Knightrider..........for Gates!

OnOff · Mar 4, 2014

My mate the chippy (sorry "cabinet maker") - v.easily bored! A couple of years back I helped him do a set of sliding gates:

All working a treat but he wants to "embellish" it to highlight the gate opening. So............my idea is to inset some subtle 12V drive lights in individual blocks. Then to have a controller that will give a gentle Knightrider effect as the gates open and shut.

Had a quick look on the sponsors sites for a suitable controller but does anyone know of anything off the shelf? If not I'll build something from scratch. (Just dug out an Everyday Electronics mag from 1986 with 3 similar projects in).

Cricklewood Electronics here I come!

Cheers

Richard-the-Ninth · Mar 4, 2014

Funny you should ask. I suggest THIS

You can adapt it to run more lights (I did) still going strong.

ProDave · Mar 4, 2014

For my money, I would use an arduino for something like that. Then you can program it to do whatever you like.

Blue Duck · Mar 4, 2014

Dont rgb led strips come with pulse mode on the IR controler? It may be more cylon than nightrider though.

OnOff · Mar 4, 2014

Richard-the-ninth said:
Funny you should ask. I suggest THIS

You can adapt it to run more lights (I did) still going strong.

Cheers, scoobed for that. Working near a Maplin tomorrow! Looks very similar to to the circuit in the EE mag that I have. Now need to find some suitably IP rated drive over LEDs now. Depending on the load etc I might have to build a little interface to drive any bigger loads.

I've seen a LAP kit that I think have 15mm dia units that would be ideal size wise as it'll be easy to drill the blocks and inset them. But pretty sure that was for interior use only but about the size I was thinking.

Won't be going the fancy route I've enough of my own stuff to do!

OnOff · Mar 5, 2014

The IC in that kit that Richard put up is a 4015 info on the ESR kit site:

http://www.esr.co.uk/velleman/mk107.htm

.......struggling to find the output current per pin. Thinking to use ultra bright 10mm LEDs with a forward current of 20mA. I think the 4015 might provide 25mA per pin but not sure.......anyone?

steptoe · Mar 5, 2014

maplin used to have that kind of info in the back of their catalogue

OnOff · Mar 5, 2014

steptoe said:
maplin used to have that kind of info in the back of their catalogue

Back when you could buy Denco coils, Jackson variable capacitors and decent lengths of ferrite rod from them I guess! Before it went "every page a remote controlled toy".

To be fair they do have some good stuff still but as a kid I used to love compiling my orders for one off electrolytics, a little PB1case, some Veroboard and a graduated knob which you ordered from ONE place in Essex - long before the shops. Last lot of caps I got from them I had to buy an assorted bag. :lol:

steptoe · Mar 5, 2014

jeez,

must be a while since I had a maplin catalogue, :Blushing

I was in the electronics after school club,

used to order the stuff with the teacher, he added it up and the next week it had arrived and you took your money in to pay for it,

then I started with my own book at home and ordering my own stuff,

happy days,

SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH · Mar 6, 2014

Did you know of Henrys on the Edgware Road, W London ? Fantastic cave of old ~~shite~~ fantastic bits & bobs and all electronics. Its still there today but more refined.

http://www.henrys.co.uk/

Richard-the-Ninth · Mar 7, 2014

Blue Duck said:
Dont rgb led strips come with pulse mode on the IR controler? It may be more cylon than nightrider though.

The two strips I have don't. Its all any colour you like (within reason) or nothing. I think you are meaning the really expensive one which each (for example) 3 LED's can be a different colour than the ones next to them, and as such you can get this "different colour" to run along the whole strip.

Onoff said:
Depending on the load etc I might have to build a little interface to drive any bigger loads.

I added miniature relays to the "output" of mine so that it could operate little 12v lamps. As I first said, still going strong after several years.

SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH said:
Did you know of Henrys on the Edgware Road, W London ? Fantastic cave of old ~~shite~~ fantastic bits & bobs and all electronics. Its still there today but more refined.

http://www.henrys.co.uk/

Those were the days. You could walk up and down Edgware road and almost every other shop was an "Electronics shop" my favourite was "proops" (I think that's what it was called)

OnOff · Mar 7, 2014

SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH said:
Did you know of Henrys on the Edgware Road, W London ? Fantastic cave of old ~~shite~~ fantastic bits & bobs and all electronics. Its still there today but more refined.

http://www.henrys.co.uk/

Cheers. Worth a look if I'm that way. Cricklewood Electronics are just further along:

http://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/Cricklewood/home.php

(I used to use Garlands in Deptford Broadway years back, Rapid when they first started in Eynsford then there was Bi-pak, Greenweld, Bull Electrical etc.......). Bull was great for surplus tat. Then there's Display Electronics in South London (main site is down at the mo):

http://www.distel.co.uk/asps/specials.asp

When things are a tad more settled on the home DIY front and I have a proper man cave I aim to get back into playing with electronics and kit building again.

OnOff · Mar 7, 2014

Got some 10mm ultra bright LEDs today, 10mm dia. BUT I don't know if the kit that Richard suggested will be man enough to drive them direct. From what I can glean the CD4015 only puts out a few mA on each output (Ioh). So...........maybe a transistor to drive each?

Have a cunning plan to set each LED in a paving block AND make it easily removeable/replaceable.

Apache · Mar 8, 2014

How will you run the cables?

OnOff · Mar 8, 2014

Apache said:
How will you run the cables?

The rough plan is to excavate a line of blocks carefully just behind the running rail (to the left in the picture). Might be tricky as where the rail is is now infilled with coloured concrete so the adjacent blocks might be stuck! Then lay a (zig-zagged) multi-core in the sand bed underneath that is stripped back to just present two cores to each LED - so it'll be nearer it's original diameter back at the control board by the gate motor. The LEDs will be in a straight line though. Thinking to make the 10mm LEDs "drop in" i.e. easily removeable. Rough plan is to drill a 20mm hole thru each block. It's all extra low voltage / low risk.

Then it's make your own IP6? LEDs. I happen to then have some surplus stainless tubes which I've been racking my brains how to re-use. They are basically 18mm dia and I can open the hole through them to take the LED. Silicon or clear potting compound and heatshrink will come into it no doubt! Thinking to "coil" the two cores to each LED in the bottomof the hole in the block so they can be pulled out easily and changed etc.

Going to try and get the Maplin kit later today.

Pics to follow as/when it happens.

OnOff · Mar 8, 2014

Richard........that Maplin kit, do you have to push a button to start the chasing effect or does it start automatically once power is applied (which is what I want)? Ta.

Richard-the-Ninth · Mar 8, 2014

Officially it has a start button and a change programme button.

I leave mine running 24/7 (I will take some pictures later) You could put a very low capacity capacitor across the start button.

If you do as I did (or similar) you could leave the unit running and just turn off the output (common) to the LED's

OnOff · Mar 8, 2014

Richard-the-ninth said:
Officially it has a start button and a change programme button.

I leave mine running 24/7 (I will take some pictures later) You could put a very low capacity capacitor across the start button.

If you do as I did (or similar) you could leave the unit running and just turn off the output (common) to the LED's

Ta, scoobed.

Richard-the-Ninth · Mar 8, 2014

As promised.

And in case you are wondering what they run 24/7

I did say I have had it running 24/7 for some time. Which is why the lights have green moss / mould and the controller has cobwebs.

OnOff · Mar 8, 2014

Richard-the-ninth said:
As promised.

And in case you are wondering what they run 24/7

I did say I have had it running 24/7 for some time. Which is why the lights have green moss / mould and the controller has cobwebs.

Got the Maplin kit just now plus a 20mm grit edged hole saw from Tool Station to try and drill a block. Might dig the soldering out later!

What's the PCB above, gates?

Knightrider..........for Gates!

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