Hello:
This past winter I talked about using L.E.D.'s for all my lights. Well, sometimes you can't use them. Just don't look right.
I wanted dimmed street lights on one of my roads. If I applied all 12 volts to it. It was very bright, hot, and burned out quickly. Here are two solutions I did.
Solution #1
The Parellel curcuit:
You take one wire from one lamp and wire it to the other lamp. Then you take the other wires and connect power to it.
Solution #2
The Resistor Approach:
Take one wire from a lamp and connect 3 1000 Ohm in parellel with each other. Connect the other end of the resistors your power source. Also connect the other wire directly to the power source.
Now you may ask why I used three resistors instead one 333 Ohm resistor. The reason is, wattage. I could do it but the resistor would exceed its operating tolerances. What would happen if you do this? Simple physics, the resistor would heat up and cause a fire. I know no one would want a fire under thier layout. Sure you could use a 1 watt resistor, but they are hard to find and expensive. I usually see them around $3.00 ea at a hamfest. Considering quarter watts are only a few pennies!
So I keep a large supply of them in my junk box. Plus, Radio Shack likes it when I buy them out!
Happy Railing,
Andy
This past winter I talked about using L.E.D.'s for all my lights. Well, sometimes you can't use them. Just don't look right.
I wanted dimmed street lights on one of my roads. If I applied all 12 volts to it. It was very bright, hot, and burned out quickly. Here are two solutions I did.
Solution #1
The Parellel curcuit:
You take one wire from one lamp and wire it to the other lamp. Then you take the other wires and connect power to it.
Solution #2
The Resistor Approach:
Take one wire from a lamp and connect 3 1000 Ohm in parellel with each other. Connect the other end of the resistors your power source. Also connect the other wire directly to the power source.
Now you may ask why I used three resistors instead one 333 Ohm resistor. The reason is, wattage. I could do it but the resistor would exceed its operating tolerances. What would happen if you do this? Simple physics, the resistor would heat up and cause a fire. I know no one would want a fire under thier layout. Sure you could use a 1 watt resistor, but they are hard to find and expensive. I usually see them around $3.00 ea at a hamfest. Considering quarter watts are only a few pennies!
So I keep a large supply of them in my junk box. Plus, Radio Shack likes it when I buy them out!
Happy Railing,
Andy
-- N Gauger