Non-layout use for ho street lamp?

[wdcrvr]

I have been following the recent thread on "street lamps" and I would like to know if someone could tell me how to rig up a single lamp to light up the inside of a small nativity structure (not part of a layout).  I thought I could possibly just use part of an old christmas tree light string, but I think the bulbs would be too big and I don't know enough to make sure what I made was safe.  Any help out there?

Thanks

wdcrvr

[chutton01]

Long time ago, when I was a kid, we used to run the last light bulb from the lowest light string on the tree right thru a hole in the back of the creche's stable. Hey, it worked OK.

Surely there will be better suggestions, but 1 white LED + wire + 1KΩ resistor + 9V battery; then taping the LED to the top of the stable is one simple method. (too bad Radio Shacks are hard to find nowadays, they were great in the day for picking up a 9V battery connector to make wiring easy, as well as small packs of LEDs).

[BroadwayLion]

LION could give no better answer than that.

ROAR

[chutton01]

BroadwayLion

LION could give no better answer than that.

Brother Elias, both King of the Jungle AND Master of scrounging and fabricating useful and interesting items has no better answer?  I am stunned
I thought about this some more, and perhaps came up with an easier if not cheaper method - something along the lines of Party Dot lights, small (<1"), fairly inexpensive, stick them to the interior ceiling of the Stable, no wiring involved. Not sure of battery life. There are probably similar novelty lights you can use for this purpose, maybe you have some at home already (although please, show a bit of respect - nice steady light, don't use the flashing mode)

[gmpullman]

chutton01

There are probably similar novelty lights you can use for this purpose

I thought about that and remembered the LED "tea lights" and looked up those and came across these which seem to be pretty bright and maybe a tad smaller:

http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Waterproof-Wedding-Underwater-36/dp/B0040ICQVO/ref=sr_1_8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1451428375&sr=1-8&keywords=led+tea+lights

Browse around, there are dozens more that are similar and in different colors.

Have fun! Ed

[chutton01]

Believe it or not (well, it's not that hard to believe), but the party dots lights I linked to (which are designed to fit in medium sized balloons) are smaller:
Party Dots: 7/8" in diameter x 1/2" high
Tea lights: 1-1/4" diameter x 1" high

Either way, these small, self-contained lights may be useful for other things (what, I'm not sure yet, but you never know).

'Tis the Golden Age of small yet bright lights!

[cowman]

If you do  have a model street lamp that you want to use, you could cut a hole in the back of the structure to pass the light and reflector portion through and hook it up to a power pack.  One from a set would have plenty of power.  If the back of the structure is visible, a pole on the outside of the structure should  not look too out of place, as long as you block the hole so no light shines through.

If  your street light is straight, paint it to look like a support post, add to it if necessary so that the light is up and out of sight.

Good luck,

Richard

[hon30critter]

wdcrvr:

Here is a battery holder with an off/on switch:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2-AA-2A-Battery-Holder-Box-Case-With-Switch-EE4069-/261668471290?hash=item3ceca801fa:g:Px4AAOSwofxUbN59

It would power 1 or 2 LEDs for quite a while. No resistors required, but you might want to dim the light with a resistor to make it more realistic. A common source of light back then was an oil lamp which would have likely been on a bracket or a shelf close to eye level. I suspect that the lights would not have been up at the ceiling because of the low output and the fire hazard.

Small pre-wired LEDs are easy to get:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-pcs-Pre-Wired-Warm-White-0603-SMD-LEDs-Lighting-Kits-Pre-soldered-Micro-LEDs-/252194343572?hash=item3ab7f44a94:g:BFIAAOSwYaFWcrqy

Dave