Skottsaber
05-16-2010, 03:17 AM
Hey Guys!
This weekend I finally got around to doing something I've been wanting to do for a while. See I have my own small piece of REAL Star Wars:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0049_490x367.jpg
Yup. Frames from original prints of each and every Star Wars episode. But it hangs inside a shelving unit and I can never see the film cells without taking it off the wall and holding it up to a light or the sun.
So I decided to backlight it. Here is what I got from my electronics store:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0050_490x367.jpg
A 4AA battery holder, 10 5mm white LEDs, resistors, a slide switch and a battery connector.
The resistor is colored blue, brown, black and gold. So I worked it out to be (blue = 6), (brown = 1) * (black = 1), tolerance (gold = 5%). So it is a 61 Ω resistor.
Now, how to place the LEDs? The area I want to illuminate is ±40cm long (15.7"). So should I place them behind the cells like this?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0051_490x367.jpg
Or place them 40 ÷ 10 = 4cm apart?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0052_490x367.jpg
I decided to go with 4cm apart.
Now you may be wondering what that 9V battery connector was doing in my parts. Well this picture might explain:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0053_490x367.jpg
The battery holder has 9V connection, so I need that to connect it. It also is quite helpful as a disconnect for testing.
I did a test wiring of one LED, and...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0054_490x367.jpg
It worked! (FYI: When wiring LEDs, the short pin is the negative, the long one the positive.
Another closeup of the test wiring, with the circuit disconnected from the battery holder:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0055_490x367.jpg
I also tested it behind a film cell. Guess which scene this is?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0056_490x367.jpg
Answer here. (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/answer.txt)
Next, I wired the switch in. I also tested my camera's Super Macro feature ;)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0059_490x367.jpg
I had to run wires from each LED to the next, because they aren't long enough to chain together. (Should have bought more LEDs, (facepalm).
This is pretty much the routine I followed with wiring the LEDs:
Put previous LED in helping hands (I love those things :D):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0065_490x367.jpg
Cut a piece of wire 8cm (3.1") long:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0066_490x367.jpg
Strip the ends:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0067_490x367.jpg
Cut in half and strip those new ends:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0068_490x367.jpg
Wrap one wire around the LED:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0070_490x367.jpg
Solder:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0072_490x367.jpg
Repeat with next wire:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0073_490x367.jpg
Check for shorts:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0074_490x367.jpg
Take new LED and solder it to wires:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0082_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0084_490x367.jpg
Heatshrink those connections:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0085_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0091_490x367.jpg
Check it still works:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0092_490x367.jpg
I did this until I had a string of 9 LEDs. I tested it for length behind the frame:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0093_490x367.jpg
I think 9 will do, and I'll have a spare if one breaks, or whatever.
I taped the LED string to the back of the frame:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0094_490x367.jpg
I was going to use electrical tape, but mine is black, so it would absorb some of the light, so I went with clear tape.
Finished pics!
Before (without the battery pack):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0096_490x367.jpg
After:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0098_490x367.jpg
And the frames:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0099_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0100_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0101_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0102_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0105_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0106_490x367.jpg
If anyone can guess which scene each frame is from, then you'll get a prize! :D
This weekend I finally got around to doing something I've been wanting to do for a while. See I have my own small piece of REAL Star Wars:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0049_490x367.jpg
Yup. Frames from original prints of each and every Star Wars episode. But it hangs inside a shelving unit and I can never see the film cells without taking it off the wall and holding it up to a light or the sun.
So I decided to backlight it. Here is what I got from my electronics store:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0050_490x367.jpg
A 4AA battery holder, 10 5mm white LEDs, resistors, a slide switch and a battery connector.
The resistor is colored blue, brown, black and gold. So I worked it out to be (blue = 6), (brown = 1) * (black = 1), tolerance (gold = 5%). So it is a 61 Ω resistor.
Now, how to place the LEDs? The area I want to illuminate is ±40cm long (15.7"). So should I place them behind the cells like this?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0051_490x367.jpg
Or place them 40 ÷ 10 = 4cm apart?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0052_490x367.jpg
I decided to go with 4cm apart.
Now you may be wondering what that 9V battery connector was doing in my parts. Well this picture might explain:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0053_490x367.jpg
The battery holder has 9V connection, so I need that to connect it. It also is quite helpful as a disconnect for testing.
I did a test wiring of one LED, and...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0054_490x367.jpg
It worked! (FYI: When wiring LEDs, the short pin is the negative, the long one the positive.
Another closeup of the test wiring, with the circuit disconnected from the battery holder:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0055_490x367.jpg
I also tested it behind a film cell. Guess which scene this is?
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0056_490x367.jpg
Answer here. (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/answer.txt)
Next, I wired the switch in. I also tested my camera's Super Macro feature ;)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0059_490x367.jpg
I had to run wires from each LED to the next, because they aren't long enough to chain together. (Should have bought more LEDs, (facepalm).
This is pretty much the routine I followed with wiring the LEDs:
Put previous LED in helping hands (I love those things :D):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0065_490x367.jpg
Cut a piece of wire 8cm (3.1") long:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0066_490x367.jpg
Strip the ends:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0067_490x367.jpg
Cut in half and strip those new ends:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0068_490x367.jpg
Wrap one wire around the LED:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0070_490x367.jpg
Solder:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0072_490x367.jpg
Repeat with next wire:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0073_490x367.jpg
Check for shorts:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0074_490x367.jpg
Take new LED and solder it to wires:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0082_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0084_490x367.jpg
Heatshrink those connections:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0085_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0091_490x367.jpg
Check it still works:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0092_490x367.jpg
I did this until I had a string of 9 LEDs. I tested it for length behind the frame:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0093_490x367.jpg
I think 9 will do, and I'll have a spare if one breaks, or whatever.
I taped the LED string to the back of the frame:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0094_490x367.jpg
I was going to use electrical tape, but mine is black, so it would absorb some of the light, so I went with clear tape.
Finished pics!
Before (without the battery pack):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0096_490x367.jpg
After:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0098_490x367.jpg
And the frames:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0099_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0100_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0101_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0102_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0105_490x367.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1237687/TCSS%20Posts/Film%20Cell%20Backlight/Small%20pics/SANY0106_490x367.jpg
If anyone can guess which scene each frame is from, then you'll get a prize! :D