Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I am fairly new to the model RR world. My dad has experienced a 2nd childhood (retirement) and has gotten me hooked on his old hobby.
I am in the process of building an HO Walthers Jordan Spreader kit. I would like to add a working headlight to the model. Being ignorant of most things involving electricity (save don't whiz on the electric fence) I haven't a clue on the best way to proceed. The space for a bulb/LED is very tight, so would an LED be the best route? Do they make bulbs that are teenie-weenie? How would I wire it for power ? (did I mention my ignorance in this area?) I am running DC, and don't really care about directional lighting, as long as it lights I will be more than happy :).
So what do you all think? The more specific the better!
Thanks in advance.
Richard
Richard,
First off, to the forum! Good to have you aboard!
LEDs are just terrific for headlights and they put out next-to-nothing heat. If you do use an LED, you will need to solder in a resistor (probably a 1K or 1,000 ohm) to drop the voltage down to 1.5V or lower. (LEDs are rated at 1.5Vs) Otherwise, when 12 or 14V meets 1.5V, 1.5V goes *poof*.
Richard, the recent issue of Model Railroader (July) actually has an article on installing LEDs, which you might find helpful. I haven't looked at it yet but it will at least get you started. The surface mount LED may be small enough for what you want to do. You'll need a 0.116" OD hole or opening for a 3mm LED.
Hope that's a help...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstage wrote: Richard, First off, to the forum! Good to have you aboard! LEDs are just terrific for headlights and they put out next-to-nothing heat. If you do use an LED, you will need to solder in a resistor (probably a 1K or 1,000 ohm) to drop the voltage down to 1.5V or lower. (LEDs are rated at 1.5Vs) Otherwise, when 12 or 14V meets 1.5V, 1.5V goes *poof*.Richard, the recent issue of Model Railroader (July) actually has an article on installing LEDs, which you might find helpful. I haven't looked at it yet but it will at least get you started. The surface mount LED may be small enough for what you want to do. You'll need a 0.116" OD hole or opening for a 3mm LED. Hope that's a help... Tom
Thanks, I'll check out the magazine. One other question. How do I get the power from the rails to the LED? Thanks again!
reklein wrote:Oh yeah,Reformed grownup,welcome to the forum. Is your Jordan spreader working or static? Either way you could make little flattened copper wire sliders or find some Tomalco sliders which are made of very thin bronze shim material.
It's a static model. So I would run the sliders from the lead wire from the resistor to the rail? (in the "real world" people actually think I'm sort of bright :O )
I'm not familiar with the Jordan Spreader model. For me, and the rest of us in my situation, could you tell us about it? Is it self-powered, or designed to be pushed/pulled? Does it have metal wheels and axles, assuming it's not self-powered?
The typical way to add power pickups to a non-powered car is to use metal wheels. You can then add "wipers" to pick the power up from the wheels. An alternative is to use wheelsets where the wheels on one side are attached directly attached to the metal axles, while the wheels on the other side are insulated from the axles with plastic sleeves. In that case, you can use the "wipers" on the axles, getting power from one rail on the front truck, and the other rail on the rear truck where you would put the insulated wheels on the other side. Tomar is one manufacturer of wipers. I'm sure there are others.
But, you're running DC, and LED's are "directional." The D in LED stands for Diode, an electrical device that only passes current one way. So, you need to wire the LED correctly. If it's backwards, the LED won't come on at all. DC adds another complication - When you change the engine direction in DC, you flip the polarity on the track. You can use this to your advantage, of course. If properly wired, a headlight will be on when the unit is moving forward, and off when it's going in reverse. If you put a light on each end, by wiriing them opposite to each other you'll have what are referred to as "directional" headlights.
Oh, and I really like your screen name. Well chosen.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I'm going the have to disagree with tstage. Not all LEDs are 1.5v. I've got some suface mount LEDs that do almost nothing on 1.5v, but work great on 4.5v - 5.0v. Why? because they're made to be suface mounted on a circuit and most circuitry runs at 5.0v. Take a look at a computer power supply, one of the outputs is 12v another 5v.
That being said, I can still use a 1K ohm resistor to drop the voltage for use on track power (DC or DCC) and not burn up the SMD LED. It produces an incredible amount of light for such a small device.
I'll agree with tstage on the point that a LED is the best choice because they put out almost no heat so you don't have to worry amount melting the plastic housing. Your other option is a 1.5v grain of rice bulb. Very little heat output also, but you'll require a different resistor to use track power for it.
The bigger question is how to get power to the light is the Jordan Spreader doesn't have power pick-up. You might also want to consider adding a constant lighting circuit.
jktrains
jktrains wrote:I'm going the have to disagree with tstage. Not all LEDs are 1.5v.
I'm going the have to disagree with tstage. Not all LEDs are 1.5v.
Sorry, everyone. I guess I should have stated that some* 3mm LEDs are 1.5V. Sorry for the generalization.
[*Correction]
Okay, then...some 3mm LEDs are 1.5V...and light up...on Thursday afternoons...when the temperature is above 85 degrees...
Thanks for the correction.
Reformed Grownup wrote: It's a static model. So I would run the sliders from the lead wire from the resistor to the rail? (in the "real world" people actually think I'm sort of bright :O )
This is what a Jordan Spreader looks like. If it is a static model, why not just run a wire under the layout to a small bulb in the headlight?
http://www.tlacanada.com/TLA/OTS%20CN%20Lines.htm
Canadian National Jordan Spreader:
Custom built and finished (starting with parts from the Walthers kit). Canadian low front plough; all side plough joints and hydraulic piston mounts fitted with brass pins for strength, stability and full flexibility of movement; brake hose and coupler cut bar installed. Kadee couplers properly mounted; Kadee wheelsets. Lettered Modern CN squiggle, #57089 and weathered from prototype (1995) photos. MV lens mounted in headlight.First prize NMRA Regional convention winner.
Custom built and finished (starting with parts from the Walthers kit). Canadian low front plough; all side plough joints and hydraulic piston mounts fitted with brass pins for strength, stability and full flexibility of movement; brake hose and coupler cut bar installed. Kadee couplers properly mounted; Kadee wheelsets. Lettered Modern CN squiggle, #57089 and weathered from prototype (1995) photos. MV lens mounted in headlight.
First prize NMRA Regional convention winner.
msowsun wrote: This is what a Jordan Spreader looks like. If it is a static model, why not just run a wire under the layout to a small bulb in the headlight?
I gues static was the wrong term. Unpowered is more like it - no motor. I would like to push it around the tracks once in a while
davidmbedard wrote:tstage, you might not like it, but the correct information is important in this situation. It changes the value of the resistor dramatically.David B
tstage, you might not like it, but the correct information is important in this situation. It changes the value of the resistor dramatically.
David B
David,
I do realize that. Although I was being somewhat facetious in the first part of my response, I am sincerely appreciative of learning of my error. Again, thanks for the correction.
For your wire pickups, I think you should try this:
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/bachmann_4-4-0/wipers/
Although for a Bachmann 4-4-0, you should be able to do the same for your Jordan Spreader.
Hope this helps!
Alex
MisterBeasley wrote: I'm not familiar with the Jordan Spreader model. For me, and the rest of us in my situation, could you tell us about it? Is it self-powered, or designed to be pushed/pulled? Does it have metal wheels and axles, assuming it's not self-powered?
This is what the model looks like. It is designed to be pushed about. It comes from Walthers with plastic trucks, but I will be upgrading to insulated metal trucks.
I took a trip to Radio Shack over the weekend intending to pick up an LED, but... they didn't have and 3mm white LED's! They have colored LED's, and 5 mm in white, but not 3mm white. I did find a 12 v grain of wheat bulb, so I picked that up. Am I right in thinking I should have no problem running this directly from track power (ie. no resistor required?).
My next hurdle will be to either track down or engineer a scratch-built headlight and lens to house the bulb / hide the wires. Any ideas?
Thanks again for all of your technical expertise!
Man! Ya just gotta read all the forums, even if you don't think they apply. You just never know what tidbit of info you will learn to solve a problem.
Case in point: adding light to a Jordan Spreader. I don't have one and probably won't ever get one. But, all the discussion about LEDs and such gets me to thinking about ways to get good lighting on some of my older locos.
Especially useful was Railfan Alex's link to wire pickups; it's just what I needed. I have an old Mantua Pacific that runs so bad that is is used mostly for static display, mainly because of poor electrical pickup. Now, because of Railfan Alex, I have an idea to improve the running of this locomotive and return it to earning revenue on my layout. Thanks boys and girls for your inputs, knowledge, and help.
RG,
Using the brass from a pen is a stroke of genious. It should help disipate the heat from a 12v bulb that would likely melt any plastic housing you might devise. For a lense you could take a hole punch to the clear acetate they put in new shirts to help form the collar, or sheet used for transparancies. If you aren't lucky enough to have a hole punch the same size as your pen barrel, you should be able to trim and file and sand it to the correct size with a little care and lots of patience. Good luck on your project.