Suspending lighting over layout

[Scottl]

I thought I would canvas the expertise of TRW for something I have been contemplating quite a while.

I have LED flexible strips that I hoped to suspend in one or more linear arrays over my layout.  I was wondering about ways I might do this that would be relatively secure, attractive, and not require much, if any, in the way of further holes in the walls or ceiling.  I really prefer not to install a valence as it makes the room feel smaller to me, and I want to keep things as open as I can.  A valence would also likely require some kind of attachment to the walls generating further holes.  The ceiling is 12" fiber tiles, and while I could secure things into the underlying wood support grid, I would prefer not to touch the tiles.

For context, I currently have a backdrop that rises 18" above the layout and follows the perimeter along the wals.  It is 1/8" hard board, and secured to 1"X4" vertical risers that are secured to the benchwork.    I would like the LED strips to be at the same level as the top of the backdrop to keep the illumination intensity high.

One idea I had was to come up with some kind of metal arm that would secure to the backdrop risers and reach out over the layout, supporting a fixture with the LED strips in it.  For the fixture I thought of plastic pipe (ABS or the like), cut lengthwise and mirrored on the inside with aluminum tape.  The fixture would be light enough that it could be secured by metal arms from the backdrop at regular intervals, say every 24" or so.   The metal arms could be threaded and secured to the fixture with nuts and washers.

That is what I have in mind, but I have some doubts it would be especially strong and might be damaged by glancing hits.  I'm also not sure where to find the metal arms or how to go about shaping raw stock consistently. 

Any thoughts?  Alternatives?  Pictures, links, brainstorming?  Thanks in advance.

Let there be light 

[C855B]

Oo! Oo! Lighting! Pick me! Pick me! 

Seriously... and of course we realize I'm dealing with a high ceiling in my design... I scratched out a similar system to what you're thinking about, but discarded it as not enough light in the space and not all that cost-effective.

However, I think you have a good basis for a design already. Making the arms out of threaded rod alone - you'll want to try sizes 1/4" and up - should be enough to support the light strip assemblies. You might need to have a gusset or similar brace at the backdrop to keep it from sagging, but nuts and washers should be plenty good for securing it to the backdrop. For the half-pipe, use the irrigation-spec PVC (Spec 160?) rather than Schedule 40 - it's less than half the thickness and weight.

To go stronger, the costs are going to skyrocket. I was looking at 1" x 1/2" aluminum U-channel in order to span 8' supports, and was aghast when the total parts costs exceeded doing the same thing with regular track lighting including fixtures. I thought momentarily about buying the track lighting tracks anyway and stripping-out the guts just for the steel channel - that's how expensive the aluminum was - but sanity prevailed and I went back to my suspended track lighting plan.

[Scottl]

Thanks, your response suggests I was not completely crazy with my idea!  Good point on thin-walled PVC for weight.  My spans are probably no more than 16" from the backdrop to center the light strip over the layout, so if I can secure it to the backdrop supports securely, I think it might be strong enough.

How much light is enough... I don't know, but perhaps some experiments are in order.  I have the LED strips I picked up on clearance after Christmas last year, and they are coming back to stores now so I it is possible to buy more.  One thing that my recent photographic and video efforts has shown me is that I need a lot more light!

[Scottl]

Experiment!  I rigged up some wood at the level I want these lights, and strung two sets parallel to each other and [mostly] facing directly downwards.

Ambient room light:


+One LED illuminated:


Both LED strips illuminated:


Layout level, ambient lights (shadows from my ad hoc test lights):


+One LED illuminated:


Both LED strips illuminated:


These LED strips definitely get the light down to where it is needed, but I'm actually not convinced that they are enough.  The colour of the LED strips is much warmer than the room lighting, so there is quite a tonal change too.

The exposure was 1/15s f2.6 ISO400 for ambient, down to 1/30s f2.6 ISO100 for the double strip, which made for much sharper images.  It was not a particularly rigorous comparison, and I would need to control for ISO to really see the differences.

[peteski]

IMO none of the LED strip lights are bright enough for layout illumination.  I guess they might be if you run multiple strips like you did (but probably need more than 3).  Maybe instead you could use under-cabinet LED lights?  I just installed some in my kitchen and they are really bright!  Of course there are many different types (with different luminosity and color temp. ratings).  I found 3000K (color temperature) lights which are brighter than any other similar lights I found. These are at Home Depot.

They come in different lengths - I used 18" ones.  http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-18-in-Direct-Wire-LED-Under-Cabinet-Light-Bar-with-Hi-Low-Off-10781/204663912?N=5yc1vZc7phZloZ1z115g2
These have rating of 639 Lumens. Do you know the ratings of your strip lights?

[Scottl]

The strip circuit board indicates 3528 so I assume it uses those components and it looks like 60/m.  5050's would be better, and the density could be higher, say 120/m.   I probably need to think more about how much I need.  One thing is clear, even what I was testing tonight was a major step up from what I have as ambient.   They are so cheap from China I might just get some reels to experiment with.  I need almost precisely 5 m which is what the standard reel length is.

[R L Smith]

Scott,

I installed LED bookcase lamps from IKEA. I used 3' long x 1" wide metal strips I found at the local big box hardware store.  I drilled holes in one end to allow attachment to the backdrop supports, then drilled holes in the other end to match the spacing of the holes of the IKEA mounting bracket. After marking each piece at the point it would meet the top of the backdrop, I then formed a 90 degree bend by shaping it over a coffee can. This put the LED lamp about 16" forward of the backdrop, about 20" above the layout, slightly above my eye level. They are on approximately 24" centers.



Not apparent in this photo, the LED lamps light the layout surface well enough, but the backdrop is shadowed a bit.  I think you could do something like this to support your LED strips.  They assembly is flexible so it can withstand a minor hit, yet is fairly unobtrusive.

Ron

[Scottl]

Thanks Ron, that is along the lines of what I was thinking, except with LED strips.

I ordered some high density 5050 LED reels from Hong Kong and will experiment when I get it.  I worry a bit about shadows with a single strip, but think it might be fine if the strips are closer to the front of the layout.

[R L Smith]

You will neeed a strip above the front edge of the layout, or at least in front of the nearest trackage / point of interest, otherwise rolling stock markings and such immediately in front of the viewer will be in shadow.  (Don't ask me how I know this.  )  Now I know that a metal strip of 4' length instead of 3' would have worked out much better in my situation by ensuring that light falls from the 'front" and not "top-down".

Ron

[Scottl]

Agreed, I discovered the same problem with my experiments the other night.