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LED lights?

 
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shadez  





Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:14 pm    Post subject: LED lights? Reply with quote

How EXACTLY would I go about wiring up something like this?
I've never really tried messing with stuff like this, but putting lights into the neck of the guitar sounds simple enough. I'm guessing I'd need a secondary power source, wire, and maybe a drill..?
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Matt  





Joined: 04 Feb 2006
Posts: 3780
Location: Bethel, Vermont

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First you are going to want to decide what kinds of LED's you are going to use (3mm, 5mm, 1/2 watt, 1 watt, 3 watt, etc). Remember that bright LED's will need a heat sync (Plastic is *not* good for that). If your LED's are low powered enough, you can potentially power them with the cord from the ps2.
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shadez  





Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nothing huge and powerful.
I just want a few little red ones to go into the neck.

I'm just not sure how to do this.
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DarkCalx  





Joined: 13 Mar 2006
Posts: 672
Location: Wilmington, Oh

PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

hey matt, think you can snatch any LEDs from work?
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Squirrel  





Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 4828
Location: Wyano, PA (Come visit! My gameroom is always open.)

PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DarkCalx wrote:
hey matt, think you can snatch any LEDs from work?


XD

For you to be able to use the low power the guitar uses, I recommend getting some of the small 3mm lights, not the 5mm.

Or use a higher resistor than 220 ohms and have barely bright 5mm led's...
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Matt  





Joined: 04 Feb 2006
Posts: 3780
Location: Bethel, Vermont

PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Putting in a resistor is just going to lower the current and make the LED's dimmer.
Last I checked the ps2, I think it output 350 mA to a controller (or maybe it was 450 or 750). But I have seen six 1/2 watt LED's run within that current.
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shadez  





Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


Could you guys please help me figure out how I'd do this?
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vetteboy  





Joined: 04 Feb 2007
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

well, first of all describe what you would like- if you just want some always on lights on the controller, or if you want something more exotic, i can imagine something like having the fret buttons light up as you push them, or maybe some effect tied into the whammy bar. i haven't messed with the inside electronics yet, just did some work on my strum bar, but it looked like a fairly simple setup, with a little electronic knowledge and some patience you could make a pretty nice looking ax. as of right now i'm just concerned with making the play as smooth as possible, just now working my way thru hard. Anyways, good luck and keep us posted (with pics)
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Rorschach  





Joined: 13 Sep 2006
Posts: 446
Location: Baltimore, MD

PostPosted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 8:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know that if you put LED's behind the fret buttons, it doesn't look very good because the plastic supports in the buttons are dark and it looks weird, but if you do the "light up when pressed" idea, that wouldn't matter because your finger would be over the only one lit and it would work well, I think.
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padillah  





Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Posts: 48

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a rudimentary knowledge of electronics so bear with me on this question. This has inspired me.

If I hook up the LED to the fret button won't that place a load on the signal? And if so what would be enough to make the signal fail?

Could I put a second power source (maybe a battery, maybe just tap one of the other leads coming from the PS2) and use transistors on the button presses (as switches so when you press the button the transister routes power from the secondary source).

Or is this all just over-thinking the solution?

Tom P.
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Squirrel  





Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 4828
Location: Wyano, PA (Come visit! My gameroom is always open.)

PostPosted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Matt wrote:
Putting in a resistor is just going to lower the current and make the LED's dimmer.
Last I checked the ps2, I think it output 350 mA to a controller (or maybe it was 450 or 750). But I have seen six 1/2 watt LED's run within that current.


Something like that, and the guitar only uses 10mA. You're safe using the ps2 power for a few LEDs ;)
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TinPusher  





Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I added 10 LEDs to my sg controller with no problems.

Here is how i did it.

I drilled out 6 holes in the head in the "nuts" and inserted six LED Holders and six high intensity 3.7 volt Blue LEDs. I then soldered these LEDs in series. I also added four LEDs to the four "corners" of the strum bar housing wiring them in the same way. I then ran power and ground to the capacitor solder points for the whammy bar pot. the result is 10 leds that are always on that fluctuate in intensty when the whammy bar is used going from dim when the whammy is not depressed to bright when it is depressed.

there is only one thing that I would like to do differently and that is find a higher power source for the lights to take full advantage of their 2500 lumens.

Anyone know if there is a schematic of the main PCB of the SG controller that lists voltages?

Thanks!


UPDATE: I found a better power source for the LEDs. I left the ground connected to the cap for the pot but ran the hot lead to the 7th pin of the lead coming from the cable as you look down on it with the 7 pins at the top counting from left to right. This gives me 3.5 volts for my 3.7 volt LEDs which is probably running around 2200 lumens! SWEET!
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alexonfire  





Joined: 15 Jan 2007
Posts: 521
Location: milwaukee, wisconsin

PostPosted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

TinPusher wrote:
I added 10 LEDs to my sg controller with no problems.

Here is how i did it.

I drilled out 6 holes in the head in the "nuts" and inserted six LED Holders and six high intensity 3.7 volt Blue LEDs. I then soldered these LEDs in series. I also added four LEDs to the four "corners" of the strum bar housing wiring them in the same way. I then ran power and ground to the capacitor solder points for the whammy bar pot. the result is 10 leds that are always on that fluctuate in intensty when the whammy bar is used going from dim when the whammy is not depressed to bright when it is depressed.

there is only one thing that I would like to do differently and that is find a higher power source for the lights to take full advantage of their 2500 lumens.

Anyone know if there is a schematic of the main PCB of the SG controller that lists voltages?

Thanks!


UPDATE: I found a better power source for the LEDs. I left the ground connected to the cap for the pot but ran the hot lead to the 7th pin of the lead coming from the cable as you look down on it with the 7 pins at the top counting from left to right. This gives me 3.5 volts for my 3.7 volt LEDs which is probably running around 2200 lumens! SWEET!


after changing the hot lead, do the LEDs still brighten when whammying?
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TinPusher  





Joined: 19 Feb 2007
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 4:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

alexonfire wrote:

after changing the hot lead, do the LEDs still brighten when whammying?


Unfortunately no.
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Slazer  





Joined: 20 Feb 2007
Posts: 73
Location: New York

PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rorschach wrote:
I know that if you put LED's behind the fret buttons, it doesn't look very good because the plastic supports in the buttons are dark and it looks weird, but if you do the "light up when pressed" idea, that wouldn't matter because your finger would be over the only one lit and it would work well, I think.


i agree with Rorschach. my flying V has blue LEDs behind the strumbar and it looks pretty cool. you might want to look into that instead?
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