# LED lights for HO structures



## Stejones82 (Dec 22, 2020)

Greetings all, 

I am in process of a Walthers 933-3041 Roundhouse kit. The roof looks to big to be left unattached, like I did for the interlocking tower recently completed. 

Eventually, I would like to add lighting to the layout. This is not a high priority now, as I am still in design mode, but I'm thinking that I had perhaps best design and build lighting in as the ROundhouse will of course be affixed tot he track layout coming off the yet-to-be-purchased Walthers 90' TT (Yikes, they ain't cheap!). 

So, would these LEDs be a good choice? If I read correctly, they already have resistors wired/soldered in so only have to hook up to a 12vdc - 18vdc source. 









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Suggestions welcome as I am only just learning. Thanks!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

You might have to use several for one structure depending upon what you want to light, and where you want the lighting. These are pretty small SMD's and will probably not light up an entire building. That wouldn't look realistic anyway.

Kibri sometimes includes a SMD LED and a window or door box to mount one LED inside of to light up just one window or door. They are not very bright when used without the enclosure and in some parts of the building they don't spread light at all.

The Kibri kits usually include a dozen or more boxes for the windows and doors, but you have to supply the rest of the LED's. It's just something to sample so you can see their system work.


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## Stejones82 (Dec 22, 2020)

I was thinking of nine total for the three stall RH. One each fore, midships and aft of each bay. 

I can drill a hole in the back center wall and run the lights down under the table. But I'm thinking that I need to do this as part of construction and probably not after. Reach will be an issue once emplaced.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I have found the strip LED lights on a reel the easiest to use for
interior model buildings. There are 3 LEDs per strip, you cut each strip
from the reel. Each needs
12 V DC power. The strips have adhesive backing. The 'warm white'
version gives off the effect of florescent lights. I used them to light
my passenger cars also.

Don't forget to BLACK OUT your buildings so they don't
'glow'. I used a combination of thick black enamel paint, black
electricians tape and card stock. A neat trick is to black out 
a window here there to simulate some rooms occupied,
some not.

Don


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

The 12 strip LED lights that you can cut in 3's have the resistors in them. Just connect the 12 PCM output of the dimmer to them.


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## Chagachoochoo (Mar 20, 2012)

Stejones82 said:


> Greetings all,
> 
> I am in process of a Walthers 933-3041 Roundhouse kit. The roof looks to big to be left unattached, like I did for the interlocking tower recently completed.
> 
> ...




These LEDs will work fine. Warm white. Note the resistors are NOT soldered. They're loose. Not a problem. In fact, might be easier as you could locate the resistors somewhere out of the way. These LEDs are small but put out a realistic pool of light. I have some I've tried in my Walthers roundhouse, similar to yours. They don't light up much in that situation, so using 3 per bay is a good plan. Point the face of the LED straight at the floor. In my installation I'm putting in a "buck" voltage reduction circuit to drop my 12-volt accessory bus down to about 3 volts, so I'm not using the resistors. But it's really no different than yours. I will wire all the LEDs down underneath the building and add any resistors there. Minimizes wiring appearance under the roof. If you do this, you can add the resistors to either wire from the LED. Some folks will argue otherwise, but technically there is no difference for this particular application on a model railroad. If you can connect these small wires, you can easily put the resistors in. Your roundhouse will look awesome. These will give a pool of light under each one in a rather realistic manner, rather than just being a huge light source inside the entire structure. Just be sure to connect the positive and negative leads correctly. As-shipped, the positive lead is a bit longer than the negative.
I will be using a piece of plastic U-channel to hold all the wiring up under the roof. I will glue it along the wooden beam supports, and paint it to match the beams. All the wires will gather together and run thru the floor at one of the beam columns in each of the bays. There they'll be gathered to connect to the power source.

I'm using these lamps from EBay: 10 x OO / HO scale street light Model wall Lamp posts Led Ceiling Lamps #R60BL | eBay 

I'm using the following buck converter to drop the input power. It has a nice advantage of being adjustable, and has an integral digital readout for output voltage.: LM2596 DC-DC 1.3-37V LED Buck Converter Adjustable Power Supply Step Down Module | eBay

My LED's look best in the roundhouse when they get 3.1 volts. With this power setup I don't need to install the resistors.

Hope this helps. One more idea in a long list of ideas! Have fun.

Kevin


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

You might talk with the moderator (GunRunnerJohn) about not using resistors. I really think you would be better off with resistors and no buck converter. LED's are not light bulbs but are current devices and the resistor also offers some protection against startup/shutdown transients.


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## Chagachoochoo (Mar 20, 2012)

Lemonhawk said:


> You might talk with the moderator (GunRunnerJohn) about not using resistors. I really think you would be better off with resistors and no buck converter. LED's are not light bulbs but are current devices and the resistor also offers some protection against startup/shutdown transients.


Ahhh - - - good point. I will investigate more. My intention was to vary the voltage to set the brightness level. Thanks!!!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I'm far from a digital pro, but have done some experimenting
with LEDs...the result...I was able to power all of the 
20 or so red/green LEDs
in my 3 turnout control panels with ONE 2.5 volt DC power source...
(track terminals of DC Power pack)...
No burned out LEDs...brightness that I wanted...and no passel of resistors
cluttering the panel wiring. May not be what is recommended, but it works.

Don


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