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New Product: NovaGem Illuminated Pushbuttons. - GroovyGameGear

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headkaze:

I still thing the RGB Drives and Electric Ice buttons out bling these, but these a definately cool. I think I would like two red ones for my admin buttons.

Kaytrim:


--- Quote from: JMB on February 18, 2007, 11:53:11 pm ---No more new products until you finish the 49-ways.  :angry:

Yet another fine addition to your product line.  Now get back to work!

--- End quote ---

The sticks are finished, He is still working on the new interface (GPWiz49 V2).  I am anxiously waiting for these new boards too.  He keeps thinking of new features to add to them.  Then he has to work on the communications system for the software.  Finally test the bagebies out of them before the release.  He'll get them done soon.

Also keep in mind that he is a one man operation that has to deal with customer service issues.  He had a spot last week where he needed to fix a bug found in one of his production boards.  Randy's customer service is one of the best in any business.  I think that this is because he likes this hobby has much as we do.

Randy, I have a suggestion for these new buttons.  How about sticking a RBG LED in a clear version.  I like the ICE buttons for this but it would be interesting to see a comparison.  Grab a piece of wood, mount all the colors and an ICE button next to each one set on a similar color.  This way we can see which one we like better to purchase.

TTFN  :cheers:
Kaytrim

Kaytrim:


--- Quote from: RandyT on February 18, 2007, 11:09:47 pm ---
--- Quote from: Kaytrim on February 18, 2007, 10:12:56 pm ---
--- Quote from: Kremmit on February 18, 2007, 09:37:35 pm ---If I wanted to run these without an LED-Wiz, what voltage would I need to feed 'em, and what's the approximate current draw?

--- End quote ---
I am going to guess that 5v will be the necessary voltage because they work with Randy's LED-Wiz boards.

--- End quote ---

That's correct.  The resistors were selected for 5v operation.  The current draw is 100ma, so don't try to use them with anything that is designed only to run a single LED.  If one wanted them only to be illuminated and not have dynamic control, they could be directly attached to the 5v line of the PC power supply.

On a related note, to be safe, I would recommend using a maximum of 4 per output of the LED-Wiz, if one wished to share outputs.  This probably won't be necessary for these, however, as they are monochromatic and need only 1 output per button.  This means that 32 of them could be driven from a single LED-Wiz.

RandyT

--- End quote ---

EDIT: Just re-read your second paragraph, question answered.  :dizzy:

TTFN  :cheers:
Kaytrim

RandyT:


--- Quote from: Kaytrim on February 19, 2007, 09:43:19 am ---
--- Quote from: JMB on February 18, 2007, 11:53:11 pm ---No more new products until you finish the 49-ways.  :angry:

Yet another fine addition to your product line.  Now get back to work!

--- End quote ---

The sticks are finished, He is still working on the new interface (GPWiz49 V2).  I am anxiously waiting for these new boards too.  He keeps thinking of new features to add to them.  Then he has to work on the communications system for the software.  Finally test the bagebies out of them before the release.  He'll get them done soon.

Also keep in mind that he is a one man operation that has to deal with customer service issues.  He had a spot last week where he needed to fix a bug found in one of his production boards.  Randy's customer service is one of the best in any business.  I think that this is because he likes this hobby has much as we do.

--- End quote ---

Thanks Kaytrim.  Actually there are two of us.  Without Lisa pitching in, I'd never have time to develop new things.   Also, the bug was with a seldom required feature of the new KeyWiz uploader software, not a board level hardware bug.  I have nightmares about those, and fortunately my board designs have always been 100% :)  In any case, the software issue has been taken care of, so I'm mostly back on track.

I am making progress on the interface.  There are so many settings for them, I decided to make a developer's OCX right out of the gate.  Then my own control software can use it, and anyone who might want to add support from their applications will be able to as well.  The firmware is, I believe, finally complete.


--- Quote ---Randy, I have a suggestion for these new buttons.  How about sticking a RBG LED in a clear version.  I like the ICE buttons for this but it would be interesting to see a comparison.  Grab a piece of wood, mount all the colors and an ICE button next to each one set on a similar color.  This way we can see which one we like better to purchase.

--- End quote ---

I can do something like this down the road a bit, but I can tell you the results as I conducted these tests before I developed the EI buttons.  The results in a clear button are very poor as an RGB LED requires diffusion in order to mix the three colors.  Each distinct color is visible, and the only time you get any hint of the color you were trying for is when the reflections from the internal surfaces cause the beams to scatter and they accidentally cross the paths of each other.  Unfortunately, this doesn't happen nearly enough, so the mix is almost always incomplete.

On the question of NovaGem color availability:  I need to do a couple more tests to insure compatibility of the lights to the other colors.  One of the difficulties with these buttons is that they act like filters.  If you put a blue LED in a red button, you don't get purple, you get nothing.  This is because the red button allows only the red wavelengths to pass through.  LED's are quite monochromatic, so it's pretty easy to block them.  So far, the Red and Blue are good, so those are certain.   The rest are untested, but I have high hopes ;)

RandyT


Kaytrim:


--- Quote from: RandyT on February 19, 2007, 11:25:00 am ---I am making progress on the interface.  There are so many settings for them, I decided to make a developer's OCX right out of the gate.  Then my own control software can use it, and anyone who might want to add support from their applications will be able to as well.  The firmware is, I believe, finally complete.

--- End quote ---

That will sure make it easy to created plugins for the various Front End packages.  Good call Randy.  :cheers:

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