Lighting for exhibiting

[jayell]

As winter draws in I'm yet again returning to the struggle of thinking that I have insufficient light above the workbench, let alone on any putative layout.
Flymo

I too have been looking for suitable workbench lighting as mine is located such that the main fluorescent lighting in the loft is above & behind me when I am sat at the bench. I chose its location so as to be under the single velux type window in the loft so as to get maximum benefit of any daylight. I was browsing in ouy local Heart Foundation Charity shop recently and spotted an anglepoise style bench light on sale for a tenner. Put a 100w daylight bulb in it but it still isn't quite bright enough.

In same shop last week and spotted another similar lamp, this time with a clamp fixing rather than the heavy base of the original. Same price so grabbed that one too At the moment it is providing light for my computer desk but will eventually go up into the loft.

Genuine Anglepoise lamps are quite expensive so I am delighted to get these 'clones' so cheaply, the pic below is of the most recent one.

desklamp.jpg

I won't use the clamp on the work bench but screw-fix it

John

[Tim Hale]

Very interesting Tim. Do you have a link, or some specific search term for Ebay?

To find the LED tubes try using T5 LED for the EBay search, whilst the cabinet lights were sourced from this seller: quik-kit

The LED tube provide only marginal improvement over the standard (supplied) flourescent tubes and are very expensive, therefore buy and try the excellent cabinet lights first.

I have no connection with quik-kit except as a very satisfied customer.

BTW, does anyone want to see the working parts of the lighting pelmet?

Tim

[allanferguson]

I think I'm on my third magnifying Anglepoise (or clone). I've drilled a hole in the workbench to take the pin of the lamp, which gives a nice secure fixing. Incidentally, I find the lens is usually the first thing to go, when it gets scratched. Proper glass lenses would be better, but are awfully expensive. My last two have had flourescent ring fittings, which use much less power, and don't burn my forehead when I lean too close to them.

Allan F

[Terry Bendall]

Put a 100w daylight bulb in it but it still isn't quite bright enough.

Surprising that. I have a four foot fluorescent tube above the bench - about 2 metres above the floor and an Anglepoise lamp with a 60 watt bulb - the maximum for the fitting. Works for me.

Terry Bendall

[Natalie Graham]

Put a 100w daylight bulb in it but it still isn't quite bright enough.

The issue I have with daylight bulbs in the bench light is not the brightness, but the fact that the cat then regards the bench as his own sun bed. If he sees the light on he's spread out across the bench under the lamp purring contentedly before you can say 'cat'. I have to feel around underneath him to retrieve whatever I was working on.

I was interested to see the LED tubes for the cabinet lights as my kitchen refurbishments, as well as providing a nice bit of plywood exactly 4' 8 1/2" long have yielded several of those lamps. Just need to find some track locos and rolling stock in there too and I will be set up.

[jayell]

The issue I have with daylight bulbs in the bench light is not the brightness, but the fact that the cat then regards the bench as his own sun bed. If he sees the light on he's spread out across the bench under the lamp purring contentedly before you can say 'cat'. I have to feel around underneath him to retrieve whatever I was working on.

Computer keyboard was favourite spot for several cats, not surprising as I spent all my time using it since I retired (and still spend too much time on it).
We reluctantly decided no more cats after Chloe died last year age 16+ as the chances of one outliving us is now quite high

chloe.jpg

One of the very last pictures I took of Chloe when she was really poorly and wanted to do nothing more energetic than lie in the sun. She took her last trip to the vet shortly after this photo was taken.

Just need to find some track locos and rolling stock in there too and I will be set up.

[Russ Elliott]

NLG had an excellent and very thought-provoking talk ("Presenting a layout for exhibition") from Eddie Bourne at its October meeting. Arising from the discussion about layout lighting levels, St Merryn's fluorescents, which are probably about 2'6" above baseboard level, provide approx 11W per foot length of layout. Their lightboxes use mirror strip on their inside front face to maximise the amount of light bearing onto the layout.

[grovenor-2685]

and an Anglepoise lamp with a 60 watt bulb - the maximum for the fitting.

My anglepoise with 60 watt bulb and magnifying lens fell apart shortly before scaleforum, the plastic bits died from years of overheating, as it happened a CPC catalogue had just dropped through the letter box and had LED versions on offer. I got a 90 LED 5" lens job with significantly longer reach than my old one. It gives a superb, even, bright light and runs cool. Some of you may have seen it at Scaleforum. Looking at the CPC catalogue now the exact model is no longer listed but there is an equivalent with 108 LEDs and a 7" lens. A good buy I would suggest at £42.82 post free. CPC LED magnifier lamp.
Keith

[Paul Townsend]

NLG had an excellent and very thought-provoking talk ("Presenting a layout for exhibition") from Eddie Bourne at its October meeting.

A full report of that meeting would be interesting to many.

Arising from the discussion about layout lighting levels, St Merryn's fluorescents, which are probably about 2'6" above baseboard level, provide approx 11W per foot length of layout.

That wattage alone is only helpful info for those using solely fuorescents.
There is huge variation in efficiency between the 5 likely light sources we might use:
Old money tungsten lamps e.g. domestic globes or reflectors
QI lamps eg "Halogen reflectors"
Fluorescent tubes
CFI ( modern curled up fluorescent " green" lights )
LED lamps

So quoting watts in alone is not useful across the various sources.
Lumens out is really what is required, or two figures:
Watts in and luminous efficiency.
Please don't start me off again about spectral content too

Yes I know many, especially Far Eastern, manufacturers make any of this info hard or impossible to get. That way salesmen can say anything and it is hard to challenge their claims or make comparisons.

Their lightboxes use mirror strip on their inside front face to maximise the amount of light bearing onto the layout.

Good idea, even kitchen ally foil helps and is cheapo.

[DougN]

Have to agree with Peter regarding the production of the light fittings in the Far East. The actual information is neigh on impossible to extract as a lot of the salesman either don't understand what you are asking in the way colour temperature, lumen output, etc. or the information is not published. I have a sneaky suspicion that most of the led rope lights com out of the same factory. The interesting thing about these is the price for the strips is falling like a stone depending on the supplier. I have in the lasted 12 months been quoted any where from 80aud to 270aud for a 5m length! Both seemed to be the same when is actually saw them in the flesh!

[Russ Elliott]

A full report of that meeting would be interesting to many.

I wouldn't attempt any kind of summary of Eddie's excellent and wide-ranging talk, except to say I would thoroughly recommend it for any AG meeting. (Whether Eddie wants to travel far is another matter though.)

That wattage alone is only helpful info for those using solely fuorescents.

That is why I was keen to stress it was for fluorescents only!

I did do some 'lumens per square metre' guessimates a while back on some fluorescents for which some approximate luminence figures were available (much googling was involved, the supermarket industry seems quite keen on the science, particularly colour temperatures), and of course the distance of the illuminated surface from the tube axis is important (usual inverse square law sort of thing), and I think I arrived at a figure of 5000lm/m2 (or possibly 500lm/m2, I can't remember now). I then compared it to a layout I was admiring at the time, where the level was nearly double that amount, owing to the the layout owner using double tubes. That said, St Merryn's light level seems good to my eyes, and hence I thought their 'wattage level per foot', however imperfectly expressed that value is, was a useful basis for discussion.

I'm personally not keen on LED illumination, partially because of the awful spectral content, but I strongly doubt they've got anywhere near (20%??, 10%??) the luminence level desirable compared to fluorescents.

[Paul Townsend]

I'm personally not keen on LED illumination, partially because of the awful spectral content,

The LED lamps available vary widely in Spectral Distribution.
If you are willing to pay top prices for the best you do get a full spectral analysis and for the less technically informed a standardised spectral quality rating ( can't just now remember the term for this = senior moment and too idle to google it) for spectral quality, info sadly not available for most Chinese led lamps (yet).

Fluorescents' spectrum also vary between manufacturers but info is more readily found.

As always, paint your models under the lighting to be used for display.

but I strongly doubt they've got anywhere near (20%??, 10%??) the luminence level desirable compared to fluorescents.

Agreed that to get same illuminance you need more dosh for more leds wrt fluorescents. However their watts in to lumens out efficiency is good and often better.
No flicker, no strobing hazard if your lathe is in the railway room and much, much longer life

[Paul Townsend]

Have to agree with Peter regarding the production of the light fittings in the Far East.

Who is that then?
PS
I only answer to 4-letter words

[Russ Elliott]

Agreed that to get same illuminance you need more dosh for more leds wrt fluorescents. However their watts in to lumens out efficiency is good and often better.

Watts in isn't really a big issue for fluorescents, though, is it? (The 2mm Chee Tor wonder I think had about 2.5kW of tungstens!)

No flicker, no strobing hazard if your lathe is in the railway room and much, much longer life

I understand many of the cheapo LED strips are pulsed/strobed (at high frequency), to save energy consumption. The bad news is that the HF will blow the LEDs after a comparatively short life.

[Natalie Graham]

The actual information is neigh on impossible to extract

You'd need to get it straight from the horse's mouth.

[DougN]

Apologies Paul. My mind for names even in the last 5seconds is getting really bad. Some thing to do with a lack of holidays, change of job, and the silly season. This is held up by the other halfs Christmas party on Saturday, a total of 2 small beers and a coke! Ok people are saying I'm getting older.. But that is crazy.

Any how I managed a hour's modelling yesterday so feel suitably better... But work calls.

[Paul Townsend]

I understand many of the cheapo LED strips are pulsed/strobed (at high frequency), to save energy consumption.

I didn't know that. But you can buy the strips on a reel and provide your own power supply to avoid that.

The bad news is that the HF will blow the LEDs after a comparatively short life.

Can you provide a link to that info. please?

[Russ Elliott]

Can you provide a link to that info. please?

No. It's heresay info from a kitchen installer. I suspect the cheapo lighting strips fail because they are driven to their voltage limits rather than the frequency of the pulsing per se.