Hey folks. I figured I would share with you how I installed fiber optic ditchlghts on my Atlas SD60E project. Since I had some trouble locating a thread like this after a decent search, consider this a how-to. This was a first time for me, so feel free to add tips you may find interesting or helpful. Tools/Supplies: -Plastruct Fiber Optics .30 diameter (Found at LHS or Etailer) -Tweezers or Pliers -Ditchlight Housings (optional) -Soldering Iron or lighter -Project Loco (obviously) -Flat File -Black paint or electrical tape -Patience (Yeah, thats a must) -#80 drill bit (or slightly larger) and pin vise Step 1: Break Down Your Loco I highly suggest taking your loco apart as far as possible. This makes it easier to manuever and alleviates the risk of damaging your shell. This will ultimately save you time. Step 2: Drill Holes! This is the toughest step, as drilling into a loco shell that you may have painted custom (or still in pristine factory paint) can be a bit unnevering. I used a #80 drill bit and pin vise to drill my holes. I used proto photos and determined the SD60E's had porch-mounted ditchlights. Furthermore I determined the ditchlight's approximate location between the handrails using this method. As you can see in the below picture, I drilled the holes between the factory mounting holes used for the handrails. I then used my #80 to drill at varying angles to open the holes up slowly to fit the fiber optics. This is the only bit I had available to me, but feel free to substitute a larger bit to save time. Next, Drill holes into the pilot directly below the holes you have drilled on the porch. Note: Depending on the loco you are building you may be able to mill an area directly into the anticlimber from behind so that the optics aren't visible from the front. (f your loco does not have an anti-climber, you may be able to skip this step). This particular loco is an Atlas SD60 shell, and I found the anti-climber to be a bit too thin to attempt this. Step 2: Feeding Fiber Optics This step takes a significant amount of patience as the fiber is relatively fragile and without the proper amount of finesse it will break. I found it easier to feed the fiber optics into the pilot first. Feed your fiber about 3/4 of the way into the front of the pilot. Then, take the other end of the fiber and gently bend the fiber into the anti-climber from underneath. Next, (gently!) pull the fiber from the top of the anti-climber. The fiber will tend to twist around itself causing a bit of a loop. With your free hand, guide the loop so that it remains straight as you pull the fiber. You may need to use tweezers or a small pair of pliers to pull the fiber as the tension may be a bit tight. This is where the patience comes in. As the loop gets tighter the fiber may break or crack. If this happens, pull the fiber out and start over. Cracks in the outside shell of the fiber will cause the light to scatter instead of travelling cleanly through the fiber Once you have your fiber run cleanly, it should look like this: Step 4: Getting the Fiber Ready for Light For this portion I used the small plastic piece that blocks some of the light from the headlight bulb behind the cab. With the piece in place on the loco mechanism, mark two small spots where you intend on running the fiber. Then, drill the holes out the same way mentioned earlier. Finally run your fiber through and using a small amount of CA, glue the fiber to the plastic piece. I suggest placing the walkway portion on the mechanism to see where you may need to file notches to accommodate the fiber. Using a hot soldering iron, move the iron close to the fiber, while avoiding actually touching the iron to the fiber. The heat will cause the fiber to bend in the direction you plan on running your fiber. Try this method with a few scrap pieces of fiber until you are comfortable. Once you have done this, trim the fiber as close to the tip of the LED as possible. I have seen a few suggestions of actually drilling the tip of the LED and placing the fiber into it. I did not do this because this loco will eventually get a decoder with a suface mount LED. Note, the ends of the fiber may need to be filed flat to better accept the light from the LED. Feel free to test your loco at this point to make any adjustments to your fiber in relation to the LED. Step 5: Ditchlight Housings I used a set of Shapeways ditchlight housings found here: http://www.shapeways.com/model/296083/porch-mounted-ditch-light-tall-sp-style-n-scale.html?li=productBox-search Obviously, if you prefer to build your own housings, substitute them. Bend your fiber by hand at a 90 degree angle toward the front of the loco. One at a time, thread your ditchlight housings onto the fiber and with a drop of CA, secure the ditchlights to the porch. Make adjustments to the housings to ensure they are straight and vertical. Next, trim the ends of the fiber flush with the housings. Use a file to bring the ends down as far as possible. You can also use the tip of your soldering iron to touch the ends of the fiber. This will cause the fiber end to mushroom a bit resembling a lense. Step 6: Bringing It All Together In this step, once everything fits comfortably (shell, long hood, cab, windows, etc) we will paint the exposed fiber black. This will prevent the light escaping into undesired areas. Another method suggests wrapping electrical tape around the fiber, but I found this to be a bit difficult for this scale. Being that my loco is already black, I painted the ditch light housings and fiber from the pilot black as well. Feel free to test again. At this point you should have well lit ditchlights. If you are not getting any light from the ditchlights with the fron LED lit, check your fiber as it my have a break. First try adjusting the fiber at the light source to see if it improves. One thing I noticed, with this project for me was that the sharper angles for the porch-mounted ditchlights does diminish some of the light. Certainly the pilot mounted ditchlights would not require these angles. You can also use this method to light the cab interior and the headlights, signals on your layout, lighting for structures, and anything else you can think of. Hopefully this write-up helps or inspires you. Feel free to add anything you may feel would be helpful that I may have left out. Thanks for looking. -Josh (Don't mind the crooked cut lever in the last pic, I just realized I must have knocked it loose. Hehe)
hello josh if you use the shapeways ditch light housings, why didn't you simply install 0401 or 0402 led ? also i'd recommend to use a lighter on one end of the fiber optics. heat up the end until it forms a kind of drop. this neatly simulates the look of ditchlight glasses.
I used LED's on my last project and had a bit of trouble with them. LED's are definately another route.
Different strokes, for different folks. I'm looking at adding fiberoptics to a couple of my Atlas Dash 8's, so this is perfect timing.
Josh, do you have a picture with the lights on? I am wondering about how much light is transmitted with all of the curves, especially the 90*'s at the end. BTW, nice tutorial. Carl
Nice job on the tutorial. The company I worked for sold Fiber Optics. One of the things I learned to increase the output is to always heat polish both ends. This is simpler than it sounds. You recommend using a heat source to create a lens at the ditch-light end. By momentarily exposing the other end to heat. When you file, sand or cut the fiber you distort and limit the amount of light that passes through the fiber. Heat polishing fixes the end of the fiber. A lens at both ends works better. A well done fiber has the same light output as input.
I have a few pictures of the ditchlights lit up. I held a small LED maglite to the ends of the fiber to show what it would look like once my decoder arrives. In other news I tried to gently adjust my ditchlights because they were a bit crooked and broke them, so I have to start from scratch. I am going to try my hand at using stryene sheet and tube to show what they look like, as the Shapeways ones are fragile and I am now out of housings. As others have mentioned it does help to heat up both ends of the fiber optic strands to form a bulb. It does help carry the light better. One thing to keep in mind when you are bending the fiber is to not bend at exactly a 90 degree angle. My angles are more like 85 degrees. Also DO NOT touch the soldering iron to the fiber as it will cause the fiber to crack. Food for thought.
As many of you know, I've done fiber in the past, on Atlas SD60s and Dash 8s. I find LEDs far, far easier to install - in fact I've done LEDs on Atlas GP38s, Athearn SD75s, and Kato SD40-2s and E9s. It's easier because you don't need to worry about the fiber breaking or kinking, and the wires will go almost anywhere. The main problem for me has been the enclosures since Sunset went out of business. I may try the Shapeways for porch mounted but of late I've done lower ones using tubung and 0604 LEDs. I'd like a slimmer housing, but they work OK.
Thanks for the input Jim. I went to try and find your "tutorial" a few weeks back. I'm on the fence with fiber vs. LEDs for the two Dash 8's I have.
Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, whatever! I'm old. Whaddaya espect! I yanked the tutorial because I felt it was out of date, especially considering Atlas now has operating ditch lights on some of their Dash 8s...I've still got it around if you want a copy, but I'm 1200 miles from home right now...and it's not with me...
