Hi All,
Just to start: before anyone mentions it, I have a valid state issued permit that allows me to use Emergency (Flashing) Lights (of the colors Red and/or White) in certain situations. I am willing to provide proof if necessary. If this discussion is inappropriate for the public forum, I would be willing to (and would appreciate) discussing it in a more private manner. I would also like to state that my background in ece, circuitry, and programming is limited, but I am trying to improve. I think this project is a step towards that, as well as reading some resources such as Bill_Marsden's notes here -> http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog.php?bt=684
Essentially I want to construct this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvpTnBfVKGw
This video shows a circuit that flashes 3 LEDs twice, and then the other 3LEDs twice, and repeats (rate is adjustable).
From what I've read on the forum it seems a suitable approach is with the use of a 555 and 4017 chip, and I believe that is also used in that video.
For my project I would like to increase the amount of LEDs to 4 per side. So I would have four 3W LEDs (Red) flash(2x) and then four 3W LEDs (White) flash(2x). I would also aim to have this powered through my vehicle's cigarette lighter. With my limited knowledge, I am not sure what modifications I would need to make to pre-existing circuit diagrams to accommodate these LEDs. I have heard that a BuckPuck may be of use, but I have really no idea how to integrate that into this final product. If the general consensus is that a total of eight 3W LEDs is overkill I would be willing to bring it back down to 6.
I am also aware that a microcontroller (such as a PIC), would be more powerful, but I would have difficulty in the programming. Perhaps this can also be part of the discussion, but for my initial purposes the flasher shown in the video would suffice.
I apologize for the length of this post, I just wanted to be clear and thorough. Thank you.
Just to start: before anyone mentions it, I have a valid state issued permit that allows me to use Emergency (Flashing) Lights (of the colors Red and/or White) in certain situations. I am willing to provide proof if necessary. If this discussion is inappropriate for the public forum, I would be willing to (and would appreciate) discussing it in a more private manner. I would also like to state that my background in ece, circuitry, and programming is limited, but I am trying to improve. I think this project is a step towards that, as well as reading some resources such as Bill_Marsden's notes here -> http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/blog.php?bt=684
Essentially I want to construct this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvpTnBfVKGw
This video shows a circuit that flashes 3 LEDs twice, and then the other 3LEDs twice, and repeats (rate is adjustable).
From what I've read on the forum it seems a suitable approach is with the use of a 555 and 4017 chip, and I believe that is also used in that video.
For my project I would like to increase the amount of LEDs to 4 per side. So I would have four 3W LEDs (Red) flash(2x) and then four 3W LEDs (White) flash(2x). I would also aim to have this powered through my vehicle's cigarette lighter. With my limited knowledge, I am not sure what modifications I would need to make to pre-existing circuit diagrams to accommodate these LEDs. I have heard that a BuckPuck may be of use, but I have really no idea how to integrate that into this final product. If the general consensus is that a total of eight 3W LEDs is overkill I would be willing to bring it back down to 6.
I am also aware that a microcontroller (such as a PIC), would be more powerful, but I would have difficulty in the programming. Perhaps this can also be part of the discussion, but for my initial purposes the flasher shown in the video would suffice.
I apologize for the length of this post, I just wanted to be clear and thorough. Thank you.