HOScaledWill
Member
This is no joke
Turns out I had a use for the Model Modz LEDs after all, the ones I tried to use on my NJ International HO scale crossing gates! Although the LEDs were too small for them, though they might make good lights for N scale crossing gates, I figured maybe I could use them in my Bachmann crossing non-operating crossing signals instead. And so I tried it and it turned out to be a great idea!
But I didn't stop there!
To add to the realism, I made the LEDs in the signal flash alternately, using a now out-of-production classic NJ International flasher module and powering it with a 9V battery.
So while the Model Modz LEDs were a bust for the crossing gates, they weren't such a waste of money after all!
I took off the front piece simulating the crossing signal lights and background, put the LEDs in the signal through the hole in the back of the signal and put one LED on each side, and to hold them in place I put modeling clay in. Not the best method and not professional but it's also so I can easily remove the LEDs if I want to. And then I put the light background piece back on and watched the signal do it's stuff, do what a signal was meant to do!
I thought you had to remove the fake lenses and replace them with LEDs but this is the better way to go. If you add Model Modz LEDs, there's no need to remove the lenses! What I don't know is how to light up LifeLike crossing gate signals since LifeLike signals have diode-looking fake lights and the LifeLike signals look less realistic!
Now I'm considering buying a new Bachmann HO scale crossing gate set and getting more LEDs similar to the Model Modz LEDs be them from Model Modz or elsewhere and installing them into the signals so that way I can have gates that go down automatically although they wont' stay down they'll go up and down up and down as the train passes by, and also flashing light signals! But that's not all, I also would like to add lights to the gate arms (not the one in the picture, I like it too much to try to change it and don't want to mess that one up!)
I would use different LEDs than the ones from ModelModz though since they were too small! Plus this would be better than the Dual Crossing Gate with lights and bell that Bachmann previously made (only the lights didn't flash alternately they flashed simultaneously really fast and had this icky-sounding bell that was high pitched and came also with a sound like an electric pencils sharpener or other type of motor!
I liked that the signals lit but I didn't like the way they flashed or the way the bell sounded! Unfortunately I won't have a bell sound, but I can use railroad crossing sounds I downloaded from Mike's Railroad Crossing Website to my cell phone and play them as the lights flash! Not ideal but at least the bells are more realistic (since they are real bells) and will sound even better!
Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed it, and hope you learned something!
Turns out I had a use for the Model Modz LEDs after all, the ones I tried to use on my NJ International HO scale crossing gates! Although the LEDs were too small for them, though they might make good lights for N scale crossing gates, I figured maybe I could use them in my Bachmann crossing non-operating crossing signals instead. And so I tried it and it turned out to be a great idea!
But I didn't stop there!
To add to the realism, I made the LEDs in the signal flash alternately, using a now out-of-production classic NJ International flasher module and powering it with a 9V battery.
So while the Model Modz LEDs were a bust for the crossing gates, they weren't such a waste of money after all!
I took off the front piece simulating the crossing signal lights and background, put the LEDs in the signal through the hole in the back of the signal and put one LED on each side, and to hold them in place I put modeling clay in. Not the best method and not professional but it's also so I can easily remove the LEDs if I want to. And then I put the light background piece back on and watched the signal do it's stuff, do what a signal was meant to do!
I thought you had to remove the fake lenses and replace them with LEDs but this is the better way to go. If you add Model Modz LEDs, there's no need to remove the lenses! What I don't know is how to light up LifeLike crossing gate signals since LifeLike signals have diode-looking fake lights and the LifeLike signals look less realistic!
Now I'm considering buying a new Bachmann HO scale crossing gate set and getting more LEDs similar to the Model Modz LEDs be them from Model Modz or elsewhere and installing them into the signals so that way I can have gates that go down automatically although they wont' stay down they'll go up and down up and down as the train passes by, and also flashing light signals! But that's not all, I also would like to add lights to the gate arms (not the one in the picture, I like it too much to try to change it and don't want to mess that one up!)
I would use different LEDs than the ones from ModelModz though since they were too small! Plus this would be better than the Dual Crossing Gate with lights and bell that Bachmann previously made (only the lights didn't flash alternately they flashed simultaneously really fast and had this icky-sounding bell that was high pitched and came also with a sound like an electric pencils sharpener or other type of motor! I liked that the signals lit but I didn't like the way they flashed or the way the bell sounded! Unfortunately I won't have a bell sound, but I can use railroad crossing sounds I downloaded from Mike's Railroad Crossing Website to my cell phone and play them as the lights flash! Not ideal but at least the bells are more realistic (since they are real bells) and will sound even better!Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed it, and hope you learned something!
