Any suggestions: LED Triggers turn off when trigger activated

[PCRail]

So I have several switches like the one in this video, with LEDs, that trigger different sequences and I would like to have the switches pulse (maybe by running background sequence) and then turn off as the sequence plays, and go back on pulse after sequence ends. Any suggestions? 

[k6ccc]

I'm reading this on Tapatalk on my phone and the video is not there (Tapatalk issue), so I'm not really sure what you're trying to accomplish. That said, I extensively use interactive elements in my landscape lighting show so I should be able to help. I will watch the video when I get to a computer....

Sent from my Droid Turbo via Tapatalk, so blame any typos or spelling errors on Android

[PCRail]

Quote

Thanks. I could really benefit from contact with someone experienced with interactive elements. It's new to me. The video shows an arcade button with abuilt-in LED. The videographer created a background sequence for the LED, fading in and out . The button triggers elements of the show. By the end of the video, that person had not figured out how to get the LED's in the buttons to turn off while the triggered sequence played. That's my question as well. Sorry to have posted a video. I actually intended only for the link to appear but that didn't happen. Thanks again for your interest.

 

[k6ccc]

There are a few ways to do that.  Likely the easiest is to have a  channel in the triggered sequence that controls a relay that opens the power to the LED.  That would prevent the background sequence from turning on the LED when you want it to dark.  You can also (if needed) open the wire to the switch so that the switch is ignored when desired.

 

[PCRail]

Thanks Jim. I get the idea. I know only basics about relays. Is the part I need a 12v. coil, single pole, single throw, enough amps to handle LED's relay, like an automotive relay? Am I correct that I can power the relay from the same LOR DC controller board that I'm using to control the LED's and then use the relay to interrupt the current between the board and the LED's?

Thanks for your patience.

Richard

[Orville]

One problem I've encountered when plugging some adapters into an LOR !AC! controller, like a CTB16PC is that the controller will keep the adapter live and never turn it off.   I have an L.E.D. spotlight I created using an old solar L.E.D. spotlight and wired an adapter to it, when I plug it into any of my LOR CTB16PC dangles on ANY of my controllers (V2, not GEN3) the adapter stays live and keeps the spotlight on and never turns off unless I remove power completely from the controller it's plugged into.

I think it's the circuitry inside the adapter that fools the controller {triac} on the channel it's plugged into telling it it should be on, even though the channel may be completely off.

 

All you can do is experiment with different adapters until you find one that the controller will work with properly.

 

Since I'm not exactly sure how you have the L.E.D. adapter connected to turn on/off, this is all I can say about my experience with adapters and LOR CTB16PC controllers.

 

The only other option I could think of is to find a timer circuit that would turn on the L.E.D. when the button is pressed, then after a set time turns the L.E.D. off.   It would be wired specifically to the L.E.D. and to the switch in a way the timing circuit would not affect the buttons ability to run or stop the show after the timer for the L.E.D. has run out.

You might be able to locate a good timing circuit you can use by doing a goggle search of "Timing Circuits".

 

Good Luck.

[Santas Helper]

13 hours ago, PCRail said:

Thanks Jim. I get the idea. I know only basics about relays. Is the part I need a 12v. coil, single pole, single throw, enough amps to handle LED's relay, like an automotive relay? Am I correct that I can power the relay from the same LOR DC controller board that I'm using to control the LED's and then use the relay to interrupt the current between the board and the LED's?

Thanks for your patience.

Richard

Richard, I'll chime in my two cents here.

You can run a 12vdc relay off the LOR DC controller. My suggestion is to use one channel to control the relay. This way you have control of the timing (on & off) of that relay. Then use another channel from the DC controller for the LED lights.

The automotive relay sounds like it might work but so many out there, not sure which to use without digging in it deeper.

Tom

[canadianchristmas]

5 hours ago, Orville said:

One problem I've encountered when plugging some adapters into an LOR !AC! controller, like a CTB16PC is that the controller will keep the adapter live and never turn it off.   I have an L.E.D. spotlight I created using an old solar L.E.D. spotlight and wired an adapter to it, when I plug it into any of my LOR CTB16PC dangles on ANY of my controllers (V2, not GEN3) the adapter stays live and keeps the spotlight on and never turns off unless I remove power completely from the controller it's plugged into.

I think it's the circuitry inside the adapter that fools the controller {triac} on the channel it's plugged into telling it it should be on, even though the channel may be completely off.

 

All you can do is experiment with different adapters until you find one that the controller will work with properly.

 

Since I'm not exactly sure how you have the L.E.D. adapter connected to turn on/off, this is all I can say about my experience with adapters and LOR CTB16PC controllers.

 

The only other option I could think of is to find a timer circuit that would turn on the L.E.D. when the button is pressed, then after a set time turns the L.E.D. off.   It would be wired specifically to the L.E.D. and to the switch in a way the timing circuit would not affect the buttons ability to run or stop the show after the timer for the L.E.D. has run out.

You might be able to locate a good timing circuit you can use by doing a goggle search of "Timing Circuits".

 

Good Luck.

Plug a night light or a strand of incans into the same channel with the adapter, this should solve the power leakage issue. 

[PCRail]

Thanks Tom. I'm becoming more confident that I'm on the right track. So far my criteria for the relay are 12-volt coil, single pole single throw (SPST) normally closed (NC). Apparently most relays are normally open and that would just confuse me in this situation. Some relays have the option of wiring them as NC or NO, which is what I'm purchasing. The triggered sequence command to the relay would open the circuit and turn off the LED's. When the sequence ends, circuit closes and background sequence continues to pulse button LED's.

Thanks to others in the thread for warning me about plugging adapters into those AC controllers. It's not my plan.

Richard

[Santas Helper]

Yes Richard, sounds like you're getting the idea. If possible, get one where you have the option to wire it NC or NO. So you would want it wired NC then when energized, the contacts would open.

Tom

[PCRail]

Thanks everyone.  I ordered some relays from AliExpress.  I'll post to this thread about my progress or my pleas for help. I'm going to try to use eight arcade lights to trigger eight different sequences on a couple hundred smart pixels attached to a sort-of-spider web/come-dance-under-here arch. Design is under development in PVC department.

Richard

[Orville]

On 6/15/2016 at 1:32 PM, canadianchristmas said:

Plug a night light or a strand of incans into the same channel with the adapter, this should solve the power leakage issue. 

That's one of the first things I tried, even tried using an incan 20 ct light strand and plug the adapter in the end of that strand.  Same results, just can't get the CTB16PC to turn off the channel I plug it into, tried it on all 4 of my controllers, again V2, and none would let me turn the channel off, spotlight stayed on full brightness, even though the incan strand was not on very brightly, incan strand or C7 bulb was very dimly lit, if I turned the channel on full, the incans or C7 lit full, spotlight never changed intensity whether off or full on.  Never used any other intensity setting since an adapter can only be full on or off.

 

Very weird, but I've had this happen with various adapters, and other adapters would work plugged into other things.   But every adapter I've put on this L.E.D. spotlight always remains on.    There is no circuitry in the spotlight, everything has been removed except the White L.E.D.'s, and any adapter I connect to it does the same thing.   It's the "ONLY" item that does this, no other issues with animatronic figurines I control or other L.E.D. devices.  Just this 3 White L.E.D. spotlight is the only item that creates this issue.  So I just quit trying to control it with the CTB16PC controllers.    And since it's the only one item I have that does this, just not worth investing in a DC controller at this time, as I think that would be the next alternative to making the spotlight controllable.

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by Orville
forgot the "e" on time in the last few sentences.

[PCRail]

So here's what works. The relays I'm using are single pole double throw 5 pin. I connected the LED's to the pin that is hot when the coil is not activated and nothing is connected to the pin that's hot on activation. Normally closed SPST relays turned out to be normally open and that didn't work. Live and learn. I'll post a video of this interactive prop as Halloween creeps ever closer.

Edited August 10, 2016 by PCRail

[PCRail]

The Dance Web worked exactly as designed. Thanks for your help, Tom. You're also the Great Pumpkins Helper. Here's a link to the web in action. Next year, I'll make the sequences shorter. 16 seconds each was too long. Kids want to push the bottons mmore quickly. Also, some of the buttons are too high for my main audience. Either the buttons come down or five-year-olds have to grow taller.

 

[Santas Helper]

Sweet, glad it worked out for ya. And thanks for providing the video. Looks like people were having loads of fun.

Tom