LifeLites to light up houses & town layouts

[MetroiD]

I'm starting this thread since I noticed that there has so far been no comprehensive discussion of LifeLites being used as a lighting method for houses & entire town layouts. I'm not too keen on splashing out on a PF pack just in order to light up thw town, so I see LifeLites as a wonderful and very plausible alternative to that. The package I personally will probably be purchasing is eLite Basic Kit - and seeing as even if I order it straight away, it still won't be here before January, I decided I'd delay that purchase and ask you guys whether you had any experience whatsoever with LifeLites lighting.

If so, which one do you consider to be the best kit? The way I see things, the Basic Kit is the optimal solution with its max. 10 LED cables which should suffice for a small / average layout.

Another thing I'm a bit worried about is the power source - LifeLites use 9V but since I'm not a huge fan of using batteries, I was also wondering whether there were any other options of connecting it to the AC other than the 9V Train Speed Regulator? If not, I guess I'll just have to buy an extra Regulator for the town's lights...

I mailed some of my questions & concerns to Rob Hendrix (who runs LifeLites) and he was kind enough to provide me with detailed information which reassured me that LifeLites is 100% compatible and a really good choice. But I still wanted to know what you guys thought of it. Thanks in advance for any info :)

[Ricecracker]

Let me start by saying Rob is a great guy, I met him at Brickworld when I bought my Lifelites. Right now I only have two eLite junior kits, which I used for vehicles. They work very well, and can be set to work pretty much however you like. They are nice and small, but there is one thing that might be a little misleading. They are built into a Technic half-pin, but can't actually be put through a Technic brick or liftarm because of the connection to the base. If you get any eLite juniors, I'd also recommend buying a few replacement batteries.

I hope I've helped.

[lightningtiger]

Being a electronics tech myself, I think it's a bit over the top in some ways. Like also there doesn't show you how to fit to an LED into a brick. There are very small LED's available that could fit under 1x2 or 2x2 tiles, I'll set myself a mission to build some street lights using tiny LEDs and hiding the wiring and battery too. Hey, I've already made a mains switch control box in my country town that might be able to hide a battery.

[MetroiD]

Great for you, lightningtiger, but I guess that for the rest of us who are not into electrical/tech stuff, buying some kind of a lighting system is as good an option as we'd get. I'd be happy to hear about your progress with that though ;]

Ricecracker - thanks for the heads up mate, that's some valuable information! I was planning on getting the Basic kit precisely because I don't want to run it on batteries - I'd rather plug those lights in the main source.

[legoboy3998]

several years ago i built a rock stage complete with lights hanging from trusses. i bought model railroad lights, wire, transformer, switches and a terminal block from a local hobby shop the trans former puged into the wall connected to the switches. from the switches i used wire to the terminal blocks. i had six switches and 20 something lights. i ran wire from the terminal blocks up the towers to the lights. the likes were buil from 1x1 round plates (trans) 1x1 round bricks and 1x1 plates with upright holder. i stuck the lights in the brick with the wires coming out between the round brick and the plate with upright holder. the plate with upright holder allowed the lights to be connected to the trusses. it worked well and was inexpensive. and expandible if you plan ahead. unfourtunately i took it apart after a year or so to redesign the stage . still have the lights and all. ill make an example post a picture sometime soon.

[Brickadier General]

I have bought a few of the lighting kits and love them to death. But as mentioned, they may be a little harder to incorporate in smaller MOCs like street lamps due to the bulbs being placed in a technic half-pin. However, from my experience, they look fantastic inside buildings. So far, I've used them in my plantation home and burning building on my Civil War Battlefield. The one on the battlefield has a flickering effect, which is awesome and could work well for any house fire. You can use trans colored bricks to get different lighting effects. I used trans neon orange in the burning building and trans orange in the plantation. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of the interior and how they're wired up (I need to get on that because Rob wants some shots of the inside of my plantation and how everything is wired). And there isn't really a way to get around using battery boxes or the speed regulator, unless of course you make a "hack-job" of a "hack-job." lol The speed regulator is the way to go in my opinion.

And if you don't mind the butchering of parts, you could also make a request with Rob to install lights in a particular MOC like

Hope this helps.

Edited December 7, 2009 by Brickadier General

[MetroiD]

Thanks ever so much for the info + pics Brickadier! You've provided an answer to all of my questions, that was wonderful! And thank you for showing off those wonderful lighting effects as well, that's all the proof I needed. It's a pity using LifeLites for street lighting is not an option, but I guess I'll think of some alternative for that :)

[BoobyToy]

I found this site.....

modeltrainsoftware.com

Would these work? There prices seem resonable.

Roob

[tomzev]

I've put some light into my modulair buildings. (old 12volt lights):

In my fire brigade building I put a flashing red colored light from the LEGO 7866 set (http://www.1000steine.com/brickset/images/7866-1.jpg). It's like the alarm is triggered.

[CP5670]

I've had the Lifelites units on my mind for some time now, but haven't gotten around to buying anything yet. As you say, the "basic" pack seems to be the most cost effective.

Another thing I'm a bit worried about is the power source - LifeLites use 9V but since I'm not a huge fan of using batteries, I was also wondering whether there were any other options of connecting it to the AC other than the 9V Train Speed Regulator? If not, I guess I'll just have to buy an extra Regulator for the town's lights...

The original RCX 1.0, the control center (newer type) and the control lab interface all allow AC input, but those are going to be far more expensive than a speed regulator. It's actually easier to run 9V stuff off AC than PF. As far as I know, the only 100% Lego way to run PF elements off wall power without mods is to use a 9V source with the conversion cable.

Another option is to use mods. You can rig up a 9V transformer to a battery box. If you're like me and don't want to make permanent changes to the battery boxes (i.e. soldering wires directly onto them), then the best solution is what Philo did with fake batteries here, but it may take some work to build that. I would actually buy such batteries if they were a commercial product, but I was never able to find anything like them.

I run a first version control center this way, but the battery contacts on it happen to have a very convenient shape and I can connect wires to it tightly without soldering or gluing anything at all. Radio Shack sells a 1A transformer with adjustable voltages and a bare leads adapter for it, which is what I use, but there may be cheaper options.

I've put some light into my modulair buildings. (old 12volt lights):

That looks great.

Edited December 9, 2009 by CP5670

[Grimmy]

Am I missing something here, why don't you just use the Power Function Lights?

Those Lifelite bricks remind me of the light brick that came with my Winter Toy Shop. Some people thought it should have an on and off switch which would have been great but those tiny watch batteries aren't going to last long and buying more can get expensive and wasteful. I always use rechargeable. Nothing against the guy that created them as I do think they look great. It'd be better to use at least a AA rechargeable even if you won't be hiding it. But I know some want that real lego feel.

I think it's easier just to hook up some LEDs to a Radioshack multi volt transformer/adapter. For those of you who have no idea how to do this, it is very basic electronics. All you have to know is voltage and what a positive and negative are which you probably already know since you know how to insert a battery. Maybe someone can make a tutorial on how you can do this. I would if I had some time. If you got some toy cars with lights or anything like that kickin around in the attic never being used, you can easily recycle them into a light system.

[Carbohydrates]

Am I missing something here, why don't you just use the Power Function Lights?

A few reasons, I think. One is cost, another is that the PF units can't be put into small places like Lifelites can. The biggest reason, though, is that PF lights are directional - very pointed, like headlamps. The light is too focused and they don't light a room very well.

[Milan]

tomzev, that really looks good!

Great scene!

[DJ Force]

Now the only thing left is to come up with a solution to illuminate the "cafe" sign

[legoboy3998]

i just uploaded some pics to brickshelf of my winter toy shop lit up with some model railroading lights. the parts are all very inexpensive and nice and small. the lights fit within a brick or tecnic pin nicely.

take a look

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=412145

any questions or comments you can email me

sciofani@gmail.com

Sal

WFB, WI

[PaulF]

Now the only thing left is to come up with a solution to illuminate the "cafe" sign

Rob from LifeLites has already done that.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickmodder/4057010305/