Light Emitting Border tutorial

[sleepybrighteyez]

Ok I checked this stuff out today while I was at Home Depot. I seen the Polycarbonate material, and yes it was much more expensive. It also seemed to have a blue or green tint. What I bought was acrylic plastic (clear). It's 1/8" thick, but they also sell it in 1/4". You can buy small squares as opposed to a sheet as well. I bought about a 12"x16" sheet. I did a quick test with my Minimag shining in from one edge, and it lit up the border fairly well. I think it will look much nicer with an embedded LED. I want to work this into the Fuzz Face build I'm currently working on.

If this rain ever stops I may just be able to finish the paint job, and subsequently the wiring to the jacks and pots.

Do you sand the edge of the plexi with fine steel wool or anything? Or just leave it as is? How does filing the edge of the plexi affect the light?

[Franky]

Very nice tutorial! It makes a great effect, especially with some RGB (automatic changing) LEDs..

I'm planning to build a Twincaster, and I want to put some RGB LEDs under the tubes sockets, but there is a lot of lighting that leaks out the enclosure, maybe it would work without the LEDs facing the plexi..


Another thing to try: remove a big part of the center of the plexi plate, to get more space in the enclosure.. 

[seibertdr]

Although the filing is easy to do with soft aluminum I thought the idea was to heat up the bottom with an iron and press the plexi in.
The rim on the lid melts the plexi and gets well seated.

At least that what I had in mind.

You don't have to fill up the bottom, there's enough support at the edges. Unless you get a humonguous enclosure off course.
You could iron it, that's the way arph does it, but the plexi might crack then. This way is fast and easy with the right tools.

what is the pedal that you made and how did you get the different color lights. When do the come on?

Don

[frank_p]

It would be better to file down the "barrier" (as opposed to ironing to melt the barrier in the plastic) as it is an obstacle to light to travel to the sides. No?

[Franky]

Or you can sand it a little to make it shiny, it will reflect the light..

[Valoosj]

It would be better to file down the "barrier" (as opposed to ironing to melt the barrier in the plastic) as it is an obstacle to light to travel to the sides. No?

That is one of the first steps on page 1 

[frank_p]

That is one of the first steps on page 1 

Yes I know, but it seems that there were not a clear opinion about if it was a good prctice to melt the barrier in in the plastic...
I don't think that it's a good idea.

Maybee I am making too many things at the same time and I am not very concentrated (and this computer is damn slow for topics with pictures). 

[Renegadrian]

I made my first border, or at least I tried...I filed the edge of the lid and made a plexi the same size...Cut the plexi, then put it between the lid and the enclosure and drill the holes for the screws, then screw it and used a mouse sander to make it perfect...

Just realized that an Eddystone 1590B isn't that tall, so the 9v battery won't allow me to close it and screw it...
I have to use it on dc-jack-fx only...The next Valvecaster maybe !

[frank_p]

I made my first border, or at least I tried...I filed the edge of the lid and made a plexi the same size...Cut the plexi, then put it between the lid and the enclosure and drill the holes for the screws, then screw it and used a mouse sander to make it perfect...

Just realized that an Eddystone 1590B isn't that tall, so the 9v battery won't allow me to close it and screw it...
I have to use it on dc-jack-fx only...The next Valvecaster maybe !

Adriano,  I wonder if cutting a rectangular hole (with dremel or standrd router) for the battery would work also...  I mean, perhaps you would not get the same light diffusion but you could get an advantage with this method:  you could make this plexi plate a guard to protect the circuit by fixing (with a method I didn't think of yet) it to the hollow part of the box.   It would be a display box for the circuit when you change batteries...  The borders of the hole would also hold the battery where you decide it to be...

just brainstorming...

[Renegadrian]

Not a bad idea, altough as I said I think I'll use it for a batteryless fx...

[mikemaddux]

great tutorial, im gonna have to try it...

[Hupla]

I was thinking this would be cool for a wah pedal where the light would change colour as you sweep through the bass to treble.

Is there any way of doing this without getting too complicated?

[Leston Braun]

I was thinking this would be cool for a wah pedal where the light would change colour as you sweep through the bass to treble.

Is there any way of doing this without getting too complicated?

Would it be easiest with a dual-gang pot and few different color LEDs with different enough forward voltages/zeners of different voltage? Connect cathodes to the ground and all anodes to common rail through their own zeners. Then hook the unused side of the wah pot to control the rail voltage, so the LEDs light up one at a time the more you open the wha.

Could additional zeners equivalent to the "next step" LED zener be used to bypass "lower" LEDs when voltage gets high enough, for the LEDs to be lit one at a time?

I should draw a picture of this mess.. even to see for myself would it have even a slight chance of succession.

Drawback would be the pot for normal wah use, haven't seen much wha-design pots which are dual-gang.

[Hupla]

I was thinking this would be cool for a wah pedal where the light would change colour as you sweep through the bass to treble.

Is there any way of doing this without getting too complicated?

Would it be easiest with a dual-gang pot and few different color LEDs with different enough forward voltages/zeners of different voltage? Connect cathodes to the ground and all anodes to common rail through their own zeners. Then hook the unused side of the wah pot to control the rail voltage, so the LEDs light up one at a time the more you open the wha.

Could additional zeners equivalent to the "next step" LED zener be used to bypass "lower" LEDs when voltage gets high enough, for the LEDs to be lit one at a time?

I should draw a picture of this mess.. even to see for myself would it have even a slight chance of succession.

Drawback would be the pot for normal wah use, haven't seen much wha-design pots which are dual-gang.

Cool. It just sounds like a really interesting thing to do. Instead of the colours changing on a timer.

In your set up, would the last led turn off or stay on as the new one came on?

[Renegadrian]

My Rebote 2 - thx Yorick for the tutorial...

[Hupla]

My Rebote 2 - thx Yorick for the tutorial...

Are they all different pedals or are ur LED's changing?

If so how? timer?

[Renegadrian]

Nah, same pedal and a color changing LED - THIS ONE

[EARNEST]

Would this mod cause any noise-related issues, since there is an area that is not "noisefree"?

[Renegadrian]

no noise...that border won't affect the quality of the pedal.

[frequencycentral]

Adriano - your Rebote looks ace - I missed it first time aound I think. tell me about the colours changing!


EDIT: Ah, just saw your link to Banzai. Cool!