Lighting question for Tron-type control project

[Serious]

Hi everyone,

I am new here, so please  forgive me if I am posting this in the wrong area.

I am planning to build a Tron-style control which would be in a case that would be resting in the player's lap.

I have most of the parts that I think I am going to need for this project, but I'd very much like for the unit to have lighting (because what is a Tron control without illumination of some type?)

I have a number of questions concerning Tron lighting, and how to effectively light the unit, that I am hoping someone on here will be able to answer.

First, my understanding is that there are two types of blacklight (BL and BLB), and that the Tron arcade cabinet uses both. This is described on Glow Inc's web site: http://glowinc.com/glow-in-the-dark/black-light.aspx. What I do not know is which type of blacklight is used in what parts of the cabinet. I am most specifically interested in the light that would illuminate the stick.

Second, since this control would be sitting in the user's lap, I am reluctant to run AC to it. So I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions on alternatives, such as whether or not there'd be any good battery-powered options for blacklight (or something that could produce a similar effect? I'm also concerned about the possibility of glass breaking, so perhaps I should be looking into LED lighting?

Third, if the lighting would be inside the case, I'm wondering what would be a good way for the light to illuminate the stick or the unit? If I use a Happ trigger stick, is it possible (without modification) to light it internally? Or perhaps I should have holes in the unit covered with plexi, to allow light to shine through and onto the stick externally?

I appreciate any insight you experienced people may have that will help me with my project.

Thanks in advance!

[paigeoliver]

There wouldn't be any reason to use a blacklight on a hand held (or lap top) controller. Tron used blacklights to highlight a whole bunch of cabinet artwork that doesn't exist on a hand held controller.

You can illuminate the stick and the buttons with blue LEDs and they can tap into the same 5 volt source that powers whatever encoder you use. You will get the same effect.

[Serious]

Thanks for the advice.

Do you have any suggestions on a source for the LEDs I might use?

[PL1]

Welcome aboard, Serious.

If you're placing an order with RandyT over at GGG, he has ButtonBlaster LEDs that come with the correct current limiting resistor for 5v.

I used 3 of these to light a 3" trackball.

They work so well that if I had to redo the trackball lightng, I would only use two of them.

Randy isn't kidding when he writes, "don't look directly into them, or you might be seeing them long after you cut the power!"   


Scott

[RandyT]

There are also UV LED's out there.  I haven't tried this, but it may be possible to wire the TRON stick to hold some of these internally to get the glow effect.

Regular LED's will work for illumination, but the effect may not be exactly what you are after.  Could still look pretty cool though.

[Xiaou2]

Be careful.

 From what Ive heard, blacklight LEDs are a bit dangerous.. because they are much more concentrated.  Therefore, as much as typical UV isnt good for the eyes..  an LED blacklight, accidentally shined into the eye.. can do a lot more damage.

 This was told to me by a guy who made kinetic art museum attractions.  And it makes sense.

 The two kinds of UV are blacklight, and white-black light.   A full UV bulb is dark purple, and in mild lighting.. isnt easy to see.  So this is usually used in very dark applications.   Its also used in applications where all the art is UV.

 White-Blacklight bulbs glow more of a lighter violet.  They emit UV, but also a lot of white light as well... and so if you have artwork that has non-uv colors as well as UV colors.. this is what you would use.  Its also seen better in an environment where its not as dark.

 A white blacklight is seen on the bottom of a Discs of Tron Environmental cabinet.  It illuminates the UV orange floor rings.  However, the bulb right next to the joystick, is a standard blacklight, which creates that wonderful glow of the stick... as well as the UV lines used in the tron control panel artwork.   If they were to use a white-blacklight, it would be way too bright for the player.

 You may be able to find a small narrow uv bulb & fixture.. but not sure.   If using LEDs, be careful and make some sort of diffraction, such as sanding some plexi on the inside and out, to a dull frosted surface.  Even then, you may need additional diffraction, such as internal plexi bumps/triangle shapes..  to keep the LED from burning your eyes.

 Lighting the stick from the inside, would also needs that same kind of thing..  where you sandblast the internals to a frosted level.  This however, will kill that wonderful translucent crystal look to it.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/22593093@N05/sets/72157626239557335/

[wp34]

I'm planing on lighting my Tron stick from the inside for my Legacy build. I was just doing some testing last night and it seems with Randy's repro handles a little UV goes a long way.  My plan is to position the LED's as much as possible where you won't look directly at them.  Along the top pointing down for example.  I'm not worried so much about blinding but diffusing is a major issue with LED strips.  You can see each and every "dot" which ruins the effect.


Sent from my Atari 800 mobile device using Tapatalk

[Xiaou2]

Pointing down is a good idea.  Still probably may want to try some sort of diffuser such as a frosted sphere or bar of plastic .. just to help with spreading out the light. Post some pics when its ready.

[wp34]

This was just very preliminary testing as I was trying to decide whether or not to light the stick from the CP or from inside.  Initially I was impressed with how much the stick glowed with just a few lights in it.  I will post some pics once I have something.

[RandyT]

Be careful.

 From what Ive heard, blacklight LEDs are a bit dangerous.. because they are much more concentrated.  Therefore, as much as typical UV isnt good for the eyes..  an LED blacklight, accidentally shined into the eye.. can do a lot more damage.

I wouldn't stare directly into the emitter for a long period of time, but they aren't as dangerous as you might be thinking.  They actually glow a darker violet color, which means that a portion of the output is actually in the visible (above 400 nm) range.  The portion which exists in the invisible range is not very intense as LED's are very inefficient in these areas.  UV LED's are in the UV-A band, which is pretty safe.  The damage come from the UV-B range and shorter wavelengths, as these are more easily absorbed by tissue.

The "white-uv" lamp used inside the TRON cabinet is more dangerous, which is probably why it was inside.  This would be the same type of lamp which is used in germicidal devices.  The wavelength output by these bulbs is much shorter.

Diffusion of the interior surface of the shell isn't necessary, but diffusion of the UV LED would probably help.  This can be done by fine sanding and flattening out the top of the LED.  You only need to scatter the source to get a fluorescent object to illuminate more evenly.