I am considering using the Just Plug for lighting my roundhouse. I saw where a person ran two brass rods connecting LEDs in parallel. I was wondering if the Light Hub could support 6 leds in parallel on one port and if one light hub could support all four ports doing the same. A large building such as a roundhouse would use a bunch of hubs if you could only use one LED per port and would, to me, be price prohibitive. Has anybody tried this? Thanks.
Hi, Don
It may be more economical for you to look into some of the LED strip lights that can be cut into lengths as needed, by groups of three.
If soldering is a problem, I believe there are screw-on terminals for them, maybe.
I use these often for larger structures.
This is just a "temporary" demonstration example. I usually run a strip of styrene to attach the peel-&-stick backing to.
Resistors are already in the tape so you only have to supply your own 12V DC to power them.
300 LEDs for under $10...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01339F06I?psc=1
Shop around, there are dozens of styles, colors and voltages.
Good Luck, Ed
Ed, Thank you for your reply. The strips may be the way I go. Soldering is not an issue, my OCD is. I was visualizing all of the light hubs mounted in military precision, with the cables neatly laced and routed. Plus the bonus of the dimmers. Just Play has some limitations, one LED per port, two foot cables, and connectors that require a large hole in the building. I am a novice using LEDs but the roundhouse would require far too many lights to use incandescent bulbs due to the heat I suspect that they would generate.
Like Mel, I used incandescent grain of wheat lamps to illuminate all the platforms in my Union Station. By the time I was done the total current draw was around 6-½ amps! I did something like you described by running stiff brass wire the length of the platforms and spacing the lamps about every five inches of run.
You can still be obsessive about installing the strips in a neat and orderly fashion and some of them are dimmable so you can dial in the degree of illumination you want. Watch for the color temperature and look for warm white or somewhere near 2700°K color temperature.
I sometimes use a reflective foil that is available in home centers. It is very shiny, very thin and very sticky but really helps prevent light leaks, too. Great on the underside of passenger car roofs.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Nashua-Tape-1-89-in-x-50-yd-322-Multi-Purpose-HVAC-Foil-Tape-1207792/100030120
They are a little trickier to work with but lately I have been using these fine strings of LEDs that are encapsulated in clear epoxy. The insulation is a pain to strip off and you have to calculate the resistor best suited for them but the end result is nice for what was known as "festoon" lighting. They are great for simulating rows of lamps.
I discovered these about two years ago when my son gave me a set as a gift.
I cut the string to the length I want, remove the third copper wire that is twisted in with the pair then straighten out the LEDs so they all point in the right direction.
Here's an example of the size of the LED that is cemented into the blob.
I used them to illuminate this pipe corridor near my steel mill. And this pedestrian overpass:
Have fun! Ed