wTrak - Electrical

Electrical

Great things can be done with LEDs – lighted buildings, sequential runway lamps, flashing lighthouse and airport beacons, lighted subways, pulsing buoy markers – but safety must come first.

A first thought was to run 12 Volt DC jumpers underneath and between tables. In practice, this would be troublesome and potentially unsafe. Jumpers could be 'hidden' by running them through the segment ends, where they would be inaccessible when modules are bolted together. This would be practical in a permanent table display or shelf railway, but a safer, simpler alternative is to power segments individually using 9 Volt batteries. Then, any 'powered' segments are truly compartmentalized. A transformer and electrical connection to an outlet might be fine for a shelf arrangement, but is sure to be a problem in the middle of a room full of kids... A small lockable panel below the module could hold the 9 Volt battery to ensure there is no contact with electrical connections. Include a switch or timer to turn lights on and off.

Obviously lights should be positioned in a protected place too. Consider recessing or placing LEDs behind clear panels so they cannot be chewed, pulled, or crushed. It is tempting to run 12 Volt DC jumpers between tables from underneath but that could be troublesome or unsafe. Jumpers could be ‘hidden’ by running these through the butted segment ends where they would not be accessible when the modules were clamped up, although this probably only makes sense for a permanent display.

A handful of inexpensive LED kits can be found among a long list of electrical components.

Adjustable Interval Timer Kit
Use for blinking light control. Pulse time adjustable between 0.5 and 5 seconds. Pause time adjustable between 2.5 and 60 seconds.

Adjustable LED Flasher Kit
Two potentiometers adjust the flash rate of two LEDs.

LED Chaser Kit
Variable speed led chaser. 10 LEDs flash sequentially.

LED Flashing Kit
Two LEDs flash in unison

A wide range of LED kits are available - many of which have options to tailor the circuits. For an additional charge, the its can be purchased preassambled and tested.

Runway Lighting Kit
Fiber Optic Runway Lighting Kit for Airport Scenes.

Airport Beacon Kit
Simulates rotation of White and Green Search Lights. Micro Processor.

Tower Beacon / Flasher
Two programs. One program makes a set of 3mm Red LEDs slowly brighten and slowly fade like a tall building or radio or other tower light. The second program flashes 2 LEDs in a strobe type pulse fashion.

Chasing LED Kit - White for Airports
10 LEDs chase sequentially for airport approach lights.

Lighthouse Flasher
Lighthouse or rotating beacon simulation. Slowly increases brightness of a 3mm white LED to simulate light rotation, a bright flash, then decreasing intensity to simulate continued rotation. Then restarts cycle.

Flashing Buoy Beacon Kit
Brings a Harbor scene to life with preprogrammed MicroComputer sequences that simulate five USCG Lighted Buoy Flashing Patterns.

Campfire Kit
Amber LED simulates a campfire with pulsing & flashing. Selectable pause or continuous operation. Micro Processor.

Blacksmith Forge Fire
Orange LED simulates a Blacksmith's forge with pulsing & glowing to simulate the bellows pumping the fire in the forge. Micro Processor.

Super Welder Kit
Simulates Pausing and Glowing Iron effects. Micro processor.

Building on Fire Kit
Simulates a fire inside of a building using different color LEDs and random flashing.

Alternating Flasher
A pair of LEDs flash alternately at a speed similar to a blinking crossing light.

Traffic Light Kit
12 LED's function like a traffic light.

LED Illuminator Kit
Makes buildings Come Alive. Generates a sequence of preprogrammed patterns to give a "lived in" look.