I thought I'd do a spin off of my Bar Mills - Sokol's Furniture and Mattress Company Build (http://modelersforum.com/index.php?topic=1528.0) thread and focus just on lighting the structure so here it is. :)
Once I had the walls of the structure joined together an evil plan started to formulate in my head on how I could light this puppy up. The roof of the structure (the white card in the picture below) drops down into place behind the cornice and rests on the bracing at the top of the walls. So I started by replicating the roof on some black matt board I picked up at an art supply store (Sam Flak's). I'm not sure exactly what it is, it's about 1/16" thick and very stiff.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115095914-10014438.jpeg)
I then trimmed 1/8" off the black matt board to account for the bracing. The way the walls were assembled included formers at odd angled joints that were glued just underneath the 1/8" bracing. These angled pieces gave the black matt board something to rest on at that end of the building. On the other end I glued a couple of pieces of bracing, diagonally, in each corner to give it something to rest on at that end. Here you can see the black matt board, in place, and how the roof will drop into place on top of it. There's a little clearance between the two for some low profile wiring.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115095915-100152353.jpeg)
And here's the roof in place.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115095915-100162055.jpeg)
I cut two more pieces of the black matt board to match the first and then trimmed off the corners so these two would clear the support pieces the top piece will rest on. For the bottom piece I also trimmed off a section to clear the wiring for some exterior lights that will be added at a later date.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115095915-100171426.jpeg)
Now it's time to start prepping for the lights. I start by marking the positive lead of the current limiters and LED's with a red Sharpie. I also test the LED's prior to marking each one.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115095915-10018916.jpeg)
I'm working on the lower card first. I had roughly marked where I want the LED's to be and drill holes for both them and the Current Limiters. I had a plan in my head as to how I want the circuit to run. More on that a little later. This is the first time I've ever used copper tape. I got some from our friend Slim at [img=http://microlumina.com/store/]http://Microlumina[/img]. 8) The tape is 1/8" in wide and I believe there's 55 yards on the roll. I laid the roll down flat on my work bench and was very, very careful with it. I've read horror stories about this stuff unspooling itself and becoming a real nasty mess.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100136-10019429.jpeg)
More in a few... :D
The copper tape has an adhesive backing. It can be a bit tricky to remove. I used the edge of an X-Acto blade to get in between the backing and the copper tape and separate the two.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100136-10020719.jpeg)
I then laid the tape out on the black matt board following the pattern I had devised in my head. I cover the holes I had pre drilled and then opened them up with the tip of the X-Acto knife afterwards.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100136-10021814.jpeg)
After all the tape was in place, and the Circuit Limiters and LED's were soldered in place, here's what the lower level circuit looked like from the top. I added some graphics to illustrate the flow of the current. The Positive leading into the circuit connects to the Positive lead of two Current Limiters. One branches to the left and one to the right. From there the Negative lead of each Current Limiter runs to the Positive lead of the first LED's in each series. The Negative lead of the first LED is then connected to the Positive lead of the next LED. All in all, each series has one Current Limiter (3 volts) and 3 LED's (3 Volts each) which means it will require a minimum of 12 volts to light the circuit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100136-10022919.jpeg).
By the way, where the positive and negative entry points are on the end of the card will be between two windows on the wall. I didn't want the wiring the will run from floor to floor to be visible through a window.
Here's the board from the other side. I let the LED's hang down pretty low because this 'ceiling', if you will, will be pretty far above the windows that are in the doors on the bottom level of the structure.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100137-10023965.jpeg)
For the lower level floor I had drilled the holes using a pin vise. When it came time to do the next two floors (which will have an identical lighting pattern) I decided to expedite the process and hold the two boards together and use a Dremel to drill the holes. There's absolutely nothing precise about this. I had marked where I wanted the LED's and Current Limiters to go with a pencil and simply drilled two holes in each spot, eyeballing everything as I went. The holes need to be approximately the same distance apart as the leads are on the component that will go in that spot.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100250-100241124.jpeg)
After finishing the second level floor I connected it to a power source to test it. Rats. On series of LED's didn't light up like I had expected them to.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100251-100252012.jpeg)
I'll cover trouble shooting and what I did wrong in my next post but, for now, that's enough for today. ;)
Wow. A build within a build...very informative!
John
Bob,
Wow, what a fantastic tutorial on the use and wiring of the copper tape. Beautiful job on the entire build.
Tom ;D
Quote from: Cuse on November 27, 2015, 08:14:26 AM
Wow. A build within a build...very informative!
John
Thanks John! It's all Slim's fault. 8) He's the one who convinced me I could do stuff like this. I don't particularly enjoy the wiring, soldering, etc. part of it but the end result really makes the extra effort worthwhile. :D
Quote from: ACL1504 on November 27, 2015, 10:22:36 AM
Bob,
Wow, what a fantastic tutorial on the use and wiring of the copper tape. Beautiful job on the entire build.
Tom ;D
Thanks Tom. I have a roll of that tape here for you. I hope this helps a little bit when you get to lighting up Delwin's. That's going to be something to see. :D
Which of Slim's 'current limiter' parts are you using? I've used a number from a package I bought a couple of years ago, but I thought they were only rated for 20 milliamps. It looks like those you're using can handle two strings of LEDs in parallel.
One of my projects for the roundhouse is a similar lighting design. So I'll be very interested in your debugging tips.
dave
Dare I say this? - That was a bright idea lighting the structure and you know I would not have led you blindly.
Really neat Bob. 8)
I agree! Very neat and informative. Thanks.
Quote from: jbvb on November 27, 2015, 05:48:32 PM
Which of Slim's 'current limiter' parts are you using? I've used a number from a package I bought a couple of years ago, but I thought they were only rated for 20 milliamps. It looks like those you're using can handle two strings of LEDs in parallel.
Hi James. We probably have the same Current Limiters. The one's I have are rated at 20 milliamps as well. For each current limiter I have maximum of three (sometimes I have only two) LED's following the Current Limiter in series. It may have been a little hard to decipher from my top down photo so here's a diagram from bottom showing the connections. There are two Current Limiters connected to a common positive feed. One for the series on the left and one for the series on the right.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115140016-100582498.jpeg)
I don't get any fancier than using small groupings like this. I have a Business Degree (Accounting) so this electrical stuff is not really my forte. If I can get it to work anyone should be able to. :D
Quote from: deemery on November 27, 2015, 08:14:43 PM
One of my projects for the roundhouse is a similar lighting design. So I'll be very interested in your debugging tips.
dave
Thanks Dave. I'll have them for you soon. I'm sure others will chime in with some useful information too! :D
Quote from: martin.ojaste on November 27, 2015, 10:26:08 PM
Dare I say this? - That was a bright idea lighting the structure and you know I would not have led you blindly.
Hi Martin. This one just cried out to be lit up. I have the inside pretty well covered. I'm pondering how much exterior lighting to add and how to go about it. :D
Quote from: GPdemayo on November 28, 2015, 09:24:23 AM
Really neat Bob. 8)
Thanks Greg. Hopefully you'll get to see it sometime in the near future. 8)
Quote from: Donato on November 28, 2015, 11:39:31 AM
I agree! Very neat and informative. Thanks.
Thanks Donato! I'm glad you're finding it informative.
I'm still waiting to hear what happened with that one circuit that wouldn't light...
Slim and I weren't able to connect on my short trip to Pittsburgh over Thanksgiving, so my (roundhouse lighting) parts "are in the mail."
dave
Quote from: deemery on November 29, 2015, 04:25:56 PM
I'm still waiting to hear what happened with that one circuit that wouldn't light...
Slim and I weren't able to connect on my short trip to Pittsburgh over Thanksgiving, so my (roundhouse lighting) parts "are in the mail."
dave
Okay Dave, :D here you go.
My 'debugging' process is as follows:
1. I take the handy, dandy little LED tester that I bought from Slim and attach a length of wire to it. I then touch test each LED in the series, one at a time, by touching the wire attached to the positive side of the tester to the copper tape on the positive side of the LED and, of course, the wire attached to the negative side of the tester to the copper tape on the negative side of the LED. If the LED lights up that tells me two things. First, I didn't cook the LED when I soldered it in place and, second, that my connections are sound.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-261115100251-10026914.jpeg)
2. Next I want to test to make sure the connections to the Current Limiter are sound. At this point I already know the first LED works so I remove the wire from the LED tester and take the tester off of my 9 volt battery. Using some clamps I connect the wire directly the battery posts. It then touch the wire attached to the positive side of battery to the copper tape on the positive side of the Current Limiter and the wire attached to the negative side of the battery to the copper tape on the negative side of the first LED in the series. If the LED lights up that confirms that my connections to the Current Limiter are sound, the Current Limiter is okay and didn't reverse it when I soldered it in place.
3. Test the entire series in a fashion similar to step number 2 but this requires more than a 9 volt battery when you do like I did and have three LED's in series with the Current Limiter. If the series works then the problem is something like what I did. ::)
My apologies, I forgot to take a "before" photo. Here's a photo of the circuit after I corrected the issue. The yellow circle indicates the repair I made. The red line indicates where had originally connected the negative lead of the last LED - right back to the positive line in. D'uh. The plan was in my head when I was wiring everything and I knew where it should go but I failed to execute and connected it to the nearest line.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183330-100821603.jpeg)
Using a hot glue gun I connected the three "ceilings" together.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183330-1008335.jpeg)
When I put the assembly in place I noticed that the lowest ceiling was clearly visible in the second floor windows. My measurements were off a wee bit. This was partly because the bottom of the second floor windows are almost at floor level in the overhang portion of the structure. There's not a lot of room for error.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183330-100841670.jpeg)
I broke down the assembly and, as luck would have it, noticed that where I cut the notches for the supports was perfect for allowing me to trim off the piece of bottom "ceiling" that was going to extend out over the overhang. I did that, which will allow me to drop this ceiling down a little lower and clear the bottom of the windows.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183330-100851661.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183330-10086706.jpeg)
More in a moment... :D
The ceiling is no longer visible in the window. :D
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183427-100871193.jpeg)
And here we are with the inside lit up. The window, which aren't in place, have been sprayed with DullCoat to dirty them up a bit.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-291115183427-100881399.jpeg)
I haven't started adding the exterior lights yet. Those will be a bit more challenging. I plan on adding three gooseneck lights over the large Sokol's sign and several under the canopies to light up the loading docks. Those will have to go thru the walls and I haven't quite worked out how I'm going to add them yet.
P.S. - I haven't fixed the 'light leaks' yet. That's on my radar too. 8)
Thanks for following along!
WOWSER. WOWSER,WOWSER and
WOWSER!
Thanks, that's a solid methodology you put together there. I'm wiring my roundhouse lights in '3 shelves' of 5, so that's why I need an 18v power supply, bigger than anything I happen to have left over from old computers :-)
dave
Bob, the lit photo is great. When the window installers get there it will be even better. Have you considered putting in a "shadow" interior by the windows? Did you consider having switches to control the lights per floor?
Good luck with the goosenecks. I hope no one is around to hear the cursing while you try to push those wee wires around. LOL
Quote from: ACL1504 on November 29, 2015, 08:08:42 PM
WOWSER. WOWSER,WOWSER and
WOWSER!
I'm glad you like it so far. :D There's still more to come. ;D
Quote from: deemery on November 29, 2015, 08:10:47 PM
Thanks, that's a solid methodology you put together there. I'm wiring my roundhouse lights in '3 shelves' of 5, so that's why I need an 18v power supply, bigger than anything I happen to have left over from old computers :-)
dave
Thanks Dave. For testing I'm using the power supply for my Digitrax Zephyr. I really need to come up with something better. I have some old power supplies from laptops and what not. I should check the spec's on them and, if I find one that's suitable, reassign it to workbench duty. :D
Quote from: martin.ojaste on November 30, 2015, 03:59:43 AM
Bob, the lit photo is great. When the window installers get there it will be even better. Have you considered putting in a "shadow" interior by the windows? Did you consider having switches to control the lights per floor?
Good luck with the goosenecks. I hope no one is around to hear the cursing while you try to push those wee wires around. LOL
Thanks Martin. That's a great idea with the "shadow" interior. I hadn't considered that. I'll have to give it some thought. :D Those goosenecks are a real joy to wire and install but they're worth the effort.
Nice work Bob! You da man!
Dave texted me last week that you were posting this but with Thanksgiving going on and my son back from school for a little bit this is the first chance I got to post a reply.
So far, what have you found to be the most challenging part with the lighting project? Your feedback can help me tune my clinic presentation.
-slim
Martin, Bob .... what is a "shadow interior" ???
Quote from: Donato on November 30, 2015, 02:24:12 PM
Martin, Bob .... what is a "shadow interior" ???
Hi Donato,
It's basically putting objects or cutouts behind the windows that will create shadows or silhouettes that give the appearance that there's stuff inside the building. They can recognizable shapes, things like a drill press or person, but they don't have to be. You can't always tell what something is by the outline when it's backlit. A good example of a simple little detail like this can be found fairly far down on the VectorCut HO Scale Details (http://www.vectorcut.com/accessoriesHO.htm) page. It's the one titled "Window Cats". That's the general idea. :D
Quote from: Slim Jerkins on November 30, 2015, 12:51:26 PM
Nice work Bob! You da man!
Dave texted me last week that you were posting this but with Thanksgiving going on and my son back from school for a little bit this is the first chance I got to post a reply.
So far, what have you found to be the most challenging part with the lighting project? Your feedback can help me tune my clinic presentation.
-slim
Thanks Slim! If anything I've posted is worth sharing please feel free to use it. Even my blunders. ::) So far this has been fairly easy. I fear the challenging part is the next step when I attempt to install exterior lights through the wall and have to connect them inside the structure. I'm still trying to formulate how I'm going to do that. :D
Quote from: ReadingBob on November 30, 2015, 02:42:57 PM
Quote from: Slim Jerkins on November 30, 2015, 12:51:26 PM
Nice work Bob! You da man!
Dave texted me last week that you were posting this but with Thanksgiving going on and my son back from school for a little bit this is the first chance I got to post a reply.
So far, what have you found to be the most challenging part with the lighting project? Your feedback can help me tune my clinic presentation.
-slim
Thanks Slim! If anything I've posted is worth sharing please feel free to use it. Even my blunders. ::) So far this has been fairly easy. I fear the challenging part is the next step when I attempt to install exterior lights through the wall and have to connect them inside the structure. I'm still trying to formulate how I'm going to do that. :D
Slim and I have been looking for cheap really small connectors. The Miniatronics connectors are small but expensive. Most of what I've found at a good price on eBay is bigger than what I'd want (they're the size of connectors on cordless phone batteries, a bit clunky and hard to hide.)
dave
Bob, right now I'm thinking hard about running an extra set of bus wires so I can turn my on-layout lights off with a single switch when they aren't appropriate. I am far from the point where I'd want individual controls for parts of a single structure.
Quote from: jbvb on November 30, 2015, 07:54:17 PM
Bob, right now I'm thinking hard about running an extra set of bus wires so I can turn my on-layout lights off with a single switch when they aren't appropriate. I am far from the point where I'd want individual controls for parts of a single structure.
I'm not doing individual controls for parts of a structure either. Everything will be connected to a common set of wires. It could be broken out by floors, inside vs. outside, etc. but I'm not going the extra mile for that on this one. I may do some of that on my next build but that remains to be seen. ;)
I always recommend running the lights off of their own power supply. It makes troubleshooting easier. especially with DCC systems and the like.
For turning lights on and off in what "appears" to be random, I use a structure lighting controller. It's one of those wee tiny boards, similar to any of the other simulators from Ngineering (like the arc welder, TV flickerer, etc) and it'll turn three LEDs on and off according to repeating schedule. This gives the building that "lived in" look. The output from this board can be boosted with a three channel booster. This will allow for more than one LED per channel to be switched on and off. A regular simulator board switches 25 milliamps at 5 volts DC. The booster board can switch up to 200 milliamps at 9 - 18 volts DC.
So, you can put one of those structure light simulators in a single structure or small diorama and use it to control three LEDs. Or - you can take a simulator board and booster and run four buses: one bus can be constantly on and the other three buses can come off of the booster board. If you have a structure (for example) with a handful of lights that stay on and one that goes off and on occasionally you'll need to have three wires coming out of the structure: one negative (common), one to supply the lights that stay on and one to supply the light that switches on and off. A sketch is probably in order here. I'll have to make one up and post it.
I guess everyone should be thoroughly confused by now. ???
-slim
Quote from: Slim Jerkins on December 01, 2015, 10:54:33 AMI guess everyone should be thoroughly confused by now. ???
I am. :o But that sounds neat. I'm want to try it on my next build. The FOS
Red Light District. I'll have some questions for you (along with an order for supplies) when I finish Sokol's and get rolling on that one. :D
An alternative to a controller wired to the lights would be some sort of DCC-controlled 'switch', along with an application (JMRI?) that controls/sequences the lights.
One could have a lot of fun with light animation and "specially selected little people" on a Red Light District.
dave
I like what Dave said about the lights being on a decoder. Since I've switched to the TCS WOW sound I have about 35 old decoders I can use for lighting.
I especially like what Slim said. I didn't understand any thing but the "I think a sketch is in order". ??? ???
Tom ;D
It sounds sketchy to me .... so bring on the diagrams!!! ::)
Bob
Great thread! And you did a great job with the lights too. I don't know how I missed this thread the last few weeks. I'm just getting started with all those LED's that Slim sold me too ;) . I plan to use a few for the Brambell's build and then go back and light the Stone Roundhouse that I built last year. Your thread is going to be very helpful - thanks for sharing.
Bob,
The Red Light District is great kit for lighting but this is Ultimate Lighting Galore
http://www.imaginethatlaserart.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=189&virtuemart_category_id=15&Itemid=207 (http://www.imaginethatlaserart.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=189&virtuemart_category_id=15&Itemid=207)
Vilius
OK - here's the first diagram...
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/11-021215135149.jpeg)
Now keep in mind I don't manufacture these little buggers. If I did, I would make them bigger so that they're easier to work on. The good thing about the small size is that they can be hidden in the structure. The bad thing, as I mentioned, is that they're tiny.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/11-021215140839.jpeg)
I don't have this listed on my (boring-and-never-updated) website but I usually have some. they list for $14.95 but I sell them for about $12 I think. Have to check.
Next up will be the N8048C which is a controller for multiple N8048 simulator boards. Then I'll talk about the booster boards. The Ngineering simulators are great and well made but they're far from being "plug and play."
-slim
Quote from: S&S RR on December 01, 2015, 08:00:54 PM
Bob
Great thread! And you did a great job with the lights too. I don't know how I missed this thread the last few weeks. I'm just getting started with all those LED's that Slim sold me too ;) . I plan to use a few for the Brambell's build and then go back and light the Stone Roundhouse that I built last year. Your thread is going to be very helpful - thanks for sharing.
Hi John,
I'm happy that you're finding this thread useful. It's great to see everyone jump in and there comments and suggestions. I'll tell ya', I'm no wiz when it comes to electrical stuff so if I can get this working there's no reason for anyone else not to give it a shot. :D
Quote from: deemery on December 01, 2015, 01:38:56 PMOne could have a lot of fun with light animation and "specially selected little people" on a Red Light District.
;) I'm searching for some of the "specially selected little people". I know they're out there. Those, in a room lit up using that neat little gizmo Slim showed us or even with the 'flickering' TV effect do present some interesting possibilities. ;D
Quote from: TheUkranian on December 02, 2015, 01:53:52 PM
Bob,
The Red Light District is great kit for lighting but this is Ultimate Lighting Galore
http://www.imaginethatlaserart.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=189&virtuemart_category_id=15&Itemid=207 (http://www.imaginethatlaserart.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=189&virtuemart_category_id=15&Itemid=207)
Vilius
You're right about that. That is cool. Thanks for sharing the link! :D
Lots of good info here.....thanks guys. 8)
Bob, the "Sexy Scenes" products from Noch are fairly widely available, but under the counter in the US if you get my drift. I saw similar products displayed in cases at train shows in Germany a few years ago, including some with animation...
Quote from: jbvb on December 11, 2015, 12:11:15 PM
Bob, the "Sexy Scenes" products from Noch are fairly widely available, but under the counter in the US if you get my drift. I saw similar products displayed in cases at train shows in Germany a few years ago, including some with animation...
Thanks James. I'll have to do some research to see what I can come up with. :D
Okay, it wasn't part of my original plan but I decided to go ahead and add some exterior lights over the doors. Thankfully this structure has some awnings over most of the doors which greatly reduced the number of gooseneck type light fixtures that would be needed. I installed the brackets for the roofs and then drilled holes and slide in some 3mm LED's with the leads bent at a right angle. When I did this I made sure that I bent the leads for all the LED's in a consistent fashion so I always knew which side was positive and which was negative.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101018-10391700.jpeg)
I did need three gooseneck lights to place over the large Sokol's sign. I'll walk you thru how I make them. I had a supply of those teeny, tiny surface mount LED's with the leads already attached from the last time I got ambitious enough to do that type of soldering so that step I won't show here. The leads are very, very fine magnet wire with insulation painted on them. I start by drilling two very small holes through the lamp shades. I don't feed the wire through the hole. I space the two holes out about the width of the LED itself. The holes I drilled are right next to the neck of the lamp shade.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101019-104491473.jpeg)
After the two holes are drilled into the lampshade I feed the leads for the LED through them from the bottom.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101019-104501978.jpeg)
I put a tiny drop of gap filling ACC on the back of the LED prior to pulling the remaining portion of the leads through the lampshade.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101019-104512444.jpeg)
Then I seat the LED as close to the center of the lampshade as I can and let the glue take effect.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101019-104522013.jpeg)
More in a moment... 8)
If you're using that thin walled stainless tubing for the 'necks,' Slim told me "there tends to be sharp burrs inside the tubing after you cut it. Once you fish the wires through and test to see the LED still works, seal the wires in place with CA glue so they won't move and rub against the tubing."
Looks great, and the angled LEDs should provide a lot of light. I got my goodie box from Slim, so I need to get back to the lighting part of my roundhouse build.
dave
At this point it's worth testing the LED to make sure it still works.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101252-10453425.jpeg)
Next I glue the lamp shade to the copper wire that forms the gooseneck with the same ACC.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101252-104541274.jpeg)
Now, for the fun part. I start lining the inside of the wire that forms the gooseneck with the gap filling ACC. For the next two steps I do just a small section at a time.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101252-104551450.jpeg)
Then I use my tweezers to seat the leads up against the wire and wait for the glue to take hold. I'm simply gluing the leads against the wire. They're so fine that they're practically invisible after everything is painted.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101252-10456542.jpeg)
Side note: I know that there's hollow tubing available that I can run the leads through and save myself the steps of gluing the leads tot he copper wire. In fact, I have some (somewhere). IMHO, however, the tubing tends to look a little out of scale so I prefer this method.
Once all the exterior lights were mounted in the walls I had was then faced with the challenge getting power to them. A little planning ahead of time would have made this a whole lot easier but I didn't do that. Since I was working inside the structure it wasn't really feasible to take pictures as I went so I'll just walk you through what I did and show a few photo's of the finished product.
I started by running two strips of copper tape around the inside of the base. The upper one I designated as the positive line and the lower one the negative. That gave me bus line to work from. From there I ran copper tape from the positive line up to a current limiter and then from the current limiter to the first positive lead of the LED I wanted to connect. Like before I limited each circuit to two or three LED's. The green squares are pieces of electrical tape. I used them where I needed to cross the positive and negative tapes over one another so they'd remain isolated.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101252-104572469.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101524-104581909.jpeg)
It was a some what time consuming process but in the end everything worked out pretty well.
More in a moment... 8)
Thanks for the comments Dave. As you can see from above I didn't use the hollow tubing but that's a good tip. I test quite often as I'm going along just to make sure I didn't screw something up. ;)
Hmm...I seem to have misplaced a photo. One step I left out was that I painted the LED's I the gooseneck lights with Tamiya Clear Yellow X-24 #81024 to tone them down a little bit. Those particular LED's produce a very bright, harsh white light.
Here's the finished photo's of the structure all lit up. P.S. - Don't worry about the front supports being slightly askew, as I slide the structure around on the workbench I forgot to straighten them out. I'm sure Tom line them up when he puts this in place on his layout.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101524-104591731.jpeg)
You can see the LED's in the goosenecks are still a bit harsh. I may need to add another coat or two of the clear yellow.
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101524-104602316.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101524-10461992.jpeg)
(https://modelersforum.com/gallery/56-231215101524-10462855.jpeg)
Tom's little people can work all night long now. ;)
Thanks for following along and for all the great comments, ideas, thoughts, etc. I know I appreciate all of them and I suspect everyone else does too. :D
No light leaks! That's the hardest thing to get right, in my (limited) experience!
dave
Wow....that's fantastic. Great kit, great build!
Bob,
WOWSER, model railroading sure isn't what it used to be. Heck, I'm not what I used to be. I'll never be able to match this one Robert! Beautiful build and lighting!
Wonderful stuff here.
Tom ;D
Bob,
With my Electrical background I understand what you did. With my old shaky hands I am not sure I could do it :( :( I will have try it on something that I build.
Jim
Great Stuff !!
Way to go Bob.....the goose necks at the sign are really neat. 8)
A big thanks to everyone for all the kind comments! I'm really happy with the way the lighting worked out on this one.
Dang it. It's all Slims fault. He's got me hooked on lighting. 8)
Quote from: ReadingBob on December 24, 2015, 10:17:32 AM
A big thanks to everyone for all the kind comments! I'm really happy with the way the lighting worked out on this one.
Dang it. It's all Slims fault. He's got me hooked on lighting. 8)
He left you hanging on a gooseneck????
That is a good implementation of LED lighting and wiring (taping). I wouldn't worry about the brightness until it i on the layout/diorama. The inverse squared laws for light applies.
Great job Bob!
How do you find the hollow tubing to be out of scale? From your pictures I can't tell much difference.
-slim
Quote from: Slim Jerkins on December 28, 2015, 09:27:13 AM
Great job Bob!
How do you find the hollow tubing to be out of scale? From your pictures I can't tell much difference.
-slim
Thanks Slim!
To my eye it appeared to be a little bit thicker. I'll have to search for the piece Tom gave me and compare the two. I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. ::)
I just realized that there was one minor thing I failed to mention. The wire I have that leads out of the structure was just some leftover wire from a garage door opener. In one of the photo's you can see where I soldered it directly to the copper tape. I found that any tension on that wire (including the weight of the wire itself) was enough to start pulling the copper tape away from the base and risk a short. To alleviate that problem I added a cross piece of 1/8" strip wood then attached that wire to the center of cross piece with a plastic wire tie. Now the wire won't put any stress on the copper tape. :D
And, for what it's worth, the final count was 40 LED's. 8)
Quote from: ReadingBob on December 28, 2015, 10:37:27 AM
I just realized that there was one minor thing I failed to mention. The wire I have that leads out of the structure was just some leftover wire from a garage door opener. In one of the photo's you can see where I soldered it directly to the copper tape. I found that any tension on that wire (including the weight of the wire itself) was enough to start pulling the copper tape away from the base and risk a short. To alleviate that problem I added a cross piece of 1/8" strip wood then attached that wire to the center of cross piece with a plastic wire tie. Now the wire won't put any stress on the copper tape. :D
And, for what it's worth, the final count was 40 LED's. 8)
Be careful with solid core wire - since it's stiff it can do that. Another thing is that it can easily break if you nicked the wire while stripping it.
I usually have a mini hot melt gun close by for putting a little blob onto a wire connection to make it secure.
-slim
Quote from: Slim Jerkins on December 28, 2015, 11:28:38 AMI usually have a mini hot melt gun close by for putting a little blob onto a wire connection to make it secure.
Good tip! :D I thought about using 5 minute epoxy to do something similar. The hot glue gun never crossed my mind. Thanks!
Wow. I'd say this operation puts you just below Neurosurgeon and just above Ortho ( that's like building benchwork ;) ).
Really great plan and execution!
John
Great build thread Bob. The lighting looks great and lots of good tips. I really like the idea of having a soldering iron and a hot glue gun on the work bench at the same time. So how long will it take me to get burned? Just kidding - a spot of hot glue at the right time sounds like a great idea.
Bob,
I owe you big time now Butty! Sokol's will be a focal point on the A&S RR. Can't wait to see it.
Tom ;D
Quote from: Cuse on December 28, 2015, 04:39:27 PM
Wow. I'd say this operation puts you just below Neurosurgeon and just above Ortho ( that's like building benchwork ;) ).
Really great plan and execution!
John
Thanks John! I didn't electrocute myself or burn down the structure so I consider it a success. ;D
Quote from: S&S RR on December 28, 2015, 08:18:49 PM
Great build thread Bob. The lighting looks great and lots of good tips. I really like the idea of having a soldering iron and a hot glue gun on the work bench at the same time. So how long will it take me to get burned? Just kidding - a spot of hot glue at the right time sounds like a great idea.
Thanks John! I only burned myself once with the soldering iron while working inside the building. It was very, very minor though. :D I guess it's a good thing I didn't have the hot glue gun out. ;D ;D
Quote from: ACL1504 on December 29, 2015, 08:59:30 AM
Bob,
I owe you big time now Butty! Sokol's will be a focal point on the A&S RR. Can't wait to see it.
Tom ;D
Thanks Tom,
At the very least it'll be a focal point when the lights in the room are dim and it's all lit up! 8) :D ;D
I need to drop it off along with your copper tape and the DVD you lent me. I'll check with you to see when you're going to be around.
Quote from: Slim Jerkins on December 28, 2015, 11:28:38 AM
Quote from: ReadingBob on December 28, 2015, 10:37:27 AM
I just realized that there was one minor thing I failed to mention. The wire I have that leads out of the structure was just some leftover wire from a garage door opener. In one of the photo's you can see where I soldered it directly to the copper tape. I found that any tension on that wire (including the weight of the wire itself) was enough to start pulling the copper tape away from the base and risk a short. To alleviate that problem I added a cross piece of 1/8" strip wood then attached that wire to the center of cross piece with a plastic wire tie. Now the wire won't put any stress on the copper tape. :D
And, for what it's worth, the final count was 40 LED's. 8)
Be careful with solid core wire - since it's stiff it can do that. Another thing is that it can easily break if you nicked the wire while stripping it.
I usually have a mini hot melt gun close by for putting a little blob onto a wire connection to make it secure.
-slim
(https://modelersforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs7.postimage.org%2F6grcfd1ff%2Fsimpsons_language.jpg&hash=21dc8ac69e4d3978842c2ea4081c69e220821acd)