Intreior lighting 101 ?

[UNCLEBUTCH]

I decided to learn about adding lights to some buildings. I'm comfortable with the mounting,hiding wires, soldering ect.

Dave and Mel both, offered advice but I need help to put it where I can understand

What I need help with is power sorce,wireing and volts and stuff.

Lets say; I get a bundle of GOW bulbs from MM.  12/14v  AC/DC  .o75amp.

Can I run them with an DC power pack,I have some old tyco, and a newer pack,[ I can'tget to it right now to tell you more.]

If I run 4 lamps; Do I need 48v or 12v ?

Can I wire like a house;  A main line and then branch off 2 wires for each lamp ?

How many lamps on a run?

My trains run on DCC

Thanks

[7j43k]

UNCLEBUTCH

I decided to learn about adding lights to some buildings. I'm comfortable with the mounting,hiding wires, soldering ect.

Dave and Mel both, offered advice but I need help to put it where I can understand

What I need help with is power sorce,wireing and volts and stuff.

Lets say; I get a bundle of GOW bulbs from MM.  12/14v  AC/DC  .o75amp.

Can I run them with an DC power pack,I have some old tyco, and a newer pack,[ I can'tget to it right now to tell you more.]

yes

 

If I run 4 lamps; Do I need 48v or 12v ?

you would only need that 48v if they were in series.  which isn't a good idea.  so 12v is the answer

Can I wire like a house;  A main line and then branch off 2 wires for each lamp ?

Yup.  That's a parallel system.  just supply it with 12v and connect one wire from a light to one "feeder", and the other wire to the other "feeder".  If you supply a lower voltage, maybe because you've got a "speed control", the lights will get dimmer (maybe that's good, maybe not) and last longer (always good).

How many lamps on a run?

About as many as you want, as long as your power supply can supply the current.  if each bulb draws .075amps, just multiply it out.  10 lights would be .75amp.  You'll need a power supply that can deliver that.

You generally want the "feeder" wires as big as possible, within reason.  Probably somewhere between 18ga and 12ga, depending on how many lights you're running and how far it is from the power supply to the lights.

My trains run on DCC

Since your lights will be an independant system, that doesn't matter.

 

 

Ed

[RR_Mel]

With the exception of my houses that use random lighting I parallel all my lights just like regular full size houses.  I use 12 to 14 volt incandescent Grain of Wheat bulbs (GOW).  I reduce the lamp voltage to 70% or about 8½ volts, can be AC or DC, I use DC.  Using reduced voltage makes the lighting more scale realistic and they last much longer.  I haven’t had a GOW fail in over 15 years running them at 70% voltage.

 

I wouldn’t use more than 12 volts on my layout, I’m clumsy and if something could go wrong it would go wrong and that would be a disaster.

 

Over the years I’ve used several different power sources from old power packs to transformers purchased from electronic parts stores, 12 volt DC power supplies with external adjustable voltage regulators.  Regulators create heat so that was a no go.

 

About a year ago I found the DC to DC switching converters that are super efficient, almost no heat even at full load.  Switching power supplies are available at 5 to 24 volts with 5 to 30 amps for under $20.

 

I bought 8 amp Converters off eBay for under $5.  They have two adjustable pots, one for current and one for voltage adjust.  All of the switching power supplies have a auto shutdown for their protection.

 

I use micro connectors on everything to ease installation and maintenance.

 

The bulb current adds in parallel, I use 40ma to 100ma 12 volt bulbs.

 

The wiring is super simple, positive and negative from the 12 volt power supply to the input terminals on the converters and positive and negative to the lights.

 

The DC to DC converters are available off eBay for under $5 from China and under $9 State side.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-DC-CC-CV-Buck-Converter-Step-down-Power-Module-7-32V-to-0-8-28V-12A-300W/173058862829?hash=item284b1caeed:g:EhsAAOSwg8taRGRO

 

Power supplies are available State side for $11 to $20, and from China for almost the same price.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT20-12V-DC-30A-120-360W-Regulated-Switching-Power-Supply-for-LED-Strip-Light-K/323012741917?hash=item4b350f4b1d:m:mY69EqJs-qoxOazuvzs5r2g

 

I scratch build most of my buildings and install the GOW bulbs as I go.  For multiple floor buildings each floor is removable and has micro connectors installed with wires permanently attached to the walls and floors.  The connectors are glued in place so that the floor sections just plug in, no dangling wires.

 

 

The picture above shows the floor sections with bulb and connectors installed. The U section on the right is a removable porch roof with three GOWs and their connector.  This house has individual wiring to each bulb so that each room and porch light can be controlled be an Arduino Random Light Controller.

 

For the structures that do not need individual room light control I use two pin micro connectors for each section and all the wiring is paralleled.

 

I modified this house to use magnets to secure the roof after a member of the forum said how well it works, the only way to go.

 

Thanks gmpullman, Ed.

 

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

[UNCLEBUTCH]

Thanks guys, I'm starting to see the light, Just a little more please

 I got 3 DCpower packs

Tyco 895  17VDC  18VAC

Tyco 899  18VDC  9VA  20VAC

MRC Tech II  20VDC  16.5VAC  20.5VDC  16VA

Witch if any would you use?  AC or DC? If I use the track terms.will the speed control, control the Vs to the lights for DC

[richg1998]

With these packs, use DC. Set the throttle to zero. Attach the lights. Hook up a multi-meter on DC to the wires. Slowly increase the speed until you see nine volts DC and you like the glow. Put a stop on the front of the power pack.

The AC is not adjustable. Also, with the required load on the AC, the actual voltage will be lower. The voltage can be higher with no load.

I did that many years ago for a small layout.

Edit.

 No idea if you have a meter. The link below show you what I use I have four Harbor Freight meters for some years.

as an extra, they read about 13.6 VAC on my NCE Power Cab.

http://www.trainelectronics.com/Meter_Workshop/index.htm

http://www.trainelectronics.com/Meter_HF/index.htm

Downside of these meters is they do not read AC current. For that I run the AC current through a 01. Ohm resistor 1% - 5W and measure the voltage across the resistor. Ohms laws does the rest.

Rich