Love the layout progress and reviews, you should do a video showing all of your HO scale trains and layout that would be really cool showing how things have changed and grown since the beginning
Great review James. I am definitely looking into this to light my small layout. As I really don't want to spend the time wiring everything. But we will see.
Very enlightening! (Sorry for the pun.) I've seen the advertisements for the system in the magazines and just assumed "OMG, here's another DCC thing that would cost me a fortune if I were to implement it." Wow. Thanks for turning me around! Great review with describing all the elements and (most importantly) the cost. I've got the same roundhouse. I'm still seating it in; but, now I have the incentive to finish it with the lighting I had once dreaded to do. Push button here: "That was easy!"
Great video. I loved your train housing. Not sure if it rotates or anything but very nice. In fact I have bought 7 light hubs, 2 expansion hubs, 8 auxiliary switches, many extension cables and plenty more led lights. I've design a beautiful housing to contain all my hubs and wiring and I've come up with a cool way to extend those tiny dimmer controls. Now my spectators of my Xmas village can control any house light they wish.
Well done review. I looked into the system and it's nice. That being said if you can solder you can save a ton of money. The draw back to this system is your controllers will need to be close to your power supply because the wires coming from the lights are short and you'll have to soldier anyway to get length out of them. I installed 6 LEDs into my Woodland Scenic buildings just to add more light and used accessory power that was wired to a distribution block all for $15. The kicker of it all was my train shop recommended that I can do it on the cheap if I knew how to solder. I wonder what the life expectancy is of the WS LEDs at 12 to 16 volts are? Thanks again for the review.....nicely done!
I'm a bit confused. Can you only run one LED off each connector or can a connector handle a string of lights? If it requires a dedicated line and connection for each light that would require an excessive amount of wire and would be terribly uneconomical
not really sure about affordable , especially if u have a large layout to light up..but having said that its a great product and love the simplicity of the system
James, I'm sure I missed a video somewhere so at the risk of repeating my question, have you relocated brother or are you working with a model railroad club layout? I love they way you're doing your new overview videos and I'm excited about this new "Just Plug" system from WS. I bought several of each except for the power pack, as I have several DC power packs laying around and WS told me over the phone those can be used in place of their power pack for the system so, why buy if not needed, right? I like the look of the system in that roundhouse as well. Take care my friend and keep the great videos coming, Bo.
What I dont like about the system is hiding all the wires on my train layout.And the sticky backs on the lights loose their stickiness when/if I should remove them to change to another structure/building.I've hooked up four lighting systems to one expanssion hub lighting up sixteen structures.Now I'm gonna order another expansion hub for four more light systems totalling 32 structures!.I'm happy with this lighting sytem
Thanks. 25% off is good, 30% is better :D. I think a sort of hybrid system would work for me as I have knowledge of electronics and soldering experience (no wiz kid here but enough skills to pull it off) Maybe use the WS controllers and do my own bulk LEDs, wire and resisters and such. Do you know what type of wire connecters are in the WS system? Thanks again, keep up the good work!
Yeah I agree Scott, my main problem is lack of wall outlets on the side my layout is on, and the other side has a 8x16 ho slot car layout so I am really hurting for power.
Hi, you mentioned that woodland scenics do the just plug lighting system with European wall adapters, but do they do it with 3 pin British adapters? Great review Thanks
sparky107107 around 40. The rated output for the Power Supply (JP5770) is 1000 milliamps (mA). To determine the total number of Just Plug LED Lights the Power Supply can support, add up the milliamps of each LED Light being used. The milliamps are listed on the light packages. Total number of milliamps should not exceed 1000mA per Power Supply. If 1000mA is exceeded, the Power Supply's non-replaceable thermal fuse will be overloaded.
There is a price to pay for plug & play... especially a 1 dimensional system. Great for model RRs not so great for models in general. Component size and overall cost :(
OK so for you electronically gifted it's too expensive but for us who like the convenience of plug-n-play it is simple. I would have liked a little better information on just how you mounted the lights in the roundhouse.
Hmm, let me think about this, $70.00 for 16 led's... and if I want to add more I have to buy another expansion pack and power supply... I soder my own dropping resisters to my led's and install them myself. I installed a switch to turn them on and off and I am running them with a model power train transformer, so I spent about 40 dollars and I have like 40 led's, and will be adding more in just a bit. I like woodland scenic but my way is a lot cheaper and I don't have to worry about all these power supplies and extenders, etc. Thank you for reviewing this product, I have been thinking of experimenting with it, but I need tons of lights on my layout and adding extender after extender after extender can get expensive.
Yeah, Woodland Scenics makes some very good products, but they also make a handful (like this) that are overpriced. You can build something like this yourself for next to nothing. LEDs, switches, and power supplies are dirt cheap. No sense paying $70+ for it.
I would call this absurdity expensive. $20 for a wall wart???? learn to solder. LEDs are very simple. learn to use eBay. For $75 I could light an entire city!!
Michael Duckett I know how to do circuits but like I mentioned in the video it is easy to do for a bit more money and less headache plus the finished look.
Just run a buss wire for your lights, just like you do for the rails and soder on a dropping resister to one of the lines coming from the led. Way less money, way more lights per one transformer. I bet I could fit more led's on my model power transformer than you can with the woodland scenic just plug.
We all own automobiles, but how many of us do all of the repair work needed on vehicles just because we could save money. We all can learn how, but that doesn't make it "cost effective" to rebuild your own transmission just because you can. Just because I can solder, doesn't mean I want to solder.
Hideously expensive and a bit of a rip off that the power supply is sold separately. Also a rip off that the hub doesn't even have an On/Off switch so you have to buy that separately too.
Look at what modelermanmike is doing with lighting. Now if woodland sceanics did that for this kind of money, I would jump at it. As it is you have everything on at once. Not like it would be in the real world. I will solder my own for this price. SORRY WS I'm not buying this
Hey dude don't buy it if it's such a ripoff. I know what grades and mountains are, if you pulled your head out of your butt long enough to pay attention to my videos you would see where I've said multiple this layout is built to move and I don't want elevated track or mountains that will get destroyed by movers.
I would not buy it since with a little bit of work you could light your whole layout for less than what their system costs. As for the grades and mountains; you built this layout as modules which means it can break down easily for moving. It is not a problem to move modules that have grades and reasonable mountains without them being damaged. Just look at how many modules are transported to shows all the time without damage.
+sierge1 The difference is I have movers that my company pays for and they are not familiar with transporting train stuff yet they move my stuff. You can't equate a move for modular stuff for a show to a move with my entire houses worth of stuff in two or three semi trailers cramming the layout in where they can fit it. THAT is why it's still flat.
jlwii2000 I have no problem with a flat layout and your reviews are very informative, this WS system is more for people who don’t want the hassle of very minor electrical work, i personally think it is a ripoff but that’s because I know how to do all this stuff, but if you don’t or you have the money it seams okay. BTW your round house looks sweet!
James nice review and good for the people who are not into electronic's cheers Robert
Love the layout progress and reviews, you should do a video showing all of your HO scale trains and layout that would be really cool showing how things have changed and grown since the beginning
Great review James. I am definitely looking into this to light my small layout. As I really don't want to spend the time wiring everything. But we will see.
Very enlightening! (Sorry for the pun.) I've seen the advertisements for the system in the magazines and just assumed "OMG, here's another DCC thing that would cost me a fortune if I were to implement it." Wow. Thanks for turning me around! Great review with describing all the elements and (most importantly) the cost. I've got the same roundhouse. I'm still seating it in; but, now I have the incentive to finish it with the lighting I had once dreaded to do. Push button here: "That was easy!"
Thank you for this review. I've been on the fence about wether I want to get this set up. I think you just made up my mind.
I found your presentation informative and interesting, time effective. Thank you.
Great video. I loved your train housing. Not sure if it rotates or anything but very nice. In fact I have bought 7 light hubs, 2 expansion hubs, 8 auxiliary switches, many extension cables and plenty more led lights. I've design a beautiful housing to contain all my hubs and wiring and I've come up with a cool way to extend those tiny dimmer controls. Now my spectators of my Xmas village can control any house light they wish.
i just this morning bought ws plug n play for my refinery scene. looking foward to seeing how it looks
👍Great Lighting system for the round house„ It's Awesome James„
Well done review. I looked into the system and it's nice. That being said if you can solder you can save a ton of money. The draw back to this system is your controllers will need to be close to your power supply because the wires coming from the lights are short and you'll have to soldier anyway to get length out of them. I installed 6 LEDs into my Woodland Scenic buildings just to add more light and used accessory power that was wired to a distribution block all for $15. The kicker of it all was my train shop recommended that I can do it on the cheap if I knew how to solder.
I wonder what the life expectancy is of the WS LEDs at 12 to 16 volts are? Thanks again for the review.....nicely done!
That roundhouse looks awesome.
Very nice plug n play system. Thank you for clarification...
Looks absolutely phenomenal! Will out definitely have to get some for my layout when it comes time!
Beautiful lighting and roundhouse
Well done lighting demo. "Cool"
• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
I'm a bit confused. Can you only run one LED off each connector or can a connector handle a string of lights? If it requires a dedicated line and connection for each light that would require an excessive amount of wire and would be terribly uneconomical
Thanks James, another of your great videos
EXPENSIVE! But a very good review. I’m surprised you didn’t use your Sergeant “knife hands” to demonstrate - BY THE NUMBERS! 🤪
great review..can't wait to get my lights too..that's for sharing and keep up the great work. . Lance
Thank you James .
Very nice review I am going too install some of these on my layout!!!
Looks sweet. Thanks for another informative review
not really sure about affordable , especially if u have a large layout to light up..but having said that its a great product and love the simplicity of the system
James, I'm sure I missed a video somewhere so at the risk of repeating my question, have you relocated brother or are you working with a model railroad club layout? I love they way you're doing your new overview videos and I'm excited about this new "Just Plug" system from WS. I bought several of each except for the power pack, as I have several DC power packs laying around and WS told me over the phone those can be used in place of their power pack for the system so, why buy if not needed, right? I like the look of the system in that roundhouse as well. Take care my friend and keep the great videos coming, Bo.
Magnificent review!!
What I dont like about the system is hiding all the wires on my train layout.And the sticky backs on the lights loose their stickiness when/if I should remove them to change to another structure/building.I've hooked up four lighting systems to one expanssion hub lighting up sixteen structures.Now I'm gonna order another expansion hub for four more light systems totalling 32 structures!.I'm happy with this lighting sytem
Good reveiw. Thanks. Go Colts!
Thanks. 25% off is good, 30% is better :D. I think a sort of hybrid system would work for me as I have knowledge of electronics and soldering experience (no wiz kid here but enough skills to pull it off) Maybe use the WS controllers and do my own bulk LEDs, wire and resisters and such. Do you know what type of wire connecters are in the WS system? Thanks again, keep up the good work!
its a 6 slot so u should put your 6 UP heritage units in it, great vid!
Very nice. Question, do they sell extensions in case the led cord cannot reach, or does one have to cut and splice for longer distances across layout?
Nice review. Its a great system for a beginner or someone that is not into electronics. But it is expensive for people that can do their own.
Scott
Yeah I agree Scott, my main problem is lack of wall outlets on the side my layout is on, and the other side has a 8x16 ho slot car layout so I am really hurting for power.
Great review definitely worth using
Another great video!(:
great reveiw
Hi, you mentioned that woodland scenics do the just plug lighting system with European wall adapters, but do they do it with 3 pin British adapters?
Great review
Thanks
+ITL Models Hi, the ones sold in Australia have the correct power to suit our set up.
great review , will have to get some of those , really simple. about how many led,s can you put on one power supply , 12, 24 , 36 ?
sparky107107 around 40. The rated output for the Power Supply (JP5770) is 1000 milliamps (mA). To determine the total number of Just Plug LED Lights the Power Supply can support, add up the milliamps of each LED Light being used. The milliamps are listed on the light packages. Total number of milliamps should not exceed 1000mA per Power Supply. If 1000mA is exceeded, the Power Supply's non-replaceable thermal fuse will be overloaded.
I wish , but I am close to Toronto Ontario , so a bit of a trip . I would if it close to the boarder for sure
Looks good
Very nice also easy !
There is a price to pay for plug & play... especially a 1 dimensional system. Great for model RRs not so great for models in general. Component size and overall cost :(
Thanks. I just found this on eBay, only about $1.00 off MSRP. Cool stuff tho.
Superseanbarry Way cheaper here: www.trainworld.com/search/?q=woodland+scenics+just+plug
OK so for you electronically gifted it's too expensive but for us who like the convenience of plug-n-play it is simple. I would have liked a little better information on just how you mounted the lights in the roundhouse.
I saw this on woodland scenics you tube
Hmm, let me think about this, $70.00 for 16 led's... and if I want to add more I have to buy another expansion pack and power supply... I soder my own dropping resisters to my led's and install them myself. I installed a switch to turn them on and off and I am running them with a model power train transformer, so I spent about 40 dollars and I have like 40 led's, and will be adding more in just a bit. I like woodland scenic but my way is a lot cheaper and I don't have to worry about all these power supplies and extenders, etc. Thank you for reviewing this product, I have been thinking of experimenting with it, but I need tons of lights on my layout and adding extender after extender after extender can get expensive.
Yeah, Woodland Scenics makes some very good products, but they also make a handful (like this) that are overpriced. You can build something like this yourself for next to nothing. LEDs, switches, and power supplies are dirt cheap. No sense paying $70+ for it.
are you from Indy?
TU
I would call this absurdity expensive. $20 for a wall wart???? learn to solder. LEDs are very simple. learn to use eBay. For $75 I could light an entire city!!
Michael Duckett I know how to do circuits but like I mentioned in the video it is easy to do for a bit more money and less headache plus the finished look.
That's a LOT more money.
Just run a buss wire for your lights, just like you do for the rails and soder on a dropping resister to one of the lines coming from the led. Way less money, way more lights per one transformer. I bet I could fit more led's on my model power transformer than you can with the woodland scenic just plug.
We all own automobiles, but how many of us do all of the repair work needed on vehicles just because we could save money. We all can learn how, but that doesn't make it "cost effective" to rebuild your own transmission just because you can. Just because I can solder, doesn't mean I want to solder.
Hideously expensive and a bit of a rip off that the power supply is sold separately.
Also a rip off that the hub doesn't even have an On/Off switch so you have to buy that separately too.
Look at what modelermanmike is doing with lighting.
Now if woodland sceanics did that for this kind of money, I would jump at it. As it is you have everything on at once. Not like it would be in the real world.
I will solder my own for this price.
SORRY WS I'm not buying this
Hey dude I hate to say this but this kit is a ripoff for the money also when are you going to learn what grades and mountains are?
Hey dude don't buy it if it's such a ripoff. I know what grades and mountains are, if you pulled your head out of your butt long enough to pay attention to my videos you would see where I've said multiple this layout is built to move and I don't want elevated track or mountains that will get destroyed by movers.
I would not buy it since with a little bit of work you could light your whole layout for less than what their system costs. As for the grades and mountains; you built this layout as modules which means it can break down easily for moving. It is not a problem to move modules that have grades and reasonable mountains without them being damaged. Just look at how many modules are transported to shows all the time without damage.
+sierge1 The difference is I have movers that my company pays for and they are not familiar with transporting train stuff yet they move my stuff. You can't equate a move for modular stuff for a show to a move with my entire houses worth of stuff in two or three semi trailers cramming the layout in where they can fit it. THAT is why it's still flat.
jlwii2000 I have no problem with a flat layout and your reviews are very informative, this WS system is more for people who don’t want the hassle of very minor electrical work, i personally think it is a ripoff but that’s because I know how to do all this stuff, but if you don’t or you have the money it seams okay. BTW your round house looks sweet!
Very nice also easy !