Lighting

[blackdogsdad]

After some 50 years I've decided to do something with my boxed-up model railway rolling stock etc
No room for a working layout but I've got a big recess (in an old chimney-breast) in which I'm going to build three levels,
each with its own diorama comprising track, rolling stock and buildings etc.
It would be great to add some lighting (station platform lights, maybe a few lights inside buildings etc) and I see
you can buy such components but as I'm not an electrician I've no idea what I'd need to buy to get these working
- a transformer and some means of distributing the output to the various lights presumably but exactly what?!?
(I don't need power to the track as - sadly - they'll be static displays.)

One more thing: I already have a 13A socket in the recess to plug the transformer into and the plan is that this will sit behind
the dioramas but of course that won't be easily accessible so it would be great if I could power the transformer on / off via a
simple remote control switch
- is there such a device out there which could sit in between the 13A socket and the transformer?

Any suggestions / recommendations greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Rog (RJ)]

"Is there such a device out there which could sit in between the 13A socket and the transformer?"
Yes, an extension lead.

[Mr Bones]

If I understand you right do you mean this sort of thing "Remote Control Wall Plug Sockets"?

I use them on my layout, very handy and work well.

[Tricky Dicky]

A lot depends on your setup at home, as you have internet access then you could use Smart plugs such as this;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazon-smart-p ... s9dHJ1ZQ==

In conjunction with an Echo device you could use voice control to switch your transformer/power supply or use the Alexa app on any smart device eg mobile phone, tablet or PC to remotely switch the device on.

As for the lighting on the layout increasingly such model lighting is LED based and there are two essentials regards using them. The first is that LEDs are polarised and need to be connected correctly to the power supply positive (+) and negative (-) terminals. The second is they have to be current limited which means putting a resistor in series with the LED, there is a quick lookup chart in this section of the forum which gives you the absolute minimum resistors you would need to use for various voltages to operate safely. Chances are that the supplier of the model lighting will probably supply the correct resistor for 12V use. There are various ways of current limiting groups of LEDs but the way most likely to cause the least problem is for each LED to have its own resistor and all the LED + resistors should be wired in parallel to the power supply. At this point you need to consider the max. amperage of your power supply to work out how many LEDs you could connect. As an example a 1A supply could in theory run 100 LEDs drawing 10mA of power each although I would recommend a smaller number so not to strain the power supply allow between 10% - 20% overhead.

If this all sounds daunting to you, worry not we can guide you through any setting up. Some details about the power supply and the the particular types of lights would help. The power supply should have a label that specifies voltage and current output and ideally it should be DC but AC can be used but would need additional circuitry, but nothing complicated. If you could provide links to the lighting supplier and the specific light you are thinking of using we can be quite specific about what you will require.

Richard

[Brian]

Hi
Layout lighting (Street, platform and building lights etc) should IMO always be separately feed from the layout control system. So I always recommend and especially where LED illumination is to be used, opting for a main powered Plug-in 12 volt DC Regulated power supply rated at least 1.0 Amp or greater.
The fact the supply is Regulated means the 12 volt is actually stabilised at that voltage regardless of loading (up to the PSU maximum rating) unlike transformer feed items which can vary in output volts from anything around 18 or more volts with little loading to below 12 volts under near maximum loading.
Always add up you lighting current power and opt for a power supply that's at least 10% higher output and ideally 100% or more output rating.
This is a typical 12 volt regulated power supply ... Link to example PSU I would go with the 2.0Amp version and the female connection adaptor to make onward connections easier.

As for your hidden socket, I would use a switched extension lead where each outlet on the extension is switched and then leave the hidden socket end plugged in and on all the time. I have some plug-in remote switched sockets which work fine too and are similar to those linked to by Mr Bones above.
Example switched extension Link to example lead

[blackdogsdad]

"Is there such a device out there which could sit in between the 13A socket and the transformer?"
Yes, an extension lead.

Hello Rog,

Thank you for that but it looks like you misunderstood the question (which has been answered by Mr Bones)

[blackdogsdad]

If I understand you right do you mean this sort of thing "Remote Control Wall Plug Sockets"?

I use them on my layout, very handy and work well.

Thank you Mr Bones... that's exactly what I had in mind!

[blackdogsdad]

A lot depends on your setup at home, as you have internet access then you could use Smart plugs such as this;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazon-smart-p ... s9dHJ1ZQ==

In conjunction with an Echo device you could use voice control to switch your transformer/power supply or use the Alexa app on any smart device eg mobile phone, tablet or PC to remotely switch the device on.

As for the lighting on the layout increasingly such model lighting is LED based and there are two essentials regards using them. The first is that LEDs are polarised and need to be connected correctly to the power supply positive (+) and negative (-) terminals. The second is they have to be current limited which means putting a resistor in series with the LED, there is a quick lookup chart in this section of the forum which gives you the absolute minimum resistors you would need to use for various voltages to operate safely. Chances are that the supplier of the model lighting will probably supply the correct resistor for 12V use. There are various ways of current limiting groups of LEDs but the way most likely to cause the least problem is for each LED to have its own resistor and all the LED + resistors should be wired in parallel to the power supply. At this point you need to consider the max. amperage of your power supply to work out how many LEDs you could connect. As an example a 1A supply could in theory run 100 LEDs drawing 10mA of power each although I would recommend a smaller number so not to strain the power supply allow between 10% - 20% overhead.

If this all sounds daunting to you, worry not we can guide you through any setting up. Some details about the power supply and the the particular types of lights would help. The power supply should have a label that specifies voltage and current output and ideally it should be DC but AC can be used but would need additional circuitry, but nothing complicated. If you could provide links to the lighting supplier and the specific light you are thinking of using we can be quite specific about what you will require.

Richard

Thank you Tricky Dicky!

I've not chosen any lights yet: the project is just at the ideas stage at the moment but it's definitely going to happen as I've
got some lovely old engines and rolling stock from when I grew up in the 60s: they deserve to see the light of day again!

It's great to know that there's advice to be had out there and I'll no doubt be back with more questions later in the year.

Thanks again.

[blackdogsdad]

Hi
Layout lighting (Street, platform and building lights etc) should IMO always be separately feed from the layout control system. So I always recommend and especially where LED illumination is to be used, opting for a main powered Plug-in 12 volt DC Regulated power supply rated at least 1.0 Amp or greater.
The fact the supply is Regulated means the 12 volt is actually stabilised at that voltage regardless of loading (up to the PSU maximum rating) unlike transformer feed items which can vary in output volts from anything around 18 or more volts with little loading to below 12 volts under near maximum loading.
Always add up you lighting current power and opt for a power supply that's at least 10% higher output and ideally 100% or more output rating.
This is a typical 12 volt regulated power supply ... Link to example PSU I would go with the 2.0Amp version and the female connection adaptor to make onward connections easier.

As for your hidden socket, I would use a switched extension lead where each outlet on the extension is switched and then leave the hidden socket end plugged in and on all the time. I have some plug-in remote switched sockets which work fine too and are similar to those linked to by Mr Bones above.
Example switched extension Link to example lead

Thank you Brian!

I've not chosen any lights yet: the project is just at the ideas stage at the moment but it's definitely going to happen as I've
got some lovely old engines and rolling stock from when I grew up in the 60s: they deserve to see the light of day again!

It's great to know that there's advice to be had out there and I'll no doubt be back with more questions later in the year.

Thanks again.

[teedoubleudee]

If I understand you right do you mean this sort of thing "Remote Control Wall Plug Sockets"?

I use them on my layout, very handy and work well.

I use these throughout my home and one controls all power to the layout. I bought mine at Maplin when they were trading. Very reliable.