Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

It is these kinds of 'things' which convince me to go into the microcontroller path even though I am still a beginner in that area. The chip would allow me the flexibility to reprogram or change the sequence without having the need to get more components. But for your case, just like me in the begin...

Well, if you're using a AC-DC adapter with a regulated output, it should be OK. The 555 and CMOS IC use powers from 4.5v DC to about 15V DC. This is a tough question as personally, I always prefer a Voltage regulator in the circuit just for the silly excuse of "In case I plugged in the wrong DC...

OK, based on your circuit, I have done the board using the free Eagle software but did not test it on my prototype board as I don't have the 4017 and the 2N2904 transistors during the weekend. The final size of the single-sided PCB is 8cm x 5.7cm but you need to solder two wire links: 1. Pin 14 of t...

Hokay, lets try this, but I think I am quite rusty on this and I could be very wrong: I think the formula is f= 1 / (0.693 (R3*Q2 + R2*Q1), where the R2, R3 are the 10K resistors from the diagram above. And assuming that: R = R2 = R3, Q = Q1 = Q2 values, the formula is now: f = 1 / (1.38 * R * Q) At...

Hi, OK, 12cm by 6cm is a good start. I will try to make the board as small as possible without having to go into SMD, and you can use the eagle software to resize it to your own 12cm by 6cm later on. Unfortunately, I cannot see the image you posted. So, can I use that circuit in YouTube? Its going t...

Just saw your video and I am very confident it can be done in in a single side PCB. If you want, you can email me your circuit and I try them on the Eagle software, but please do give me the measurement on how big/small you want your board to . I just want to keep my mind 'busy' since I am out of jo...

The only flip-flop circuit I can think of, without having to use a 555, would be this one:

http://talkingelectronics.com/FreeProje ... mplete.gif

And here is the link I got:
http://talkingelectronics.com/FreeProje ... age16.html

Phew! That was close!

OK, now lets see you complete her!

OK, first thing first, how do you know its fried? Did the lights come on again when you remove the two Engineering halves? I am not sure if i can help you but from this picture: http://s1072.photobucket.com/albums/w372/jonle1/1_350%20Enterprise/?action=view&current=2012-02-13_22-10-32_408.jpg Th...

Whoa! 3watts is a lot!

Anyway, in this case, its the voltage. How many batteries are there? It might help if you could take extremely clear hi-res photos of the circuit board (top & bottom)

Remote control...

(Well, that's what I would do. But that's just me)

Heat gun is a great idea! Why did I not think of that! Maybe I'll get one when I have a VQFN chip to play with. Until then, yes, its tweezers and solder bumps.

But I never tried flux pens before, mainly they do not sell them where I live.

Though the ones I found does not give consistent light like the cold cathode but using SMT white LEDs, it is quite bright.

http://chowfookcheong.blogspot.com/2010 ... strip.html

I have no experience with the UFO kit nor have I seen it up close in person. So, tell us what you want the lights to do (apart from not starting a fire), how it sequences, what colour, etc and take pictures of the kit inside out so we can see how the LEDs can be mounted.

I agree with the resonance chamber idea. I did not know about this until I opened up a Playmates Star Trek Next Generation TR-580 Tricorder. That chamber made the sound from the speaker twice as loud.

Either that or hook it up to a 2000 watt amplifier..........

I've tried that before but what I did was to use those wire-wrapping wires. -I remove the plastic sheath about 2mm, then tin it. -Stick one end of the LED (vertically) to a double sticky foam tape and try to tin its connector. -Put the tinned wire on top of the LED and quickly use the (sharp) tip of...

Well, that's good news. I was about to comment on the soldering as one of the black cables came off in the 'backlit' picture. But I am surprised at the 'Cold Heat' iron doing that. I hope there was no power to the circuit when you were soldering with the 'Cold Heat'. Looking at VoodooFX's instructio...

Have you asked them (Voodoo, I mean)

If not, does the instruction sheet have any circuit diagrams which you cna scan and let us see?

Yep, you have to use a resistor just like any other LEDs. You don't want it to go blink.. blink.. pop...

Wow. AngryDog, that is impressive! But I never expected the inverter to be so big.

BTW, does the inverter 'hum'?


Still, congratulations on your work! I am still at a loss for words.

Whoa! I can't wait to see this!

This is a good topic. And since I am doing some circuits for the 1/350 Enterprise, I would be using a 12volt wall adaptor. At first, I was thinking of using a PC PSU but because its very bulky and noisy, I decided otherwise. The reason is that for this project, each segment would have a microprocess...

And if I sand one end of the FO before facing the LED, would it be brighter?

Not sure if this is a good idea but to create more 'randomness', one could interface any EPROM (especially from old machines) and read from it. The data that comes out, is quite random methinks.

(But I don't have an EPROM reader, I just set a microcontroller to read some funny addresses on it once.)

For all LEDs, did you use any current limiting resistors on them?

Dear AngryDog, Wow. For that striplight, USD12.00 is cheap but I am more concerned in terms of the distance between each soldered LED in the strip not matching your template. I also just found out that EL can be sold in strips too, so you do not need to use the whole sheet, thus cutting down cost. F...

Dear AngryDog, Ah, the 6mm clearance is good news indeed. But let me elaborate more as this is all theory. The fixtures I meant was that each square hole represents a light source and so, I assume you would be scratch-building a light, um, some kind of "pretend" housing for lights. You kno...

Hello, AngryDog, That's a very nice model you have there! After looking at the pictures, there are only two possible solutions/theories I could think of (but the Experts here would have more) due to the limited thickness of the ceiling on the other side: 1) Eletroluminescent Sheets These would proba...

Call me lazy but I just use the sharp tip of my soldering iron and literally rub it against the tubing wall on most sides until it shrinks.

Basically, what you're doing is almost like what I did. For a lightsaber. If you can, try to get a hollow acrylic tube and then, try to sand the inner walls. When you put in a bright LED or even a 1watt Luxeon, you would get a nice straight beam. http://www.chowfookcheong.com/Lightsaber/Lightsaber.h...