Led lighting

Absolutely. John can give you the specifics but the difference is quite significant. We have a number of John’s units and also some from Jack Pearce and they are a great improvement.

Here's proof.  RK regular lights on the outside.  LEDs in the inside.

How hard is it to install the LED lighting yourself?

Very easy. Basic skills. 

No big deal to install LED lighting.  If you're at all adept at soldering, I recommend the lighting modules and a strip of LED's.  Cuts the price way down to install, the kits are for solderless installation, you pay for the privilege of not soldering.  The module is dirt simple, track power into the AC, LED 12V strip on the DC, and adjust the little pot for the desired intensity, job done.

Are the lighting modules and instructions available over the counter at Henning's Trains?  I've been wanting to stop by there.

Hey GRJ, which led strips are good for these lighting modules? 

gunrunnerjohn posted:

No big deal to install LED lighting.  If you're at all adept at soldering, I recommend the lighting modules and a strip of LED's.  Cuts the price way down to install, the kits are for solderless installation, you pay for the privilege of not soldering.  The module is dirt simple, track power into the AC, LED 12V strip on the DC, and adjust the little pot for the desired intensity, job done.

Not hard at all. John’s modules work excellent! I did all my Amfleet cars with them and my set of Pullmans. I used a reel of self stick LED strips and soldered them myself. If you buy a kit you can see how it’s done and see how well they work. I need to do some of my subway cars now.  

would these work for accessories and can i run more than one accessory to a single board? also is there a part number i can order from you

Old Newbie posted:

Are the lighting modules and instructions available over the counter at Henning's Trains?  I've been wanting to stop by there.

Yep, anything of my products that are on the Henning's site are available at the store.

swise posted:

Hey GRJ, which led strips are good for these lighting modules?

Any of the 12V strips are fine, and if you run conventional, you can also use the 5V strips to allow you to run at lower voltages.  The modules control current and not voltage, so they're flexible as to the voltage of the strips.

waynef posted:

would these work for accessories and can i run more than one accessory to a single board? also is there a part number i can order from you

These are really "purpose built" for LED lighting.  Typically, for accessories, you'd just use a fixed voltage source.

I’ve recently experienced issues while running an mth 611 j along with older Lionel N&W passenger cars from the early 80’s. While running two other diesels in a separate mth lash up I’ve noticed an increase in the amps that often results in the tripping of the transformer, a z4000. Would the extra amps being drawn by the non-led passenger cars be the likely culprit?

Well, figure anything from .4 to .6 amps per car and do the math.  Obviously, if there's no shorts or other issues involved, it's simply the draw of the incandescent bulbs.  FWIW, we have had lots of issues with older passenger cars at club functions, two passenger trains getting onto the same power district would frequently trip the brick for that section.

GRJ---  I'm thinking of getting the modules to convert several passenger cars to LED.

My question is --- can the LED strips be installed / used without the module and still be safe?  I've seen several YouTube videos that install the strips without the modules and they seem to run fine. I realize you would not be able to control the density / brightness of the LEDs, but if you're ok with the brightness, is it safe to install them that way?

If I installed without the module, would 12V or 24V LED strips be the correct choice?

Again, I'm leaning towards getting several of your modules, but just curious as to what my options are.

Thanks for all your information and what you do for this forum

I see people installing them that way.  You lose flicker supression and intensity adjustment, and of course the intensity will vary with track power.  I have no idea how long they'll last as they're also subject to reverse voltage on the LED's.  Obviously, you'd use 12V strips, same as I typically use.

Thanks GRJ, I've got 6 passenger cars to do, 3 each from the Polar Express sets that 2 of my grandsons have.  I'll probably just get the modules as I don't mind the soldering.  Thanks again....

I have found LED lights that just plug right into the socket and work without any rectifier. They come in standard bayonet, screw in an T10 push in varieties.  I could not believe that they were AC compatible so I tried using those lights outside on my landscape lighting. So far for 5 years and 6 hours each day,  they are all burning brightly with zero failures. This leads me to believe that the LED replacement lights already contain a resistor in the base and that the AC doesn't bother them.

Dennis LaGrua posted:

I have found LED lights that just plug right into the socket and work without any rectifier. They come in standard bayonet, screw in an T10 push in varieties.  I could not believe that they were AC compatible so I tried using those lights outside on my landscape lighting. So far for 5 years and 6 hours each day,  they are all burning brightly with zero failures. This leads me to believe that the LED replacement lights already contain a resistor in the base and that the AC doesn't bother them.

Dennis, where did you get the LED lights that come in standard bayonette or screw in, and approximately how much do they cost?

I'm particularly interested in such LED lights for 022 switch tracks. Arnold

Town and Country have direct fit replacements for most bayonet and Edison screw bulbs used in our classic trains.

http://stores.towncountryhobbies.com/

Thank you, BMORAN4. 

Arnold

bmoran4 posted:

Town and Country have direct fit replacements for most bayonet and Edison screw bulbs used in our classic trains.

http://stores.towncountryhobbies.com/

If you don't want to spend $2 / bulb you could make them yourself.  See link.  Note the comment about the 2 cent diode.  I guess if you are going to do it, do it right.  Mine are still lit after all this time.

https://ogrforum.com/...or-lionel-260-bumper

Ron

gunrunnerjohn posted:

No big deal to install LED lighting.  If you're at all adept at soldering, I recommend the lighting modules and a strip of LED's.  Cuts the price way down to install, the kits are for solderless installation, you pay for the privilege of not soldering.  The module is dirt simple, track power into the AC, LED 12V strip on the DC, and adjust the little pot for the desired intensity, job done.

I really enjoy this module John created and recommend it to anyone wanting to simplify an LED conversion.  It is very simple to install and can be hidden almost anywhere.  

Here is a train I added 360 passengers to... and upgraded the lighting while I was in there.  They use 2700-2800K 12v LED strips along with John's modules.  Then I turned the modules all the way down for more realistic lighting.  Here's a little video.  They actually appear slightly brighter than what the level is set to...

I may have missed it but what are the dimensions of the module (LxWxH) ?

i may have asked the wrong question about the led boards ,if i have 3 buildings with led lights can i wire all of them to 1 board or do i need 3 boards? im using a zw275 transformer 1 control for accessory

Robert S. Butler posted:

I may have missed it but what are the dimensions of the module (LxWxH) ?

1/2" x 1" x 5/8" with the tab on the regulator folded down.  I normally stick them to the ceiling of the car with DS foam tape.

waynef posted:

i may have asked the wrong question about the led boards ,if i have 3 buildings with led lights can i wire all of them to 1 board or do i need 3 boards? im using a zw275 transformer 1 control for accessory

For lighting buildings, my board is not the ideal solution.  First off, you don't need DCS protection or flicker suppression, you have a constant accessory power source.  I'd just fine a nice DC power supply and go for it.

thanks john

Thanks John