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eja

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Question about headlights
« on: January 05, 2018, 02:52:40 PM »
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I have two KATO P-42's, each equipped with Digitrax DN163K0A decoders.

On one of these locos, the headlight is very bright. Bright enough to project a beam onto a nearby wall as it rounds a corner.  The other is no where near as bright.  I have verified that this is not a Rule 17 decoder setting issue, but am completely baffled about why there is such a difference in headlight intensity between the two of them.

Any thoughts from the experts will be appreciated.

eja
« Last Edit: January 06, 2018, 02:25:26 PM by eja »
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RBrodzinsky

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Re: Question about headlights
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2018, 03:13:36 PM »
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How is the relative brightness without the shells on? Could be that the LEDS on the "dim" one is not aligned as well with the light pipe.
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Rick Brodzinsky
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MK

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Re: Question about headlights
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2018, 04:09:13 PM »
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I would reset the decoder of the dim one and check the light pipe alignment as the previous poster said.
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peteski

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Re: Question about headlights
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2018, 09:17:15 PM »
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Maybe the decoders are from different runs (and they used different LED types)?  IIRC, original ones had yellow 3mm LEDS, then white 3mm LEDs, then small SMD white LEDs. 
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eja

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Re: Question about headlights
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2018, 02:09:59 AM »
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Thanks for the ideas .... I will, hopefully, have time to to look into you suggestions this weekend.  If I do, I'll post what I discover.

eja

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GP40X

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Re: Question about headlights
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2018, 12:01:41 PM »
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Quote from: eja on January 05, 2018, 02:52:40 PM
I have two KATO P-42's, each equipped with Digitrax DN163K0A decoders.

On one of these locos, the headlight is very bright. Bright enough to project a beam onto a nearby wall as it rounds a corner.  The other is no where near as bright.  I have verified that this is not a Rule 17 decoder setting issue, but am completely baffled about why there is such a difference in headlight intensity between the two of them.

Any thoughts from the experts will be appreciated.

eja

I have a similar issue with some Atlas engines.  The Atlas engines use a light board with 3mm LEDs.  My older Digitrax decoders have the 3mm LEDs but the newer ones use a SMD LED.  The new ones have much dimmer front lights due to the air gap in the light tube with the smds.  Remove the shells and check for brightness between the two units with the shells off first and see if they are the same type of LED.  If they are the same, then check for light tube alignment and reset the decoder as previously recommended.  HTH
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Bill Belsher
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