new kato internal lights

[keitaro]

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10161105

 

so i bought 3 sets of this and figured i would share my finidings.

 

To begin with i installed 2 sets into my kato ginza lines and did some short testing. (darn fine model by the way)

I compared with my kiha 110 with the old lighting set and ran 1 motor car of each together on the same line to be fair.

 

Before testing i cleaned the track with my newly acquired tomix cleaning cars and cleaned the wheels on the 110.

 

The old lighting set has always had a flicker problem.

 

Comparing the 2 together i can notice a vast improvement of the new lighting system to the old one. The new one has almost no flickering at all on DC.

 

To test things out fairly I installed the new lighting system in the kiha 110 car and ran again there is a noticeable difference between the old and new kit. I also would like to note it did flicker still more than the ginza did however it would only flicker once or twice per loop which is a vast improvement still.

 

 

On a side note I thought I'd mention here about using this new kit in older models. While I have found the kit works in some older models it's not necessarily going to work in all.

 

It is a bit thinner than the old plastic strip which means it will not hold to the roof as easy.

 

Although this should not be much of an issue if you use some blue tack to give extra hold.

 

It seems like a waste of time using in a shinkansen such as the e5 as the strip seems to be a notch or 2 shorted than the old kit meaning the e5 will not get lighting at the opposite end very well.

 

In addition to this the stip cannot hold at all in some of the carriages and would require an alternative such as blue tack to hold it to the roof.

 

I hope you find this informtation useful.

 

Cheers,

Dave

[The_Ghan]

Thanks keitaro,

 

Have they provided a circuit to reduce the flicker?

 

If so, please post a pic.  It isn't clear on HS.

 

Cheers,

 

The_Ghan

 

PS: the massage was good.

[Guest Closed Account 1]

Looks like an updated decoder.

 

FL11 29-353

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10119650

 

Must have added a capacitor.

 

Flickering lights are normal in the NYC subway. Cannot remember a time when they didn't flicker.

[keitaro]

Ghan in the old kit you have to attach to the plastic white piece that holds it.

 

In the new one it is already attached.

 

All that is required is to place the clear plastic in the roof and sit the metal prongs in the slots and place the led holder in the right spot.

 

the led circuit looks a touch different not sure if a capacitor or not but it does require a very slight more amount of voltage to light up.

 

It also appears to light up quick rather than getting brighter as voltage goes up but thats just a quick observation i really only played for about 2 - 4 minutes on each train.

[westfalen]

I just gave it a quick glance at HS, didn't realise it was a new kit. Thanks for the post.

[keitaro]

all right so i looked and realised when slipping in the metal prongs they slid under the metal prongs that are built in for pickup. upon moving in and repushing in so on top of prongs there is now 0% flicker really good for DC!!!!

 

looking at the led piece does look slightly different so definately would be a good if they redid these for the other models as well.

[The_Ghan]

Keitaro,

 

Does the new lighting kit fit all models?  I've got 10 x the 6 car kits that I've not used yet.  Should I keep them or flog them on ebay and buy the new kits?

 

Unless the new kit has added a capacitor I can't imagine how they've made it flicker-free ... or near to.

 

It would be good to see some video of this.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

it fits some.

 

Only tested the kiha 110 and it's ok

 

If you blue tack it to the roof it will work in any set (depends on roof height as well as led may end up lower) but it seems to have trouble sticking in the roof of shinkansens and it's 1 plastic piece shorter than the normal ones. So a shinkansen will not get even lighting.

 

I might try it bit later in my e231 set.

[The_Ghan]

Keitaro,

 

Regarding Ginza Line ... HS recommends the new lighting kit ... does the old kit fit, or do I need to buy new kits for these puppies?  I have two!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

yes you need the new lighting kit the other one is thicker.

 

You could shave off the sides of the plasitc a bit but the old ones do not have the grooves to sit on the arms inside the carriages. also i think it's to thick and you will not be able to click the back together due to being too thick.

 

i do recommend this new kit and it is cheaper than the old one anyway

[The_Ghan]

I'll buy the new kits for the Ginza line, but not from HS at 5% discount.  I'll wait until they're more widely available and pick some up then.

 

For my older trains I'll continue with the 11-210 older set - which I get from ModelTrainStuff for around $30 per set of 6.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan