New type of L.E.D.....WHITE!!!

kf4jqd

Active Member
Hello all:

Last night I was woking on some street lighting. There was a problem I ran into. First, I was not happy with the incondent lighting. Plus, they eat up more current and gets hot. I tried to wire them in series and
adding resistors to them. I still wasn't happy. Out of one of the lamps, I removed the bulb. I replaced it with a yellow L.E.D. I was pleased with them in the early 20th century lamps, but not the street lamps or yard lights.

I was at my local Radio Shack looking at L.E.D.'s I found white ones! I tried them out and they look great! There is one problem with them. That is, they are expensive. Try $4.99 per L.E.D.!!!!

There are benifets in using them. The biggest thing is they use next to nothing in current. So you can add more lighting to your layout. You can use small wire up to 30 gauge! No joke!!! They come in many sizes and voltages. If they are kepted below their operating tolerences, they will last for centuries!

The disavantages are: Voltage needs to be dropped. The standard operating voltages are 1.5v to 3v. There are 12v LED's out there, but beware. If you use a LED flasher circit, they require low voltage ones. So, how do you make them work with your 12vdc (they need a DC power suorce.)? You use a dropping risistor. I use 1000 Ohms to 2000 Ohms. The risistor MUST be in series with the LED!!!

Here is a simple formula that I beleive that anyone who deals with electricity needs to know. (V)OLTAGE=(R)ESISTANCE X (Amp)eres
For finding out Ohms......R=V/Amp.

I have been changing over to LED's on street lights, yard lights, and signal lights. I hope this will give you some new ideas and perspectives on LED's.

Thanks for reading,
Andy

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Railery

Member
Right on Andy
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i haven't used them yet, but alot of modelers use fiber optics. U can light alot of scenery with a 15 watt incandesant bulb and the fibers. They are also very inexpensive. Some modelers have run them into there model cars for headlights and street lights. Many articles have been written in the various magazines on this type of lighting. Its good to know what other types are out there and how to use them. Thanks Andy.
 
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