Rick White Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Hi folks : I want to use warm white LEDs to power the light on an MV Lens-equiped narrow gauge steam engine i'm currently building. In fact the garratt has full size headlights on both the front and back, so that means i'll have to do this twice. The headlamps are whitemetal castings a scale 16" diameter in O scale . Can anyone suggest the best method to marry an LED light to an MV lens? How do i go about this, and what would be the best LED type to get? Best regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Mc Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Hi you have a couple of options here. The most important part is isolation of the led from the housing and this can be easily achieved. I have used 2 pack clear epoxy and lined the inside of the lamp housing. Let it harden and then add your wired LED. From there it is your choice on led's. I would suggest an SMD "Prototype white" from John at Bromsgrove or a 1.8mm LED. Ask for the ones that come from Australia. Remember to put a resistor in series with 1 leg, I prefer the neg leg as you have better control, stops flickering when you have more than 1 type of led in the circuit with different resistor values. Cheers Martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick White Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Hi Martin : Thanks for the valuable information. Hadn't thought about coating the inside of the metal headlight housing first ... a good idea thanks. I'll be able to get the LEDs from the Australian supplier easily as he is in the same country as me. The rear bunker headlight on one of the prototype garratts that i am modelling is shown in the attached photo. Thanks again for the info. Best regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
59004 ( was Shedcombe....) Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Rick, The mentioned LEDs are ex-DCC Concpets, Perth. Either 0603 SMD type ( 0.8 x 0.8 mm LED on an 1.6 x 0.8 mm base ), with wires already attached. Or the new and even smaller Nano LED's, prewired as well. The come in warm Golden White versions. See : DCC Concepts - Prewired small LEDs. Regards, Michel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick White Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Rick, The mentioned LEDs are ex-DCC Concpets, Perth. Either 0603 SMD type ( 0.8 x 0.8 mm LED on an 1.6 x 0.8 mm base ), with wires already attached. Or the new and even smaller Nano LED's, prewired as well. The come in warm Golden White versions. See : DCC Concepts - Prewired small LEDs. Regards, Michel Thanks for the info Michel. I'm aware of the LED types that DCC Concepts carries ... i'll be using the 1.8mm micro dots shown. And i''l use the sunny prototype white ones. The nano LEDs are an excellent innovation for small models but i am a bit spolit in modelling 7mm scale that my headlamps are quite big items (refer to photo in earlier post) so don't really need to squeeze the lamps into the available housing space. What i was really hoping for was some advice on how to install the LEDs into MV Lens lenses. Again, thanks for the advice ... it's very much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
59004 ( was Shedcombe....) Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Rick, What are MV Lens lenses precisely ? I tend to embed my LEDs in an expoxy glue ( Araldite ), that will make up the lens / lamp. Regards, Michel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick White Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 What are MV Lens lenses precisely ? Hi Michel : MV Products is an American-based company that has been manufacturing realistic looking and scale-sized lenses for railway and car modellers. And they have been in business doing this for what i would guess to be about 35-40 years. They make them in a huge range of sizes in clear (headlight) and red and green (marker light) colours. What makes them different, and hence their appeal, is that they are shaped like a crystal jewel and have a silver coated backing that reflects the light source very realistically. The front of the lenses is flat so you also get a very convincing appearance of flat glass on their visible face. I think they are cast in a clear epoxy-type material, but i'm not sure of that. In the "old days" the light source for these lenses was normally grain-o-wheat globes which would be glued into a hole drilled into the back of the lens; effectively making it appear as the globe behind the lens glass. Still the best solution in my opinion for all scales and, given the relatively large (approximately 8.7mm) size of lens that i need for my two headlights, should look very good on my 7mm scale engine. To use the lens itself, i've had to drill out the face of the whitemetal headlight castings that come with the Backwoods kit. What i was hoping was that someone may have experience in mounting LEDs into these lenses that they would be willing to share before i wreck either the LEDs or , more disastorously, the MV lens. Best regards, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
59004 ( was Shedcombe....) Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Hi Rick, I will check these out. Sounds very interesting. You could drill out a hole big enough for the LED/wire assembly to fit in easily, and glue in / seal it tight with an epoxy type of glue, then painting it black from behind, just as with a grain-o-wheat bulb. Remember that LEDs have in general a narrow angle beam, not wide, all around, or even backwards, as such a bulb does. You could check for specifically wide angle LEDs, for a better use of that bulb effect. This might be an option, it's 10x 4.8mm Sunny White, very diffuse, wide angle LED's for ?‚¬3.50 4.8mm LED And this is the link to the eBay shop. Ledbaron Regards, Michel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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