traffic lights

[ccg]

I have several street intersections on my ho scale layout that need traffic signals.  I am using an allen bradley plc 5-30 computer to control all of my interior and exterior ligthing, so I don't need the traffic signal controller for the traffic lights. My question is, where can I find a realistic looking signal, and do these signals have seperate wiring for each lamp that can be wired into my computer. The last question is, what is the voltage of these lights.

thanx ccg

[nedthomas]

Walthers sells several styles. They are all LED so any voltage with the proper resistor will work.

[MisterBeasley]

This photo shows two of the Walthers units:

The hanging light across the street is a single-face unit.  The slightly out-of-focus model in the right foreground is two-sided, with the lights facing 180 degrees from each other.  They also make a 4-sided hanging unit.  The single-faced hanging unit in the picture does not come with the poles.  I made those from coffee stirrers, washers and nail heads for the top.

These two units each have 4 wires - common, red, yellow and green.  I would assume that the 4-sided model would have 7 wires, but I don't have one of those.  The 4-sided one has a very modern-looking pole, which wouldn't fit my layout at all.

I tried using an inexpensive traffic light driving circuit from BakaTronics.  The circuit was fine, but it would not drive the Walthers lights.  The BakaTronics circuit is common-cathode, while the Walthers lights are common-anode.  I ended up buying the Walthers controller, which works fine.  In the instructions, it says it will drive 2 intersections, which I assume means 8 faces total.  I've got 6 faces on it now, and it works fine.  The Walthers controller does not include a power supply, and it needs something odd, like 18 volts.  Ah, the virtues of 60-year-old Lionel transformers...

The controller and some of the traffic light models are on sale at Walthers right now.  I get the flyer every month, and these all go on sale periodically, so if you can wait them out you will eventually get them on sale.

[rrinker]

 We have some operating ones on the RCT&HS modular layout, you can see them in this video. Not sure who makes the signals, the lights are LEDs so standard LED wiring rules apply - droppign resistors based on the voltage output of the controller. Yes they are a little crooked from the modules being transported, didn't notice it until after I shot the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYncaa8bEBg

                 --Randy