I managed to string up 3 sets of the LED's yesterday and connected them to the power supplies to test them out on the lower deck of the layout, plus one exposed loop of the helix. I'm using the 150 LED per 5 meter reels on the bottom deck. The upper deck will get the 300 per 5 meter reels. The stronger lights on the upper deck have a greater space to illuminate, 30" from ceiling to the track. And since the upper deck is half as wide as the lower for much of the layout, the light from the upper deck LEds will spill over and help illuminate the lower deck, so hence the reason I went with fewer LEDs per 5 meter for the lower.
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| Lower Level lit up, with the room lights off. |
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| Lower level at York Yard with the lights on, room lights off. |
I used the smaller sized LEDs (the 3528 as apposed to the 5050s) for the helix since I already had them, and there is only 8" separation from the next loop up.
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| Illuminated Helix. |
Once I work out how I'm going to hang my valance for the top deck, I'll install the lighting there also.
Do you happen to have some sort of light meter that can give you readings in footcandles or lumins? I know everyone has these just laying around the house, but it would be interesting to know what the ratings are for the different distances in situ. I think your string is probably rated at 864 lumins per meter, but I'm wondering how that plays out when installed.
ReplyDeleteWhy sure.. I have one in my back pocket.. actually I don't. LOL I'm heading back to work in another week and a half and one of the graphics shops or media shops might have one I might be able to borrow. I'm curious about this myself. I'll keep you posted.
ReplyDeleteBTW, the strings just came down another $3 a reel after I already bought them. I hate when that happens.
I checked out iPhone apps in case you have one. There are only a couple and they don't get good reviews. I might try one and check it against a real light meter... This would be quite a handy thing to have!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have an iPhone so I'd be interested in your findings. :)
ReplyDeleteDid you go for the warm white or the pure white LEDs?
ReplyDeleteI plan to order some too.
Hi Bernie,
ReplyDeleteI prefer the pure white but I know some people think it's to harsh (I don't) but one thing I think that you can do is augment a 3oo 5050 string with a smaller sized LED 3528 string along side it to soften up the pure white tone without drowning it out. Like I said, I like just the pure white so I'm just using them.
Good luck with them and let me know how you make out.
Ted