Basement Lighting????????

[selector]

Thank-you, Wayne, for your highly informative post.

Getting closer to the topic, , I agree that a suspended or finished ceiling is very important.  If nothing else, spread old white sheets above the layout and staple or tack them to the joists.  It will brighten things up nicely.   The neat part is that every four years you can remove the staple and launder the ceiling.

[doctorwayne]

  I agree that a suspended or finished ceiling is very important.  If nothing else, spread old white sheets above the layout and staple or tack them to the joists.  It will brighten things up nicely.   The neat part is that every four years you can remove the staple and launder the ceiling.

Many modellers are too eager to get their layout set up, and neglect room preparation.  Proper finishing of the train room, especially in basements, attics, and garages can go a long way to adding to your enjoyment of the hobby.  A finished room means less (or no) track cleaning, and a cleaner layout over-all, and just a nicer environment in which to enjoy your trains.  And regardless of where your layout is located, good lighting will make your layout look better, both in person and in photos.  It will help you to do better quality work, too, on your benchwork, trackwork, and scenery, and once you've done that work and just want to relax and enjoy running trains, you'll be able to see the fruits of your labour. 

Wayne

[aav]

  I agree that a suspended or finished ceiling is very important.  If nothing else, spread old white sheets above the layout and staple or tack them to the joists.  It will brighten things up nicely.   The neat part is that every four years you can remove the staple and launder the ceiling.

Many modellers are too eager to get their layout set up, and neglect room preparation.  Proper finishing of the train room, especially in basements, attics, and garages can go a long way to adding to your enjoyment of the hobby.  A finished room means less (or no) track cleaning, and a cleaner layout over-all, and just a nicer environment in which to enjoy your trains.  And regardless of where your layout is located, good lighting will make your layout look better, both in person and in photos.  It will help you to do better quality work, too, on your benchwork, trackwork, and scenery, and once you've done that work and just want to relax and enjoy running trains, you'll be able to see the fruits of your labour. 

Wayne

           I have to agree with you on that, i'm not doing anything with the layout until i'm done with the basement.  I dismanteled my last layout in '99 when we bought this house and i've been armchairin' ever since, so what's a few more months?  I gutted the basement last year and opted to leave the ceiling (it's 3/8 plaster board with 1/4 plaster finish) i'm cutting holes to run lighting circuits and other wire and i'm putting a drop ceiling by the workbench area where i have plumbing valves i'll need access to.  I've been a drywaller by trade for 21 yrs. now so this is cake work.

           I've learned alot about the different types of light and their effects by reading these posts.  Now if i can just get my lazy butt back down there i'll be in good shape 

           Doctorwayne, from the pictures i've seen you do great work and the layout looks excellent!      

[TheHeretic]

Ok those using flourescants, here is something you can do.  I know as I have done it many many times.  I am a lighting engineer for concert touring and I have done a lot of shows like this.

There are plenty of gel colors that you can use to make anything you want to 5300K which is about sunlight to those that will make it 3200K which is usually incandesacents.  There are primarily 3 companies that have this.  Lee, Rosco, and Gam.  There are others.   To be honest its been about 5 years since I have done the corporate shows so I do not remember the numbers. 

But if you want fluorescent fixtures, and I would as the temps are decent when you gel them and the cost is below the incadescants, then by all means look at their sites.  There is plenty to do with gel. 

And to answer somebodys question they are about 4-5 bucks a sheet which is about 20"x24".  Or you can buy full rolls which are, I think, 3'x25'.  To any size you may need.  And to find thes you can look in your yellow pages for Theater supply houses.  Most carry or they will be able to point you to them.  

And one reason why I am hazy on them is that I do moving lights and powers systems anymore.  Its been a while.   I like to play with 208v 3 phase systems with lots of power anymore!!

I will attempt to look and find some for you.  After all I do have the swatch books in the garage but that is more than a few steps from where I am at now.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Dean 

[stebbycentral]

I have a relatively small layout and I get good even coverage from three halogen puck lights spaced about 3ft apart and 4ft off the layout surface.  I did try LED puck lights once, and got three separate shafts of light.  My son said the layout looked like a scene from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"

[doctorwayne]

           Doctorwayne, from the pictures i've seen you do great work and the layout looks excellent!      

Thanks, "aav", but there are still lots of unfinished areas to be seen.  If your "lazy butt"     is still sitting in front of the computer, here's a

Layout (room) tour...with lots of photos if you'd care to take a look.

Wayne

[rrebell]

I like my track lighting and screw in florescents as the are dirt cheap and you can add filters to color correct and bring in portables for your professional photography.

[rrebell]

Ok those using flourescants, here is something you can do.  I know as I have done it many many times.  I am a lighting engineer for concert touring and I have done a lot of shows like this.

There are plenty of gel colors that you can use to make anything you want to 5300K which is about sunlight to those that will make it 3200K which is usually incandesacents.  There are primarily 3 companies that have this.  Lee, Rosco, and Gam.  There are others.   To be honest its been about 5 years since I have done the corporate shows so I do not remember the numbers. 

But if you want fluorescent fixtures, and I would as the temps are decent when you gel them and the cost is below the incadescants, then by all means look at their sites.  There is plenty to do with gel. 

And to answer somebodys question they are about 4-5 bucks a sheet which is about 20"x24".  Or you can buy full rolls which are, I think, 3'x25'.  To any size you may need.  And to find thes you can look in your yellow pages for Theater supply houses.  Most carry or they will be able to point you to them.  

And one reason why I am hazy on them is that I do moving lights and powers systems anymore.  Its been a while.   I like to play with 208v 3 phase systems with lots of power anymore!!

I will attempt to look and find some for you.  After all I do have the swatch books in the garage but that is more than a few steps from where I am at now.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Dean 

Thanks for the info, havn't gottin around to the filters yet and as you said florescents are cheap, in California they are as little as 25 cents each and consume a fraction of the power and add very little heat.

[ramoutandabout]

Incandescents and hallogens use a lot of electricity, most of which is turned into heat, not light.  On the other hand flourescents cannot be dimmed.

If you fill the room with incandescents it is going to get hot in there.  I hope the space is air conditioned.

You can dim flourescent lights if they have electronic ballasts.  Electronic ballast fixtures are more effecient than standard flourescents - however electronic ballasts are more expensive, and I'm not sure but I think you have to buy special dimmers for them, too.

[BCSJ]

Ok those using flourescants, here is something you can do.  I know as I have done it many many times.  I am a lighting engineer for concert touring and I have done a lot of shows like this.

There are plenty of gel colors that you can use to make anything you want to 5300K which is about sunlight to those that will make it 3200K which is usually incandesacents.  There are primarily 3 companies that have this.  Lee, Rosco, and Gam.  There are others.   To be honest its been about 5 years since I have done the corporate shows so I do not remember the numbers. 

But if you want fluorescent fixtures, and I would as the temps are decent when you gel them and the cost is below the incadescants, then by all means look at their sites.  There is plenty to do with gel. 

And to answer somebodys question they are about 4-5 bucks a sheet which is about 20"x24".  Or you can buy full rolls which are, I think, 3'x25'.  To any size you may need.  And to find thes you can look in your yellow pages for Theater supply houses.  Most carry or they will be able to point you to them.  

And one reason why I am hazy on them is that I do moving lights and powers systems anymore.  Its been a while.   I like to play with 208v 3 phase systems with lots of power anymore!!

I will attempt to look and find some for you.  After all I do have the swatch books in the garage but that is more than a few steps from where I am at now.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Dean 

 

Dean,

Perhaps I'm wrong but those gels will eat a certain percentage of the light emitted by the fluorescents. If you want a 5000K light color isn't it easier (and cheaper) to simply buy tubes for your fixtures that are the right color?  A CRI85 T8 48" tube is going to run between $2 and $4 depending on manufacturer, quantity and where you buy 'em. A top of the line photo bulb such as the CRI905 Phillips TL-9550 will run between $5 and $9 depending on the quantity purchased and where (big box store don't carry them). Note however that super high CRI bulb don't put out as much light as their CRI85 cousins (the Sylvania 85CRI 4100K T8 bulbs I use are rated at 3000 lumens each. A TL950 is rated at 2000 iirc).

At $4 per gel and needing a bunch of 'em there should be money savings by using the right tubes in the first place? Plus with fluorescents having a non-continuous spectrum its possible that a gel simply may not work well with a particular bulb.

Or course I could be wrong.

Regards,

Charlie Comstock 

 

[Autobus Prime]

Folks:

I have a bunch of incandescent bulbs in porcelain sockets.  I was rewiring, I was in a hurry to do the living areas, and they were cheap.

When the temperatures drop below 60 outside (about 7 months of the year, I think), the seemingly wasted heat serves the very useful purpose of making the basement comfortable.

I picked up some 4 ft striplights on clearance and may install them some day to get more light.  I like regular fluorescents.  I'm not fond of CFLs for various reasons.

 

[Phoebe Vet]

You can get fluorescents that will screw into those incandescent sockets. You can even get them in daylight color.

[rrebell]

Ok those using flourescants, here is something you can do.  I know as I have done it many many times.  I am a lighting engineer for concert touring and I have done a lot of shows like this.

There are plenty of gel colors that you can use to make anything you want to 5300K which is about sunlight to those that will make it 3200K which is usually incandesacents.  There are primarily 3 companies that have this.  Lee, Rosco, and Gam.  There are others.   To be honest its been about 5 years since I have done the corporate shows so I do not remember the numbers. 

But if you want fluorescent fixtures, and I would as the temps are decent when you gel them and the cost is below the incadescants, then by all means look at their sites.  There is plenty to do with gel. 

And to answer somebodys question they are about 4-5 bucks a sheet which is about 20"x24".  Or you can buy full rolls which are, I think, 3'x25'.  To any size you may need.  And to find thes you can look in your yellow pages for Theater supply houses.  Most carry or they will be able to point you to them.  

And one reason why I am hazy on them is that I do moving lights and powers systems anymore.  Its been a while.   I like to play with 208v 3 phase systems with lots of power anymore!!

I will attempt to look and find some for you.  After all I do have the swatch books in the garage but that is more than a few steps from where I am at now.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

Dean 

 

Dean,

Perhaps I'm wrong but those gels will eat a certain percentage of the light emitted by the fluorescents. If you want a 5000K light color isn't it easier (and cheaper) to simply buy tubes for your fixtures that are the right color?  A CRI85 T8 48" tube is going to run between $2 and $4 depending on manufacturer, quantity and where you buy 'em. A top of the line photo bulb such as the CRI905 Phillips TL-9550 will run between $5 and $9 depending on the quantity purchased and where (big box store don't carry them). Note however that super high CRI bulb don't put out as much light as their CRI85 cousins (the Sylvania 85CRI 4100K T8 bulbs I use are rated at 3000 lumens each. A TL950 is rated at 2000 iirc).

At $4 per gel and needing a bunch of 'em there should be money savings by using the right tubes in the first place? Plus with fluorescents having a non-continuous spectrum its possible that a gel simply may not work well with a particular bulb.

Or course I could be wrong.

Regards,

Charlie Comstock 

 

Remember if the screw in fluorescent costs only 25 cents and you can get up to 8 filters per sheet and the track and fixtures are reel cheap, the cost is way less and those expensive bulbs don't last as long.