Hi gang, I'm just starting a mod, I have a few ideas (but more questions!) and one of these is: I want to have power LED's (about 6 or 8) hooked up so that they blink on and off continuosly. Basically, my PC mod: SG-PC (coming soon) will have a stargate attached to the front with a open wormhole effect. I am thinking that behind the wormhole effect I want blue and white LED's that blink off and on at different intervals to each other, so that I can get a kind of ripple effect behind the wormhole, shining through. These LED's will be associated with the power on of the PC, with an on/off switch under the case somewhere (for when I'm not in the mood for bright LED's) So then, to my question: How do I go about this lighting idea? I'm somewhat of a novice with electronic technical know-how, though I've good soldering skills. Can anyone give me some help with this idea? Thanks guys, regards....
personaly I think I'd put each on its own seperate 555 circuit with a fader so they all fade on and off independently of each other and the light would be fairly psudo-random. Edit: I've found an old 555 schematic that blinks as you asked.... Edit: You could tack on a few extra LEDs to that to make the light more even, and make it look more lke light shimmering then 6-8 leds blinking on and off...(Don't mind me I'm just thinking out loud)
Well, with opaque acrylic, you'd be able to diffuse the light a bit so that it appeared a bit more uniform. However, it might look more like an open wormhole from afar than a rippling event horizon. If you're really into this, consider implementing an iris-like mechanism, whether it be mechanical or electrically controlled, and have it open when the system boots up. If you go with an opaque backing, you can conceal the LEDs in the ring's perimeter, and have them flash randomly. The hues should blend together so you would have an even overlap, allowing a resemblance of a shimmering/ripple effect. Having water trapped between two layers of transparent material would yield the best kind of effect though, especially with a heavy blue light dispersed in the liquid (they sell water additives for this type of demonstrative purposes). What's best about this is the fact that there will always be some vibration in the case due to the various motions, so there actually will be somewhat of a ripple effect. This of course will be more prevailant if the stargate is horizontally oriented, but there might be a way to simulate it for a vertical orientation. You may also want to consider electro-luminescant wire which would shine some blue light evenly so that the blinking lights added to a constant effect. I know I'm thinking way too advanced here, but it seems like a cool mod (even if you're in the preliminary stages) and I'm trying to think about what I would use in such a mod.
Thanks for the schematic DarkInferno; I now just have to do a little research so that I can understand how the circuit works, and what components some of the symbols refer to. Got a link for where that schematic came from? I'll do some searching, but if you could be bothered a link would be handy. Stuey83: Yer, a Iris would be awesome, especially one that opens/closes on boot-up/shut-down. It's a classic case of "shoots and scores in the too hard basket" though. I've theorised a little what it would take to achieve a working Iris; I think I'll leave that alone for now.... I'll get a pic of my Stargate with the wormhole effect, I just need to figure out how to post it here (resize, etc. etc.). It already has an event horizon effect with it. Here we go:
For the event horizon what i would od is make a mould (negative) of what you want out of clay/plasta of paris etc, making sure there are some ripples and its rough make your LED's with the above diagram, but use the thinest cable you can get away with, fill the mould with PVA glue and ripped up small (no bigger than 5mm) bits of tin foil randomly, wait for 5-10 mins for it to go semi hard, then set your LEDs round the edge and in the middle, making sre that the wires are poking out, wait 24 hours and take out of mould, spray a fine mist of blue headlight paint (can get from halfords etc) orver the top to give a bluish tinge with the opaque/white of the PVA and wire the LEDS up. i havnt done this but ive been thnigking of a similar mod, and ive also been thinking about the iris as well
er... well... I edited it together out of an old velleman diagram I had... what do you need help with matey and I'll see what I can do.. Its just a 555 astable circuit... C = capacitor, R = resistor, D = diode, RV = resistor (variable), LD = LED, 555 = any ol 555 you can find....(NE555N) tbh: I'd prolly use 556's as it'll be cheaper for you as you will only need half as many.
if you build couple of these and make them go at different speeds i think it would give you the effect your after http://hw.metku.net/colorfade/index_eng.html
I'd really like to thank all you guys for your replies thus far, (DarkInferno, Stuey83, Monkey200SX, bender386, and _Dan_ for your enthusiastic support ), the ideas you've come up with in such a short time are truly inspiring... O.k. I like the fading LED effect you linked me to bender386, I think that's gonna be exactly what I'm after. So, I need to decide exactly how many LED's I wanna use (I'm thinking 10 - love round numbers ), then I can devise the circuit properties from there. Also, I think I'll use your idea with the cast Monkey200SX, that is if you don't object. (I'll PM you if you don't post back here) I'd hate to pinch your ideas if you are planning something similar.... So, off to the workshop I go; I'll keep you guys posted on progress, and if you all don't mind, I'll come back to this thread for more expert info if I need it.
the chip in the diagram i gave you has 4 opamps in it so you should be able to make 2 circuits from each chip. that should save some space
Another cheap & simple flicker circuit, mended from this borked circuit. The square-waves from the two oscillators are mixed at the third gate to vary the on-time of the LED as shown on the graph. One 4093 contains all 4 gates. One to play with, making a few with different RC values will give different effects on different LEDs.
I thought of a similar concept. If some of the components in the case were to be water cooled you could potential rig something up to give a waterfall effect through the two layers, couple of bumps or something on the rear face to create a bit of a ripple effect and have the lighting changing behind it too. That way you've got the whole actual water thing going and back lit. Make it lead down to the res or something...?
I bought both stargates off of eBay. The one on the right is (my favourite) from this fella here: intellip2000 Look him up via eBay if your interested, he's a top bloke, and as you can see, very clever. The one on the left was from the U.K, can't remember who I bought it off, sorry. Gonna work on that circuit guys, a lot more reading(learning) to do yet. I will post back here with a finished circuit....
