Presenting LED Taito! Looking for your input or to be your inspiration!

[Generic Eric]

I've been asking a lot of questions about LED.  I have a few projects in mind.  I've imagined how cool it would be to light up the old taito side panels in alternating colors.  Ideally, I'd like to keep the coded to match what was put out.  But my favorite idea is to have them cycle through all of the color schemes.  So. Thats what all of the LED questions are about. 

I'd be stoked if anyone wanted to share their expert opinions on the pitfalls and problems a person might encounter.   If anyone one wants to hijack my idea, I'd be keen to see someones interpretation.

There have been a few challenges that I anticipated, such as lighting the edge by the t-molding and how much deeper that would make the side panels. 

Thoughts? Critiques? Rotten Tomatoes?

1st Addendum:

Name            Color 1      Color 2     Monitor orientation
Alpine Ski      Light Blue   Black       V
Electric Yo Yo  Light Yellow Black       V
Front Line      Orange       Black       V
Qix             Gray         Black       V
Space Dungeon   Black        Perriwinkle V
Wild Western    Brown        Red Orange  V
Elevator Action Brown        Red Orange  H
Jungle Hunt     Light Green  Dark Green  H
Jungle King     Light Green  Dark Green  H
Kram            Red          Black       H
Pirate Pete     Black        White       H
Tin Star        Red Orange   Red         H


If anyone knows the official color codes, that would be awesome.

[matt4949]

I've been asking a lot of questions about LED.  I have a few projects in mind.  I've imagined how cool it would be to light up the old taito side panels in alternating colors.  Ideally, I'd like to keep the coded to match what was put out.  But my favorite idea is to have them cycle through all of the color schemes.  So. Thats what all of the LED questions are about. 

I'd be stoked if anyone wanted to share their expert opinions on the pitfalls and problems a person might encounter.   If anyone one wants to hijack my idea, I'd be keen to see someones interpretation.

There have been a few challenges that I anticipated, such as lighting the edge by the t-molding and how much deeper that would make the side panels. 

Thoughts? Critiques? Rotten Tomatoes?

So after reading this I thought "what a good idea", then I went out to the garage to look at my Elevator Action. Do you want to just drill holes and place LEDs? Or? And this would be really cool!, Have the darker of the image recessed with back lighting underneath the lighter foreground. You would have to make some of the shapes 1 inch wide instead of an 1/2 inch. I wish I had a decent sketchup program or the smarts to use it so I could show you exactly what I'm Thinking.

[Generic Eric]

Ya.   I feel like I should do this to get over the guilt of letting go of the cab I did have.  I used to have the green one, but I wasn't up to the task and I let it go cheap because I was moving.

My idea has been to isolate the positive and negative so that the 2 are independent. 

[matt4949]

Always had a soft spot for Taito cabs. I might build a lowboy based this backlit Idea I just borrowed from you.

[Generic Eric]

Always had a soft spot for Taito cabs. I might build a lowboy based this backlit Idea I just borrowed from you.

Yes!  Do it!  Why should I hold onto this idea and let it get moldy?

[Generic Eric]

I've been asking a lot of questions about LED.  I have a few projects in mind.  I've imagined how cool it would be to light up the old taito side panels in alternating colors.  Ideally, I'd like to keep the coded to match what was put out.  But my favorite idea is to have them cycle through all of the color schemes.  So. Thats what all of the LED questions are about. 

I'd be stoked if anyone wanted to share their expert opinions on the pitfalls and problems a person might encounter.   If anyone one wants to hijack my idea, I'd be keen to see someones interpretation.

There have been a few challenges that I anticipated, such as lighting the edge by the t-molding and how much deeper that would make the side panels. 

Thoughts? Critiques? Rotten Tomatoes?

Have the darker of the image recessed with back lighting underneath the lighter foreground.

One idea I had was to do this in two layers.  Back light the black in the attached image.  Mask off everything that wasn't the black so that light wouldn't show through.  On the top layer, Cut it out, set it on top of the masked area and edge light it.

Set it to cycle when playing the appropriate Taito game.  Only play Taito games on it.  It wouldn't be the greatest taito cab, just a tribute.

[Generic Eric]

Can someone spot check these measurements.  I don't recall where I downloaded the picture from.

[Generic Eric]

LED lighting ideas.

So, I'm collecting info and ideas at this point. 

[keilmillerjr]

Cover the sizes with plexi that is etched in areas you want lit, then apply led lighting to the edges?

[yotsuya]

It seems like it could be a really expensive project. Maybe a bartop design might be a good way to test it first? I'm just trying to think about how much the sheets of plexi alone would run.

Cool idea, though.

[Nephasth]

This is worth checking out: http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-acrylic-pinball-project-i-am-clearly-insane

[Generic Eric]

It seems like it could be a really expensive project. Maybe a bartop design might be a good way to test it first? I'm just trying to think about how much the sheets of plexi alone would run.

Cool idea, though.

This is definitely an evolving idea.  As far as plexi goes, its not stocked locally, so I really don't know how much a sheet costs.

I'm hopeful there is more than one way to skin this cat.  The led strips aren't exactly cheap either.

[yotsuya]

It seems like it could be a really expensive project. Maybe a bartop design might be a good way to test it first? I'm just trying to think about how much the sheets of plexi alone would run.

Cool idea, though.

This is definitely an evolving idea.  As far as plexi goes, its not stocked locally, so I really don't know how much a sheet costs.

I'm hopeful there is more than one way to skin this cat.  The led strips aren't exactly cheap either.

An 18" x 24" piece of 1/8 plexi alone is $10 at Home Depot. You'd probaly want something a bit thicker as well as need something a lot larger.

[keilmillerjr]

This is definitely an evolving idea.  As far as plexi goes, its not stocked locally, so I really don't know how much a sheet costs.

I'm hopeful there is more than one way to skin this cat.  The led strips aren't exactly cheap either.

Go to a window replacement shop. Most places around me that repair car glass also do a wide range of items that they don't advertise to the public, including plastics. Look up either glass, plastic, or windows in the yellow pages.

[Generic Eric]

The more I read, the more I feel:


Suffice to say, I want two colors in a pattern to glow independently.

[yotsuya]

Right- which means you'll need two full sheets of plexi per side, plus a way to eliminate bleed, etc. It's going to be VERY complicated, but go for it if you want. 

[PL1]

you'll need two full sheets of plexi per side

Not necessarily.

If you can find a laser cutter with a large enough work table, you might be able to cut the various sections, paint the edges, and reassemble the pieces on an MDF support frame that has routed LED channels.


Scott

[yamatetsu]

My idea would be this : Cut the black shapes out of the side of the cab.
Cut the shapes out of plexi, to use them as inlays.
From the inside of the board (the side that will be the inside of the cab), route the shape, but a little bigger and not all the way through the board.

This way you create a little 'overhang' towards the outside of the cab. You can place the LEDs at a right angle to the overhang,
so they are hidden behind it.

Insert the plexi inlays. Light 'em up.

I don't know if this actually works, but in theory it should.

[yotsuya]

My idea would be this : Cut the black shapes out of the side of the cab.
Cut the shapes out of plexi, to use them as inlays.
From the inside of the board (the side that will be the inside of the cab), route the shape, but a little bigger and not all the way through the board.

This way you create a little 'overhang' towards the outside of the cab. You can place the LEDs at a right angle to the overhang,
so they are hidden behind it.

Insert the plexi inlays. Light 'em up.

I don't know if this actually works, but in theory it should.

That sounds good, but that's only half the job. He still wants to do the non-black areas as well, which is the greater challenge.

[PL1]

Taking another look at the colors of the cabs, seven of them use black which makes my earlier plan of back-lighting through a diffusing layer a non-starter if you want to match the original colors for those cabs.




Scott

[yamatetsu]

"That sounds good, but that's only half the job. He still wants to do the non-black areas as well, which is the greater challenge."

Soo, enter idea #2. Take a separate board, cut out ALL shapes, but a little bit smaller. Cut the plexi-shapes the same size, to use as inlays.
Route out the shapes from the inside a bit bigger to create the overhang.

This way there would be small strips of unlighted areas between the lighted ones, but most of the area would be lit.

The only problem would be to attach this board to the side.

[Generic Eric]

I've been teasing this idea for awhile.  I couldn't decide entirely what should be in the foreground vs background or if I should fit them together like a puzzle and have sheet metal separate the 2.

It also occured to me that if I routed out the black on pirate pete, I would get the effect, but just with one color.  Route the opposite on another sheet and light it up with 2 different colors. 

There are a lot of variables to consider.  I have some scraps of 1/8 (I think) of plexi, but I don't have any led strips yet.

The other problem become, can a person accomplish this and maintain a reasonable side so that T molding is still practical?

[PL1]

Have you figured out the minimum thickness of two LED strips separated by an insulating layer?


Scott

[yamatetsu]

The strip that I have is about 2 mm thick so max thickness of 2 strips + insulation should not be more than 5 mm.

[yotsuya]

Just make sure this isn't a sandwich game, or all your fancy side work is for naught. 

[PL1]

The strip that I have is about 2 mm thick so max thickness of 2 strips + insulation should not be more than 5 mm.

Given that some of the strips are only 1/2" wide, I don't see the Taito sideart pattern *EVER* working via edge lighting.   


Scott

[Generic Eric]

The strip that I have is about 2 mm thick so max thickness of 2 strips + insulation should not be more than 5 mm.

Given that some of the strips are only 1/2" wide, I don't see the Taito sideart pattern *EVER* working via edge lighting.   


Scott

I am totally open to entertaining other ideas. 

[Generic Eric]

Can I get the same edge lit effect if I bevel the plexi at an angle?  Gosh.  I gotta order those strips.

[ChanceKJ]

Not sure if this helps? My mind is elsewhere today so the thread was TL/DR...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135822.msg1404217.html

[Generic Eric]

Not sure if this helps? My mind is elsewhere today so the thread was TL/DR...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135822.msg1404217.html

I remember this.  I hoped you would walk the dog farther on this.  Did you answer your own questions?  This was good.  Do you have the specs/stats on the led strip?

[PL1]

I am totally open to entertaining other ideas. 

If you can find a laser cutter with a large enough work table, you might be able to cut the various sections, paint the edges, and reassemble the pieces on an MDF support frame that has routed LED channels.

Consider starting with a back-lit small-scale proof-of-concept like a 12" x 12" Atari logo sign with the logo lit in one color and the background in another.

Nylon screws look promising for mounting hardware -- no back-lighting or side-lighting shadows visible when using 10-24 screws in 1/2" thick cutting board scraps from another project.

Even metal 10-24 screws don't leave a noticeable shadow when there's 1/4" of diffuser between the viewer and the screw.   


Scott

[Generic Eric]

I am totally open to entertaining other ideas. 

If you can find a laser cutter with a large enough work table, you might be able to cut the various sections, paint the edges, and reassemble the pieces on an MDF support frame that has routed LED channels.

Consider starting with a back-lit small-scale proof-of-concept like a 12" x 12" Atari logo sign with the logo lit in one color and the background in another.

Nylon screws look promising for mounting hardware -- no back-lighting or side-lighting shadows visible when using 10-24 screws in 1/2" thick cutting board scraps from another project.

Even metal 10-24 screws don't leave a noticeable shadow when there's 1/4" of diffuser between the viewer and the screw.   


Scott

Yes
Small steps. 
I like Atari.   How thick does the plexiglass need to be? 1/8   is too small right?

[PL1]

Yeah, 1/8" is probably too thin to be a good diffuser, but take one or two of those free Harbor Freight 9-LED flashlights with you to Home Depot/Lowes/Menards and see how well the different thicknesses work as diffusers.



You may also have luck with using some kind of epoxy or a solvent-weld adhesive to attach nylon nuts to the back of the diffuser if you want to avoid using a thread cutting tap on thin material.

A quick test using 2 layers of milk jug and 2 middle layers of 0.08" clear plastic (~0.2" thick) makes me think that 1/4" HDPE might just work.

The 1/2" cutting board used for the earlier testing is here, but the textured surface and 18" x 30" size would make it unsuitable for your application.

An older thread here shows that cutting board lit up by the Harbor Freight flashlight.   




Scott

[Generic Eric]

Yes.  I have one of those flashlights.  Menards is 80 miles away.   I'll call around to the neighboring towns that are a little bigger.

[ChanceKJ]

Not sure if this helps? My mind is elsewhere today so the thread was TL/DR...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135822.msg1404217.html

I remember this.  I hoped you would walk the dog farther on this.  Did you answer your own questions?  This was good.  Do you have the specs/stats on the led strip?

It's just a standard 5m strip of 12v RGB LEDs I won on ebay for like $15. Also has a micro inline remote.  It's definitely possible I'd think. The trick is to test the right channel bit going around curves. And you'd want to build some sort of fence or jig for the router.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/rgb-led-strip-black-pcb

[Generic Eric]

These should be on the slow boat any day now. 

I bought some scrap plexi locally, only its 1/8 so *shrug*  Maybe I can fund this project by making LED signs locally.

[ChanceKJ]

Haha, "Slow boat".  Wonder if it'll pass my custom buttons I have coming for my PacMan build...  What did they tell me, 30-60 days. Pfffft.