Ed, I haven't tried to drill the hole all the way through to find the axle point--guess thats what tonight is for!
One thing I tried a few years ago, that I might revisit is to use a sequin--those round shinney things women have on their sexy clothes! They have a hole in the middle and are highly polished silver in many cases. I wanted to use them as security lights outside buildings and in loco headlights. I have a small stash someplace. BTW, I just received an email from Jim at Richmond and he didn't realize his site was down. He's working on getting it back up. Bob Werre ed_loizeaux wrote: > --- In [email protected] <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com>, Bob > Werre <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Yes Ed, I have done a test in the last couple of nights using the > > surface mount LED mounted in a MV lens. My impression with the > > resistor provided, was that it was just a bit dim. > > Using a lower value of reistor will make the LED brighter. Just be > careful not to exceed the LED's current rating. > > > The problem with the surface > > mount unit is that it's like a bare bulb where the light is > > emitted in all directions. > > That is true -- it is the nature of the beast. But is it really > a "problem"? Comments below..... > > > The more typical larger bullet shaped unit focuses > > light, which better imitates the polished reflector in a steam era > > headlight. > > One way to get a strong focusing effect is to use a bulb with an > MV lens. The trick is to find the "sweet spot" that maximizes the > focusing ability of the MV lens which has the properly shaped > parabolic reflective surface. Finding the sweet spot is not > intuitive. Y'gotta drill a small hole all the way through the center > of the MV lens just big enough for the bulb to fit. Then insert the > bulb from behind and make sure it can slide in/out to and fro > smoothly. Turn out the room lights, turn on the miniature bulb, and > move it back and forth in/out until the beam of light is perfect. > Then glue the bulb in place before it moves. Only one hitch, the > exact placement of the bulb depends largely on where the filament is > located within the glass envelope. Different bulbs are built > differently. With some bulbs, it is common to have the bulb actually > protrude a bit from the front surface of the MV lens. Those who do > this prefer the strong focusing effect and are willing to accept the > bulb's protrusion in order to get it. The bulb's protrusion is not > really noticeable from a normal viewing distance. I've never tried > this with an LED, but it might work same as for bulbs. Although the > SMT LED does not cast light backwards toward the reflector like a > bulb's filament does, the overall effect might be acceptable anyway. > Need to do some experimentation here. Perhaps someone else has > already tried this? Would be interesting to know. Any volunteer > researchers out there? Cheers...Ed L. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
