Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

R, G, B = 255, 255, 255 will give you white with a RGB LED.

robiwon wrote:Get a bag of batting, the stuff used for stuffing pillows. Works great. That's what I used to diffuse the engine lights on my Salzo Galactica.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2l6gdg.jpg

That was going to be my suggestion as well.

This links to two Wonderfest presentations on using microprocessors for lighting control. The first, from 2013, deals with the use of "PIC" processors, and the one from this year shows the use of Arduino boards. I have forgotten the name of the speaker, and I do not see it on his material...

A diode will typically drop about 1V so the modeller might be using it to make the LEDs not so bright. Not sure about surge protection, though.

Bought a bunch of coloured 2mm LEDs from lighthouseleds.com a while back and after soldering some into a custom PCB I found some that wouldn't light. I thought maybe I might've over-voltaged them by accident, or got a few bad'uns, but when I desoldered and tested them I found the leads were reversed...

There has been a fair amount of activity over on SFMA re: Arduinos, so much so that Boyd created a new forum for it:

http://scifimodelaction.com/sfmaforum/i ... board=23.0

There's sample code to blink both running lights & strobe lights with one board.

I use a cool tip glue gun to hold down LED strips. Others use crazy glue shot with a light mist of accelerant.

You can't do a big batch ten apply it. It is a pain in the ass. You need to tape the outside of the window it cover the window. Fill the hole with the powder, you will need slightly more then just flush with the plastic. Then a few drops of the liquid, just enough to melt the powder Thanks chiver. ...

Picked up a set of clear acrylic powder and liquid today and tried it out. I don't think it's join to work for me because, (a) the stuff stinks worse than lacquer paint/thinner and I'm not even sure how I'm typing this right now, (2) it sets up REALLY quick, so you can't really make a big batch to d...

I just got back from Sally's, the beauty supply store... got some of those really cool long lashes... Not Really. I did pick up some powdered acrylic. This stuff is neat, you add the emulsifier, and you can mix the powder in as thick as you like, but I just followed the directions and got a nice th...

AFAIK, pots are not recommended for adjusting DC motor speeds. You're better off using PWM from an Arduino/PIC but I realize that is more difficult and costs money. There might be some pre-built motor controllers available, though. http://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/help-i-cant-get-my-potent...

I don't think it matters which leg the resistor is soldered to - it should work the same if on the long (+ve) or short (-ve) leg of the LED. For the PL lighting kit, I think the light tape runs at 12V but the other lights run off the zener diode voltage splitter. Each white connector has a different...

You need to use a 7809 voltage regulator. The basic setup is the 7809 with filtering caps on either side (input/output) but this link as 2 caps on the output: http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/blog/variable-voltage-power-supply.html just google '9v voltage regulator' and see what you need. All com...

Go to a fabric store and get a bag of white polyester stuffing. I know others have used that to diffuse the light in the Refit nacelles.

The PL kit motors are specific to this kit and don't have any useful markings. One of the motor has "092812" written on it but that doesn't tell you anything.

I'm using Sayama motors that are very similar but have metal shafts and are generally better quality. Their model # is 12SM-AT3.

intresting though, when in parallel it come to life like normal but fades out slow when hooked up to a 5 volt wall wart I think if you want to do a hardware solution for fade in and out, it's going to get tricky. I've seen some attempts on the 'net but haven't been able to reproduce them to my sati...

You can try putting a capacitor in parallel with the LED but you may only get a fade in. I looked into this a while back (I wanted a hardware solution as opposed to using PWM via a microcontroller) and found some info by googling ' fade in LED'.

Anybody ever user Zener diodes? That's apparently what PL uses on their TOS E 1/350 lighting kit.

http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/vie ... 73&start=0

I've done some quick-and-dirty voltage measurements on the saucer board that comes with the Polar Lights TOS E 1/350 lighting kit, and I can't quite work out what's going on. Normally, if you have a 12V power supply you'd need some kind of voltage regulator (e.g. 7805) to drop the voltage for the PI...

In particular part #445-3602-1-ND's datasheet ([/img] http://www.delevan.com/seriesPDFs/SPD125.pdf ) makes the part look just like the one in this EEEvilBae DC-DC power converter: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Voltage-and-current-display-LM2596-DC-DC-Step-Down-CC-CV-Adjust-Power-Supply-/150878659741?p...

Bernie - this is a full list of 330uH inductors (axial lead) at DigiKey. There aren't that many, but with many different specs. Do any of them look like they'd match the ones you get from the UK? Don't see any list RossW :? :) Actually, going from your original 58mA @ 5v output requirement, you don...

No, I'm in Canada but have had good luck with ordering from UK. I'll try DigiKey.ca and Mouser. No luck at either of those suppliers. I've gone over the LM2575's datasheet but the recommended inductors aren't available at DigiKey, Mouser or Jameco. And if I can find the right inductance (e.g. 330 u...

No, I'm in Canada but have had good luck with ordering from UK.

I'll try DigiKey.ca and Mouser.

Is it this kind of inductor?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10x-Axial-Mag ... 82686c6fb6

Thanks Bernie!

I've never bought inductors before - do you have a part #?

Also, I'm assuming the caps are polarized electrolytic - is that right?

Bernie - it looks like the LM2575 is an incredible chip; wide range in input voltages with up to 1A output and no heat. Is it really as good as it sounds? I've only ever used the 7805 but have been frustrated when I need to use a 12V power supply (for LED strip lighting) but 5V for my microcontroll...

Bernie - it looks like the LM2575 is an incredible chip; wide range in input voltages with up to 1A output and no heat. Is it really as good as it sounds? I've only ever used the 7805 but have been frustrated when I need to use a 12V power supply (for LED strip lighting) but 5V for my microcontrolle...

Are you just using the 7805 to drive the LEDs? If that's all you're using it for (i.e. not a PIC microcontroller, for example) then instead of using the voltage regulator think about putting 2 LEDs in series with a current-limiting resistor, and then parallel that out for as many as you need. No vol...

Do you mean wire connectors? If they're not meant for structural purposes then I like Molex connectors (your computer probably has some inside for connecting peripherals).

http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/catalogs/c123/P62.pdf

I usually do fade int/outs of LEDs via PWM and PIC micro controllers, but I'm wondering if an electrolytic capacitor placed in series with a LED would accomplish the same thing?

Has anyone done something like this? What value should I shoot for - 10uF, 100uF?