N Scale Gyralite

Discussion in 'N Scale' started by rolla dave, Oct 27, 2015.

  1. rolla dave

    rolla dave Member

    Has anyone attempted to install one of these on a N scale diesel? Is it only for the diehard, highly skilled modeler, or is this doable by a regular Joe?

    I recently found these 3D printed Gyralites that would seem to address the lack of such detail parts from other manufacturers. I have previously been unable to find such parts in production, although I know they were made in the past.

    I like my Atlas GPs, but those bare white noses really stand out to me. If there's a way to install Gyralites without having to completely redo and repaint those models, I'd be very interested to try it.
     
  2. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

  3. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    I know it is possible, and I just ordered 2 sets of Gyralites for all my Mandarin Orange/White GP38s and GP40s, but how would you wire in an LED Gyralite onto a DCC board? Let's say a Digitrax DN163A0 for example? I can't get my head around this as I think I would have to hard mount the LED onto the chassis so that the light would shine through the Gyralight hole (or a clear lens in the center of the Gyralight?

    Or does the LED actually mount inside the Gyralite on the body, creating a rats nest of loose wires soldered somewhere to the Digitrax board?

    I would love to have the Gyralite and a beacon on top of the cab light up and I think the Digitrax boards would support, but do the LEDs stay with the frame when the body is removed (hopefully)?

    Thanks guys!
     
  4. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    I haven't installed the shapeways gyralites, but I have installed the Sunrise Enterprises ones in most (if not all) of my N-scale GP38ACs and GP38-2s, and my B30-7s. The Sunrise parts are cast metal.

    For the GP38 variations, I have just installed MV lenses in the castings. That means they aren't lighted.

    I have some Detail Associates Gyralites too, but I'm using my supply of Sunrise Enterprise ones first. The Detail Associates ones are injection molded plastic, so I actually think they will be easier to light with a surface mounted LED. That said, after cutting the required notch in the shell, I think the best plan of attack to light these is to put a surface mounted LED in the housing. With the way the shell is molded, you are not going to be able to pull the LED out the back. There is just too much thickness to the plastic shell to make that work.

    For the B30-7s, with the gyralite mounted in the nose box, I actually installed fiber optics in mine. I did the B30-7s first, but when I did the first GP38s, I decided the fiber optic wouldn't work as well with that shell.

    To the best of my knowledge, the Detail Associates parts are still in production.

    For the rotary beacons, Sunrise made some appropriate for late Frisco units that you can light with an LED from below. Those are the only lightable ones I can remember seeing. You can drill a hole through the cab roof and mount a surface mounted LED in the cab area below the hole. That will let you light these. I've got one installed in an MP15 that I lit this way. I have these installed on my GP38s and B30-7s too, but I didn't light any of them. (my supply is running low on that part... I really miss having sunrise around to supply those to us. I really like those...)

    Paul
     
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  5. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    Thanks for the reply Paul - Great info.

    After reading, I have so many questions...

    I'll start with the beacon for now. I assume the surface mount led for the Beacon is actually close to the bottom of the Beacon that we see and the light from the led shines up thru the bottom of the cab thru the hole, lighting the Beacon?

    Or does the led physically stick up thru the hole that you drilled in the top of the cab and represents the lens of the Beacon?

    As for the fiber optic gyralites, I assume the GP38s wouldn't work because of the hard bends to the optic cable as a result of the shell design?

    Thanks for putting up with my silly questions!

    JFM
     
    Joe Lovett likes this.
  6. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Correct.

    I never actually tried the fiber optic on the GP38s, but when you carve out the nose to mount the light, you just barely carve out the thickness of the shell wall. Without drilling, there isn't s hole big enough to pass the fiber optic through, and the whole would have to be drilled at an angle, so I'm not sure it can be put in place with a small enough bend to make it functional.

    Paul
     
  7. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    Hi Paul and others...

    After inspecting all of the options for Gyralights, I believe I will attempt fiber optics and a nano surface mount LED for the Gyralight. I will use the Shapeways shell and Dremel a channel for the fiber to run straight out of the Gyralight and then bend gently down into the short hood. I will probably run the Gyralight a touch lower than what would be prototypically correct to keep the centerline of the fiber far enough below the short hood as it bends down under the underside of the hood where the LED will be mounted.

    The beacon will be the smallest grain of wheat blub I could find with the bottom cut out of it so i could remove the filament. I will run a very short fiber optic cable through a hole in the top center of the cab with a nano LED at the bottom and the empty bulb at the top. I scratch built a base that the bulb will sit in to mount to the cab roof.

    I hear rumors that the lighting functions from the Digitrax decoders for Gyralights and Beacons are not so desireable?

    Thoughts on any of the above???

    Thanks,

    John Moore
     
  8. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Let us know how that goes.

    BTW, I noticed that N-scale Supply received a shipment of gyralight's from Detail Associates last week.

    I'd like to see photos of that when you are done.

    Well, there aren't any moving parts, so simulating the exact motion of the real lights is difficult. The best any decoder can do is fade in and out in a realistic pattern.

    Paul
     
  9. klrwhizkid

    klrwhizkid Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    SoundTraxx has the best lighting functions and make a very good representation of Mars lights, Gyralights and Prime Stratolights.
     
  10. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    Unfortunately, I either own a fleet of what came with the DCC equipped locomotive or Digitrax since it is plentiful. I talked to an individual last night who claims to know the owners of Digitrax. Two gentlemen, described loosely as the money man and the inventor. The money man was sound and running a good business but the inventor, like most inventors tend to be, tries to put too much function into the decoders because he can. This causes delays and function issues at launch of a new product...

    JFM
     
  11. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    It's a husband and wife (A.J. and Zana Ireland) that own Digitrax. A.J. is the inventor.

    Paul
     
  12. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    I'm beginning to think my guy likes to hear himself talk!
     
  13. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    Well, I laid out a plan for my GP38s and went to work on test fitting the Shapeways Gyralights (see link above) but I was a bit discouraged as, if mounted using the molded in sides around the Gyralight, it would interfere with the hatch in the top center peak of the short hood. Is this the fill port for the sand?

    Anyway, I tried to sand it down from the back side and realized VERY quickly that I too suffer from "too small to see"itis. I thought the Torpedo Tubes on the GP35 were small but they were a walk in the park compared to this!

    Time for magnification!

    JFM
     
  14. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    Yes, that is the filler for the front sand bunker.

    Paul
     
  15. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    I just received my BLI 2016 and 2019 E8s. Wow, am I ever excited about trying to get a gyralight in my EMD locomotives! It's awesome and would look great instead of the naked nose on all my GP38s...

    JFM
     
  16. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    I have a beacon question for you folks.

    I found a source for cheap 2mm diameter warm white LEDs that I really want to use as a beacon. My only issue with it is diameter. Somewhere between 1.0mm and 1.5mm would be perfect, but these little gems would be hard to pass up.

    Don't judge the paint job. It is handpainted by brush I attempted close to 27 years ago and it is now a scrap GP38AC. What about the beacon size? Goofy looking or would it pass?

    20170208_003029.jpg

    I would love to hear your thoughts as I'm about to drill a 2mm hole in every one of my locomotives. Scary!

    Thanks guys!

    JFM
     
  17. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    Just came up with another idea. Plastruct sells 1/16th inch (1.5875 mm) clear plastic tubing. I could cut the tubing to length, scuff it up and slide it thru a 1/16th inch hole in the cab roof and paint the rod Tamiya translucent orange with a silver base.

    Directly underneath this clear tubing is my 2mm led heat shrunk around my clear Plastruct rod.

    I thought about using fiber optics cable to move the led around if I need more room in the cab.

    Thoughts?

    JFM
     
  18. pbender

    pbender Member Frisco.org Supporter

    That LED doesn't look too far out of scale, but remember the Frisco used several different types of beacons. The beacons used on First generation units were smaller than the 2nd generation units ( though I haven't looked at, for example, GP35s to check. )

    If you want something that looks a little better, deluxe Innovations still lists rotary beacon castings in their catalog. These would be appropriate for ar least most of the 2nd generation units. These are clear plastic, so you light then like you would your plastic tube. There is a ring detail in the casting that you can paint to simulate the mounting base.

    Paul
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2017
  19. yardmaster

    yardmaster Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    John, I'll second Paul's note - it looks reasonably sized. A wider-angle view might help put it into better, big-picture perspective.

    Best Regards.
     
  20. jmoore16

    jmoore16 Member

    20170211_190942.jpg Ok guys, I'm about to commit one DCC locomotive (SD45) to this 2mm led. I'm planning in drilling 3 holes (Beacon, firecracker antenna and Leslie horn) but wanted to get your opinions before I drill the holes.

    Thoughts?

    JFM
     

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