Working on scenery lights, I'd better put it here.

The color of yours look like the older mercury vapor lights, the one in your Chicago photo are high pressure sodium. The standards are quite nice looking, I'll take a dozen or so!

Dozen here as well!

Look on the bright side (no pun intended) Now that you have perfected the first one the rest should go really fast! At least that's what I always tell myself. 

Rod

prototype #2=all plastic

Looking really good Joe! 

That buck converter board you are using looks like it should be good for at least 1 amp load if its an LM2596.

Since those LED's would only draw 5 ma or so each, one board will power a couple of hundred likely.

Rod

Thanks!

I have a tip for anyone who tries to make these. Drill the hole for wires first. Solder or glue the housing "wye" for the outriggers onto the mast first without anything inside these short 45 degree saddles. Then re-drill the holes bigger (in the 45 degree angles) so that it's easier to fish the wiring thru. Then insert the outpost riggers. The smallest lip inside from misalignment seems to wreak havoc trying to get the wires thru.

 I could have run the wires sooner but thought that the insulation might melt off when I soldered the brass version.

Now that I figured that out with the plastic, I may try the brass version one more time.

I also found that plastic drink stir sticks just happen to fit snuggly inside the larger brass bass pipe. So that could help insulate them from any shorting. Probably not needed but I shoved it in there anyways.

If you wanted each brass light pole Led's wired in series just use the brass pole itself as as the wire between the each Led??

Rod Stewart posted:

...That buck converter board you are using looks like it should be good for at least 1 amp load if its an LM2596.

Since those LED's would only draw 5 ma or so each, one board will power a couple of hundred likely.

That looks like an RT8272 module still more than adequate to power all Joe's lamp posts and then some!

IIRC the "problem" with this module is the max input voltage is 24V DC.  So even with bridge-rectifier, not wise to use this for passenger-car lighting or other rolling-stock powered from AC command-level track voltage.

I was going to post my prototype #3 that I made. The problem is that it looks almost exactly like prototype#1. The key difference is that I assembled it in stages. The wye pieces were soldered on and then a drill was used to re-drill the holes to make sure they were clear. It did go faster than the first, but it's way too time consuming unless I can modify the methods. The plastic is easier and faster to work with but doesn't have the clean sharp look of the thinner brass pieces. I tried hot melt to reinforce the joints and that's not ideal to work with. The solder can mimic a weld and is more workable.

 In the meantime I am also trying to cast a custom plastic wye of my own to see if that will help utilize the plastic version. I just glued up a master to cast from.

 It is good to know that I can power all the lights I produce with one board rig. At least, I'll save some time and effort there.

I have decided on the wiring and the method so that's done. What's the saving of two pieces of magnet wire instead of four? You still would have to connect a wire to the stand pipe so I may as well run them the whole length.

 I have been sawing the brass tube for cleaner cuts. I will swap to my Dremel for speed and see if I can make the pieces with less damage than my sample cuts were with it. I'd need a mini pipe cutter (micro?) as my smallest plumbing version would just deform the pipe I believe. More results to come I hope.

Joe, working with thin magnet wire can drive one crazy - "burning off" the enamel coating and soldering to tiny-fragile surface-mount-device (SMD) LED terminals.

Did you consider using pre-wired SMD LEDs sold at eBay (and elsewhere)?  Hundreds of choices on eBay but not sure if the size, style, wire-diameters, lengths, etc. would be compatible with your specific poles.  But they seem reasonably priced at, say, 50 cents a piece.

As for how to wire up (distribute) power to dozens of wire-pairs with lamp post LEDs, the often discussed eBay vendor "we_honest" has a reasonably priced board designed for this specific purpose.

I use #30 wire-wrap wire, if you have the proper stripper, it works very well.

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I use #30 wire-wrap wire, if you have the proper stripper, it works very well.

I had to look up what you were saying

stan2004 posted:

Joe, working with thin magnet wire can drive one crazy - "burning off" the enamel coating and soldering to tiny-fragile surface-mount-device (SMD) LED terminals.

Did you consider using pre-wired SMD LEDs sold at eBay (and elsewhere)?  Hundreds of choices on eBay but not sure if the size, style, wire-diameters, lengths, etc. would be compatible with your specific poles.  But they seem reasonably priced at, say, 50 cents a piece.

As for how to wire up (distribute) power to dozens of wire-pairs with lamp post LEDs, the often discussed eBay vendor "we_honest" has a reasonably priced board designed for this specific purpose.

I've never seen this either. What does the last description mean that it supports SMD LEDs or SMD/LED lights? not the same?

It's nice that it does all that from one board. Both type and wide input voltage. Dimmer on the output.

I bought some tiny prewired SMD after struggling with them myself. I was saving those for step and platform lights on diesels.

I also decided to try and use up all the extra stuff that I bought in error, and was not going to use.

I started so long ago, that many items are now obsolete!

Hey GRJ

what strippers do you recommend for the wire wrap wire?

I use the Clauss No Nik strippers.

Nice

thank you

where do you buy them?