The above recently written post on interior lighting has prompted me to write another post.
I’ve been recently mulling over lighting my layout sparsely with both interior and exterior lights, using grain of rice/wheat bulbs. What’s the best way to control the brightness of the lights? And, how should I go about controlling them individually?
Someone suggested to me using a voltage regulator as an overall control but warned if the VR ever “bought the farm” it would take all the lights with it. [:(]
How would I go about wiring up an array of lights to control them independently? Is there a good resource, book, or website that I can use as reference for someone with limited electrical knowledge?
I just read an article in this months Railroad Model Craftsman about using Christmas Tree lights to light all of your buildings. In the past I have used dimmer switches like you use to dim the lights in your house. This works real well. You can buy all kinds of dimmers from Radio Shack Electronics. I have put a single on & off switch to control different sections of the layout. You can also get a relay that will slowly turn off lights. It works on ac or dc voltage. MR magazine had an extensive write up a few years ago about this subject.
I just got back from Barnes & Noble where I ran across that very article. I only had a chance to browse it quickly. Thanks for the suggestion on the dimmer switches.