Newbie Questions about wiring lights, etc.

[Anonymous]

Just built an overhead track that goes around my son's ceiling in his room (he's only 3 months old :) )...got dcc and control it remotely....just finished the project and would like to add some "flair" to the project over time by adding lights, lamp posts, etc. If possible, can someone give me some basic guidance....

here are my questions...

what wattage bulbs can i use? i may want to eventually build my own light fixtures....

how do i hook up the lights or bulbs? can i just hook up the wires directly to the track (center and outside rail)? what's the best way to hook up the wires (solder? clips?) what type of wire do i use (18gauge, 20 gauge?)

i don't really care about dimming the lights which i understand i can do with the mth dcc controller with the accessory interface.....i just want lights around the room when i turn the power on...

also, i like to read up on this as well as find out much more about the hobby....if you can provide links, recommended readings, etc, i'd greatly appreciate it.

thanks in advance...

rg

[Anonymous]

Hmm..could always buy a cheap powersupply to run just the light show, that way you could turn them on and off independently of the track without having to resort to DCC stationary decoders and you could still use standard lighting techinques without worrying about blowing the bulb on one of those Streetlamps from too much track power.

without knowing the length of the run from the powerpack to the furthest point for a light, I can't give you the best guage for the wire, but 18 should be sufficiant for any modestly sized room.

[Anonymous]

sorry, not dcc, meant dcs, the mth remote thing....

anyway, the layout is an approximate 8x12 oval....and i have power going to 2 points in the track, probably 3 when i get another clip ....

i have a transformer going from the outlet to the TIU then to the track (fixed output).....

but one of the rollling stock i have has a light, and it seems like its a normal bulb....but any idea on how many watts are constantly going through the track?

thanks for the input, i'll try and use 18 gauge, but i'd prefer to use smaller wire for cosmetic reasons... i can hook it up directly from the track to the light, no?

thanks again

rg

[Anonymous]

A simple light system with DCC can be made using track power and 12 volt lamps, or lower voltage lamps in series. Going around the room really needs a bus (two wires under the layout to supply power) and not depend on the track alone to carry power to the train. So you hook your lights to the bus. The bus can be 14 gauge wire and hook to the track every 6 feet or so. Max # of lights depend on the output of you power supply and wattage of the lights and how hungry your loco is. While automotive bulbs can be used they are of high wattage and will suck too much power and generate too much heat. I have seen automotiv dash lights melt holes in styrene buildings. Use grain of wheat for most lights. http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=320200&item=LP-10&type=store has some reasonable lamps as well as your local radioshack store and most hobby shops. How many lamps can you run? Rule of thumb says hook them up until something happens. Most DCCs have overload protection so it should be safe. As a rule if the lights get dimm and stay that way when the loco is running you have too many lights. Most dcc have 6 amp power supplies so if you give 1 to the loco and use 60 ma lamps you could run 80 lamps, but in real life maybe 1/2 so 40 grain of wheats. That's lots of lights! FRED

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the best option would be to get a cheap 12V power supply and run the lights from that.. Most lamps used in modeling ate either 1.5 or 12V. 12V lamps usually draw apout 50ma or so. That means you could run 20 lamps with a 1 Amp supply. At those low currents you don't need to worry about wire size. 18GA is OK.

Regards;
Ken