Mmmkay. What do I have around the house that I can throw together in 48 hours?
I’m not feeling 'MERICA this year, but I did want my kiddos to have a show.
July 4th shows usually play a more triumphant section of the 1812 overture (you know, with cannons and whatnot). This cut felt right for 2020 We used some more upbeat, traditional music live.
The code was tossed together last minute and is probably full of bugs so I’ll upload it here instead of the pattern library for anyone who’s curious. In the video there’s also some adaptations of a few of the default patterns: Sparks, blink fade, and of course, firework rocket sparks.
Actually, they’re wired as one big linear strip. The code makes it easier to define some routines in terms of specific radials (initial ground-to-sky, and phased expansions) or all radials (where you see radial symmetry).
I used scissors to cut them out of a flat sheet of white, flexible LED diffusion acrylic.
The LED strips are mounted on the back, side-firing. It was kind of hard to get an adhesive that worked well for acrylic -> silicone tube. RTV silicone adhesive was good for the silicone but bad for the acrylic, and hot glue was vice-versa. Next time I’d use the hot glue to glue some kind of clips or mini brackets.
Just saw this post being a Newb. A note and help when gluing acrylic. Use ResinBond or Weld-on 3 to glue acrylic together. It’s not adhesion glue, it actually melts and chemically bonds the 2 pieces together. i use those products all the time when working with acrylic and it’s clear as well…it’s pretty cool stuff…it’s the only thing it will bond but it will leave marks/runs if over used…used in a syringed bottle
Thanks for the tip! I’ve done some acrylic bonding to other acrylic in the past (those chemicals are some pretty serious stuff - phew!), any I remember it definitely benefitted from a smooth surface-to-surface interface.
I didn’t think to try them to bond this rough-surfaced acrylic sheet to pure silicone - maybe I’ll look into that next time, thanks!
Glad to help!
we use these types of products daily and some other types that will bond acrylic to polycarbonate (which is little thicker) and other materials. Look up “Special ‘T’” products. We use them time to time.
We used some more upbeat, traditional music live.