Established 1994
Pittsburgh Garden Railway Society
PO Box 302
Charleroi, PA 15022
December 2008 Newsletter
Tech Tips
by Dave Bodnar
One of the most asked about topics in model railroading is the use of LEDs to light our locomotives, rolling stock and buildings. LEDs have a number of characteristics that make them an ideal choice for lighting our railroads:
-
they are small in size (some are almost microscopic)
-
they are inexpensive
-
they come in a variety of colors including white, amber, red, green and blue
-
they consume much less power than traditional incandescent bulbs
-
they light at lower voltages than other lights giving good brightness at low operating speeds
There are some things that you have to know to be successful using LEDs but once you master a few concepts I am sure that you will never go back to regular lighting!
I presented a workshop for PGRS members in March of 2006. The workshop was on how to wire a simple constant brightness LED light. The notes from that workshop are available at:
http://davebodnar.com/railway/LED_light_project/
For some background information on LEDs that will help you to master their use please look over LEDs 101 at:
http://www.trainelectronics.com/LED_Articles_2007/LED_101/index.htm
Please let me know if you have any questions about LEDs and if there are other topics that you would like to explore in the future.
PO Box 302
Charleroi, PA 15022