I purchased a few cheap LEDs off the net, but they warn not to use anything over 3v. Will the Woodland Scenic Just Plug system run these without burning them out?
You can experiment since they're cheap, but it's easy to burn them out. These days on my layout I am using 3v LEDs with a 12v power supply. I reduce the voltage with resistors. I also use 'buckboards', which has a 'dimmer' adjustment and can take 12v and dial it down to 3v or whatever I need. I also have a dedicated 3v power supply. Hope this helps!
Do you need resistors in each line for the led's? Also what if you're trying to light something opposite the layout or on a large layout, can you solder additional wire to extend the length? I'm not good with wiring and still learning lol.
I have similar questions. I'm pretty sure there's no problem with extending the wires to the length you need them though. Every video I've come across says how easy it is to get resistors, how common they are, etc, but never specifically say, "Get this resistor." I've been looking for information about where to order resistors and what type, etc. and I'm spinning my wheels.
You can extend the wires as needed. The use of resistors is really dependent on the voltage needed and how much you want to dim the LED. There is no simple answer unfortunately. Search the web for 'voltage calculator', you should find simple apps to help figure what resistors you need based on power supply and LED voltage. Hope this helps!
Really neat setup, but I am not understanding something correctly. You seem to have DC powering the switches and AC powering the lights, which seems backwards to me. I'm new at this so sorry if it's a dumb question.
Where do you hide the light control box and how do you turn it on and off? Can you have a switch over at a control panel? Does it take one control box for each model? Thx.
On my layout most of the lighting dimmer boxes are at my control panel, and they can be turned on/off in large sections with a single switch. Check out woodland scenics just plug for specifics. On the new section of my layout I'm developing a different lighting plan using buckboards and resistors. I will make a video on that at some point.
That's a great demo of doing interiors, Pete. Great job with all the details. I'm a huge fan of Evan Designs products. Didn't know you had a channel, just subscribed to it.
Are the warm LED's bright enough to use with fiber optics? I like this system but sometimes I want to have just a few very small lights, like a naked bulb or maybe oil lamp hanging in a stationary (like decommissioned) caboose. In this specific instance there is an abandoned caboose by a pond and some folks are fishing for bullhead off the steps of it...all I need is a dim light in the caboose and one by the water. Just a strand of warm yellow fiber optic light will do.
I absolutely LOVE your fire house. In fact, I want to do a copy cat. You wouldn’t happen to know the exact cit you bashed, do you? I looked for sand and gravel companies and can’t find similar to bash.
@@petes3dscalemodels881 omg! Thank you so much!!!!! Wanna put it in the downtown main street area and what you did looks like it will fit in perfectly!!!!
Thank you, Pete. I greatly appreciate your effort in sharing this information! I've invested some money in the Just Plug system, but yes, costs spiral rapidly when you want to add more lights. You hit the target exactly about the issues you have regarding the realism of some lighting, like the Menards products. The brightness is overwhelming, yet somehow unrealistic. Many thanks for the tips and commentary!
After a 35 year hiatus, I am getting back into model railroading ( for the grand children of course) OMG how much has changed ! Your videos are very inspiring, although I am not that talented or patient - thank you for the excellent detail, well produced and narrated videos, and the supplier links you provide - now I need a DCC controller and 3D printer - thanks ! You must be a professional designer.
I very much like what you do, keep it up. Looking at Nano light what specs do you recommend to use with a DCC layout to use with the Woodland scenic system (besides the woodland scenic ones). Some come 3V, 5-12V or 7-19 (Evans Design for example). thanks
Thanks! WS is actually 24v, and I mostly us 12-18v LEDs, and also some from Evan with the resistor. I've stared using a separate 12v power supply, and lots of 3v LEDs with resistors or buckboards, which can dial down the voltage. I'll be doing another video at some point. Hope this helps!
This seems like a great solution for n scale. As you can imagine most of the lighting there is too bright as well. Do you know of any other ways to black out the walls of a structure than black electrical tape? I'm just getting into the hobby and I was wondering how this was typically handled. Great video BTW! Thanks
I don't have a ds64 so unfortunately I don't know. I bet if you chat with the touch toggle folks they could help www.berretthillshop.com/store/products/touch-controls/
You can operate DS64s (as well as other DCC decoders) with the Universal Translators available from Berrett Hill: www.berretthillshop.com/store/products/universal-translator/
My fear of using the WS lighting solution you used, is how to get the “bulky” plugs thru the “foundation” down to the underside of the layout into the hub. Seems I need a sizable hole to route all the plugs to underneath. Can you share how you do the post-assembly routing of wires on the layout. Thanks.
I bore a 3/8" hole through the foundation which is easily covered by the structure. I picked up a bunch of the 2 pin 2.54mm plugs online cheap, which fits the WS system. I use the male ends on a 12" harness at the structure. This allows me to plug it into a hub on the work bench while building/testing. When complete I put the building on the layout and drop the harness thru the 3/8 hole. Under the layout I have run wires from the WS hub controller to the hole and put female ends on it. This gives me a quick disconnect for each structure, which is handy for a number of reasons. The key was finding the plugs cheap online and not getting them from WS. Long answer to your question, but bottom line is I live with the hole and it's not a problem for me. Since making this video I have started using resistors to balance the lights in each building, and have a new 12v power supply buss under the layout. Combined with the voltage reducing capability of a 'buckboard', this is working great and in the end less expensive than buying all of those WS dimmers. I will be making a video about this in the near future. Hope this is helpful.
@@petes3dscalemodels881 in depth answers are always helpful. Thanks for taking the time to elaborate. I look forward to the next video, you mentioned, once released.
Lately I've been experimenting with resistors and buckboards using a stand-alone 12v power supply to save on dimmer controls. Would love to hear your suggestions, thanks!
Another great how-to video! I'm a big fan of interior details. You mentioned that you use MS Publisher in one of your other videos to make your interiors. Have you given thought to maybe making an instructional walk-thru type video for folks that may have that or similar tools, so they can see it visually. Also, I think it would be cool if you can share a template (not your final product) of a sample room that folks could use to make their own. Having a sample to work with is always easier to replicate for your individual buildings. Just some thoughts...Thanks again!
That's great! I've got another half dozen old buildings that I plan on fixing up and filming. One I'm going to cut in half in use it as two 'background flats', interested to see how that works out. Thanks for watching!
i dont mean to be off topic but does anybody know a way to get back into an instagram account?? I was stupid forgot my login password. I would appreciate any tips you can give me.
Wow this was very helpful. I am just getting into the woodland scenics just plug stuff myself. I have a lot of leds that I’ll be able to use this with, thanks!
I don't know anything about Bachmann switches, wish I could help. The snap relay comes with instructions for a lot of different wiring setups, you can probably find the diagrams online. Search Atlas Snap Relay. The Touch toggles can work with lots of systems, just check the manufacturer website. The type I have works with 3 wire twin coil switch machine.
The three wires of the Bachmann switches are the same as the three terminals on the Atlas. The middle wire is usually the common. They work fine with the Touch Toggle Snap Action Base. You'll need to use a 24v supply to deliver enough power to the capacitive discharge unit in the base. Kevin Hunter, TouchToggle.com.
Yes. Not ideal imo but not a deal breaker. I've plugged it into a power strip, and use the switch on that as the main on/off for the layout. At least it has a button that controls power to the track.
This is the same as the NCE Powercab unit. No power On/Off on the unit itself. Certainly never been an issue for me as I have the powerpack plugged into a power strip with on/off button there.
