LED for Athearn RTR SW1500
#1
You will be disappointed by the very dim light if you want to have LED at the Athearn RTR SW1500 micro bulb connectors. Athearn is using three LM517K voltage regulators each controlled by two SMD resistors to provide perfect power supply for their micro bulbs.
The elegant solution would be to replace the two resistors with a new set to get perfect LED voltage. Did you ever replace SMD resistors and do you have a shop to buy them..... elegant but hopeless Sad

A dirty solution is to bypass most of the PCB electronics if you directly connect the blue wire (+) with the plus labeled connector pads of front and read light connectors with two 1.5k resistors (1500 Ohm).

ps. An other advantage is that you can remove the resistors easy and everything is back to standard
pps. My motivation are the blue box shells I am using that need scratch built front and rear lights anyhow

[Image: file-44.jpg]
Reinhard
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#2
faraway Wrote:You will be disappointed by the very dim light if you want to have LED at the Athearn RTR SW1500 micro bulb connectors. Athearn is using three LM517K voltage regulators each controlled by two SMD resistors to provide perfect power supply for their micro bulbs.
The elegant solution would be to replace the two resistors with a new set to get perfect
led light voltage. Did you ever replace SMD resistors and do you have a shop to buy them..... elegant but hopeless Sad

A dirty solution is to bypass most of the PCB electronics if you directly connect the blue wire (+) with the plus labeled connector pads of front and read light connectors with two 1.5k resistors (1500 Ohm).

ps. An other advantage is that you can remove the resistors easy and everything is back to standard
pps. My motivation are the blue box shells I am using that need scratch built front and rear lights anyhow

[img]http://i966.photobucket.com/albums/ae149/faraway52/Misc-2/file-44.jpg[/img
]
Thanks for sharing the review.. I am looking to get new lights so the review will help for sure..
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#3
Here's how I installed LED's in an SW1500.


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