Model RR lighting?
· Hey gang I'm getting a yen to add some street lights to my model RR layout. It's G gauge and out of doors, so I'm going to need maybe 50 to 100 lights along the track, which runs for maybe 40ft before doubling back via various routes. Figuring one street light every foot that's a heckuva mess! I'm thinking I'll use LEDs·and that I'll 'plant' rows of lamps and have·a seperate power supply for·every·ten or so LEDs, unless there's a better way to do it. Interested in what others have done and what's the recommended way to do this.·
· Have opted to make my own lampposts, etc and to·*not* use store-bought lamps because they cost more than ten bucks apiece (!!).···
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· Have opted to make my own lampposts, etc and to·*not* use store-bought lamps because they cost more than ten bucks apiece (!!).···
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Comments
How were you planning to use the Basic Stamp in this arrangement, or did you intend for this to be posted in the Sandbox Forum?
Regards,
Bruce Bates
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When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
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· -- Carl, nn5i@arrl.net
Anyway, in the most recent GR there was an article about doing lights. He used a simple electrical principles without any intelligent autonomous control (I get this from scanning...) Anyway, you could do better. A simple method would be to buy some strings of LED Christmas lights: traditional, but it works. You could hook it up to a relay or the like, and then have it controlled by the uC for some really nice effects (basically, turn on at night and off at midnight) Or, you could build your own system. If you build your own system, you could make even cooler effects like lights that are "burned out": just flicker it on and off randomly, and fool people (more realism). Also, by making it controlled by a microcontroller, you can do specials like synchronize to music ....
Makes me wish that I still had my garden railroad, along with my new electronics knowledge. Wouldn't have to salivate over the $600 LGB train control system: I can build my own! Well, good luck on your lighting.
Some other nice lighting effects that you would want to plan for are signal lights (if you are modeling in that era), building lights and accent lights. A really neat effect would be to have the station light flicker on when the train arrives: the station master fell asleep!
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Chris Savage
Parallax Engineering
Here is the link http://www.parallax.com/tabid/309/Default.aspx
Jeff T.
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················http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm
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························ Hacking the Trailing Edge!
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There is a good example in stampworks using the 595.
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Some of the problem is you don't tell us what you goal is, you want to light a bunch of LED outdoors, with little wiring as possible. How much control do you want, you want them all on off, in groups, or individually? Being out of doors, the more wiring, the more chance of problems, due to weather messing things up.
DC/AC methods:
The easiest method, done in the Garden Railways last month o so, was the bus and distribution method. IE use large 12 gauge wires, so supplied by large power supplies, 12v, 18v, along the track, and where there is a need for light or other accessory attach a smaller gauge feeder. You then use a bulb or a series of bulbs, or LEDs that add up to the supply voltage. This doesn't give you individual control. One switch or relay will control this.
Then you could have groups of lights, each having it's own wire back to a central point for control. Adds to wiring, and wiring costs. Once switch/relay per group.
Finally with the most control, individual control, most wiring. one wire/switch, or relay per group.
Hybrid DC/Wireless control:
Could either run battery/solar or bus like the 1st DC/AC method for power, control would be from wireless for each module, which could control individual lights, etc for each building, or small "city". Think Zigbee, etc. Think of it like hub and spoke.
Command control:
DCC or other signal over power. Allows you to use the rails to control the trains, and run lights, etc. Saves on wiring, like the hybrid method, where modules control groups.
Now do you want the Basic stamp to be a master with a bunch of slaves, a slave itself, or do the whole show itself?