I have used various bulbs and techniques to light the structures I build. I don’t want the whole building to light up at once, so I black out some of the windows, add view blocks and use several bulbs in each building that can be turned on or off so it doesn’t always look the same. The problem is that bulbs burn out. I would like to find a way to use LED’s so I can fasten the roof or the structure to the layout and not have to ever tear it apart again to replace a bulb.
Does anyone have any tips on using LED’s to light structures? Do you wire multiple LED’s in parallel and use one resistor to drop the voltage? Do you use 12 volt LED’s and skip the resistor? How do you locate one in a window and have it light up the entire window instead of having it look like just a small dot?
Hi Jeff. I think you can get away with one resistor and several paralleled LED’s. I don’t think there are any 12 volt LEDs available. Typically, LEDs project light forward (I think you can get units that project at an angle), they don’t radiate light like an incandescent lamp does. Try a small project first and see how it works.
Maybe one of our electronic gurus will show up and give you some more info.
I have seen 12 volt LED’s. They are about $1 each, but I am afrain they may be too bright. I saw the article in the Feb '06 edition of Model Railroader about the Miniatur Wunderland in Germany. It talked about how they used an LED in every window in the Las Vegas part. Maybe it is worth sending a note to MR for some follow-up info.
The majority of LED’s are 1 .5 to 3 volt. I find the super whites are too blue so I dip them in yellow and then red translucent laquers. gives them a nice incandescent glow.
I have wired 5 LED’s in parallel and find they work great. You may have to put something around them to difuse the light but I think not. You’ll just have to play with it.
http://www.demarelectronics.com/
Here’s one site. And another is www.elexp.com.
I never noticed how much higher priced the whites where than the colored.
On that second site, go to the “opto electronics” tab. That’s the lighting section.
I don’t think LED’s produces less light than a bulb, but it’s more light in a smaller area (like a flashlight beam). You wouldn’t need aluminum for a heatsink since LED’s generate almost no heat, but you could use it to reflect the light. Running LED’s in parallel would still give EACH LED 12 volts, unless wired through a resistor. You could run them in SERIES, say maybe 4 or 5 on 12 volts. 4 would be 3 volts each, 5 would be about 2.4 volts each. I would try putting the LED against the wall, shining toward the opposite wall, and letting that light reflect off a white surface to light each “room” (kind of borrowing a photography trick).
One way to black out some windows in a structure is to cover the inside with black electrical tape. This way you can have one (or more) lights inside and the light only shows in windows without the tape. You can also frost the inside of windows using “Magic” transparent tape, so the interior cannot be seen.
I’ve picked up a few small cheap LED flashlights at local dollar stores. Really briight bulbs. Might be a good source of LEDs, which could be powered by a low voltage source.
If you want to use LEDs for lighting interiors, use the Surface Mount (SMD) ones. The common T1 LEDS most folks think of have too focused of a beam to be practical.
SMDs are top hat shaped and disperse their light quite nicely. There are several sizes, but I don’t recommend going below the 1206 size. The trick in using them is sodering the wires to them. They don’t have wire leads from them, but small, square pads on the back. You’ll need a fine tip and low heat. Once you’ve done a few, the techinique is quick and easy.
Mouser.com and digikey.com are good sources. lc-led.com makes a bright white version that is perfect for flourescent lights. Richmondcontrols.com also has some softer whites. Each manufacturer’s colors vary a bit, so getting several types of yellows and oranges gives you a nice variety of colors and shades.
I’ve got a bunch of white leds on order that I’m planning to play around with in lighting my Walthers Merchant Row. I found some 12mm whites that seem to have a broader beam than the smaller ones. Hopefully I can post some positive results in a few weeks.