Sequential LED "Landing lights"

Thread Starter

Medic2124

Joined Feb 1, 2015
3
I have been trying to find something to use as landing zone lights for a night skydive to help indicate landing direction. I want something like the approach lights at the end of the runway where the light just moves down sequentially at a decent speed. Since it needs to be portable I want to use a LED strips that are either 5 or 10 feet long and maybe have 3-4 leds illuminated at a time moving down the strip. Can anyone help me with a circuit/ arduino code to be able to build something like this?

Thanks!

Jon
 

Externet

Joined Nov 29, 2005
2,201
On one of those things I always wanted to propose perhaps to airports, is a landing guidance made with a laser...

On top of a permissible height post at the start of a runway, a (or several) green laser aimed to the start of the runway surface.
The laser mounted on a horizontal pivot, turning on and tilting sweeping its beam towards the end of the runway surface. Then turning off and returning to the start point, cycling every 3 seconds. Mechanism can be a simple cam, solenoid, galvo or mirror.
The effect is a moving dot (or longitudinal, or transversal line) showing the center of the landing surface in the direction of landing. The laser never aims over horizontal.

Not sequential instead of your proposal, just sweeping the beam repeatedly. No wiring of hundreds of LEDs along the strip. No arduinos, no complexity. One single laser (cheap pointer?). DO IT ! and come back with results.

Sort of ----> http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDU0WDc1MA==/z/ccsAAOSw7n9XFC94/$_10.JPG?set_id=880000500F

----> https://www.apinex.com/images_prod/124.jpg
 

Bernard

Joined Aug 7, 2008
5,784
Unless you have a LED strip built with chasing, you will have to add a lead for each group of 3 LEDs or what ever the cut point is. Then as in post #2, use a chaser circuit based on a 4017 IC, chapter 9, fig. 9.2. Depending on LED requirements may need drivers. Do you have a LED strip picked out & with specs.?
 

absf

Joined Dec 29, 2010
1,968
On one of those things I always wanted to propose perhaps to airports, is a landing guidance made with a laser...

On top of a permissible height post at the start of a runway, a (or several) green laser aimed to the start of the runway surface.
The laser mounted on a horizontal pivot, turning on and tilting sweeping its beam towards the end of the runway surface. Then turning off and returning to the start point, cycling every 3 seconds. Mechanism can be a simple cam, solenoid, galvo or mirror.
The effect is a moving dot (or longitudinal, or transversal line) showing the center of the landing surface in the direction of landing. The laser never aims over horizontal.

Not sequential instead of your proposal, just sweeping the beam repeatedly. No wiring of hundreds of LEDs along the strip. No arduinos, no complexity. One single laser (cheap pointer?). DO IT ! and come back with results.

Sort of ----> http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDU0WDc1MA==/z/ccsAAOSw7n9XFC94/$_10.JPG?set_id=880000500F

----> https://www.apinex.com/images_prod/124.jpg
Is the laser visible to the pilot during landing approach?
 

Externet

Joined Nov 29, 2005
2,201
Is the laser visible to the pilot during landing approach?
The landing strip surface is the one to be illuminated (hit) by the green laser (better if aimed to the painted white lines) , in either moving dot or moving line. But green lasers beams are also visible before reaching targets. So yes, the pilot could see both, sweeping the landing target in the intended landing direction, and the beam.

----> http://the-gadgeteer.com/assets/techlasers-infiniti-3.jpg
----> http://www.bsslav.com.au/lib/images/products/sales/Lasers/GreenGhost_1.jpg
 
Last edited:

shteii01

Joined Feb 19, 2010
4,644
On one of those things I always wanted to propose perhaps to airports, is a landing guidance made with a laser...

On top of a permissible height post at the start of a runway, a (or several) green laser aimed to the start of the runway surface.
The laser mounted on a horizontal pivot, turning on and tilting sweeping its beam towards the end of the runway surface. Then turning off and returning to the start point, cycling every 3 seconds. Mechanism can be a simple cam, solenoid, galvo or mirror.
The effect is a moving dot (or longitudinal, or transversal line) showing the center of the landing surface in the direction of landing. The laser never aims over horizontal.

Not sequential instead of your proposal, just sweeping the beam repeatedly. No wiring of hundreds of LEDs along the strip. No arduinos, no complexity. One single laser (cheap pointer?). DO IT ! and come back with results.

Sort of ----> http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDU0WDc1MA==/z/ccsAAOSw7n9XFC94/$_10.JPG?set_id=880000500F

----> https://www.apinex.com/images_prod/124.jpg
In one book the good guys were fighting an invasion and they used lasers to blind the enemy pilots during landing, the enemy pilots were flying cargo planes that were delivering supplies.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
Just some idle chatter here...When the smog in L.A. got worse, I could only see the red fireworks at Disneyland whereas I used to be able to see the greens and blues. This suggests to me that a red color would be visible farther away in foggy conditions.

Fog will also show the scanning beam to the observer, no matter what color is used.
Flying an airplane in bad weather is frightening to me.
I'm glad I don't have to do that!
 

HandyDude

Joined Mar 22, 2013
1
You could use addressable LEDs incorporating the APA102 chip. (i.e. http://www.ebay.com/itm/151771469914?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT). The LEDs can be lit in any sequence. There is sample code available for the Arduino. I would suggest the FastLED suite, (https://github.com/FastLED/FastLED/wiki/Basic-usage). This is a four wire setup and you would be able to rig this up pretty easily. Look at this article for some background:
https://cpldcpu.wordpress.com/2014/11/30/understanding-the-apa102-superled/
 
Top