Hello everyone,
I've got a little project trying to add LED lights to an RC Multicopter to help with orientation while flying and also for night flying. I need this to be as light as possible and my Google education has only confused me so here I am with my first post!
For Info; here's a video of the Tricopter: http://youtu.be/sAOdjS4m0b4
I read through Bill Marsden's blog (http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog.php?b=378) "LEDs, 555s, PWM, Flashers, and Light Chasers" hoping I could figure it out my project on my own but didn't have any luck.
What I'm trying to do is take two of the 3528 SMD LED strips that you can buy just about anywhere (similar to these: http://tinyurl.com/d3qju48) and add a circuit that will alternately flash each strip similar to a train crossing signal or the red/green wing tip lights of an airplane. The flash should have about a 2 second interval but if I could vary that it would be great. I'm not dead set on these strips but they're already the right size, weight and convenient. (I plan to use red on the Port side, green on the Starboard side which will flash and a solid white LED for the tail which could be wired separately)
These strips already have resistors built in so I'm not sure how this would work. I'm cutting each strip to be about 12" long so the current should be less than their specification for a one meter piece (400mA, 24 watts/5 meter).
I have a 14.8v input source (3300mAh Lipo battery, 4S - 30C Continuous Discharge ) that I had planned to step down to 12v (since that's the voltage specified by these strips) using something like this: http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/2104
Am I going about this all wrong and would it be easier to build the LED strips on my own rather than use the convenient prepackaged ones?
I have a little electrical experience but it's not my strong suit. I can follow a wiring diagram and assemble the parts easy enough but figuring out my own circuit is past my skill level without help.
I did look at the 555 circuit and can see the possibility there but need a bit of help trying to come up with something that's small and light.
If anyone has a little time to give me some guidance I would greatly appreciate it.
I've got a little project trying to add LED lights to an RC Multicopter to help with orientation while flying and also for night flying. I need this to be as light as possible and my Google education has only confused me so here I am with my first post!
For Info; here's a video of the Tricopter: http://youtu.be/sAOdjS4m0b4
I read through Bill Marsden's blog (http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog.php?b=378) "LEDs, 555s, PWM, Flashers, and Light Chasers" hoping I could figure it out my project on my own but didn't have any luck.
What I'm trying to do is take two of the 3528 SMD LED strips that you can buy just about anywhere (similar to these: http://tinyurl.com/d3qju48) and add a circuit that will alternately flash each strip similar to a train crossing signal or the red/green wing tip lights of an airplane. The flash should have about a 2 second interval but if I could vary that it would be great. I'm not dead set on these strips but they're already the right size, weight and convenient. (I plan to use red on the Port side, green on the Starboard side which will flash and a solid white LED for the tail which could be wired separately)
These strips already have resistors built in so I'm not sure how this would work. I'm cutting each strip to be about 12" long so the current should be less than their specification for a one meter piece (400mA, 24 watts/5 meter).
I have a 14.8v input source (3300mAh Lipo battery, 4S - 30C Continuous Discharge ) that I had planned to step down to 12v (since that's the voltage specified by these strips) using something like this: http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/2104
Am I going about this all wrong and would it be easier to build the LED strips on my own rather than use the convenient prepackaged ones?
I have a little electrical experience but it's not my strong suit. I can follow a wiring diagram and assemble the parts easy enough but figuring out my own circuit is past my skill level without help.
I did look at the 555 circuit and can see the possibility there but need a bit of help trying to come up with something that's small and light.
If anyone has a little time to give me some guidance I would greatly appreciate it.