wheat germ running lights

[PugwashParticipant @pugwash]

i amrestoring a model of the 60s sea queen and want to rig running lights on it 3/v wheat germ

but need help on how to rig also which battery to use and how to set it up.

[PugwashParticipant @pugwash]

i really need some help with this running light rigging. 

[Paul BrinklowParticipant @paulbrinklow79323]

Have you tried LEDs ?

I have recently purchased Red & Green (Port & Starboard) LEDs from Expo packs of five they run off 6 v to 12 V without the need for resistors and being LEDs take very little current .

One day home lighting will be by White LEDs (they are working on the colour which is too much at the blue end at present) lower current cheaper to run – my torch runs off four white LEDs ..

[60wattParticipant @60watt]

Sorry for the hijack Denis ,this post is mainly for Paul. What Paul means by "too much blue" is because the white LEDs use blue emitters with a phosphorescent coat. Photos under LED lights turn out blue as a digital camera is obviously more sensitive to the narrow blue spectral spike than the human eye.

Paul I was going to say try LEDs but I doubted Denis would go there somehow.

Denis,If you do consider LEDs you will find some really bright ones visible outdoors.

Paul,the LEDs you have use an internal resistor. It is even more energy efficient if you wire up the non-resistor types with 1 red 1 green and then bias the current with a resistor. White LED’s (blue element) require 3.1 – 3.6 volts before they conduct. Three and 5mm types are very static sensitive.

Home LED lighting cheaper to run….yup….. just started replacing all the house lights with LED bulbs. Legislation ought to bring us into line with Australia.

You’ll find the lumileds and their Chinese knock-offs have cracked the colour problem.You  can now get 3 and 5 mmm LEDs in a suitable colour temperature too. I bought sample of two downlights to check temperature first  When I bought the balance of 15 the rest were bluish

Because I’m a cheapskate I bought 1,500 white LED’s to make up my own 2 watt bulbs with a mix of 16 of 2700K and 32 of 9000K LEDs (K= Kevin colour temperature) .   

Off-the-shelf one-watt lamps using twenty individual LEDs don’t have same light as halogen downlights).Those were ideal for public rooms.  I’m finishing the job with 3 watt lumileds at £1.60ea and coke can reflectors or colimators. Run at 2 watts they produce same light as 50 watt halogen downlights

Links 

shenzhen sheng nan electronics co.,ltd

Maritex for lumiled collimators 

 Tom

[ManxmanParticipant @manxman]

Hi Denis,

LEDs are no good to you, they are far too bright for a 1960s Sea Queen, stick to your 3v bulbs.

If you do not already have your bulbs, have a look at Hobbies or Hobby’s, both have web sites.

I am not sure which of these, but one of them sells light sets of 7 & 10 grain of wheat bulbs complete with a 3v battery box/switch for about £5.oo just add 2 x 1.5v batteries.  What is special about these bulbs is they are on 20 inch (500mm) wires and you can wire most smaller boats without any joints.

If the lights still seem too bright just change the 1.5v batteries for 1.2v re-chargable ones.

Looking at the boat from the rear RED(port) is on the left – GREEN(starboard) is on the right.

Cheers – Ken

[Penny LeeParticipant @pennylee76979]

LED brightness can be controlled by the bias resistor.

OR

I have a running light driver here which is for a sub conning tower which alters brightness by pulsing and sequences for dive/surface

Regards

Lee Penny

[Mike DavidsonParticipant @mikedavidson22772]

   Somebody wrote in asking about weathering, and I just found a very useful article on just that in Model Boats of March 2006, if the publishers do back numbers there it is.. It also has a feature on the RFA Argus the helicopter support royal fleet auxilliary ship. Ther have been many high jinks on there by the squadrons based at Culdrose I can tell you. Ask me about the wren and the bucket of Swarfega, no don’t

[PugwashParticipant @pugwash]

thankyou all i now have it sorted and they are working fine .

regards Denis

PS really apprecated the input.

[PugwashParticipant @pugwash]

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