# Lights ! Camera! Action!



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

'Who is putting lights in their buildings?

What are you using for Pwoer?

If you are suing Solar What brand? 

Where did you get it.?

JJ


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

I have lights in several of my buildings and will eventually have lights in all of them. Originally I was using grain of rice bulbs, but had too much trouble with them burning out prematurely despite being operated at a lower voltage then they were rated for. So now I'm gradually switching over to LEDs.

Power is provided by a regulated power supply. The one I use is Pyramid brand, and has adjustable output between 6-15vdc. I keep it set at about 10v.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

I have lights in all my buildings.

Here they are together:





Closeups of the lighted windows:



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Like Ray, I am using LEDs for the lights. I buy them in bulk from eBay, fitted with resistors for 12v and leads. I think the last time I bought them I paid $20 for 100 warm whites set up that way. 

The only slight difficulty with them is that LEDs are very directional, so it takes more of them than it does incandescents to light a similar space. For instance, in one of my early tests, I was using a 12v car tail lamp--and it was way overkill. With LEDs, some of my two-story buildings have 10 or twelve to get a good visual impact.

I also am running them off of a regulated supply. In the town, this feeds to the first building and then daisychains through the rest.

A couple things to consider for more realistic lighting: be sure to seal the building seams against light leaks. Nothing kills the realism of a light building than light coming out under the eaves or at a corner. Some of the kits have thin enough walls that the whole building gives off a glow--another impediment to realism, unless you're modeling some radioactive, post atomic war dystopia. I have taken to lining my buildings with aluminum foil, which is guaranteed not to leak light, and then painting it white to avoid having it look like the entire inside is lined with mirrors.

Also, consider blocking off some windows and leaving them dark. It's uncommon for every room in a building to be lighted, so a few dark windows here and there adds to the realism (IMO)

Finally, be sure to put some lights on the outsides of the buildings, either with LEDs of grain-of-wheat bulbs. Most buildings aren't just lighted from the inside, they have a light on the loading dock, by the door, etc.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

A few more





I'm especially fond of this switch tower--it's right near the front of the layout and has a fully-detailed interior. I think it looks neat night or day when you can look inside and see the timetable on the desk, the cup of pens/pencils and the desk lamp.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Back in my college days I worked with Lucite rods and light. Fiber optics were in their infancy and I experimented.
I used to heat a rod and ball up an end. Lightly sanding the 'bead' gave a diffused light. How about drilling into a bead and gluing in your LEDs?
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=32348&catid=441
3/8" is their smallest.
Frosted glass lights were every where in my youth. I'm thinking a heavyish frosting where the LED is aimed should bounce the light around. Tumbling in sand could/should do them in mass.
My critters tuck their napkins in their collars when I serve such delicious fare!
John


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## AppleYankee (Jan 3, 2008)

I use LEDs.

My indoor layout is DCC. I've built small circuits consisting of a bridge rectifier and a voltage divider to supply power to the LED's. Those circuits are connected to my DCC bus and supply between 8 to 10 volts of DC to the LEDs.


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## Naptowneng (Jun 14, 2010)

I'm working that same issue now JJ. I bought a roll of 600 LEDS warm white from ebay around$14 or so. They are designed for 12V, and can be cut into groups of 3. I am putting them into coaches, then plan to put them in buildings. Coaches get 12V from A23 battery, buildings will get 12V from garden light transformer. I have done a solar light installation, using cheap ones from HD, then taking them apart and using them in fixtures. They work but the wiring and boards are very fragile, so for other then fixtures, I plan to use the 12V LEDs as they are more robust

Jerry

Jerry


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

I use only solar powered LEDs from cheap lawn set from good ol' Harbor Freight. They normally sell 10 for $30, but they're on sale 2-3 times a year for $20 a set.










This is similar, although the HF units use AAA batteries. Once installed I don't normally have to attend to them for about two years, until the battery dies. Worse comes to worse, I buy more of the HF sets just for the rechargeable batteries ($2/each). (Here where we get serious winters, my buildings are stored indoors for half the year. Your mileage may vary.)

I find that the solar panels can be easily glued inside a window of a building to light the LED for most of the overnight. From the outside, it looks merely like it's the window of a dark room.


I use four of them to backlight my switch controls:











A few weeks ago I was in a local Dollar General store looking for a cheap calculator (never found one yet that gave me an incorrect total - except when balancing my checkbook. They never get THAT right.) I found almost identical poke-in-the-ground solar lights for a buck apiece. How could I refuse, if only for the batteries. Worth a try.

Far as I go, it beats running wires all over the place.

JackM


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## Sjoc78 (Jan 25, 2014)

JackM, if you have a Dollar Tree near you try them for solar lights. You'll save a buck per light and if you are just tearing them apart it doesn't matter that they are often holiday themed. Those are the lights I've been using, they are nice and when painted even sort of look like over sized street lamps.


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## Dick Friedman (Aug 19, 2008)

Start with what you've got. <G> I started by using my outdoor light set transformers and wiring. Tapped into the line, and then used Radio Shack E10 base 14v bulbs. Since 12 came out of the outdoor light sets, they were not as bright as 12v bulbs but last a really long time! I've gone to LEDs with screw in bases, they work fine but are direcitional. 
I also found some bayonet base bulbs that fit in the Malibu light sets. There are many LEDs on the plug in stick, so they give off light in every direction, and the run on the AC put out by the transformer.

Haven't had much luck with solar powered lights, as they just don't seem bright enough.


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## Rod Fearnley (Jan 2, 2008)

I do. I run all my lighting on the RR with two Malibu garden lighting transformers, the kind with a twice in 24 hour on and off clock. I. Used to use incandescent lamps, but am now all LED's. One thing that I did find early on. The tails on LED's will corrode very quickly and cease working or go dim. My solution to that was to spray the whole group with clear auto lacquer. 
One other thing that might help. I found some had a dimple inside that concentrated the beam to about the size of a Quarter. But, if I cut back into the LED to take out the "lens" I then had a more dispersed light. I used a cut off disc in a Dremel for that.


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