Would you buy a small chip, single-function solution?

[No_6]

Just putting this out there for a friend of mine who is ramping up to burn chips. Little teensy-tiny guys (under 3mm square I think). I mentioned to him my frustration at not having inexpensive (under $10), single-function kits that I can wire myself. There are gorgeous complete kits, but those cost in the $100 range. They're well worth it, but sometimes all I want to do is add a simple strobe effect. Or a chaser circuit. As long as the leads to solder the power are easy to handle and the outputs are clearly labeled, that's all I'd need or want. That way I could wire up as many or as few LEDs as I want (and the chip can handle) and put the tiny thing anywhere. For me it's a no-brainer. $6-7 bucks for a strobe? I'd do it for the convenience.

The other kit I suggested would be a slide-in solution for the 18" Connie that would include: 1) board w/ bussard light effects and a hole in it, 2) motor with shaft for the blades, all sized to fit the warp nacelles and take a 9 volt power supply. $30-40 for both nacelles. Etched brass extra.

Another suggestion was a 6 LED Enterprise D/E/NX-01 bussard effect where the LEDs would gently fade and 'move' from side to side to simulate the swirling effect seen in those bussard collectors.

The last circuit I suggested was a randomized flickering effect to simulate electrical arcing caused by damage. Something where you could either have 2 or 3 different patterns on the same chip, or swap out a resistor/capacitor to change the timing.

So what do you guys think? Would there be a market for any of that?

[Pat Amaral]

Sounds like an interesting proposal. I think your suggested prices may be a little low though. I believe your production costs (especially for that big kit) might easily exceed those prices. Just a thought.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Good prices,....

Just so you know, these are all available from a couple companies, and
in a variety of styles.

Ngineering is one of them...
http://www.ngineering.com/lighting%20ef ... ctures.htm

You'd be looking at the
Flasher circuit
Campfire circuit
Arc welding circuit




The other, local vender is known as Modelec, and
does chase and random construction barrier lighting and
fire truck, police car, school bus flashers etc..

[Madman Lighting]

Very good prices, not sure how you get em so low but yea, real good.

I'm curious, what kind of chip is your buddy burning? Some PIC micro or FPGA device? How is he protecting it from shorts, reverse hookups, etc?

Sure, its possible to program just a tiny PIC micro to do those things but unless the customer has a lot more than two brain cells, there's likely to be problems.

Also, if you're interested in a "damaged ship FX" kit, I may be able to supply one.

Thanks,

-John

[No_6]

Very good prices, not sure how you get em so low but yea, real good.

I'm curious, what kind of chip is your buddy burning? Some PIC micro or FPGA device? How is he protecting it from shorts, reverse hookups, etc?

Sure, its possible to program just a tiny PIC micro to do those things but unless the customer has a lot more than two brain cells, there's likely to be problems.

Also, if you're interested in a "damaged ship FX" kit, I may be able to supply one.

Thanks,

-John

Hi John,

Those are the prices I suggested for him. The chips he's using cost about .45 - .75 each. The trick is in how long it would take for him to get it to a state that would be simple for a non engineer to finish the wiring. Since the chips are so small ( 3mm<) there's no way the average person could solder leads to them. I can barely handle the 555s I have.

Anyhow, I would be interested in a damaged ship FX circuit for an upcoming build, but I'm not in any particular rush. I'm going to spend some more time planning this time around.

[Madman Lighting]

OK, I see whats going on, he's got just the chips with a tiny thin card. OK, that makes sense.

Glad you're interested in a Damaged ship FX project. Thats been on the to-do list a while just needed a good round-to-it to get started.

Right now I'm working on a whole new website for MML (actually my wife is doing it) so everyone will finally be able to reach my current email from the site.

Thanks,

-John

[brt]

I would like to see a strobe circuit and nav circuit wired, but w/o lights. The flicker circuits are of some interest.