Lighting buildings - Jim Banner

[Jim Banner]

Trent, photos like that should be made illegal!!  One look at them and I want to tear my layout up and start again.  Very well done.

Three wires are used when there is an outlet on the other end of the string of lights.  The first wire is in short pieces and connects the lights in series.  The second wire is the return from the far end of the string.  And the third wire carries power to the outlet at the far end for the next set of lights.  (The outlet uses the same return wire as the lights.)

[jsmvmd]

THESE GUYS ARE GOOD !

[lmackattack]

thanks jim most of those buildings just have a bulb or 2 hanging inside from the rooftops. Im not a detail freak just enjoy the hobby and the work i put into it..

regarding the bulbs I will hack any 12V blub I find from old toys or things found at work.  makes for a cheap way to lite the layout.

Trent

[CNE Runner]

I was watching TV last night and saw an ad for a store (oh, come on...you didn't think I would remember which store did you?) that will give you $3 off an LED Christmas light string if you bring in any string of lights (working or otherwise). Since some of you (Jim, Imackattack) are adept at cutting apart light strings, and using them in your buildings, I thought this might be another avenue to examine. It would seem, to my uninformed mind, that one could easily gather enough LEDs to light a small city for very little money.

Just a thought,
Ray

[Jim Banner]

We had the same thing up here in Saskatoon, last weekend and this weekend.  Our power company gave us up to three coupons, each worth $3 against a set of LED lights, if we turned in sets of incandescent lights.  Several local stores participated.  Canadian Tire had strings of 35 warm white LEDs regular $11.98 on for half price.  With $3 off each string, I ended up with 105 LEDs for $8.97, which is less than a dime per LED.  I like warm white LEDs for headlights, and these are the 3 mm ones that fit just about everything.

Even if you don't cut up the strings, you have to love LED Christmas lights.  Two watts for a string of 35 compared to 7-1/5 watts for each of the big old bulbs we traded in.  I am thinking of plugging all three strings into a photocell to light up the walkway from my shop to my house.  At an average of 12 hours a day, that should cost about $2 a year.  And they should last about 20 years.

Jim 

[CNE Runner]

Jim - You convinced me...I'm heading up to Walmart to see if they have cheap LED Christmas lights. I would love to use them in my background buildings; however the walkway idea is also great.

Ray

[bcjim]

Home Depot has the $3.00 off with  your old string.
Saw this on a U.S. station, may or may not apply in Canada.
Jim 

[CNE Runner]

Jim - THANK YOU! I thought I had seen the offer on TV; but now remember that I was in the Huntsville (AL) Home Depot and saw the offer there. Now I have to go up into the attic and grab one of our old (unused) light strings to trade.

Thanks,
Ray

[Jim Banner]

We have our own program up here in Canada and I managed to snag two more strings this weekend, half price plus $3 off.  So now I should have enough LEDs for both locomotive headlights and for lighting the walkway to my work shop.

Would that I was being LED down the garden path??

Jim