Thread: Electrical Help: Hardwiring LED Lighting using Modular Jacks, etc

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Hey guys-
I know the pros/cons of going this route- but for my display, I need to switch all my lighting to be hard wired. Currently I use LED tea lights/candles for the majority of my lighting. It's a pain to turn on lights the night of when you have 50+ of lights to manually turn on. The goal is to have a plug 'n play system that is simple to setup, flexible, and as least intrusive as possible. I want to hard wire all my lighting effects so that I can turn them on automatically every night with a Dusk to Dawn timer. As I begin setup and place props into my display, I can simply plug the lighting into the 'system' and they'll turn on every night the month of October. As I add more pieces to the scene, I'll plug in a few more lights to the system, etc etc.

Here's my idea-
Using LED Candles as my example (or LED spot lights)- I'd like to convert those from battery operated, to being hard wired to a plug in device. What I'm thinking is this- I run a 12v 1a wallwart to a 4-port telephone box. A standard telephone line has 4 smaller wires inside. I would just use 2 of those wires for (+) and the other 2 for (-) off the wallwart. So the 12v wallwart would power all 4 telephone ports at the same time. Each LED light would then be wired to a telephone cord- and I could easily plug each cord into the telephone junction box for power. That junction box would then be hooked up to a Dawn/Dusk timer to be turned on every night. When I want to add more lights to the scene, I just plug them into the telephone junction box(es) located at each prop.

Now- taking this a step further (assuming you're following me on my thought process here) -
Let's say I have 10 junction boxes throughout my display - each box has (4) ports running to (4) different lights at each prop. There's a couple different ways of supplying power to those 10 junction boxes...

1) Easiest - implement the wallwart directly into the junction boxes themselves. I was looking at a 4-port modular faceplate and a double gang electrical box- you could probably squeeze your wallwart right inside that double gang box- then just run an extension cord out the side back to the Dusk/Dawn timer. That'd be 10 different extension cords across your display.

2) Harder but COOLER (geekier?) - Use a 4-port faceplate on a single or double gang electrical box- then run CAT5 cable out for the supply voltage. That Cat5 cable would then plug into a single, centrally located Power Supply Box that would house all the wallwarts in one location/box. That Power Supply Box would then be hooked up to the Dusk/Dawn timer. I suggest Cat5 because it has more wires to work with (can potentially implement sound and other effects/boards/controllers/timers, etc). It's also slightly smaller than extension cords, can be cut to the length you need, etc etc. Ok- really, it'd just seems cooler and easier to be able to just plug 'n play that as well. It also yields itself to becoming a master control center as you expand your display/show. All controllers/boards/relays/Video/MP3 players or whatever could all be run from one central control box, with just Cat5 cables running out to your props.


Questions-
1) Has anyone done anything similar to this before?

2) Assuming I have a single 12v 1a wallwart powering (4) telephone ports and essentially (4) LED lights... I would most likely be running those in parallel I assume. Keep in mind I may only have 1 light in one box, and all 4 in another. I won't always have all 4 ports in use at the same time (but sometimes I will!)

3) Is there any other better way of implementing this? I've looked at barrel type connectors/plugs and whatnot- but keep coming back to the modular jacks- they're cheap and very readily available. They also provide a junction box without pre-fab fairly easily too. The only thing I don't like is (and I realize this is getting very picky) is the thickness of the phone cords. I'd prefer something much smaller (think of headphone wires)- so I may use smaller wires, and just hook into a modular plug on the ends.

I'd love to hear any feedback/ideas/thoughts on this system.

I am attaching a sample variation of this idea (using 6 ports instead of 4, etc) to help describe what I'm talking about here...

Specter,
I am also going to be using a boatload of tea lights for 2012, between that and the LED (Flashlight) spotlights that I have, I will have a lot of batteries to change. I am definately going to hardwire all of these lights.
Not only for the ease of operation, but for the option of controlling the lights for use in scenes.

I am going to figure out the best to do this, and keep it flexable (well after I finish giving my wife the living room back from Halloween, and cleaning out my garage...) .

Although Solid core cable (Cat5, and normal Telco) is fine for voltage, and lighting LEDs is all about voltage, it is not good for signal cabling (anything Audio, or digital). So do yourself a favor and dont even think that as an option. If you decide to use a CAT5 for example, and carry lighting, audio, and servo control over that cable, you will end up inducing noise into your servo control ( shaky servos), and audio (hums, and ticking noises), and in the long run you wont be happy with the results.
I know someone can pull out the NEXT ratings of a CAT5 and say that they limit near end cross talk, trust me you will hear noises in your audio (you CAN trust me on that one, I am an Audio/Video/Lighting/Control systems technician/engineer).

Mikelyte-
Thanks for that heads up, and your time to reply. I didn't know that, so I'll definitely take servo/audio/controller plans out of this system. This will be a lighting only system. With that said- what do you think of the idea as a whole, or the use of modular jacks/cords? Do you know of any better/easier/cheaper way to do this?

One other thing I don't like about using phone jacks is- I'm not finding too many junction box/faceplates/etc that support more than 4 at a time. Are there any other/better ideas for the cords, junction boxes, or cables that easy to plug 'n play?

Again- thanks for the reply! I appreciate it!

Yeah what you are talking about it completely possible and not horribly difficult either.
The basic things you need to remember is that LEDs have a Voltage/Current they like.

If you want to be able to plug each LED in and out you will definitely be using a parallel configuration and in saying that you will need a resistor in series with each LED to bring it into the correct Voltage/Current level for that LED, myself and others can help you figure this out depending on your power supply.

I would not worry about the cabling too much and you should get a voltage regulator to make sure your wall wart is fully regulated... most are not.

I can't really see the details of your image because of its size but I would be more than happy to help you out if you have any questions.


Also, let us know if you are using just straight LEDs or those flicker candles you can get at the dollar store, that will make a difference is how you will do this. (Different voltage and current requirements)

BTW- quite some time ago I could've SWORN I saw a thread or two on someone who had a central control box- where they have all their PC motherboards, fan, plugs/outlets- etc all running into. I've been searching and not finding it...
I know some of the Christmas (ghasp! the 'C-word'!) forums have guys who do this as well. Maybe I'll poke around there and see what I can come up with...

lostskeleton-
Thanks for the reply. That confirms what I thought- wire in parallel. Each light source would have it's own resistor. And unless there's a special requirement- I'd always use the same supply voltage/amps so that any light could plug n play with any circuit.

I'm trying to re-upload that image, the forum must resize it. I'll try to link it here...



Sample Wiring Diagram

Oh- to answer your question. The Candles are the flickering tea lights from Dollar store. Some of my spot lights (as well as other lights I use) are just straight LEDs wired up. I know I'd have to potentially use different resistors on each one.

Question- on those Dollar store tea lights- I know they have a little circuit board inside them. I assume that is what makes the lights flicker, as well as provide whatever resistance/etc they need from the 3v button cell battery. So, I would have to remove the case and keep the LED attached to that circuit board, but solder the incoming voltage to that (after the resistor).

FYI- I currently have the standard PVC and hot glue type candles I made years ago. I filled them with great stuff then drilled a 2" hole out to make room for these tea lights. Since I hate the look of the drilled out foam (all jaggie and not smooth like a real burned down candle would be) & I want these to be more permanent- I plan on gluing the LED and board into the candle, and running the wire out the bottom/back. I'll post pics as I go through this whole ordeal.

I started doing this this year all my LED spots were powered from one 12 volt transformer. You can use a malibu landscape transformer to power every thing. As i build new props i plan on powering them from the one power source

Awesome! You're absolutely right. Those are usually pretty high wattage, so can power quite a bit of props. That's killer. Do you run wiper motors or pneumatics/solenoids off it?

If I did that, I'd definitely go the Cat5 junction box off the malibu transformer- then smaller modular jack junction boxes for each prop. How did you wire everything from one transformer? Did you use a similar setup?

not at the moment but that is my intentions, i will need to retrofit my existing props