LED/ FO/ wiring question...

I am not great with wiring either. I would suggest going to a model railroad shop and picking up a basic book on wiring layouts. I think it will be very helpful for you.

Steve

dnatech wrote:

I am not great with wiring either. I would suggest going to a model railroad shop and picking up a basic book on wiring layouts. I think it will be very helpful for you. Steve

Thanks, Steve. That's a pretty good idea. I'll have to run over and see what they've got.

Depending on the size of your diorama, 21 small fiber optic would fit on an LED, depending on the LED size. Let me toss you another option that is not considered and could be much cheaper with a lot less headache.

I love the tough LED’s. Building custom LED flashlights is another hobby of mine so I am used to working with small places with little parts. It is much easier to cannibalize cheap LED flashlights and use the electronics. They are much more efficient and cooler running.

When I see dioramas, the direct drives wiring are weak points giving 100% light for 10% of the time then 90% of dimming. Powered off AC, the resistors make the insides of models warm. Low resistance resistors have more variations giving more variations in light. Direct wiring means we have to worry about the complexities of batteries and resistors, a wasteful design with lots of headaches.

How about an easier alternative? I use cheap LED flashlights, about $3, from China, pull the parts, and then use the guts. They have boost converters so a common AA battery will run about 8 hours of constant light; 2xAA’s in parallel will give 16 hours, 4xAA for 32 hours. A D-cell will run 34 hours. AAA batteries are an option, yes, the circuits are that efficient. Could be better but good enough for us. And if we use rechargeable batteries, a lot cheaper.

Of course with some soldering, any LED color is possible. I hope this opens up your options.

Here is another option I use with great effect.  I had drop-in LED bulbs made that run 1.5 to 3.0-volts at 100 to 200 mA.  They give 13 to 25 lumens of light, more then enough for models.  Miniature converters are built into the can of each bulb.  The emitters were specially modified to change the normally straight out the nose light to a beam that spreads into a reflector, or in this case, a model or fiber optic.

Imagine using LED's, the complete circuit, built into the size of a small flashlight bulb and resting anywhere in a model.  You can see how compact they are.  Wire a switch from the tail of the bulb to the battery and you'll have lots of light, constant brightness, for a long time.  Run them in a parallel circuit or in series to use higher voltage.  Until you get the model together, you can use them in flashlights.

 

 

roosterfish wrote:

Depending on the size of your diorama, 21 small fiber optic would fit on an LED, depending on the LED size. Let me toss you another option that is not considered and could be much cheaper with a lot less headache. I love the tough LED’s. Building custom LED flashlights is another hobby of mine so I am used to working with small places with little parts. It is much easier to cannibalize cheap LED flashlights and use the electronics. They are much more efficient and cooler running. When I see dioramas, the direct drives wiring are weak points giving 100% light for 10% of the time then 90% of dimming. Powered off AC, the resistors make the insides of models warm. Low resistance resistors have more variations giving more variations in light. Direct wiring means we have to worry about the complexities of batteries and resistors, a wasteful design with lots of headaches. How about an easier alternative? I use cheap LED flashlights, about $3, from China, pull the parts, and then use the guts. They have boost converters so a common AA battery will run about 8 hours of constant light; 2xAA’s in parallel will give 16 hours, 4xAA for 32 hours. A D-cell will run 34 hours. AAA batteries are an option, yes, the circuits are that efficient. Could be better but good enough for us. And if we use rechargeable batteries, a lot cheaper. Of course with some soldering, any LED color is possible. I hope this opens up your options.

That is such a simple fix that I feel RETARDED now!!!! THANKS A MILLION. I'm running out to the store to pick up a couple after work. Soldering in new color LEDs shouldn't a problem either.

Thanks again rooster!