# LED Lighting for USA Trains



## Giant23Heavy (Jul 21, 2016)

Hey gang! 

Been doing a little bit of research online about LED lighting for G Scale and wanted to know who's had success with what. I have a USA Trains GP30 and GP9 I'd like to convert to LED lighting and wanted to see what the best source of LED's that fit well into USA Train's locomotives. 

Thanks!


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

When converting to DCC I use 3mm and 5mm leds.
Biggest issue is making sure you do not exceed the current specs of the leds you are installing. Older leds can be 10 ma and newer brighter ones are 20ma so resistors must be resized/calculated or use the cl2 for 20 ma leds.


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

For number boards, head lights, or anything else inside I use warm white surface mount LED's from Digikey such as these https://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/optoelectronics/led-lighting-white/525606?k=warm white led


For ditch lights, step lights, anything else outside, or small places I order 0603 warm white LED's off of eBay. They come from China so there's always a risk of the order being lost. But 100 LED's for around $2 I'm willing to take a chance. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cheap-100-1...hash=item33ae69310e:m:mSbLJBX-hYg3l6PHJ358zoQ

Like Dan said you'll need to calculate what Ohm resistor you need. If you've never done that we can help here, or there are websites that have Ohm calculators. It's easy math, not to tough, don't get over whelmed.


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## Martan (Feb 4, 2012)

You can dispense with the resistors and calculations by using CL2N3-G led drivers. I get them from mouser electronics, they are 40 cents each. I use these on my 14.8v battery power motive power and my buildings. They work great. These 'step down' the power so the LEDs are driven at a constant brightness. Its automagical 

http://trainelectronics.com/LED_Articles_2007/LED_104/index.htm


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I've done a couple GP-9s. First before they had warm whites, then another after warm whites. 

BTW, use warm whites.

There is a "trick" to the GP-9s that you need to know before you select your diodes. (Listen to experience here.)

The GP-9s (and maybe others) use a clear plastic insert for the headlight lenses. It is like a bra and the bulbs fit into the cups. This insert is glued in place.

When you remove the old bulbs from the cups, there is a better than 50:50 chance that you will break the strap between the cups to get them out. Additionally, there is a good chance that the cups may break when the bulbs are removed. It depends on how crazy someone went with the glue on initial installation.

If you can get the old bulbs out with the cups remaining intact, a 3mm LED will fit into the cup. If you break a cup, you will have to remove the pair and 5mm bulbs will replace the entire bra filling the openings, but sitting a bit further back.

The upshot is that you need to try to remove the old bulbs before ordering LED replacements. Or, order both 3 and 5mm LEDs and be ready for it.

The 5mm set-up provides more light than the 3mm/lens set-up.


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## Giant23Heavy (Jul 21, 2016)

These are are all fantastic responses. Thank you so far. 

Has anyone had luck with this vendor? Especially with their Mars Light kit? http://hollywood-electronics.com/hlight.html


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

In case you want interior lighting for coaches & etc., I've used a lot of LED "tape" for other projects (haven't used it on board yet though). It can be cut (and have wires soldered on) about every 2". There are 3 LED's per segment, space about 5/8" apart. Here's an example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSF64JG

Since the resistors are baked in, all you need to do is supply 12v (regardless of length). A variety of colors are available, but I agree, warm white is probably best. You can get the tape with or without a heavy silicone cover, which is useful for waterproofing. All the tape comes with adhesive backing, but it isn't strong; I use 3M VHB double-sided tape to secure it permanently. 

Main thing for bulk applications (such as buildings), it's cheap. 16.4 feet at less than $8, that's 12x 2" segments of 3 LED's each (with resistors) for less than a buck.

Best luck,
Cliff


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

For digital operation, the 12 volt strips can be placed in series for 24 volts (V+) on decoders which run on 24 volt DCC systems.


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## Bill Swindell (Jan 2, 2008)

When I replace the headlights on USA GP's, I use a punch and blast the clear lense out of the body. Then, I use a piece of styrene plastic and make an LED holder that will cause the 2 LEDs (5mm) to line up with the holes in the body. With that, I can glue the plastic piece into the body. I use the bright white LED's instead of warm white. On a diesel, they look pretty good. I would not use the bright white ones on a steamer because they would look out of place.


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