Christmas Tree lights for buildings

[Benjamin Maggi]

I have come across a good supply of cheap christmas tree lights (the tiny plastic ones, NOT the larger glass ones) and was wondering if they could be used to illuminate N scale houses and such. The thing is, I would need to cut and splice the wires, and this is Dangerous because in theory the cords are running 110 volts! However, I was wondering if I could string up a bunch of the bulbs and run them from the AC on my power pack. So, here are my questions:

1. Has anyone done this before?
2. How much voltage does each bulb draw?
3. How many can I string up together (I would run them in parallel, not daisy chain) and would I need resistors to drop the voltage?

Thanks! Ben

[Anonymous]

Well, the individual bulbs usually run at 1.5 to 6 volts - and usually that would be on the box of lights.

I can't give you answers to your other specific questions. I just know that I would NOT want to splice 110V wires all over the place, plus the fact that a loose bulb or splice joint would cause all the lights to go out! Yikes.

Rob

[Javern]

you can buy the battery operated strings of xmas lights at Hobby Lobby and such, those are much easier to work with and just the right brightness level I think for building interiors

[Benjamin Maggi]

Rob,
Well, splicing 110 volt wires wouldn't be too tough, BUT since I would be running them off the AC part of my pack it would be more like splicing 16 volt wires. I certainly would not run them off 110, especially if I reduced the amount of bulbs from 50 to like 10! They would just melt or explode! Battery operated are nice, but a 9 volt would probably only run 8 or 9 and i plan to use about 20 or so. I hate buying batteries. I will check it out though. Thanks for the help guys!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by scoobster28



1. Has anyone done this before?
2. How much voltage does each bulb draw?
3. How many can I string up together (I would run them in parallel, not daisy chain) and would I need resistors to drop the voltage?

Thanks! Ben

1. Yes, did this back around 1987. Used about 20 lights in 8 or 9 buildings sectioning off rooms, for that added realism. HO back then.
2. it varies a little, I'd buy full strings after christmas at the local Wally world .50 to a $1 per strand cheap enough to blow a few bulbs.
3. use a combo of parallel and series to get the proper voltage, then you don't need resistors. Used to chop the plug off 100 bulb strands and just connect it straight to a car battery, for that mobile Christmas spirit. In other words you could run it on AC or DC, an old toy pack, or computer power supply etc. [:D]


Chris

[cacole]

I wired a bunch of those bulbs in red, blue and yellow, together with flasher bulbs, to make an IRS building on fire. Four strings, four bulbs per string, powered from the 5V output of a computer power supply provides a random multi-colored flicker that looks like the interior of the building is burning.

[Seamonster]

Don't even think about running 110 volts around on your layout!!! Way too dangerous. Check on the packaging for where they say which kind of replacement bulbs to buy. That usually says what voltage they are. If the voltage is less than your power supply, then connect them in series to add up to the power supply voltage as Chris said. Most of them have little resistors in them so that when a bulb burns out and the filament opens up, the current keeps flowing and the other bulbs in the series string stay lit. I would untwist the string and cut out the individual bulbs by cutting the wire half-way between each bulb, or cut them out in groups to make series string to add up to the proper voltage. For me, the biggest disadvantage of using Christmas tree lights would be getting the colour off them to obtain clear bulbs. Also, be careful how many you connect to your power source--they don't say how much current each bulb draws--you might overload the power supply.
...Bob

[gmpullman]

I bought a bunch of the replacement Christmas lamps in a blister-pak for cheap $ on sale. I didn't use the plastic bases, just the bare wires out of the bulb. They work great for the larger buildings on my layout. I try to run 2 bare copper "buss" wires inside the building and just wrap the lamp leads around them and solder. The lamps I found were actually rated at 12V so I wired them in parallel. Sometimes the "no-load" AC output of a transformer is more like 16 to 20 volts on the accessory terminal so be sure you have a decent load (# of lamps) or use a lower voltage power supply.
I've accumulated dozens of "wall warts" plug in transformers from such things as cordless phones and answering machines. These have lots of different outputs from around 3V to 12V AC and DC and are handy for low-draw applications.
Those little lamps sure add up though. I have a Union Station that I put lighted platforms on, a total of of about 20 FEET of platform sheds and all the lights in them runs about 6 AMPS!!! (about 50 lights)

[medic_149]

What I did on My xmas layout, was to go to radio shack. I got the 6 volt bulbs in a a pack of six bases for about 2 dollars, and bought the bulbs in 2 packs for about 1.50. I use 20 lights on my layout, ran me around 25 dollars plus the wire. I soldered the wire directly to the base prongs. Ran these of 2 old power packs. The trick is in the wiring. If you run them in a series, each one will draw off the next, thus reducing the power. Just dont try to wire to many off one power pack, as they will cause it to over heat and shut down. Hope this helps some--medic