littlenemo Report post Posted February 12, 2006 All this talk of colour recently has got me thinking about an object I've wanted to make since i was a teenager. It is a light table that can be set to shine in almost any colour using a control box full of variable resistors. I played with one that my aunt had and found it could change the mood, shape, size and temperature of a room. We used it at a dinner party to make the room big, open and friendly to start with, then small and intimate during the meal, and even big, empty and cold to get rid of the last guest who wouldn't leave I only just realised that it could be used to calm Com down when he's in meltdown, help Dot and Com with their dyslexia, as well as being able to change the ambience of the room, depending on what's wanted. The building of the table isn't a problem (as long as it doesn't cost too much) as I've still got the old designs. But my problem is the control side of it. Is there anyone here who knows enough about electronics to design and build a control box for the thing? Or even how to control it from a computer (that way you could have presets for the most used colour schemes)? Any thoughts or advice would be very welcome nemo p.s. should this be in the Techie section? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted February 12, 2006 ............hi Nemo...I can definitely help you with this one old chum .I,d recommend visiting Woolworths and buying a large tin of Quality Street(I,ve found these to be better than Roses).Once home eat all the chocolates, remebering to save ALL the cellophane wrappers.If these are a little crumpled use a t-towel and iron over the towel and wrappers on a low heat. Next you,ll need a piece of glass, (I,ve used a piece from an old picture frame, worked a treat), using PVA glue stick all the cellophane wrappers to the glass in a lovely physchedelic fashion, till all the glass is covered.Next you will need an old washing up bowl, pierce the bottom with some scissors(being careful not to chop you fingers off ), making wholes of differing sizes.The glass is then mounted onto the bowl with the aid of blu tac (love the stuff ).Now all you need is a torch and someone to hold it up and waggle it behind the washing up bowl.(if they have,nt already made themselves sick from overeating chocolate, or chopped their fingers off with the scissors).One word of warning the very nature of the kaliedescope of colour can bring on a flurry of varying emotions , it,s best to integrate Suze,s super light box ...gradually............Good luck and enjoy. <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted February 12, 2006 Cheers for that Suze I had thoght of setting up a business making the things several years ago, but couldn't afford to make the prototype to show venture capitalists. This is the perfect answer. So expect to see me on Dragon's Den (4 stone heavier and with bandaged fingers), showing them the potential of colour therapy with a washing-up bowl and a hand torch! Worth a few hundred thousand, surely? nemo (will have to replace the blu-tac with double-sided sticky-backed plastic as our resident blu-tac addict has turned it all into glo-tac (50/50 mix with luminous fymo) ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted February 12, 2006 (edited) Don't know enough to be exactly sure what you're after Nemo. Best place I can think of to start looking wold be Maplins (no, not the Hi-De-Hi camp - the electronics shops). They have a www but its on the other pooter. If you want to run it via the pc it might be harder. If you wanted to run it via music perhaps a mixing desk and modulator arrangement would work. Then again my special moderators powers tell me that at 4:35pm today someones better half will tell you something significant....cue spooky music Edited February 12, 2006 by phasmid Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zemanski Report post Posted February 12, 2006 daft bat, Nemo - I know where to get a control box and I already have the software to run it, as long as it looks like a clown or a house and doesn't have more than 8 bulbs The joys of being in primary school ICT Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted February 12, 2006 (edited) Don't know enough to be exactly sure what you're after Nemo. What I need is a box with 24 knobs, each controlling the voltage to a string of up to 12 xmas tree lights (24 dimmer switches), or a way of controlling 24 voltage channels from the pc. There's a Maplin's just down the road, so getting the parts wouldn't be hard, it's just knowing what to use and how to wire it up that's the problem. Basic things like: will it need a 48-core cable connecting box and light table? Can you buy 48-core cable? That sort of thing... (thanks z, only 280 bulbs short, or are you trying to tell me that there are 36 control technology clowns lying round the house somewhere ?) cue spookier music Edited February 12, 2006 by littlenemo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted February 12, 2006 They were selling a modulator (16 channels I think) for ?20 recently. It's on the othe pooter. I'll get back to you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phasmid Report post Posted February 12, 2006 You have a pm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted February 12, 2006 I am an electronics expert. Could I be of any help? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted February 12, 2006 .......sorry guys but you,ve lost me with all this jargon..........(thankfully I bet )..........still think that washing up bowl would have worked a treat . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted February 12, 2006 I was hoping you would ask, Canopus To be honest I don't think it's expert stuff really, but it's way beyond me. Put it this way - I've heard the phrase 'variable resistors' and suspect that that's all I'd need, but knowing me, I'd end up putting 240v through each string or something and burn the house down! In layman's terms what I need is 24 dimmer switches, each attached to a string of led's or xmas tree bulbs. Simple as that really. LEDs would probably be better if they're bright enough, xmas tree lights were in the original (in the 70's). Phas sent me details of a DMX interface kit (read the specs and am still not absolutely sure what it does ). It looked perfect for using a computer to run it, but one of the reasons for making the light table is to rest my eyes from staring at a screen all day. An ability to set the brightness values of each string manually and computer-controlled as well would be even better... I could probably put it together myself if I had a circuit diagram, but I couldn't find a copy of Boy's Own Book of Mood-altering Light Tables in the library cheers nemo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted February 12, 2006 You can get ultrabright LEDs in many colours nowadays. The controller could be connected to the USB port. There are chips to interface the LEDs directly to USB port so there is no need to worry about the finer details of the USB protocol. A really neat way to control the brightness of the LEDs is to send a high frequency square wave to them and vary the mark-space ratio of the square wave. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted February 12, 2006 okay... Excellent news on the LED's - it's over 10 years since I last looked into this idea. Repeated readings and the last bit is starting to make sense. I have a vague memory that LED's need a square wave to control them. Would this cause problems with old-fashioned knob-twiddling (or trekkie-style sliders ) technology as with neon lights and dimmer switches? Do you know where I can find out about a USB-LED chip? cheers nemo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted February 12, 2006 Variable resistors can be used to control the brightness of LEDs in two ways: 1. By varying the current flowing through a LED. 2. By varying the mark-space ratio of a square wave oscillator that drives the LED. There's loads of USB chips on the market but I haven't investigated them for a few years so things will have changed since then. I will check Maplin as they might have something. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted February 12, 2006 This is already making more sense than last time I tried it. thank you nemo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flora Report post Posted February 13, 2006 I'm totally impressed by Canopus explanation, and even more impressed that nemo understands it. From where I'm sitting it's all gibberish Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted February 13, 2006 I designed and built a machine to improve physical co-ordination at the age of 12. It consisted of a vertical panel with a large number of LEDs mounted on it. A circuit would flash the LEDs in a pseudorandom pattern so you had no idea which LED would flash next. The machine was used by swiping the LED that lights up with a sword or attempting to punch it. The flash rate was controlled using a variable resistor so you started using the machine with the LEDs flashing slowly then gradually increased the speed as your physical co-ordination improved. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flora Report post Posted February 13, 2006 There he goes again You're just too clever Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suze Report post Posted February 13, 2006 ............woah there mate............Canopus, ..............notwishing to inflate your ego but thats impressive .None of this makes any sense to me so I,m with Lauren on this.Hope your box works Nemo . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted February 13, 2006 I am still unable to find a suitable career. I have been rejected several times for not having enough experience in certain things. The situation is made worse by the appalling service and bad manners of recruitment agencies. I don't recommend taking an electronic engineering degree. There are just far too few junior positions in the electronics industry. 99.9% of vacancies are for people with lots (line 10 years minimum) of industrial experience in specific areas. The software and computing sector is much better for junior positions so take a degree in computer science, internet technology, or Playstation games instead. Ignore anybody who tells you that x y or z degree isn't accredited and won't allow you to put CEng or IEng after your name. The most important thing is whether you can get a decent relevant career after you graduate at 21 rather than worry whether certain pieces of paper and letters after your name will be an advantage to getting a senior position in some massive project like building a city on Mars when you are in your 40s. I have a sneaky suspicion that electronic engineering is an elitist subject and a closed club for people who don't come from an engineering background. I think the computing and software sector is more easy going, less elitist, and probably better for kids with AS. I wish I had gone into that in the first place. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted February 18, 2006 I have applied for a career. The company uses an automated application system on their website where I have to fill in a form about myself and include my CV. Strangely enough I can update the details at any time. I was using the company website to find information about some semiconductors. There was a jobs page so I investigated and found a vacancy that appears suitable. I have also noticed a university vacancy in Manchester that looks ideal so I will phone them on Monday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted February 19, 2006 Good news! Best of luck with both nemo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted March 1, 2006 The March edition of Electronics World contains an interesting article about LED lighting. It is still on the shelves of WH Smith and some other newsagents. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
microsoft_admin Report post Posted March 4, 2006 i know a thing or to about elextronics right you whant to build a light table it is very simmple to build parts assorted LED's variabgle risisters (one for each coler) 32 channal switch devide the leds in to couler groups and connect each group in paralele connect the a variable risister inbetween the possitive feed to each of the led sets and the led set connect 32 channal switch inbetween each variable risister and the led set's and the neggitive feed to the led sets IE: pin 1 on the 32 channal switch (the Vcc pin) conects to neggitive feed pin 2 connets to variable risister on led set 1 pin 3 connects to variable resister on led set 2 pin 4 connects to variable resistor on led set 3 etc etc pin 34 connects to each led set (connect the lose end of each led set to a common conductor and conect the common conductor to pin 34 on 32 channal switch)pin 34 is the Gnd)) incase the whole thing in a clear see through plastic rectanguler box cover the interior of the plastic box with mini mirrors (can get from craft shop) leve the top of the box free of mirrors the light will be reflected up through the glass in the table and fill the room well thats how i built mine any way Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
