Anyone who has them - would appreciate any info on how you made yours. I have lots of questions but kinda just need the basics. My plan is for one switch with two settings (1- occupied and in use & 2-minimal/security lighting only). Would like NOT to illuminate the entire building with one light, guessing I'll need partitions of some sort and maybe multiple/smaller lights. probably wil frost windows with sillouhettes to disguise empty inside - very unlikely, but still possible, that I'll detail the interior spaces. Street lights on - either setting. Um... what else..... Can I use a "picture" of a room for inside the window?
I don't know if DCC would be necessary for this application,,,, I remeber a magazine (N something) had an article on lighting structures a while back. It addressed the issues of lighting only certain rooms or floors... Harold
I had read somewhere, could have been here, about using Fiber Optics todo the lighting, you can use individaul strands to light specfic places.
Yah, but even with fiber optics, you need to partition the space. Fibers give off a helluva lot of light in a confined space, and reflections are very good at getting around even the best laid partial partitions. I think using a photo of a room layout would be a great feature...lot of work though, and difficult to have that AND light the room. You'll have the problem where, night or day, you can see the room interior (if its stuck just inside the window cavity), or the gaps around the picture will show the 'real' interior.... Be hard to do.
Use grain of wheat bulbs, and drop the voltage as needed to adjust the lighting. The nice thing about a bulb running on reduced voltage is that it'll run for almost forever, and the color of the lighting is more realistic, especially for older periods. Mark in Utah
Harold: You don't need DCC to light any structures. A separate auxillary 12v power supply can handle any auxillary lighting in buildings. Stay cool and run steam.....
Ok... I got my partitions set up... now how many grain-o-wheat bulbs do I need per building? 1 per "room"? Any heat issues (considering they wont be on more than 10-20 minutes)? Will I need roof ventilation?
Harold: You don't need DCC to light any structures. A separate auxillary 12v power supply can handle any auxillary lighting in buildings. Stay cool and run steam..... </font>[/QUOTE]The only reason to use DCC that I can think of is if you wanted to control the lights by using your throttle. In that case, you'd have to purchase stationary decoder(s) too. Not the cheapest or best way to do it. I just automatically assumed the question was geared towards DCC, since that is just about the only thing we discuss here... I forgot it was DCC AND Electronics Harold
