Lego GBC Night Lighting

Running GBC modules for World of Lights and other night themed Lego shows can be a lot of fun.

This page covers the techniques I use for lighting GBC modules as well as the glowing UV balls that I use.

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Lighting Modules

For lighting my GBC modules and charging balls I have generally worked on the principle of “the balls are the focus” this has meant that any other lighting on my GBC modules has been away from the ball path and generally somewhat subdued compared to other Lego creations I have seen.

Glowing UV Balls

To date, Lego has not produced UV balls, as such for glowing GBC balls it has been necessary to turn to other means.

Until recently I have been using 14mm UV Beads with great success, however going forward I will use PV Productions UV balls due to their excellent UV properties (Read more on the Lego GBC Balls page).

If you do use non-Lego balls it is important to get the correct size; my first batch of balls was 0.2mm smaller than the 14mm diameter Lego sports ball and this caused problems in some modules.

Charging UV Balls

Charging UV balls is another challenge and can be done in variety of ways, here are the different methods I have used so far

Soak adapter for 2018 Brickworld Ball pump

  • Pro’s
    • Excellent at getting a full charge quickly
    • Guaranteed ball soak of 3 seconds or more
    • Easy to change charge location
    • Off-the-shelf
    • requires minimal change to the GBC module
    • Works great when paired with reservoir style modules
  • Con’s
    • Needs a separate 12VDC power adapter

Instructions:
Brickworld Ball Pump UV LED Adapter Instructions

Making Lego UV Led lights

Brickworld 2018 Ball Pump with Adapter and 12V UV LED Strip

I used this a section of this LED strip from Amazon in the adapters I built  https://amzn.to/2Gnp1BSPaid Link Disclaimer)

Lego stand for UV Torch (Suits BrickFair 2018 Stepper)

I have a couple of these UV Torches from Amazon that I use in my modules https://amzn.to/2Ij29Fx ( Paid Link Disclaimer)

  • Pro’s
    • Excellent at getting a full charge quickly
    • easy to change charge location
    • Off-the-shelf
    • typically requires no change to the GBC module
    • Works great when paired with reservoir style modules
  • Con’s
    • Needs batteries

UV Torch, Lego Torch Adapter and BrickFair 2018 Stepper

5mm 12V UV LED with DC Connector

  • Pro’s
    • 5mm LEDs fit in a Technic lift arm or beam hole
    • no batteries
  • Con’s
    • requires soldering
    • LED needs to be pointed directly into balls path

5mm 12v Pre-Wired UV/Purple LED,  Pigtail Connectors and Splitter.

I used my soldering skills to combine

I also used a couple of DC cable Splitters https://amzn.to/2Dc7A5a (Paid Link Disclaimer) so that I could use my existing DC power supplies.

5mm 12V UV LED with power Functions or 12V train connector

  • Pro’s
    • 5mm LEDs fit in a Technic lift arm or beam hole
    • Pre-wired UV LEDs are cheap
    • Easy to add into a module (just stack the connector on the motor connector)
    • no batteries
  • Con’s
    • requires modifying a Lego power cable
    • requires soldering
    • LED needs to be pointed directly into balls path

5mm 12v Pre-Wired UV/Purple LED and PF cable

I used my soldering skills to combine

5mm UV LED combined with Power Functions lights

This involves removing one LED from a LEGO LED light pair and soldering on a UV LED

  • Pro’s
    • Robust
    • Easy to add into a module (just stack the connector on the motor connector)
    • Good for combining with lighting other parts of the module
    • no batteries
  • Con’s
    • requires modifying Lego
    • requires soldering
    • LED needs to be pointed directly into balls path

Lego PF Light and  UV LED

I used my soldering skills to combine