Thanks to all of you, I have a nicely running DCC Layout. My Youngstown and Pennsyltucky RR is built into an L shaped Bar for the man cave in my basement. Any suggestions on best method for lighting buildings and hints to make them realistic looking? Also, how many LED or GOW bulbs can I connect together using a 16 volt DC power supply...Considering using toggle switces to turn on groups of lights in parrallel. Any help appreciated. Thanks
I model in HO, but for this question there is little difference. Bulbs are bulbs, LEDs are LEDs, volts are volts and to get to your question, amps are amps.
I use 16-volt incandescent bulbs from Miniatronics. I like the warm glow of incandescent bulbs, and the uniform light distribution they provide, for my Transition Era layout. LEDs are much more efficient, but their light is more white and blue, in general, and LEDs typically form a beam of light rather than a sphere of illumination.
I build an interior structure for most of my buildings:
This one is more elaborate than most. I built a grid of rooms for this hotel, and put in a total of 6 lights, not all visible here. This let me light up some rooms and leave others dark, which always gives a more realistic effect.
Although these are 16-volt bulbs, I run them at 12 volts. This gives a softer, warmer glow, and greatly extends bulb life. It also produces less heat, which I've never had a problem with but it's worth considering anyway. Each of these bulbs takes about 30 milliamps. When looking at a power supply, the current rating in amps is what you need to consider when deciding how much you can do with it. I could run 100 of these 30 milliamp bulbs with a single 3 amp (3000 milliamp) supply.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Unless you can find inverted cone LEDs that radiate light in a 360 degree pattern and not as a point source, and in a suitable color, incandescent bulbs are still a much better choice for interior lighting.
The cone type are usually found in the holiday light strings. Which, knowing most stores, should be appearing on shelves about now. Warm white for incadescent and cool whites for a building that would be lit with flourescent bulbs. Both types are usually available, in addition to multicolor ones.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
[quote user="caboose62"]
...Also, how many LED or GOW bulbs can I connect together using a 16 volt DC power supply...
The answer to that depends on the current draw of the globes you are using and the output of the transformer. If you have a 1 amp transformer, then 20mA LEDs will allow you to put 50 LED's on your circuit in parallel, wheras you might only be able to put say 10-15 globes on the same transformer output.
I have read the other replies and my only concern is more the presence of heat even on a micro level from globes on the areas the globes will be lighting up. Warm white LED's are good and using a slightly higher resistance will dim those down.
If you would like a more detailed explanation, let me know,
Regards from Australia
Trevor
Yep, lots of cone reflector LEDs in your stores now. Don't forget to get both Cool White and Warm White, as that helps vary the appreance of lighting that varies according to the lamp used. I generally like to check for ease of "harvesting" the bulbs. Most pop right out, but sometimes there seems to be a little glue used for some reason. Lots to choose from, so if they don't work for you, check another store's supply.
Trevor brings up a point that's rather more important in N scale -- heat. Close to none for a LED, while a bulb, even a small one, can put out a lot of heat that, when confined to a small structure, can cause problems. Bulb life can be a problem, although you can make structures so they can be reopened to deal with burn outs. On the other hand, LEDs are virtually forover in layout use, esepcially if you use lots of resistance to run them dim. I generally still have access to structures I build, but it is nice that you can just seal them up and not worry over them being inaccessible.
If your LED installs don't use lots of resistance, you will end up with unnatural lighting -- or maybe movie set lighting? Lighting buildings is a good way to use all those oddball resistors, too, as this also varies the light output.
I run my LED structure lighting on 3 volt power supplies. Links and info about those and lots more lighting info are in my thread here: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/213765.aspx?page=1
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I use inexpensive white leds used for christmas tree in guirland.
They are inexpensive if you consider a 200 leds guirland for an average 25$ or for me 20 euros. I buy them after the christmas time and new year night, so they are given at low price.
Some of these christmas led are offered whith a yellow light color and other whith the pure white led light. Try to use the yellow as possible.
These leds need a resistor and some soldering to work, but anyway you need to do it whith any led.
In the pictures following a pure white led was used to light this small Nscale wood structure (Branchline Trains, mills model).
This led was painted whith Testor Model Master enamel "yellow chromate", it's a dense colour.
I used a 520ohm 1/4 watts to use it under 12VDC, but it's lighted on the layout whith a 6 volts DC transformer.
On the picture were the model is unfinished whith just the wall and floor attached the led was used under 12 volts, of course to much light, but this picture was used for a modeling article in a Belgian train magazine.
The one whith the small figures on the first floor is lighted whith 6 Volts.
These give the old yellow light which was found in the 20's-30's, the period I model.
The pictures explain and show the result much more I can
Marc,
I really like the neat little mount for the LED -- just a round hole, LEDs glued in and it even lights up two floors, but with different amounts of light. It's win, win, win
Thanks for all the info now let me pay it forward as it were. I scratch built street lights and can show you all how I did it, but I dont know how to attach a video within the MR forums. Also, my street lights are for N scale and the height is adjustable, so what would be N scale normal height. I am making mine 2 inches tall but I could reduce that to 1.75 if needed. My street lights cost approximately $2.50 each and the biggest expense is the miniatronics bulb is 2.00 for each street light. Anyone want to see how I did it so cheap, let me know. Thanks
In the Reply form just above where you type in your message are three blocks, each with three different symbols in them. In the center block are the Links (for adding cliackable URLs), the small picture (where you upload a link to an image file), and a small film frame with a Play triangle symbol in the middle. That last one is what you use to enter a video link.