Yes I know theres like 100+ questions on the board about the Lighting for the pack and gun, but dammit heres another.
From what I can tell the 3 circuits listed on the site all use bulbs as the main lights.
I’ve been looking all over online to find a variation that only uses LEDs, but not having much luck.
If anyone has a circuit diagram for the pack (cyclotron and powercel) and the gun (the powerup light etc,preferably with a superbright LED for the tip) with a list of componants I would be very grateful.
I have 3 packs to complete for the last weekend in October (a night out just before halloween) and I’m running out of time.
Hopefully if all goes to plan I’ll have pictures of Goth Ghostbusters (Gothbusters?) at a big Gothic festival to post in November)
You can simply replace the light bulbs with LEDs AND the correct resistor based on the LED and source voltage of the circuit…
And no I can’t tell you what value resistor without knowing more information… The type of LED and source voltage of the circuit makes a huge difference on the resistor value…
So you have a 9 volt supply now all you need to calculate the resistor is the forward voltage and current of the LEDs you purchase… This should be clearly marked on the package or in the description for the LED…
But a good “guess” rule of thumb for 9 volt systems is to use a
350 Ohm resistor for Standard LEDs
240 Ohm resistor for Superbright LEDs
But colors like blue and white will need less resistance…
190 Ohm for blue or white LEDs
Again these are just an educated guess, it’s best to get the real values based on the LED of your choice…
theres a Maplins store just across from where I live and I’ll pop in to scope for the componants when I get the oportunity (I work long hours). They have a guy who help most customers out whiththings like that so I’ll double check when I buy the stuff..
Hyperdyne sells kits in both bulb and LED form. Actually, I think their cyclotron lights only come in LED form anyway; I think their blue powercell kit is the only one that has a bulb version in addition to the LED version (according to them, the bulbs provide a more screen-accurate look; personally, I would never go with bulbs, because LEDs are cheaper, and they last a whole lot longer).
My kit will work fine with bulbs and by special request I will make a bulb one as I have for a few people…
But, be warned the bulb one requires a boat load more power and you see a noticable current strain under normal battery power… ie as the powercell climbs you will see the overall brightnes of all bulbs dim…
I’ll post up a picture of my kit with bulbs later as I don’t have it on this computer…
**Edit actually I do have the pics on this computer, again this is the old 14 light version the new ones have the correct 15…
And below just for comparison, here is a B&W of the real deal the screen used lights…
I got all the components for my pack lights at Maplin last week, and they worked out the resistor values for me once I’d chosen the LEDs I wanted to use.
Unless it’s one of their larger stores you’ll probably have to order some of the components. My store had no 4015 chips, but they arrived two days later. Using basic LEDs the parts came to just over ?14, but that doesn’t include any wire or circuit board.
I’m pretty sure I’ll blow some of the LEDs building the circuit - I’ve not done any electronics in 10 years - so I’m going to get it working before I shell out on superbright whites.
