Model Railroad Scenery Lighting - A high density, low cost method for lighting your model railroad.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ค. 2024
- This video describes the concepts behind lighting model railroad buildings, cars, towers and other miscellaneous scenes on a model railroad using LEDs. It includes details on a simple dimming circuit tp achieve realistic lighting effects.
In the companion book are shown practical examples for using LEDs and a simple approach to achieving a high density, low cost method for lighting your model railroad.
Model Railroading Scenery Lighting Book (94 pages)
with more details, test data and how to light other model railroad scenery
a.co/d/7YbtbRw
Chapter 1 - The Basics
Chapter 2 - Recommended LEDs
Chapter 3 - Dimming Control
Chapter 4 - Test Results
Chapter 5 - Dimming Circuit Sources
Chapter 6 - Dimming Circuit Conclusions
Chapter 7 - Installation of LEDS
Chapter 8 - Additional Lighting Topics
Chapter 9 - Advanced Lighting Control
Chapter 10- Lighting Strategies
Appendix
Links for dimming circuit:
Resistor: a.co/d/0g4Adfe
Single LED Chip : a.co/d/auKtGND
3 LED strip a.co/d/6K8EYo4
Pot: a.co/d/dL6ZdHj
I also have a limited number of circuit boards available for the dimming circuit. Contact me at tomswift9748@gmail.com
Very well done. Thank you Jack. I just ordered your book.
thanks
That is insanely cool. Thanks man!
Glad you like it!
Thank you for your video. Ordered your book today.
thanks ! Please leave me a review if you like it.
Thanks! And that looks like an interesting book, I ordered a copy right away.
Hope you enjoy it!
Yes! Thank you sir. Your vary smart. I’m so happy I ran a cross this video! Me and my layout thank you 🙏
Glad it was helpful!
Brilliant and beautiful engineering.
thank you
Thanks for sharing this video and your book which I used the link to order it from Amazon.
Your use of pref boards is amazing and informative.
thanks
I bought your book from Amazon. Looking forward to reading and building
thank you
THANK YOU
Excellent circuit
thanks
It's indeed a very easy solution but there are more elegant ways to do it nowadays. LED's are current driven devices and it's quite easy to use ICs to build constant current circuits that can have the current value adjusted to control brightness and work almost independently of the supply voltage.
Thats true.. But I always pick simple over elegant if it serves the purpose. And may model rairoaders are not expeirienced with electrnnics. Someone suggested to use a Arduino which seems like overkill to me. thanks for the comment.
@@PracticalEngineeringSolutionsMany thanks for your kind reply. Indeed, I was not considering that you are addressing model railroaders that in most cases are not so proficient in electronics and would have a hard time trying to build complex circuits. And fully agree with you: using an Arduino for this purpose is like using an elephant gun to kill mosquitos
With a bit of programming know how you could have used an arduino computer which could also be used to control other things. Using a high wattage resistor to dim the lights is a bit inefficient, as you are dumping the energy to dim them on the resistor. You could do it with power MOSFETS also.
Using a computer (even an Arduino) seemed like overkill to me to light a few LEDs. And PWM flickering can be annoying to some people. Using an Arduino or Power MOSFETS would also increase the cost and the current circuit is simple only consumes around 4 watts (total) for all 10 channels. The data is is in my book. The resistors are 1 watt because I wanted to have plenty of margin.
Jack, I keep watching, hoping I can eventually understand enough to light some buildings and then some. I like your channel and that you express alternatives to the “norm!” Thanks for sharing. Does the book come in audio or video options?
No, sorry. Its only paperback (color or black and white). I recently expanded it to include lighting up almost anything you would want to put on your layout. Thanks for your feedback.
@@PracticalEngineeringSolutions dyslexia (& other issues) makes reading something difficult without really comprehending it. But audiobooks and videos make it easier. Thanks just the same.
I wish I understood electronics more.
be cool if we could collaborate on an entire computer controlled system for lighting and locomotives. I have been playing with PIC micros decoding DCC track signals to have an addressable decoder that can drive LEDs, motors (garage doors), servos and other animitronics. All of my work is DIY playing around. I'm a software and electrical guy working in embedded systems. My dream is to finally see realized a new communication bus such as CAN adopted for model railroads so I can have both computer controlled or some highly automated aspects working along side smart throttles. My CAN bus decoders can report back locomotive speed and their track#. I use it as a kind of inventory system. Once a loco is programmed, I can drop it on the track and my PC app can auto detect the loco and add it to a database (if not already) and from there I can control with throttle. If anyone is interested in any of this, perhaps I should produce some videos like yours. I always wondered if others would be interested in this kind of setup. Another personal goal is to have one train controlled by computer and simulate random problems on the layout forcing my throttle control engines to have to take alternate routes and such.... anyway, food for thought for anyone interested....
Wow! Take the fun out of trains.... (Just KIDDING!) What you're doing seems incredible! And I thought a DCC Throttle was high tech. I don't know if I'd ever do something like what you describe, but I'd sure love to see how it's done and watch it in action!
@@chadportenga7858 ok, thanks for the feedback.
Curiosity Question. Why did you decied to go this route instead of a controler board such as an Arduino?
I went this way bc I think a lot if people wanted a simple, inexpensive way to dim a few lights without having to learn coding an Arduino or Rasp Pi. I thought of my situation and thought it would be overkill.
I'm curious as to why are you using such high wattage resistors on the PCB to drive LEDs...LEDs typically draw 20mA for full brightness. I also doubt that the trim pots are rated at the same wattage as the fixed resistor in the voltage divider. The other thing I noticed was that whilst you have used what I'm guessing is 1 or 3 watt resistors, the thickness of the track that all the resistors are connected to is very thin. You could have lowered the trace from the power socket and have the resistors connect directly to that rather than have a thinner trace under it. Also R11 can be a 1/4 watt resistor to drive the red LED, what is there is overkill.
Good questions. Let me try to explain
1. The resistors are 1 watt metal film. Why? Because some folks will use 12vdc and other 20v (which I use myself). If 20v is used ,the wattage = 20v minus the 2v drop across the LED = 18v across the resistor/ Watts = E^2/r or 0.47 watts. Good conservative engineering practice says to use twice dissipated power .. therefore 1Watt
2. Trim pots are not rated the same, nor do they need to be. They are 1K 0.5 watts. and they already have the 680 ohm in series with them. They are like a voltage divider and only have a portion of the voltage across them. worst case about E* 1000/1680 or about .6 *20v or about 12v. or about 0.11 watts
3. I may thicken up the traces in the next rev of the board just to be more conservative.
4, R11 could be a 1/4 watt but with a 2k resistor dissipating 0,16 watts i doubled it to be sure. Overkill is my middle name. All these calculations are in my book if yo care to get a copy.
Thanks for the comments. Jack
@@jedijfo Given that most LEDs draw around 20mA for full brightness, the total current draw would be around 200mA for running 10 LEDs. If you used a 1A 7805 regulator (plenty of head room) then you would only need to drop 3v rather than 18v, which means a 150 ohm resistor.
Power being Current squared x resistance = 0.06w so using a 1/4w resistor provides ample head room, and would allow you to condense the size of the PCBs dramatically.
The caveat is that if someone runs the supply at 20v then 15v drop needs to be handled by the 7805, but modern switch mode pin for pin replacements are more efficient and will run cool.
@@MalcolmCrabbe Its not quite that simple. You need more than 5v to run the Just Plug lights.. In fact some of them are quite dim at 12volts. If I use 5v they would not even light up. The idea is to have a board that is "universal" and can light single LEDs, multiple LEDs, and the just Plug buildings.
Great clip. As a complete novice, this is exactly what I needed.
I checked out the link for your book and it is shown as 'Unavailable'. Is there somewhere else I can get my hands on the book?
Hi - I discontinued the black and whit version of the book because it was too difficult to manage two versions and most people bought the color version anyway. Here is the link:
a.co/d/eDt9b2X
@@PracticalEngineeringSolutions
Thanks. But the original link (like this one) is to the colour version and is showing on Amazon as:
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Update:
I didn't realize that the colour version and the B&W version both had a colour cover, hence my confusion.
The good news is, I have finally gotten a link that works. It may have been something to do with being in Australia.
Cheers
You are right. It is confusing. That's how Amazon does it though. Another reason for me to eliminate the B&W version.
Maybe there is an Amazon Australia site ? The link above is the US Site.
Hello, this is a nice/interesting video. Can you give me a link/address where I can buy that printed circuit board? Thank you in advance.
Sure - send me an email at tomswift9748@gmail.com. The current batch is $8 each plus postage thru Paypal.. Jack
In reality some street lights have a problem and flicker. So a circuit to randomly flash an LED but at lower brightness