Lights And DCC

[k0tbt]

For headlights some locomotives use LED's and others filiment bulbs such as grain of rice. The LED's are rated at 1.5 volts and require a dripping resistor in series while the bulbs are generally rated at the full 12 volts supplied by the decoder. Do some bulbs require resistors too?

What has been the experience of, and opinions of using LED's vs bulbs in a decoder installation? Is one clearly the preferred way to go?

Thanks,

Karl

 

[CP9302]

I perfer Golden white LED's for the simple reason that they last longer than bulbs. Either will work with DCC and both may need resistors anyway. LEDs need a 512 resistor. Most small bulbs are NOT 12V and need resistors, but you can use 12V or 15V bulbs without resistors.

 

[davidmbedard]

I agree with the above. I also use uber-bright 3mm LEDS and Surface Mound super white LEDS...this allows me to have ditchlights and special lighting available in areas that before wouldnt allow it.

I find the best source for these LEDs is on Ebay. They usually come in multiples of 50 and come with the proper resistors to drop it from 12vs. (and might I add, very cheap)

David