I found a string of battery powered LED lights at Hobby Lobby that is made with micro LEDs. I think they are warm white or somewhere around that color but for sure they are not blueish or bright white in color. The wires connecting the LEDs together is somewhat stiff so I plan on trimming the existing wire short and soldering flexible wire to that. The LEDs are encased in some sort of clear plastic but I’m sure it can be removed. The light string has 25 LEDs and the price is $7.99 (+tax). So here in TX that comes out to $8.65, that’s 35 cents per pre-wired LED. Not a bad price and you also get a battery box that can be used for other modeling purposes. Anyway, thought I’d share this.
Good find. These are a great option that is often nearby and always cheap – the weekly 40% coupon helps even more.
If shopping for them, be aware they come in a variety of packages. The LEDs are all roughly the same size, although this LED/resin lamp package can often be trimmed down if it needs to fit in a tight spot. The number of LEDs per package also varies. The battery controller can offer different modes, from blinking to fading, etc, but usually you only get one choice beside on an off. A timer is also another offering. These can be useful around the layout with or independently of the lights and you can feed it 3 volts instead of using batteries.
I have a thread on these and other cheap LED options over in the Electronics and DCC Forum: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/227137.aspx
Or you could get them on Ebay any kind you can imagine for alot less…
Agreed. But a lot of folks don’t like to use ebay so having other options available is not a bad thing especially if it’s as common as a Hobby Lobby. If no Hobby Lobby then there are plenty of online retailers that sell LEDs.
True, you can often imagine them as a lot less, but often the savings can get significantly eaten into by S&H. Sometimes the minimum bulk quantities are a little large. But no doubt they can be had cheaper often enough. But they won’t be available that day or likely even that week.
Then again, at 32 cents apiece, these HL LEDs won’t exactly break the bank. And they can often be substituted at a tenth of the price of the fancy Richmond Controls ones I often use. Not always as the RC/Ulrich ones are really tiny, as are the magnet wire leads.
BTW, in case anyone was wondering, you can cut out the indvidual LEDs from the string or cut a series of them out of the string. They’ve already been “prewired” so it’s a matter of getting your voltage and resistance right for the install. The wire used also varies, so look the rtack over for what works best for you.
Here’s where I lit the dock on a local food distributor with a section of lights cut from the whole.
Pricing is a pretty relative thing. If you must scrape up every penny you see lying on the sidewalks, go for it. But an item doesn’t need to be absolutely cheapest to still be a bargain.
I have a string like that, but it has only 10 or 12 LEDs. Forget where I got it, dollar store or something, for $1. It’s got inverted coane warm white LEDs, perfect for structures. I actually used it as aprt of the decorations this year so i think it has now migrated from my railroad electronics drawer to the Christmas decorations tub.
–Randy
You guys are right, I sounded a bit harsh in my post, I apologize for that. Good find, like you said, you also get a battery box as a bonus. Good to shop local too!