9 volt power supply and 8 lights

[jmk3438]

Hey guys, i am hooking up 8 walthers street lamps and would like to know if connecting a 9 volt power supply at 300 Mamps would be ok.   I dont know the Mamps of the walthers but i am assuming its around 30 each..There all in parrallel, not series...  The required voltage on them are 12 volts max according to the instructions ....

 

thx

[rrinker]

 Yes/, if they are 30ma each. Current in parallel adds, so 8 lights would be 240ma.

          --Randy

 

[MisterBeasley]

I have a bunch of Walthers street lights.  I believe they are 16-volt bulbs.  I run mine at 12 volts, which gives a softer, warmer glow to them, and should greatly improve bulb life.  You may find that 9 volts is too dim.  Try one with a 9-volt battery or directly off your power supply before you put too much effort into wiring.

That is a pretty small supply.  There's nothing wrong with it, as it stands, but as your layout grows and you illuminate more structures and add more streetlights, you'll outgrow it.  I've already got 2 terminal strips covered with wall-warts and plugs, so I'd advise moving up to a much heftier supply next time.

Also, consider putting a fuse in the line.  You may have trouble finding one for 300 ma, but these supplies don't generally have breakers.  Most have a built-in fuse, but once it blows out the supply is only good for recycling.  That might happen if a couple of wires short under your layout, or if the circuit suffers from "mission creep" by adding more lights until it finally overloads.

[BroadwayLion]

Eh? LION has 45 platform edges on his layout. Each platform edge (station platform) has about 30 LEDs.

Ergo: You can NEVER have enough power on your railroad. Buildings, signals, turtles, relays: lots of power required, and I haven''t even begun to put light it the buildings. When the layout is done, it ought not be necessary to use the room lights at all!

ROAR