Part 4 -- Getting the Correct LED Set-up

I got my initial order of adapter and LEDs but now have discovered that what I ordered and received presented problems. (There's a better way)

One of the problems I encountered along the way was the difference in size and shape of LEDs and regular incandescent dollhouse lighting.

Take a look at: http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/miniatureleds.html

These wonderful warm-white lights are bright and closely match incandescents in color. However, they present some difficulties for the dollhouse miniaturist.

1.) In the picture above, you will see a bump under the shrink tube on the red wire of each LED. This is difficult to fit into an ordinary dollhouse 1" to 12" scale lamp. When you order LEDs, you can ask (at the modeltrainsoftware site) Shelly to place the resistor farther down on the red wire.

(Above) When rewiring the dollhouse size lamp (which I got out of a junk box at an estate sale), I needed the resistor placed a good 4" away from the LED, so it could be hidden behind the table where the lamp sits. I later painted the red wire black, so it mimicked old original 1920s wires which were black.

2.) Fitting LEDs into the holes in beads or brass rods is also a problem. A fixture meant to hold incandescent dollhouse lights often has delicately curved (hollow) brass rods where small wiring easily fits through, but not easily negotiated by the post at the base of most LEDs even though those posts can be bent. 

For this, you may need to order the tiny chip LEDs.

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/smd-chip-leds.html

3.) LEDs are directional. This means that the light is produced by electrons flowing in one direction. So + (positive) and – (negative) matters. That means every LED needs two wires. I wondered how I was going to make the two wires into one where they show (as in the wires which exit a lamp fixture). Again, here the tiny wires and chip LEDs are the answer.
      You can glue the two wires flat together to mimic the lamp wires of old.

4.) The light from the LED shines forward more than out to the sides, so they are perfect for can lighting and are often used that way. You will get a focused beam on your subject. Sometimes you will want this direct light, but sometimes you'll need a more diffused light. To achieve a diffuse effect, the LED's surface can be sanded with sand paper.

5.) Another way to get the light from an LED to diffuse is to hide the LED inside frosted glass or other structures because they do not look like 'bulbs' or candle flames.

But have faith, there is a solution to all of these problems:

Shelly wrote me this when I showed her the above account of my experience:

1) If you use our new ( http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/3-volt-adapter.html ) 3 volt adapter, there is no longer any need for resistors!

or, consider the 2-AA or 2-AAA or coin cell approach. All 3 volt supplies have no resistor on the warm white LEDs.

[Caution] Most 12V power supplies that come with doll house kits are actually 12 volt AC and will irreparably damage LEDs.

For those with 'existing' power, usually Cir Kit or others, we recommend our ( http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/bl-212.html ) 12-18v AC/DC power lights. While they are bulkier, the bump is farther away from the bulb. We even have them with the bump much farther away, here: http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/led-longer-wire.html

2) Regarding the size/shape -- I guess that is why the chip LEDs have become extremely popular for lamps in all scales.

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/smd-chip-leds.html

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/nano-smd-leds.html

If you go to both of those pages and scroll down, you will see that chips have been used with great success in LAMPS!!!  These are customer photos of lamps made with both the chip, and the nano chip.

Fortunately, Shelly was happy to exchange my 12v adapter and the ten lights-with-resistors which I had originally ordered. I will soon receive a 3v adapter and ten LEDs with no resistors. Yay!