LED vs. Incandescent Passenger Lighting

Looks Great. I too read the article/post that your referred to. I order some LEDs from Jack Pearce and I was very pleased with this outcome. They make the passenger cars more realistic and also no flickering at all.

 

I think that is what this forum is all about....learning new stuff that everyone comes up with to make this hobby better.

I also did the same thing, I am on my 3rd dozen of the bayonet base style LEDS for my passenger cars. They are well worth the money, alot less power consumption and as Roger says they don't flicker. I have also switched my overhead lighting in the train room to CFL bulbs, I guess this is what it means to "going green"

 

Jeff

Looks very nice I know there is a seller on eBay (ddansdrumheads) who has the bulbs in bayonet that fit in all my post war and MPC engines that look very nice and are pretty cheap. He also makes very good drumheads here's a video of my post war f3s with the led bulbs

With Leds, there is less heat in the lamps for O22 and O72 switch machines.

Roger, Do you have a link, URL or contact email for Jack Pearce?

B&O Bob, where did you get your led's for your passenger cars?

Any other forumites have a source for these leds at a good, reasonable price?

If so, please post for the rest of us who would consider such a conversion but might otherwise be intimidated or scared off by the rather high cost of switching to leds for a large number of passenger cars.

Also, B&O Bob, what color temp leds were used for car in photo?

And forumites who've already made the conversion with passenger cars and cabeeses, what color leds did you find most pleasing and/or realistic?

Thanks to all for your suggestions and feedback.

Regarding the Dan's Drumheads, I see they flicker when I take a Picture. IS there anyway to rid of the "Flicker"

I have been buying my LEDS from a guy on E-bay, {Hennings Trains} $16.00 per dozen plus $3.50 s&h. They are bayonet base 18v leds. The LEDS have a bluish tint to them. Here is the Item number: 110853852320 I am on my third dozen of LEDS from this seller and have no complaints. This is the cheapest price that I have found, and he ships in a timely manner.

 

Jeff

I think Town and Country seels them for $60.00 for 50.  Do not know the shipping coss.

Would some kind soul please post a link or a pointer to the article with all that information in it?  Thanks!

Eric,

 

I sent you an email with a couple of pdf files of threads about LED lighting.  Hope they help.

 

P.S.  If anyone else is interested, send me a note to my secondary e-mail in my profile.

Ken, my LEDs are from Town & Country Hobbies. These in the photo are the clear, blue tint. They have a clear, warm white as well. I may try those in another passenger set.  I have Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and the TCA streamline sets and Williams PRR and Pullman heavyweights. I will probably use the warmer tint in the heavyweights.

 

At T&C prices, it is a little over $2 per car to convert. 

 

http://stores.towncountryhobbies.com/StoreFront.bok

 

Eric: here's the article I referred to: 

 

 https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/2415514336896825

 

B&OBill

TrainPop & Bill...

 

Thanks for the PDFs and the link.  That was what I was looking for.

 

Bill and James,

 

In other threads about using LEDs in AC applications I see the need for bridge rectifiers, diodes and or capacitors to make the circuit work properly do either of you know how the LEDs you are using adress the need for these components?

 

Joe

Coach joe: I do not know the answer. Perhaps they are not working to full effectiveness? However, as the photo shows, they are working.

 

B&OBill

coach joe,

This is the easy conversion. Just use the LED Bulbs to replace the bulbs in your cars. I even use these in my prewar trains and all my accessories. So far I have over two-hundred in use. Go to the websites listed above.

Other than used as replacemnts, would LED bulbs come as a standard feature in some of the current or possible future passenger cars.  

I have changed over a big portion of my lighting on the layout to LED bulbs as well as my tinplate rolling stock. Any conventional engine I have like Williams I have done all LED lighting.

It is my understanding that these "LED" bulbs are manufactured with the necessary electrical add ons inside the base (bridge rectifiers, etc). Again I believe LEDs are DC only and if you were to buy the raw LED from Radio Shack (etc.), they would either not function on AC or burn out almost immediately. Some purchase the raw LED and added circuitry and do it themselves, others cut to the chase and buy the bulbs already set up.

Correct, LED's are only DC, and also they require current limiting to operate for more than about 1 second.

 

While I buy the bulbs for stuff like 022 switches and the like, I normally roll my own for most lighting.

LED's will work on AC.  I've used them for the tail light on observation cars with nothing else but a current limiting resistor.  They are diodes, after all and essentially become an illuminated half-wave rectifer.

 

Work with AC, DC, DCC.

 

Rusty

Well... yes and no.  Remember that the maximum reverse voltage on a typical LED is in the 5-7V peak range.  You'll easily exceed that on most model train circuits.  The current limiting resistor just makes the LED last a bit longer, but it's not smart to run them without a protection diode for AC.  You can connect them in opposing polarity in pairs and run them on AC, then the lighted diode protects the other one from excessive reverse voltage.

 

I suggest you read the spec sheet of the LED's.  Here's a typical specification: LED 2MM GREEN TRANSP CERM STEM

 

I used to run them without diode protection, after about a year I was losing LED's.  I falsely thought that the current limiting resistor would prevent any damage from excess reverse voltage.  I was wrong.

John,

You're 100% correct. It seems that this thread was about the newer LED"bulbs" that are on the market. Somehow the thread was diverted toward using the simple DC LEDs. These are two totally different "animals". Gotta go, I got trains to play with!

Here we go again, "NOT ALL LED'S ARE LED BULBS BUT ALL LED BULBS ARE LED'S." It is amazing how many times that word (bulb) get left off. A bulb is a complete assembly designed to operate at a specific voltage and current. An LED is a device that needs some support devices to operate properly and reliably. An LED is a DC device that will require some form or rectification to operate from AC. HOWEVER, for every rule there is someone who seems to be able to get away with violating it. Go ahead, Joe Blow says you don't need a recitifier to operate an LED on AC. When your LED's start to self destruct send them to Joe Blow and ask him to replace them. Ha Ha!

 

I know it is hard for someone out there that does not know about these things to get confused, It is very difficult to read between the hash. Most manufactures publish some form of instructions as to how to connect their devices and there are many books on the subject. As has been said before sometimes the answer may be beyond your ability to understand. There is no shame in this. We do not all know everything nor are we expected to.

 

I and others have asked this before and I will do so again. If you wish to help a fellow member please make sure your answer is appropiate and correct in ALL instances.

 

Thank you, Al

So the LED bulbs that Bill and James use contain the complete rectified circuit?

 

Joe

Most of the packaged incandescent replacements have the complete circuit, including diodes.  There may be some for DC only, all the ones I've bought were for AC/DC.

Thank you John.

if they are for AC/DC usage then they should work on the older K-Line Heavyweights?

They should work most anyplace the same base incandescent bulb would be used.  The only exception I can think of is you still need a load resistor on the outputs of the TMCC R2LC lighting circuits if you use an LED only on them.