I ordered a "new" Woodlands Built and Ready structure but apparently it's a model prior to Just Plug/LED. All it says is 12V on a sticker. (I assume incandecsent). Is there any reason I can't just splice it into a Woodland's Light Hub and run it off of variable DC. My only concern is higher current draw if it's incandescent and if the hub can handle it.
Has anyone mixed Woodlands NOT Just plug with Just Plug. (they should have changed the model number when they went with LED). I really don't want to break into the inside of the model to convert it to LED if I don't have to.
I have a late Transition Era layout so I prefer the warmer look of incandescents to the harshness of LEDs. So, I have 12 VDC running all over my layout. I use 12 VDC power supplies I ordered online from China. Very reasonable, and they pay shipping.
It's a convenient voltage to have around. It runs my grade crossing flashers and gates directly, and with a resistor to step down the voltage I power my Miller Engineering signs as well. It would run Tortoise machines, too.
I think you will be OK running your bulb on variable DC if that's your preference.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Woodland Scenics notes a bit cryptically that Just Plug hubs are 'only for Just Plug products'. Since elsewhere they indicate that a maximum of 4 Just Plug LEDs can be connected (using the Port Sharing cable) this indicates that the actual capacity per port is limited, and indeed whether this is the suggested 16-20VAC or 24VDC maximum voltage, each of the ports is limited to 30ma. That is not much.
In any case you won't want to run a Light Hub off variable DC -- Woodland Scenics says you should use fixed power and only use the adjustment on the Light Hub for brightness. The cable to DCC 'relay' (I see this as part JP5760) is to be used to connect to a fixed source voltage only.
You can measure the expected current of the building by testing. Measure the building's electrical resistance across the connector wires (or by inserting pins in the connector holes). This divided by the voltage you measure across the pins in a Light Hub port turned on at 'full power' will give you an amp draw. If this does not exceed 30 ma I'd expect you could use the Light Hub to power it.
Someone here can confirm this, but I believe you can connect multiple ports to a load in parallel and get a higher aggregate amperage -- this is how some portable CD drives have to connect to earlier USB ports with amp restrictions, using a cable with multiple heads. You would need to have all the ports set to be on 'full' at the same time for best results with this. Even so, that's only 120ma or just over a tenth of an ampere...
Measure the results for the building, see how they match the Woodland Scenics data for the product, and then report what you find here.
Thanks, I don't think the Light Hub will power a 12V bulb since it's output ports go directly to low voltage LEDs. (since the LED's resistors/pots are in the hub).
I decided to use the Power Out port on the Expansion Hub which is 17 VAC auxillary output from my power pack. I used a 75 ohm resistor to drop it to 11.5 VAC. Works fine that way and IMHO look better then a LED.