Beer Pong Table with LEDs!!!! Help

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
Looks good! I'm curious to see the parts list. I think I'm going to do a mass order on ebay that way I end up with some extras for down the road.
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
If you want to give me a price on what items you have for sale, I could pick them up from you this next week. I'm flying to TX Monday and I'll be there for a week.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
What part of TX? If it is in Dallas I can point you to local parts stores that will usually beat eBay cold. Most cities don't have this.

BTW, you were talking 5mm LEDs, were you not? Just curious, it doesn't make any difference for the electronics.

I think I can come up with the parts list next.
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
I like this setup because if I wanted to make it every 5th or 6th led chase I have room on the 4017. I'll be in dallas Tuesday and Wednesday. I wish I had all the parts to do a small test to see what every 4th would look like... I'll have to pick them up in Dallas and test it out.

But if I wanted to go to every 5th all I would do is add another sequence I would add it to OUT 4 and move the RST return to OUT 5. I know 5 wont go into 236 evenly, but for the most part I think I'm just trying to give myself a crash course in electronics by looking at your diagrams... hahaha. Would doing that change any of the electronics on the sequencer side or just change the total LED's in each sequence.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
OK, here is the parts list.

My favorite store (by far) is Tanner's Electronics. BG Micro will accept walk in customers, but it is good to fax your order in advance. They are my second favorite source, and have a friendly yet obnoxious Great Dane whom I'm friends with. My advice, bring dog biscuits. Then there is Altex, they don't have much in the way of semiconductors but stock everything else, and there is Fry's Electronics, they would be an excellent parts provider if they would get someone who understood components to stock the shelves in sequence. You get what you pay for, and they pay minimum wages.

OK, a couple of side points. You will need firm numbers on the Vf of the LEDs to be able to get the right resistors. A very small change in Vf will cause a very large change of current. I would get one of these testers, available from both Tanner's and BG Micro, to help with the LEDs...

http://www.bgmicro.com/LED1063.aspx



This is a case where you can buy cheaper than make it yourself. Take 10 LEDs from each color, measure the Vf, average it, then calculate the resistors needed. I am using an old table of average Vfs for each LED color to calculate the resistor values, but I know it is likely off.

The power supply I showed you was BG Micro. You only need a 24VDC 2A unit though, and a 1A would probably work well. The 6.5A is overkill, but the price is good, and it would work well for the project.

You haven't given any feed back on the barrier strips. Do you like the idea? You may have figured out how you want to do it (differently). Keep in mind what I said about air flow.

Tanner's sells their resistors for 3¢ each, and if you get more than 100 it is 2¢ each.

Where are you getting the LEDs? It sounds like a good deal.
 

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Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
I like this setup because if I wanted to make it every 5th or 6th led chase I have room on the 4017. I'll be in dallas Tuesday and Wednesday. I wish I had all the parts to do a small test to see what every 4th would look like... I'll have to pick them up in Dallas and test it out.

But if I wanted to go to every 5th all I would do is add another sequence I would add it to OUT 4 and move the RST return to OUT 5. I know 5 wont go into 236 evenly, but for the most part I think I'm just trying to give myself a crash course in electronics by looking at your diagrams... hahaha. Would doing that change any of the electronics on the sequencer side or just change the total LED's in each sequence.
Sounds like you've figured it out. If this is a definite add on let me know. I was contemplating making a PCB layout for it.

I have posted a tutorial for making PCBs DIY, though there are other ways. If you have a friend into electronics that can do it I would ask for help, there is a very steep learning curve involved, and there will be waste early in the curve.

How I make PCBs
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
So I started to try and add all the parts that I didn't already have, which is everything but the LED's and the LED resistors, and it appears I'm going to have to visit multiple stores to fulfill my list. Have you ever been to digikey.com? They have everything on the list to the 10th degree... To the point where I no longer know if I'm ordering the right part or not...
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
Just send us the link, we can help. Parts can be confusing, finding them more so. You have a parts list, it should help.

Tanner's would have 99% of all the parts slightly cheaper, but I doubt you want to spend that much time there. For me it is a candy store.
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
I bought all 50v capacitors... I hope thats right, some of them on the list didnt specify. I'm a few short (3) on the 47uf 50v. I was looking around youtube for a video of comet trails and from what I saw if every 4th LED was the "comet" the trailing LEDs wouldn't have enough space to finish out their fade effect before the next "comet" comes. What do you think?
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
BTW:
Here is the power supply I ordered -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170616307775&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Here are the LEDs I ordered (the guy lets you choose what colors you want) -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330441505269&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

And I ordered a bunch of resistors to have on hand from this guy since he also lets you pick what values you want -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230583868823&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Speaking of testers... I had already ordered one to have so I can quickly check that the LED's are good before installing -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370445639526&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

I was looking at those terminal strips in the beginning... I think I'm still going to go that route. I'm very anxious to get all this stuff in and setup on a bread board to test.
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
Thanks for recommending Tanners. I now know what you mean.... That place looks like it can be dangerous. I'm going to have to do some scouting in so-cal to see if there is a similar store. Fry's is just too expensive in comparison and like you said, nobody knows what they are doing there.
 

Wendy

Joined Mar 24, 2008
23,415
If the yellow are really 3.5VDC Vf then RY01-RY08 is 120Ω, and RY09,RY10 is 300Ω. I would still verify the LED Vf (I'm not a trusting person). You also need the Vf for the other LEDs so we can recalculate their resistors. I'm assuming you have a DVM, for anything electronics they are pretty much required.

If you find a Southern California version of Tanner's let us know, it is always nice to be able to recommend local outlets for other people.
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
So just to make sure I'm looking at the diagram correctly... all of the ground leads come together as a negative return line...
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
Looks like I must have goofed somewhere... I hooked the sequencer side all up, then just hooked up green sequence one with one LED to see it blink... it's just always on. I might of grabbed the wrong transistors. In the list is says 2n2222a I have pn2222a, list says 2n2907a I have pn2907a... Is that where I have a problem?
 

Thread Starter

adamcswant

Joined Mar 23, 2011
34
I was just looking over some of the updated diagrams and I'm not sure what TB# is... it's on the LED layout sheets. I'll try and get some pictures up, but I did it on a bread board so it's pretty crazy looking.
 
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