Class 105 DMU Interior Lights too dim

[dgilbert2]

I've got the DCC fitted class 105 DMU and the interior lights work but are so dim that even in darkness you cannot really tell they are on. Is there an easy mod to brighten them up a bit?

[ThaneofFife]

maybe yours have a fault.not heard any other complaints but you dont want them like xmas tree lights anyway on these old units.

maybe there is a facility on your dcc decoder to adjust the brightness like you can with most headlights.

[dgilbert2]

On this DMU f0 controls both the interior and direction/destination lights. The direction/destination lights are quite bright so believe the decoder is OK.

[roythebus]

The prototype had very dim lights.

[ThaneofFife]

i was wondering how long it would be before somebody threw that into the pot.

 

im going to credit the OP with the assumption he knows full well the prototype was dimly lit. most trains of this generation were from the inside but looking in from the outside in the dark you expect to see the lights and the same goes for the model.

 

maybe try cleaning the wheel pick ups to ensure full current is being collected. ive not seen one of these models in the dark to ascertain what the correct brightness usually is on the units so you might have faulty lighting that could possibly be covered by bachmanns warranty.

 

try to post a picture.

[Market65]

The prototype had very dim lights.

Hi. Yes very dim, and also, if I am remembering things correctly, a somewhat 'yellowyness' to it as well. As to the model, it could be some kind of internal fault on the LED's within the saloon its self. If not, then it is time to try contacting Bachmann, and see what they can do.

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

 

P.S. Not the bright lights that we have on present day trains of course.

[dgilbert2]

Sadly the lit saloon is so dim I cannot take a meaningful photograph. The LED's in the roof are all lit and all pickups / wheels etc. are clean. There are is no flicking or stuttering motor to indicate any kind of pickup problems.

 

Even in a dark room the interior is so poorly lit that only I can tell there is "something". If this was the prototype it would be like being lit by a couple of candles!

 

Looks like I should contact Bachmann. To be honest though I do feel its working to their "specification" however, if so, it really is a waste of time hence my original question if anyone had found an easy way to improve, eg by changing the value of the LED dropper resistor.

[Market65]

Hi. It could be an LED fault. I've had a couple 'go' on a class 108. Sadly I cannot think of a way to brighten the LED's. Bachmann, at the very least, might be able to suggest something to help solve this problem. Hope that things will work out for you.

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

[dgilbert2]

Thanks, have dropped them an email so I'll see what they come back with.

[ThaneofFife]

how bright are the headcodes?are they barely visible too? if so i reckon you ought to be able to raise the brightness by changing a cv value. certainly sound decoders have a dimmer cv but not sure if std decoders allow you the same luxury.

[dgilbert2]

I've has this response;

 

Thank you for your enquiry: the lights in the early DMU models are intended to be representative of the tungsten bulbs that the real units were fitted with - they don't light up like the proverbial 'Christmas tree' and it's not possible to increase the brightness unless the function output of decoder has already been dimmed - CV 63, default (and maximum) value of 7. Additionally the dimensions of the motor and its block do encroach a little into the passenger area of the motor brake coach.

 

I've checked CV63 and both decoders are set to 7. So back to where I started, pretty rubbish to me, they may as well not be fitted at all, sorry.

[DaveF]

I think we are all so used to bright lights in trains nowadays that we forget (or never experienced) just how poor light used to be in coaches.  I remember dmus on the Hope Valley services in the early 1970s, it was impossible to see to read on most journeys at night.

 

From outside you could tell the lights were on, but they never seemed much brighter than candles.  I always thought the Class 105 had the worst lights of all dmus, as well as the worst ride quality, especially at 70mph.

 

Edited for punctuation

David

Edited September 2, 2014 by DaveF

[Market65]

Hi. I have a photo' off the Railcar web-site, which of the interior of a class 105 DTCL. The lights are on, but you can hardly see them! There are three in the 'middle saloon', with the first-class and the saloon with the toilet having two each.

 

All the best,

 

Market65.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Market65

[TheSignalEngineer]

In the early 1960s the oil lamps on the platforms were brighter than the lights in most passenger coaches, DMUs included.

[ThaneofFife]

whats the saying i see a lot on here? .....model what you see (from a photograph) not what you think you remember.

 

Edited September 3, 2014 by ThaneofFife

[dgilbert2]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I do value and respect the need for accurate modelling but my point on this occasion is that the interior lights are SOOO dim that even in a completely darkened room you really cannot tell they are lit. I agree we don't want lighthouses or Christmas lights, but there is a compromise to be had between "bright" and "dim" so you can tell something is there surely.

 

Also, if I take this argument to its extreme, the front lights ARE like laser beams and the route display panel is so "blue LED bright" they would never have looked like that. sigh.... I need a darkened room now, model put back in the cupboard

Edited September 3, 2014 by dgilbert2

[stewartingram]

Which is why ALL my models have ALL their lights removed, so much more appropriate for the green livery era.

 

Stewart

[ThaneofFife]

i know what you mean dgilbert.

 

sometimes you ask a simple question on here and the waters can get muddied by comments that do not actually offer solution where one is available but tell you stuff you are likely to already know! station oil lamps were huge things compared to the miniscule bulbs found in DMUs do i can completely see where youre coming from. you should be able to attain a realistic level of internal lighting and if i had access to my pc i would post pics of what is possible and more authentic.

 

i tend to think that those who simply say the lights were very dim have not actually tried the models concerned nor have any intention ir interest in obtaining the best level of interior illumination they can. as a result they are the last people you should listen to

Edited September 3, 2014 by ThaneofFife

[Wheatley]

model what you see (from a photograph)

 

 

Normally I'd agree but in this case I beg to differ. Trying to judge intensity of lighting levels from a photograph must be even more fraught with booby-traps that trying to work out exactly what shade BR Maroon was. Just about every setting on the camera affects the result, as does the film and everything you do with it afterwards.

 

In this case, like Mickey, I prefer to rely on my personal experience of stopping DMUs outside the box on sunny days to check that the tail lamps were actually lit. It does sound like the OP might have a duff one though.

[Waverley West]

I can't offer a solution dgilbert, I'm afraid, but it does sound like there is something wrong on your 105, rather than just being representative of the dim original.

 

The lights on my 105 (and on my similar Bachmann 108s) are pretty visible, at least in the dark...

 

 

Hard to say what might be wrong though, at least without a good once-over of the insides of the model, but you seem to have done that.

 

Dave

[ThaneofFife]

daves photo above is about what i would expect and although photos dont always do lights on models true justice i think the level of illumination there is your rough target. how does yours compare???

[Waverley West]

daves photo above is about what i would expect and although photos dont always do lights on models true justice i think the level of illumination there is your rough target. how does yours compare???

 

FYI dgilbert - the photo was taken using a tripod with an exposure of around 25-30 secs. It does I think give a fairly reasonable representation of how bright they appear to the naked eye in the dark. They're not bright, but nor are they that dim either. 

[ThaneofFife]

dave...you going to treating waverley west to some Bachmann mk2f's and dbso's with the lighting??

i dread to think what Hornby will do with the lighting on the new mk2e's.

[Waverley West]

dave...you going to treating waverley west to some Bachmann mk2f's and dbso's with the lighting??

i dread to think what Hornby will do with the lighting on the new mk2e's.

 

Oh yes, ToF, definitely.

 

I was pretty taken aback at Hornby's effort with the lighting in their "upgraded" Mk 3s. A quick glance should have been enough to make them realise they needed a longer light bar! I might have been interested in buying a rake of new Mk 3s if they'd done a decent job of the upgrade too (the new glazing looks a big improvement) but I'll be sticking with my existing ones for now at least. 

[SHMD]

Presumably, there is a series resister fitted somewhere in the 105.

 

What value is yours?

What value is everybody elses?

 

 

Kev.