glowy things

[egypturnash]

The beginning of September... that means the end of October is just two months away. This year I think I'd like to try and do something.

Thinking at work, my thoughts drifted to something fairly traditional, but I want to twist it just a little. Or at least make it a little geekier with a bit of Sufficiently Advanced Technology.

Okay, all you electronics types: varicolored LED light technology works by running R, G, and B in different, high-speed duty cycles, right? I think. So how tiny could one get the controlling circuitry for three slowly-drifting and differently-synched cycles? Small enough to fit in some kind of pendant along with a few watch batteries to power it and, oh, 3-9 LEDs?

Comments

[momentrabbit.livejournal.com]

Why do I have this painful vision of a 'Mood LED'?

ObjResp: Sure, it's doable. You'll need a very small dc/dc converter to get any sort of reasonable power from watch batteries, although 3v lithiums might fit your needs better. There's a market built around very small converters of this nature for LED flashlights. The control circuit could be made from SMT components. Heat dissipation might be an issue.

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

Because it could be interpreted as such a thing?

What's an SMT?

[phaze2.livejournal.com]

I think it's SMD - for 'surface mounted device'.
Yanno, those tiny components used in computer devices.

[momentrabbit.livejournal.com]

Erf, yes, SMD. (Was thinking 'Surface Mount Technology') for some reason...

[hydra-velsen.livejournal.com]

Actually I've seen sme LED jewellery. I remember seeing a blinking ring of some sort at Spencers, and a pendant that changed between a few symbols, but it was all just the cheap red LED's.

[lapdragon.livejournal.com]

I've also seen little rave-jewelry stands in a local mall. I've never really looked at them, but I know they have strobe-earings and lots of blinky LED stuff. I'll swing by and check stuff out next time I'm there.

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

*nod* I have something like that that came out of a trinket machine at the grocery store... I'm thinking more of a low-budget version of one of these, built into a pendant, with slow cycling colors instead of color controled by a radio interface.

The site you need, mon cherie...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

...is The LED Museum (http://www.ledmuseum.org) or more specifically their page on RPG LEDs (http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledrgb.htm) which includes a fully-adjustable RGB LED (the very last one) that could be used for your intended purposes, I believe, though the other LEDs shown on the same page might suit your purposes as well and be cheaper. :-)

Re: The site you need, mon cherie...

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that last one sounds about like what my desired result is. A little pricey but might be worth it. Now to see if I can either figure out enough electronics, or bribe a friend who knows his way around a soldering iron, to figure out how to generate sine waves on the voltages (with bonus points for pots to adjust the r/g/b cycles, and more bonus points for a switch to let me also use those pots to just set a constant color.)

Me? I have the weird glowy jewelry concept and a few ideas of how to construct it.

Re: The site you need, mon cherie...

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

...or, hell, I could find one of these and see if the guts are extractable. (Link found by poking around the absolutely hideously laid out LED Museum.)

Re: The site you need, mon cherie...

[phaze2.livejournal.com]

Hey, those joolz thingies look nifty! And I'd say ten bucks are a fair price for the LED and an integrated microcontroller that can provide the effects you want. I hope toys'r'us germany sells those too, there are still some part in my computer that are not properly illuminated ^^;

[draca-serpens.livejournal.com]

Just what are ya plannin' to do?

[shatterstripes.livejournal.com]

Witch. With black widow spider nestled in cleavage. Which glows assorted colors. The spider, not my cleavage. I have thoughts on how to construct said spider in a stylized manner.

Other acoutrements are in the air. I need to think about Standard Witch Stuff and how to mutate it prettily.

[maui.livejournal.com]

PIX

. When all is said and done, naturally. :)

Standard witch stuff.

[kaypendragon.livejournal.com]

Y' need a broom (PLEASE no vaccuum cleaner. It's been done and is always pathetic.) Also THE hat and quite possibly Tarot cards, herbs and/or a wand.

Cheapass solution...

[(Anonymous)]

Shine an ultraviolet LED into a thick, translucent liquid (like stage blood, or shower gel) containing bits of floating kipple coated in glow-in-the-dark paint, and a little bit of glittery stuff.
Jiggle for effect.

-ash.