# becon tower ?



## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

I have a American flyer aircraft beacon tower

it takes a 461 dimple bulb according to all the info online 
but the 461 is a 14 volt bulb 
and they burn out fast (last one didn't last an hour )

my beacon is the farthest item away from my transformer and that line has 4 other lighted things on this line 
none of the other thing blow the bulb 
and if I put a standard non dimple bulb in the tower its just fine and never blows 

is there a dimple bulb avail that has a higher voltage/amp rating than the 461


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

What transformer are you using to power the bulb? The aircraft beacons were designed for transformers like the 2, 4B & 8B that are a maximum of 15V with a load on the terminals. If you are using Lionel transformers you need to put it on one of the variable outputs. Check the output with a voltmeter. The MRC O27 Dualpower transformers I use for conventional operation have both a 10V and a 14V fixed output. The 14V output works great for the beacon and all the other Gilbert accessories.


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

AmFlyer said:


> What transformer are you using to power the bulb? The aircraft beacons were designed for transformers like the 2, 4B & 8B that are a maximum of 15V with a load on the terminals. If you are using Lionel transformers you need to put it on one of the variable outputs. Check the output with a voltmeter. The MRC O27 Dualpower transformers I use for conventional operation have both a 10V and a 14V fixed output. The 14V output works great for the beacon and all the other Gilbert accessories.


I'm running an 18b transformer
but even though it says its 15v on the variable side have metered it and it outputs just under 18 v at full throttle 
I have not checked the non variable side but I'm betting its 18v as well


weird thing to me is any other 14v bulb wont blow all of my buildings and other layout stuff are all running 14 v bulbs (they are extra bright lol) but I don't have a problem with bulbs popping like I do on the dimple bulbs 

in do however run high amp/watt rated 14v bulbs in everything 

wonder if I can torch a few of my bulbs and dimple them myself 
imm guessing the heat from the torch would probably damage the filament


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I do not have any 8B's. My #2 and 4B's all measure between 15 and 16V. The fixed output on a Gilbert transformer will not be lower than the variable output. Finding a way to power the beacon with 15V might help. I also wonder if some imported replacement bulbs are not up to original spec?
Regarding the make your own musing, the dimple is only for mechanical positioning. How about just gluing one of the axle bearings sold to work with needle point replacement wheelsets on top of a standard bulb?


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

AmFlyer said:


> I do not have any 8B's. My #2 and 4B's all measure between 15 and 16V. The fixed output on a Gilbert transformer will not be lower than the variable output. Finding a way to power the beacon with 15V might help. I also wonder if some imported replacement bulbs are not up to original spec?
> Regarding the make your own musing, the dimple is only for mechanical positioning. How about just gluing one of the axle bearings sold to work with needle point replacement wheelsets on top of a standard bulb?


I have thought about that(gluing something on a bulb)
but I'm not sure how well super glue would hold up to the heat 
and I already had to purchase a replacement beacon. because the one that came with my tower was melted when I got it 
so don't want to risk the replacement falling off while I'm off in the shop working and melting as well 

do you have a link to the bearings your talking about


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

goldinhands.com sells them as part of an upgrade kit for putting needle point wheels in Gilbert knuckle coupler cars.


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## longle (Mar 7, 2015)

I'm wondering what your line voltage is to push an 8B to 18V. Mine nudges 123V and I restore antique tube radios primarily designed for 110V so when I'm working on them I use a variac and once finished I use a bucking transformer to knock the voltage down close to 110V. Plugging your xformer into a variac might be an option.

I've also been toying with building an accessories power supply based on a computer PS. Most computer PS have at least two 12VDC and two 5VDC outputs that are regulated. The 12VDC could run accessories but primarily lighting while the 5VDC could be used to power electronic sound systems. A work in progress right now but it should work. The real unknown is how well some things might operate on DC voltage.


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

longle said:


> I'm wondering what your line voltage is to push an 8B to 18V. Mine nudges 123V and I restore antique tube radios primarily designed for 110V so when I'm working on them I use a variac and once finished I use a bucking transformer to knock the voltage down close to 110V. Plugging your xformer into a variac might be an option.
> 
> I've also been toying with building an accessories power supply based on a computer PS. Most computer PS have at least two 12VDC and two 5VDC outputs that are regulated. The 12VDC could run accessories but primarily lighting while the 5VDC could be used to power electronic sound systems. A work in progress right now but it should work. The real unknown is how well some things might operate on DC voltage.



its a 18 b 
just stuck my fluke meter in the outlet and getting only 116v 
ok well maybe we had a voltage spike the other day 
because I decided to meter it again at the transformer and today its maxing out at around 17.2v

I'm in a retail shop so I'm wondering if my voltage varies at the outlet when the other stores are not using as much on the grid 

I use pc power supplies all the time when I fix old arcade games 
if you did not know already 
cut the green wire on the 20/24 pin connector 
and the black wire next to it connect the 2 together then the ps will power on when it gets power



in the end I can just use this little guy to power the tower just prefer to only have 1 outlet in use for my layout


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## Aflyer (Nov 10, 2010)

dicgolfer72,
Another possible solution is a small cheap transformer dedicated to accessory power. If you had any spare transformer you could wire you accessory circuit to the variable voltage, giving you better control of your lighting.
Aflyer


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Since it was mentioned I checked the voltage in the house. As I write this SDG&E is providing service at 123.9V. I checked it with two different meters, got identical readings. So I checked the fixed AC output of the O27 Dualpower that is marked 14V. The meter read spot on 14V.


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

yea most transformers (or any electrical device) has a 10% range higher or lower 
so unless I'm getting a huge spike it should not affect the output of the xformer

what I'm leaning towards is this 18b was sold as rebuilt 
and sold from a lionel preaching train store 
I'm wondering if he used internals from a loinel 18v transformer to fix this one 

if I meter one side of the dual transformer it reads 15.25 v
the other side is reading 17.2v (this is the side most of my stuff is connected to )




also I just was thinking 

I used to have a old 6 volt Honda motorcycle(cm125)
it used the light bulbs to bleed off voltage from the stator/voltage regulator 
I purchased some bulbs for it and they blew as soon as I hit the throttle 
I had to buy higher wattage rated bulbs and then never hat that problem 

I wonder if the dimple bulbs being sold are lower watt rated than what I'm using for all my other stuff
all my lights in all my things are the radio shack #52 14.4v bulbs they state 100ma rating on the package as well


wish I could find the dimple bulbs somewhere else other than a train hobby supplier (even ebay they are sold for train related use)
then I can get my hands on the original packaging and actually see what they are rated at

plus I hate buying 1 or 5 bubs and being nickel and dimed to death I want to buy 100 or more 
this is my last bulb order lol


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## longle (Mar 7, 2015)

AmFlyer said:


> Since it was mentioned I checked the voltage in the house. As I write this SDG&E is providing service at 123.9V. I checked it with two different meters, got identical readings. So I checked the fixed AC output of the O27 Dualpower that is marked 14V. The meter read spot on 14V.


Yeah, the newer units have regulated outputs that the old transformers don't have.


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