the current draw, stated in amps, used by a loco, including its motor, lights and other accessories when operating continuously under normal continuous at full load. This measurement is important for determining which decoder to install in the loco.
The forward biased current through the diode necessary to produce the output power (P). Iop is determined by: the device structure of the diode the material composition of the diode the front and back facet reflectivity Iop depends empirically on exp(T/To) where T is the absolute temperature of the active layer. To is a constant characteristic of a device. For BLI's quantum well laser diodes that operate in the 800 nm to 850 nm spectral range, To is approximately 150 degrees.