up- raliroader
New Member
Hi, I was wondering on how you go about wiring lights? for ex, small LEDS in houses, street lights, etc. What would you use to power the accessories? Don't say the power pack, I want a separate power source ;-)
A 12V power supply will work.
First, I'd use small grain of rice or grain of wheat lamps for for streetlights and signs. Larger and less expensive bulbs can be uses for the inside of buildings, where no one will see them.
Second, I am going to tell you to use a power pack...just not the same one you're using for trains. You can get nice power packs cheap on e-bay as modelers switch to DCC. Wire all the lights that you want to have intensity control over, like street lights, to the variable DC terminal of the second power pack. You can then dial up or down the intensity of the bulbs without worrying about series wiring or resistors. I've got an older MRC that puts out 18va that's powering about 110 light bulbs, two sets of traffic lights. two sets of crossing signals, several lighted vehicles, and bunch of lighted signs. It's now reached capacity so I'll be looking for another cheap powerpack to split the load. I think I paid about $15 including shipping for the one I have. You'll never find a cheaper rheostat controlled 12 volt power supply than that.
Could you direct me to a good power supply? I could fined it if you can't, but if you know one that's designed for model railroading that would be great.