Finally the Lights are Sorted

I have finally sorted out how to make the lights for my models.

When it comes to lights I have struggled to get them the way I would like but finally I have them sorted.
The main problem is that when I started over 25 to 30 years ago adding lights to my models I was using 12v (mains power using a transformer) and rice bulbs. These rice bulbs were soo hot that at one show one of my grape plants started to smolder. Terrifying!
So the next thing I did was change things to LED's but again still running them on 12v using mains power. (This proved to be very expensive.) Then a friend suggested I use batteries to allow me more freedom in placing the models at shows and schools. This led to doing 9v battery power.
Then came micro lights - well they changed everything!

They run on 4.5v and they are soo bright. Then I found strip lights (because I want to make lit mushrooms) and because they to run on 4.5v (when separated from the strip of 12v) and they are just soo bright which means I do not need as many lights to do the job. If you would like to read more please click on the read more button.

This is the wiring for the Pebble Cottage Potting
Shed Board. It does not show how the Blue
Mushrooms can be separated from the whole
board and have their own power supply.

You may ask why I have bothered to keep changing all the lights. I think really the answer is the micro lights. I can have over 200 lights all running on 4.5v for more than 2 full days on battery where I would never get that from the LED's I was using. These micro lights have just changed the whole look of the models. I have always wanted lots of lights at night and these micros do it.
The cost is soo low, the use soo versatile. They are amazing.

 

I have written a lot of articles about lighting but I think the one thing I would like to add is that when doing the lighting make sure that each bunch of lights have resistors.

This is the wiring of Archibald's General Store. Please note how each bundle of lights are tagged with names and the size of the ohm used on that line.

In the photo above I have added different resistors to different bunches depending on the brightness that I wanted for each string of micro lights. I have a combination of 15ohms, 32ohms, 62ohms. The 15ohms is also used on the strip lights which I have used in the rooms of the model.

As always photos never look as good as reality. This is the bedroom of Archibald with his pet sitting on his bed.