Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

EL Wire/Tape/Panels, LEDs, pixels and strips, LCDs and TFTs, etc products from Adafruit

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solong
 
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Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by solong »

Disco Stormtrooper needs help.
Disco Stormtrooper needs help.
IMG_0217.jpg (121.34 KiB) Viewed 389 times
people. i need some concise input on a bitching project. looking to add some solid led effect to my Disco Stormtrooper helmet (home made). My vision is: subtle, ~20-40 12mm pixels, battery powered (required), remote controlled (if possible) evenly distributed across the helmet (will mount from the inside and replace beads as needed).

so. looking for some tight instructions on how to add a led (bullets) lattice from the inside that would be battery powered, programable and remote controlled.

is this possible? if so, give me a push eh…

she already gets love whenever she comes out… ready to take her to the next level…

solong.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

solong wrote: My vision is: subtle,
Yes.. "subtle" was the first word that crossed my mind too. ;-)

Take a look at our NeoPixel Uberguide and see if anything there grabs you: http://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide They're programmable, can be powered by a battery pack, and we have them in both bullet-style packages and strips.

We have a microcontroller specifically designed for wearable projects: http://www.adafruit.com/products/659 and a whole range of sensors you can use for remote, internal, or stimulus-based control.

solong
 
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Re: Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by solong »

Thanks for the reply Ada…

So, from what I can tell… I need to use the WS2801's. I don't think the NeoPixels are going to work. Thus, which products do I need to order to make a functioning train of WS2801, wearable battery back, controller (w/ remote). Just list what I need… I'll order… play… and go from there.

Seriously, appreciate the reply/help.

kurt.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

So, from what I can tell… I need to use the WS2801's. I don't think the NeoPixels are going to work.
For a helmet, I would think that some of the lower profile neopixels such as the flora or breadboard-friendly neopixels would be easier to work with than the WS2801.
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1260
http://www.adafruit.com/products/1558

You can place them where you want them without the constraints of the strand spacing. (you could probably even mount them behind your beads and have them shine through) Then you can wire them up point-to-point and not worry about all the bulk of the excess wire. In any case, the power requirements for both are pretty similar. This guide outlines some of the battery power options: http://learn.adafruit.com/battery-power ... and-strips Battery selection will depend mostly on what kind of run-time you want to have.

There are a few options for remote control. the best choice depends on what exactly you want to control. Are you looking for simple on/off control, or do you want the ability to select or control patterns? And what kind of range do you need for the remote?

solong
 
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Re: Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by solong »

AdaSupport… please forgive me as I catch up. Again… respect for the input.

Need to back up a step I think. My plan is to have all the wiring on the inside of the helmet. I'm prepared to pop off a few beads and drill holes for (bullet) led's. This is where "subtle" comes in. All the mess on the inside. You won't even see the light until… BOOM!!!

Looking for as much remote LED as I can have with which whatever lights you recommend (bullets or neopixels) from a short distance (my hand while wearing helmet) that will allow for the controller and battery pack to fit inside the helmet (along with my head).

So… looking for 20-40 light bullet solution (wire seems better than tape) with power, remote and controller solution.

Cost is not an issue. Looking to do this right.

Feel like i owe you a beer.

Gracias.

K

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I agree, the mess should be on the inside. I'm just concerned about leaving enough room for your head. The ribbon cable connecting the hard-wired strands can get pretty bulky unless your pixels spacing works out to be exactly the same as the strand. I'd pop off a bead, drill a hole, then mount one of the flat neopixels from behind. The led part wouldn't protrude through the thickness of the helmet, so you could probably glue a clear bead back over it for even more subtlety.

Then, on the inside, you can wire them point-to-point with some 22 gauge wire and have plenty of room for your head left over.

If your helmet is constructed anything like my Darth Vader helmet, there should be plenty of room in the lower front for mounting the control electronics. You could probably put a small-to medium size battery pack in there too. Big packs for long run-times can get heavy and may be better mounted on a belt or somewhere else.

30-40 LEDs is no problem for a Flora microcontroller - and these are designed for battery operation in wearable applications. For remote control, you could go with a simple switch. Something like this is easy to sew into a glove or a hem: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1092

We also have these options for wireless:
http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_ ... h&q=315mhz

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jcgoodman
 
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Re: Disco Stormtrooper needs your help.

Post by jcgoodman »

Awesome. I'm doing something vaguely similar: I'm making a nerf soccer ball with LEDs on the spots, which will show various animations using a Trinket based on input from an accelerometer chip. Actually, the accelerometer angle might be a fun future addition for Disco Stormtrooper...

Anyway, I'd go with something like the following:

Neopixel Flora: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1260 -- these are smaller than they look in the photo!
Gemma: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1222
LiPo battery: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1570

The trick to keeping the wiring neat is ribbon cables. I'm using this stuff:
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/e ... ords=MD04R
The photo's a bit misleading: this variety has 4 wires, it's about 1/4" wide and 1/16" thick. The conductors peel off like string cheese: you only need a strip of 3 for Neopixel wiring.

My last suggestion: don't replace the beads! Cut little holes in the helmet, glue the Flora LEDs to the inside of the helmet, and then glue a clear bead over the top. The bead will scatter the light nicely, and when the LEDs are turned off it'll still look great.

Edit: didn't notice, adafruit_bill had the same suggestion for mounting the LEDs behind the beads.

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