Battery operated lighting?

[tom mann]

So I know absolutely nothing about what I need to install lighting for structures.  I would like a battery operated set up, where lights are connected to the battery and can be dimmed through a knob.  As the layout grows, I would like to add more lights, but not at the cost of having everything go dim as lights are added.  What do I need and where can I get it?

[John]

So I know absolutely nothing about what I need to install lighting for structures.  I would like a battery operated set up, where lights are connected to the battery and can be dimmed through a knob.  As the layout grows, I would like to add more lights, but not at the cost of having everything go dim as lights are added.  What do I need and where can I get it?

12V power supply and run a 12v aux circuit around the layout ..  then put all the lights in parralel

[Ian MacMillan]

So I know absolutely nothing about what I need to install lighting for structures.  I would like a battery operated set up, where lights are connected to the battery and can be dimmed through a knob.  As the layout grows, I would like to add more lights, but not at the cost of having everything go dim as lights are added.  What do I need and where can I get it?

12V power supply and run a 12v aux circuit around the layout ..  then put all the lights in parralel

Ditto

[diezmon]

So I know absolutely nothing about what I need to install lighting for structures.  I would like a battery operated set up, where lights are connected to the battery and can be dimmed through a knob.  As the layout grows, I would like to add more lights, but not at the cost of having everything go dim as lights are added.  What do I need and where can I get it?

why battery powered?  is this the z scale layout you've been working on, modular ? 

Why not set it up with something rechargeable?  Like those battery packs for RC cars/ships, etc..

[mmyers]

How about one of those automotive jump boxes for battery power? I've used mine with a cigar lighter adapter for testing trains and lighting. Should go quite a while between charges.

Martin Myers

[DKS]

Battery power is cool because you can run the layout anywhere. At the open house a while back, this came in very handy because an outlet was not handy. I use three sets of batteries: 6v for lighting, 3v to power the train, and 1.5v for certain effects. Since they are D cells, everything will run quite a long time on one set; they could optionally be replaced with rechargeables.
 


I don't have the lighting set up to dim, but that should not be a big deal; an ordinary rheostat from an old transformer should do the trick. For lighting, I would recommend just getting a bulk pack of warm white LEDs from one of the eBay vendors that sell them; sometimes dropping resistors are included. Their ability to illuminate structures effectively is improved if the LED capsule is "frosted" with sandpaper, or painted white.