interior starship lighting lightsheet vs leds

Darthsideous · Post by **Darthsideous** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:30 am

Hi, I have read DLM's great article on lighting the stargazer and was wondering why alot more people do not use lightsheet or EL(electro luminescient) wire to light up thier models. The appearant benefit is reduction of heat which will warp the plastic.

Is there down side to using EL sheet or wire that I'm not aware of?

I am considering using lightsheet to light up a larger model like the Lunar models excelsior. I have seen some poorly done models with LEDS and the leds are so bright that it seems inconsistent with a large scale ship. EL seems to give off a lower intensity that seems more consistant with a larger scale ship & You can get it cheap online and at my local computer store.

I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

jwrjr · Post by **jwrjr** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:25 pm

I've troed using EL wire. It wasn't bright enough.

jwrjr · Post by **jwrjr** » Sat Jun 07, 2008 10:26 pm

"tried", not "troed". It would be nice if I could spell.

DLMatthys · Post by **DLMatthys** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:36 am

jwrjr wrote:I've troed using EL wire. It wasn't bright enough.

Darthsideous
I agree with JWRJR! Used it in the SDSM USS Stargazer. The EL wire I got from LightSheet is not bright enough nor have I found any brighter EL Wire brand since.

http://culttvman.com/assets/images-BENC ... er1035.JPG

I do think the regular EL Lamps (LightSheet) was adequite to the task for all of the Warp Engines though. LightSheet is out of bussiness so I use this brand pf EL Lamps from Miller Engineering

http://www.microstru.com/Experimenter-Kits.html

So....For interior lighting (windows and ports) I have switched to white 5mm LEDs that cast out a wider angled beam of light. From LED Supply a 70 degree view angle:
http://www.ledsupply.com/l1-0-w5th70-1.php

Also you can widen the view angle of the regular 5mm LED by grinding the dome flat. It kill the LED lens beam effect. Arrange the LEDs inside the model with about a 6 to 10 inch stand off from the ports and windows. That should help with even handed interior lighting througout.

Have fun with it and good luck!

fsgray · Post by **fsgray** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:08 am

You can also use a bigger resistor to tone down the light, saves battery too.

Darthsideous · Post by **Darthsideous** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:24 pm

jwrjr, Thank you for your insight! I appreciate the fact that it may be in adequate for lighting based on your explaination.

Darthsideous · Post by **Darthsideous** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 2:27 pm

Don, Thank you for taking the time to provide an amazing explaination, and solution to my lighting dilema! Looks like I will go with LEDs.

Also thanks to: fsgray.

I appreciated your comment on using a stronger resister, as I had not even considered that option.

Thanks to everyone who's responded to my inquiry: You guys really make this board a great place to learn and grow modeling skills!

DLMatthys · Post by **DLMatthys** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 6:41 pm

Darthsideous wrote:Don, Thank you for taking the time to provide an amazing explaination, and solution to my lighting dilema! Looks like I will go with LEDs.

You had questions...I got answers.
From the one and only original Resin Illuminati

Madman Lighting · Post by **Madman Lighting** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:12 pm

I love LEDs for lighting projects and the new high brightness ones are spectacular.

I even found an announcement today about PASTEL colored leds. Yes, now you can get pink, purple and turquoise LEDs in 5mm 20mA. Check out Lumex Inc.

Welcome to the golden age of LED lighting everyone!

-John C.

jgoldader · Post by **jgoldader** » Wed Jun 11, 2008 9:29 pm

Madman Lighting wrote:I love LEDs for lighting projects and the new high brightness ones are spectacular.

I even found an announcement today about PASTEL colored leds. Yes, now you can get pink, purple and turquoise LEDs in 5mm 20mA. Check out Lumex Inc.

Welcome to the golden age of LED lighting everyone!

-John C.

"You have gone too far. You have married Fester, you have destroyed his spirit, you have taken him from us. All that I could forgive. But Debbie... pastels?" -Morticia, Addams Family Values

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Jeff

Madman Lighting · Post by **Madman Lighting** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:10 am

That was almost my reaction when I saw the ad. It is pretty funny isnt it. Maybe I should do a model with pastel LEDs for the Pimp My Ride constest? It would fit the theme!

jgoldader · Post by **jgoldader** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:35 am

Has anybody experimented with taking a clear acrylic rod, maybe 1/2" diameter, sanding down one edge until it's a sort of long cylinder that's letter D shape in cross section, then drilling out the ends and putting LEDs in them? That might be good for lighting up engines.

My gut tells me the rod would act like a big fiber optic, but the sanded-down side would let some of the light escape on each reflection, instead of it all being internally reflected as is the case in a "proper" fiber. If too much light got out near the ends, you could add a few LEDs midway.

It would be sort of a variation of what Don Matthys did for lighting the saucer of his Excelsior for the build on CultTVMan's site. With superbright LEDs, you could make really intense engines, I would think.

Heck, you could even have pastel colors!

Jeff

Madman Lighting · Post by **Madman Lighting** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 11:35 am

That DOES sound like a good idea but I've not tried it myself.

You might not need to make it that fancy though, how about a translucent hunk of heat shrink tubing, shrunk to fit the LEDs at each end? Doesnt that stuff come in white or semi-clear? It would keep the light diffused along its length and act like a big flouresent tube.

-John C.

en'til Zog · Post by **en'til Zog** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:28 pm

Guys? Try a white plastic soda straw with a BLUE LED in each end. Depending on how the LED 'throws' or focusses the light, you cn get a nice even tubular glow.

Works for me... with a little tweeking.

jgoldader · Post by **jgoldader** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:53 pm

en'til Zog wrote:Guys? Try a white plastic soda straw with a BLUE LED in each end. Depending on how the LED 'throws' or focusses the light, you cn get a nice even tubular glow.

Works for me... with a little tweeking.

I looked all over the place, every craft store in sight plus a Target, and couldn't find a clear acrylic rod to try out my lighting idea.

However, I, uh, borrowed (yeah, that's the ticket!) one of my wife's hot glue sticks, hollowed out one end, then stuck in a blue LED. The glow was nice and uniform for about 1.5 inches, then died out.

All that means is that the scattering is ridiculous in the glue stick. I haven't tried adding more LEDs in the middle.

However, looking through some of the other posts, using a plastic rod seems similar to the "sidelight" fiber optics in concept, except it would be a whole lot cheaper. I've seen clear 1/2" diameter acrylic rod from plastic suppliers for about $3/foot. Next time I order from Plastruct, I'll get some. Have to measure out the engines of that Excelsior I just got in the mail and see what diameter would be best.

Jeff

Scott Hasty · Post by **Scott Hasty** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:17 am

jgoldader wrote:
I looked all over the place, every craft store in sight plus a Target, and couldn't find a clear acrylic rod to try out my lighting idea.

However, I, uh, borrowed (yeah, that's the ticket!) one of my wife's hot glue sticks, hollowed out one end, then stuck in a blue LED. The glow was nice and uniform for about 1.5 inches, then died out.

I've tried all the methods you have, none had significant light dispersal except this (this was a rough test):

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r261 ... G_2802.jpg

Day shot:

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r261 ... G_2804.jpg

Lighting rig:

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r261 ... G_2805.jpg

I used Fiberfil to disperse the light. A bag costs about a buck and you'll probably never use it all.

Scottie

Madman Lighting · Post by **Madman Lighting** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:03 pm

I used a trick like that when I did NX-01's deflector dish. I used teased cotton balls and got almost the same effect. Works well!

-John C.