LED flicker attachments?

[Jon Marshall]

Maybe RGB led’s changing through yellow>orange>red?

[David Rowland]

hm.. Christmas LED lights do?

[Martin Manley]

Sorry John…explain RGB?[i][/i]

[George Ross]

RGB leds is red green blue, commonly used in white and colour changing applications. NOt suitable for this application as you cannot get yellow red orange unless you use 3 sets of leds, leds do not go on and off quickly enough as neon to use for this application

Regards George

[Marko YYZ]

quote George Ross:

RGB leds is red green blue, commonly used in white and colour changing applications. NOt suitable for this application as you cannot get yellow red orange unless you use 3 sets of leds, leds do not go on and off quickly enough as neon to use for this application

Regards George

That is a very uninformed answer…

First off – RGB can create millions of colors and can easily create thousands of shades or yellow, red, orange, etc… RGB is used for video screens and to produce the colors on your monitor. ie: FULL COLOUR.

Second: There are sign modules available in an RGB configuration with no need to use 3 sets of LEDs. They have all 3 colors in one module, with a – conductor to control each color separately.

Lastly – LEDs go on and off in nanoseconds. Again – think video screen, car tail lights, etc… Neon is significantly slower.

That said, neon can be made to "flicker flame" and depending on the letters might work well. LEDs would be a superior option in terms of programability, color range and realism – but will cost a bundle to get some special programs made up.

The *easiest* way to do this would be to use both Red and Amber LEDs, alternating within the built up letters. There are some simple RGB controls out there that will allow you to make the colors alternate, flicker, chase, fade, etc between each other – simply by putting the controller in line between the power supply and the LEDs. Alternating the LEDs creates a sense of motion as it goes through the program.

An RGB control is typically 3 channels, so while you could program for 2 (Red + Amber) you could probably get some 3 channel (RGB) modules made up that use Red-Red-Amber, or Red-Red/Orange-Amber and create even more detailed effects.

This is actually quite easy to do if the customer gives you a modest budget to create the effect.

You can get Red and Amber modules from Applec (by Permlight) or others – manufacturer is not critical – and order and RGB control kit here for £8.95. If you can’t/won’t solder, you can probably order an assembled unit for a little more. http://www.bigclive.com/shop.htm

If you have any other questions, ask away, or send me a PM.

[Martin Manley]

Marko,
Cheers mate: great answer. What I’m doing is making 2 resin filled built up stainless steel flame logos – where the LED’s are embedded in white resin – so I’ll get onto Applec, who I’ve dealt with before (don’t know why I didn’t go to them first!) and see what they can do….
Cheers again
Martin