# LED lighting for Aristo Stremline or smooothside for $5



## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

I just put together a 7 led array designed for the aristo Smoothside or streamline passenger cars. If anyone is intersted I would be glad to right it up. Cost per array is $5 dollars in parts.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Count me in as I would like to know where to get the parts and what ever else I need to convert some of my AC passenger cars to the Leds. Later RJD


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks great, Bill.... Please post the diagram. I just posted a blurb about LED's at Walgreen's for $5 for a string of 50.


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## acmartina (Jan 6, 2008)

Bill, 
Very cool. Do tell! I have been meaning to look into some of the new ready made strips but this is more up my (cheap) alley! 
Steve


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Nice idea! What's your source voltage and resistor value?


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## bdp3wsy (Mar 14, 2008)

I just picked up a set of 50 at Home Depot for 5.99 and they are warm white with a slight yellow warm color to look like incandesant lighting. What size is your voltage rectifer and your resistor and where did you get them. Jake


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## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

Lownote, 
I designed the array for 24 volts and used http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz led array calculator to get the right resistor. In this case 10 ohms and 1/4 watt. Use 3.4 volts and 20mA for values. The calculator will generate a diagram. 
Tohold the led's I got paneling edging from home depot for $2.80 for 8'. This stuff is plastic and meant to dress the edge of paneling. I cut it to 2' lengths.


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Sounds/looks good, give us da' info.


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## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

The bridge rectifier can be bought at Radio shack or all electronics .com. I got 100 volt 8amp for $1 each at all electronics. Over kill but cheap enough. cat# fwb-802


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## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

I sanded down the tips of the leds, just a little with my dremal to help disperse the light better. Do it outside, who knows what's in that dust.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

To diffuse the light, I stuck the LED's inside some clear beads from Hobby Lobby.


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## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

I think I may have to do a redesign, and add a 5 volt or 12volt regulator to allow for full brightness at lower voltages. Off to radio shack...


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I got 2 boxes. Might use them for Christmas decorations before I take all those cool LED's out for other uses.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

The other day I was running a string of heavyweights when I noticed something funny in the window--something didn't look right. So I take off the roof--I run them with the roof not screwed in, from when I added a bunch of passengers--and there's a mouse looking at me. The mouse runs down the center aisle, exits out the back door, and runs off down the track. Left a very nasty mess behind. When I cleaned out the nest I decided to add a string of the Christmas LEDs, since one of the incandescent bulbs had quit



I used a string of six leds, just hot glued them directly to the underside of the roof. I added a bridge rectifier and a 1000 uf capacitor, to prevent flicker. That's just about perfect. I like to paint the LEDS, to get a warmer color especially since these were heavyweights and would have used incandescents for sure. I brush a light coat of poly-scale "reading yellow" on the clear part of the led.


Resistor values: my track runs at a constant 22 volts DCC, so I calculated for 20.5 volts, figuring the rectifier would drop the voltage by 1.5, and I used a 33 ohm resistor, guessing that the forward voltage would be 3.2 and the current would be 25 ma.


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

DIgi-key has 7806,7808, and 7809's and at great prices. 1 amp and about 50 cents.


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## Bills (Feb 20, 2008)

At constant voltages wiring get a lot easier, If you run variable DC as well as DCC then the trade off's are more complex with led. If I want full brightness at half power, then I will need to use an 8 or 12 volt regulator and only wire 2 led’s in series. 
Low note how do you like the brightness?


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Bills, haven't had a chance to run them except very briefly but I'm very happy with the brightness--the 6 leds are not quite as bright as the four incandescents, but it's a small difference and I like the slightly more subtle lighting better. We like to run at night or at twilight and so we're not looking for a really obvious lighting effect in the day. I have four heavyweights and one of them, the diner, still has the original incandescents. It looks too bright and might have to be modified today, if we get a break from leaf raking!


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

ran them some yesterday--you might want to go to eight leds in a heavyweight if you want to be able to see that they are lit in broad daylight


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

Just saw an ad at CVS for string of 15 LED's, Battery powered for 3.99. May be too much light but no rewiring envolved for us less talented.


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

LEDs make great passenger car lights. And I like how you are using easily found materials. Sometimes things are so much easier to do in the larger scales









I'm using some super bright white surface mount LEDs to light Santa Fe Hi-Levels on our HO scale layout. I have only done one car so far as soldering the wire to these small LEDs is a real pain in the...well you could imagine. Another issue with LEDs is finding the right color you want. Most are too blue in color for lighting effects. But that actually works as an advantage for the Hi-Levels, since they had blue/green tinted windows.



Here are some photos if anyone would like to see how it's done in the smaller scales:





























Here's a picture of one of the super small LEDs: 













And this is the prototype light color I'm trying to simulate:


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