Kato Hankyu 6300 lighting

[sandiway]

This turned into a mini-project from hell.

It took me forever and the installation was so finicky and flakey - many times I closed the shell up and the lighting stopped.

(Before this, I've only installed lighting in my Tomix Shinkansen and that was so easy by comparison.)

 

After many hours, I finished all 8 cars but the lighting was way, way too bright.

So took it all apart and installed the orange filters. The installation of those tiny items was not easy at all.

Afterwards, the lighting is still way bright and even flickers a bit. Disappointed in Kato.

 

(Last picture: with orange filters, yes I now notice the sag in the bridge beam S280 that's not apparent when no train is stopped on them.)

Bright, eh?

Can be used to illuminate floors and doorways...

These things are tiny and you have to remove the pcb first.

Looks promising

Compare with no filter.

I had problems with getting the plastic bar in, but I think that was my mistake: if I don't snap off some parts of it, the shell doesn't close easily.

After the orange filters, still too bright I think

Edited February 19, 2019 by sandiway

[katoftw]

Can you explain what was the issue? Kato should be plug and play. Yes there is one extra step compared to Tomix. But should cause major issues.

[sandiway]

3 minutes ago, katoftw said:

Can you explain what was the issue? Kato should be plug and play. Yes there is one extra step compared to Tomix. But should cause major issues.

After installing that pcb, I close the shell and the lighting switches off. If I wriggle the pcb, it goes pff sometimes. So I have to put the shell back on very carefully nott to knock the pcb.

 

Also it may be my own fault. I tried to use the entire length of the transparent light guide that goes on the ceiling at first. And I guess this left no room.

[Yavianice]

It may be the picture but it seems to me that you didn’t align the plastic distributor correctly. When there is a gap between the light and the distributor then the light won’t distribute easily. 

 

Regarding the shell not closing properly, make sure you have placed the diffuser correctly. I have installed VERY many lights and the only time it didnt fit correctly were with the TGVs. I do not own this particular set, but I do own the Hankyu Kyo train which had no problems with the diffuser (except the motorcar).

 

regarding flickering and the light not working when you apply the shell, make sure that you placed the contacts correctly and sturdily. 9 out of 10 times, when I placed the shell on the light would move slightly (especially if you didn’t place the diffuser correctly) so it would no longer make proper contact with the pickups. Sometimes some Aluminium tape helps also. Or soldering if you don’t want any issues at all. But by careful positioning, I don’t have problems with any of my kato cars.

 

EDIT: looking at your pictures you indeed did not install the diffuser correctly. You need to snap off a part of it because the LED goes there.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Yavianice

[Yavianice]

38 minutes ago, sandiway said:

 

 

This is incorrect. There is no gap for the LED assembly to fit in.

[sandiway]

6 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

EDIT: looking at your pictures you indeed did not install the diffuser correctly. You need to snap off a part of it because the LED goes there.

Right, I mentioned that in the first post. Actually, I did redo them and snapped off the pieces... see below.

 

But I suspect some of the pcbs are not pointing horizontal or slightly up correctly. Maybe some of them tilt downwards.

Edited February 19, 2019 by sandiway

[Yavianice]

Then did you make sure the diffuser board and the LED assembly are properly aligned? Because on your pictures it doesn't seem to be the case. The LED and the diffuser should be at the same level and touching (without a gap).

[sandiway]

12 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

Then did you make sure the diffuser board and the LED assembly are properly aligned? Because on your pictures it doesn't seem to be the case. The LED and the diffuser should be at the same level and touching (without a gap).

 I think this is part of my problem.

 

When I snapped off the first segment, I guess it doesn't line up properly. In fact, I don't know how to install it just touching - the length may not match. It's also hard to snap the diffuser in correctly. When I re-install the shell, it's hard to tell whether the diffuser is properly lined up.

Edited February 19, 2019 by sandiway

[Yavianice]

Just now, sandiway said:

When I snapped off the first segment, I guess it doesn't line up properly. In fact, I don't know how to install it just touching. When I install the shell, it's hard to tell.

 

Flip the shell over. Align it with the bottom part. Install the lighting in the bottom part. Then install the diffuser where the lighting assembly ends. They do not need to be completely touching, but there shouldn't be a gap either. Most KATO trains (but not all) have little "guides" where the "nibs" on the diffuser are. Also the diffusers fit in only one way, namely with the nibs to the ceiling. You can tell whether they are aligned properly because otherwise the light will be concentrated only at the beginning of the car and not equally over the entire car.

[sandiway]

2 minutes ago, Yavianice said:

 

Flip the shell over. Align it with the bottom part. Install the lighting in the bottom part. Then install the diffuser where the lighting assembly ends. They do not need to be completely touching, but there shouldn't be a gap either.

Ah, how is that going to work? If I put the lighting in the ceiling first, no way will it line up with the chassis well enough to plug in?

[Yavianice]

11 minutes ago, sandiway said:

Ah, how is that going to work? If I put the lighting in the ceiling first, no way will it line up with the chassis well enough to plug in?

You misunderstand.

 

Put the shell and the body next to each other to see whether you installed the diffuser correctly and still have enough room for the light.

 

when you have done it correctly the light looks like this, evenly distributed.

 

 

[JR 500系]

Yap exactly the way Yavianice has mentioned, you can gauge the length of the light tube that way so that it should fit perfectly... That said, the Hankyu 6300 is one of the harder models to install lights in... I had some issues too when I installed my Kyo train previously... 

[sandiway]

8 hours ago, Yavianice said:

You misunderstand.

 

Put the shell and the body next to each other to see whether you installed the diffuser correctly and still have enough room for the light

 

Ah, thank you for your help. The people on this forum are an invaluable resource. I will take the shells off and determine if it's positioned right.

Edited February 19, 2019 by sandiway

[Yavianice]

34 minutes ago, sandiway said:

Ah, thank you for your help. The people on this forum are an invaluable resource. 

Pleasure. That’s what we are here for.