit the holes of Athern Locomotives. I saw this at a train show in Plano, TX in January. They had ditch lights, mars lights, and others. They have LED's that give off the same color light as the protoypical locomotives. There is a wiring schematic on the site also, so you can get the electronics cheaper at Radio Shack and buy turned LED's from Richmond. I have placed an order, and received the parts. Just need the time to assemble. Richmond Controls was featured in a MR article sometime last year.

Good luck, and Happy Railroading!

[Anonymous]

Sounds too simple to be true. I guess I will look into doing one this weekend. Do you solder the LED's together that way because they only light up when current flows a certain direction? That way, one lights up with flow in one direction, but not the other?Thanks a bunch!!
Tim

[cwclark]

that's the fun part about electronics..if you have the circuit diagram and the parts then you don't have to understand them..just solder it together and put them in...ok...the fiber optics are easy...at the engine headlight , take out the small lenses, I drill them out with a 1/16" bit (an even better bit to use is the one that is supplied by Kadee to tap out 2-56 screws it's a bit smaller than the 1/16")...now...take a piece of 1.5 mm fiber optic strand and flare one end with a candle flame...it will now fit in the headlight socket...do the same with the other headlights...glue them in place and set the shell down for now...take 2 -5mm LEDs and solder them back to back with one of the short ends soldered to the long end..wrap a piece of electrical tape around it all so they won't short out if it touches against any metal...now take the other two LED leads and solder them together with one end of a a 580 ohm resistor ... now solder a wire to the one lead and another wire to the lead that has the resistor ....one wire will solder to the frame of the engine..(the metal stud at the front of the engine that used to have the bulb connected to it) and the other wire to the copper clip on top of the motor....check that the LED's will light according to the direction the engine will travel..(the front LED will light when the train travels forward and the rear LED will light when in reverse)...now slide a piece of heat shrink tubing over the fiber optics and then slide it over the LED's so that the fibers are pointing at the LED head, put the shell back on..put the locomotive on the tracks and wahlaa...a lighted athearn locomotive!...chuck

[Anonymous]

Chuck,
I am a little ignorant when it comes to electronics. Most of this is new to me.
My F7A 2 light has a 5mm and a 4 or 4.5 mm hole. I have purchased 12 volt LED's in the past for automotive projects. I don't see any 5mm fiber optic filament. That is why I thought about using a 12 volt 5mm LED. I don't know much about electronic circuits, resistors, rectifiers, etc. Wouldn't a 12 volt LED be kind of Plug-n-Play? Do you use a resistor with the LED because the LED you are using won't take track power? Do you still use the factory supplied headlight lens?
Also, that circuit you refer to (mrollins) scares people like me that have never taken the dive into electronics. I don't think I have steady enough hands to mess with those tiny parts.
Thanks for your tips!! I am always happy to learn.
Tim

[cwclark]

here's something else that will work for athearn locomotives..use the 1.5v grain of rice bulbs (loy's toys sells them) and this circuit to build them..they are very compact and will fit in the roof of the shell with double sided tape... http://www.mrollins.com/constant4.html ...chuck

[cwclark]

I've been using white LED s and fiber optics...I use a 1.5 mm for the headlights and .75 mm for the ditch lights..i wire the LEDs in the shell and then run the fiber optic strands until it touches the LED bulb..then slide some heat shink tubing around the entire assembly and put the shell back on..the lighting is excellent and using two LEDs (one for the front set of lights and one for the rear) I have directional lighting as long as the LEDs are wired cathode to anode..I also include (a must) a 580 ohm 1/4 watt resistor to the other leads of the leds..the resistor doesn't matter what lead they are on, just as long as there is one in the LED circuit....and they sure beat that bulb that glows in the cab on Athearn locomotives...go to www.thefiberopticstore.com ..look over the website...Chuck

[Anonymous]

Well, now I am even more confused. I don't like the look of the "glowing cab" of my Athearn locos. Right now they are DC, but I am converting to DCC. I want to have better lighting effects, but don't know what to do. I have seen pages and pages of expensive lighting kits at Walthers, but all I want to do is have the headlights light without lighting the cab. Can't I purchase a 12 volt (or similar) LED of the same diameter as the hole in the nose of my locos and wire it in? What have you guys done with your Athearns "on the cheap"?
Tim