How to connect wiring for lighting?

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CSL
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How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by CSL » Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:36 pm

Hi all.

I have a couple of Modeltown platform lights (so far only put out in the garden once in a very temporary way) and several North Pilton signals with LEDs (as yet unbuilt).

All have pre-fixed cables (*very* flimsy in the case of the Modeltown lights, although these are long enough to reach into the station building). The cables on the signals are too short to reach into a convenient scenic building.

The station and at least one of my intended signal locations are slightly vulnerable so I want them to be easily removed and re-installed, potentially at every operating session.

How should I install wiring to supply these lights?

I can't figure out what connections should be used to stand up to the weather. Even if I use individual batteries at each signal (which could be the easiest option for removability) there will still be the occasional rainfall.

How do others do electrical supply to external lights?

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by Big Jim » Mon Jan 15, 2018 1:53 pm

Soldered joints with heat shrink tubing over them are fairly weather proof, smear with silicone if you want to make sure.
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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by ge_rik » Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:18 pm

As Jim says, soldered and heatshrinked (heatshrunk??). If you want plugs and sockets to make them removable, then you can get (supposedly) waterproof JST connectors such as these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253318963167

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by CSL » Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:21 pm

Thanks Big Jim and Rik.

Can batteries be left out under a basic cover or are we basically saying that everything might as well be taken inside after every operating session anyway?

Also, the Modeltown cables, despite being incredibly small, straggle untidily across the platform surfaces between the lampposts and the station building. Can anyone suggest how I might disguise this? I presume that someone out there has done this!

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by markoteal » Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:38 pm

Agree - those wires on those lamps are very thin - took me ages to get them connected up reliably - I just drilled a hole underneath where i wanted by lamp, soldered extra wires onto the two flimsy wires (which took the time) then fed each wire down through the hole and connect up where you can get to cover - maybe drilling another hole under your station building to feed the wire back up into , to your battery box - thats how I have wired up one of those lamps
Where did I put that uncoupler?

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by Big Jim » Mon Jan 15, 2018 4:58 pm

Can batteries be left out under a basic cover or are we basically saying that everything might as well be taken inside after every operating session anyway?
No reason why they can't be left out if covered. It might be worth remembering that batteries do suffer in cold conditions so they may not work as well should it get too nippy.

Maplin sell some reasonably good boxes for electrical gubbins (I think they are called project boxes) you can also get rubber boots to seal toggle switches from damp so there should not be much of a problem leaving things outside. A couple of silica gel sachets inside will help keep the damp at bay as well.
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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by CSL » Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:49 pm

Great, thanks for the solutions and ideas. Obviously I should have thought of this before casting a solid concrete platform! (Which I did after I had the platform lamps - oops!)

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by Peter Butler » Mon Jan 15, 2018 7:02 pm

So many variables with so many solutions.... fist of all I have to admit I'm not familiar with the Modeltown lights so don't know how they can be attached to a platform surface, but my solution to the same problem is based on the way my railway is constructed.
The lamps I use are built from Christmas decorative lamps which are very cheap to buy but lend themselves to improvement...
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They are fitted with 3v LED's and come with a battery holder.
I raise the height of the posts and extend the wires with solder joints and heatshrink protection. They are then pushed over plastic tube to keep rain and moisture away from connections. The tubes are set into the platform surface and the wiring is below baseboard level, each lamp wired in parallel to the next. Power supply from a 3v transformer inside my shed.
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My installation is based on my own environment.... wiring accessible from beneath baseboards, lamps left outside permanently, ability to lift lamps from tubes for maintenance or replacement. Not suitable for every situation but one which works well for me.
I hope this is useful.
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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by CSL » Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:55 pm

Peter - I love it! Possibly not applicable to my garden, but great to read and see your ideas. As you say, we all have our own particular situations, but I do like to see what others have devised and done.

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by LNR » Mon Jan 15, 2018 10:13 pm

As you mention that you have a concrete platform with no allowance for wiring, would small storage receptacles (don't know what they're for?) like the new Harbour platform at Portmadog has, get you battery storage close to a light position while remaining portable. Just a thought.
Grant.

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by CSL » Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:37 am

Many thanks for the responses.

Having thought about it a bit more, I'm wondering whether the best solution might be to have the signals individually powered so they are simple "plonk down/pick up" with batteries concealed in the undergrowth (or platform furniture of some kind). Long-ish permanent runs of cables may be unnecessary.

The platform lights, however, go either end of the station building so it makes sense for the batteries to be inside the building - still need to work out a disguise for those straggly wires over the platform surface. I'm not going for a finescale look so some kind of duct will do.

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by philipy » Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:52 am

It might depend on the position of the lights on the platform. If its right at the back edge you should be able to just notch the edge of the platform and/or drill a horizontal hole in the lamp column right at the bottom, then take the wires down to ground level at the back. Then they are easily hidden by vegetation, ballast or what have you to run to wherever you like.
Philip

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by pandsrowe » Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:12 am

For what it's worth I use rechargeable batteries to power most of my lighting and motor driven projects. Freshly charged batteries are put out at the start of the running season and are taken in for the winter, in all cases they are undercover ie. inside buildings but they do suffer slightly from the effects of corrosion, nothing that a clean up and a wipe of contact fluid on the terminals doesn't correct at the end of the season. What does surprise me is how long they last without recharging, the batteries supplying building lights will go the whole season and the ones supplying the motors that drive things like beam pumps and water wheels will only be recharged perhaps once during the season. Obviously it depends on how often they are in use but in my case they work well. When I started building my line I laid cable underground to provide a 12volt bus ready for lighting and animations but the problems that I encountered with trying to find suitable miniature weatherproof connectors and switchgear and incorporate these into buildings and lampposts proved to be just too much of a headache. AA batteries in switched battery boxes are so simple, cheap and easy.
Phil

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by markoteal » Tue Jan 16, 2018 11:20 am

pandsrowe wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:12 am For what it's worth I use rechargeable batteries to power most of my lighting and motor driven projects. Freshly charged batteries are put out at the start of the running season and are taken in for the winter, in all cases they are undercover ie. inside buildings but they do suffer slightly from the effects of corrosion, nothing that a clean up and a wipe of contact fluid on the terminals doesn't correct at the end of the season. What does surprise me is how long they last without recharging, the batteries supplying building lights will go the whole season and the ones supplying the motors that drive things like beam pumps and water wheels will only be recharged perhaps once during the season. Obviously it depends on how often they are in use but in my case they work well. When I started building my line I laid cable underground to provide a 12volt bus ready for lighting and animations but the problems that I encountered with trying to find suitable miniature weatherproof connectors and switchgear and incorporate these into buildings and lampposts proved to be just too much of a headache. AA batteries in switched battery boxes are so simple, cheap and easy.
Totally agree - thats my approach - means if there is a glitch, its self contained and can be brought inside fairly easily to be sorted without having to disconnect/re-connect lots of things - the only downside is switching them on at the beginning of an evening session but its only 5 mins and gives me the opportunity to check things out and smarten things up as I move around the garden - also makes it easy to upgrade to a better solution if I find one for that situation
Where did I put that uncoupler?

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by CSL » Thu Jan 18, 2018 7:23 am

(Genuine but embarrassingly basic question alert.)

If soldering wires end-to-end, is a heatsink required to prevent heat damaging the LED at the end of the wire to the light?

I have dim and distant memories of a school electronics project to make a rudimentary bridge rectifier when I got through about ten diodes... Although in that case the diodes were right next to the solder joint. As you can tell, I've barely touched a soldering iron since!

From memory a crocodile clip would be used as the heatsink, but I'm not convinced the products come with enough bare wire to clip it on and solder, and the Modeltown wires in particular are so tiny it looks tricky to strip the insulation.

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by bazzer42 » Thu Jan 18, 2018 7:56 am

If you tin both ends with solder it shouldn't be too much heat exposure if you solder quick. I've never had problems and haven't used a heat sink in the past (4mm modelling). Mý dear old dad used to warn about not too much heat whether modern leads are more tolerant, no idea.

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by ge_rik » Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:35 am

CSL wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2018 7:23 am (Genuine but embarrassingly basic question alert.)

If soldering wires end-to-end, is a heatsink required to prevent heat damaging the LED at the end of the wire to the light?

I have dim and distant memories of a school electronics project to make a rudimentary bridge rectifier when I got through about ten diodes... Although in that case the diodes were right next to the solder joint. As you can tell, I've barely touched a soldering iron since!

From memory a crocodile clip would be used as the heatsink, but I'm not convinced the products come with enough bare wire to clip it on and solder, and the Modeltown wires in particular are so tiny it looks tricky to strip the insulation.
It shouldn't be necessary if you don't leave the iron on the joint for too long. With the thin wires, the worst that can happen is that you melt the insulation on the wires.

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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by Big Jim » Thu Jan 18, 2018 8:45 pm

I have never used a heat sink when soldering LED's, I think if you are quick enough there should not be a problem. Make sure the wires are clean and use a good flux and you shouldn't have any problems.
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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by Peter Butler » Thu Jan 18, 2018 9:32 pm

When I altered the height of my Christmas street lamps it was necessary to extend the wires and because of the way they had been manufactured the tails were very short, only an inch or so. As already suggested, work clean and fast and they will be fine. All of mine work.
It is important to remember that LED's are +/- sensitive so if you do a test sample and it doesn't work, try reversing polarity.
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Re: How to connect wiring for lighting?

Post by Robert Hammond » Sat Dec 08, 2018 6:18 pm

I have solid concrete platforms with black roofing felt on the top surface. Wiring for lights goes under the roofing felt. I use permanent power supply except for trains, can't be bothered changing too many batteries. LEDs are very sensitive to over-voltage. A standard transformer will not necessarily supply the correct voltage, but I used one specially designed for LEDs which is stabilised at 12 volt output. My platform lights are 3 volt so I have connected banks of 4 connected in series (end to end) .The biggest problem I have is squirrels and foxes knocking them over or chewing the tops off.

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