sweet sounds the better one out of the 3 that are out shame i cant fig out how to use the buttons on wifi heheh there again could use it to open the tardis door with a powered remote lock any way i thought instead of starting a new thread i would just ask my question here
i know a little about electrics and so on but what is the best power to use for a console and the switches and buttons most seem to be 12v and i know the switches and buttons will work on a low volt but i wanted to know if the led in say a switch that meant to have 12v will light up if say the volts were lower but any help and ideas for a corner console i haven't got the space to do a full size

rich

There are many lighted switches out there, Rich, and each one will have its own specs. Some have lamps in them that light with mains voltage (110Vac US, ~220Vac UK). Others will have a 12V light, and then you have to see if that's AC or DC which should be specified either on the switch itself, or the packaging or paperwork that comes with it.

With LEDs, a 12V LED will light with a lower voltage applied to it, but it won't be as bright as it should be. And of course the lower you go with the voltage, the dimmer the LED will get until you reach the point that voltage is so low the current can't get across that gap between the LED's anode and cathode (which is what makes it light) and then it won't light at all.

Power supplies also come in a wide variety: DC volts out ranging from 3V to 24V and higher; some have an AC output in the same voltage range; some do both. (Think of the "transformer" for a model railroad set; you have the mains going in, and then you've got one set of terminals with around 12VDC coming out that goes to the track to power the train, and another set of terminals with around 12VAC that goes to your accessories like the lighted houses, track signals, crossing gates, etc.)

Some power supplies are variable so you can adjust them for what you need. And the size of your console doesn't matter, it's the amount of lights and the size of them that counts. You can have a small console that's loaded with lights (like warmcanofcoke's Season 14 wooden console) that would require a power supply with more "oomph" than a full-size Season 15-19 console that has only a few lights (not counting what's inside the central column, which would require a power supply all its own because most of what's inside it runs on mains power).

So I guess "the best power" to use on your console will depend on the components you choose to use on it. If you're going to have 6-volt lights or such on it, then you'll want a power supply that doesn't put out more than that. If you're going to have different voltage components, then you may want to look into a power supply that has multiple outputs - say one with separate 5, 12, and maybe 24 volt DC output terminals. The best thing to do is start drawing out your console and what components you plan on using, and where they're going to go, and how many you'll be using. From there you can start looking into the type of power supply that you'll need.

In short, there really is no answer for "the best" power supply to use; it's all going to depend on what you need to go with what you're wiring into your console.

I hope some of this was helpful.

Dino.

thx you so much that was a great read and i learned a lot from it as well i like the idea of the different power for each part if some need more or less st the min i just trying to work out what parts i like from all the console and picking the best that would go together i want to try and make a corner one with 3 panels like if i had become to doctor and change the desktop

There is a member on here that had started a console like that - taking parts he liked from each console and putting them all together into one. I'm still looking for that thread so I can link it here (and because I'm looking for it I can't find it... maybe I should look for another thread and then I'll find it). But "hybrid" consoles have been done before and some of them look amazing. Even if you only build three sections for a corner console (three panels) I'm sure it will also look amazing.

If you've got any sketches of some ideas, you can scan them and then post them so we can get some idea of what you're thinking. (It's nice to see some member concept art.)

Dino.

Quote from: dr chr0nic on Oct 19, 2016, 12:04 am
sweet sounds the better one out of the 3 that are out shame i cant fig out how to use the buttons on wifi heheh there again could use it to open the tardis door with a powered remote lock any way i thought instead of starting a new thread i would just ask my question here
i know a little about electrics and so on but what is the best power to use for a console and the switches and buttons most seem to be 12v and i know the switches and buttons will work on a low volt but i wanted to know if the led in say a switch that meant to have 12v will light up if say the volts were lower but any help and ideas for a corner console i haven't got the space to do a full size

rich

You can always use a buck converter to move to different voltages. I  Would standardize on using 12 volt wherever possible however.. because then  if you want to move things, or make them mobile, you hook up a car battery  and you can take it wherever you want.   IF You need AC power, You can get an inverter and run the AC directly from the battery.  The other thing to look at is current draw..  making sure that your supply can supply the current you expect to use.  12V lamps will draw far more current than a 12V LED, so I would use LEDS wherever possible. Doing a separate supply for eachpanel might make sense. Doing a separate supply for each component on a panel would probably not be prudent.