Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

[Henedce]

My roof was a bit bare last year so I thought I might make some Coro stars .
These are approx 8" across and the plan is to make 40 of them. Each one contains 3 LPD6803 pixels powered by J1sys's P12R pixel controller.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y1qsWsSIFE&feature=youtu.be

Will see how long You tube leave it up for.

[BillinSoFL]

Great job!

[cnbales]

Love them! In the video they appear very small and the coro looks about an inch thick. Would you mind taking a picture of one of the stars in daylight and maybe next to a common object to gauge the size?

[timon]

Looks really nice. Which type of pixel did you use? Link to Ray's would be great.


John
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Henedce]

Would you mind taking a picture of one of the stars in daylight and maybe next to a common object to gauge the size?
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In the video they appear very small and the coro looks about an inch thick
Yes they are small but that is what I wanted so I can spread 40 across my roof. They are actually just over 2 inches thick.


Looks really nice. Which type of pixel did you use? Link to Ray's would be great.
13737
Link for Rays is http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/701799/209889132-474536611/led-pixel-module-LPD6803-DC5V-input-IP68-50pcs-a-string.html
I only used these as I have 6 strings that were originally destined for my pixel tree before I rehashed it. Although the did turn out well. I plan to extend the cables between each one to 24" - 36" once I get the plugs from Ray .

[Henedce]

40 Coro stars sounds so easy when you say it quickly.
3 weeks later all 40 are complete. You just don't realize how much time is involved in cutting up and plugging 120 pixels into groups of 3 . Let alone cutting out 80 stars , 40 side pieces and 40 supports. Glue all that together, another 3 - 4 hours to get the layout right and here they are ready to plug into a controller hopefully tomorrow and run some tests.

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[mschell]

Looks quite nice.

yes, the work to build stars does add up. I did 5-6 of them, about twice the size of yours, last fall using RGB modules. They didn't get mounted last year in time for the show, but this year will be out on the house!

What kind of plugs/connectors did you use to connect them together?

[Daryl Hurd]

I am looking at getting a supplier to build something similar using a hard plastic housing. The sides would be a black plastic and the cover would be a milky white cover. Inside would be a WS2811 (6) 5050 LED module in the middle of the casing. Each star would be about 8 inches across and have a set of 4 wire plugs to connect. One cable would go out each side to allow them to be connected together.

The case by itself will be $5 with a WS2811 module and pigtails I think would be another $5 and shippnig for the components...

Would having all the labor be done be worth $15 a star?

I have the case already I can post a pic or two tonight...

[mschell]

Sounds interesting. What kind of hard plastic? UV resistance? The beauty of coro is that it weathers fairly well, or can be replaced if necessary.

But the price @ $5 for the case seems quite reasonable.

[Daryl Hurd]

It appears to be a Polycarbonate. I am requesting more info from the manufacturer.
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I found this pic, it is not a great pic but would give you the idea... One thing I like about this case, because the sides are black, the visible light really gets defined in the star pattern. Where the coro stars bleed light on the sides unless you use black coro or paint them.
-Daryl

[Daryl Hurd]

I started another thread about my stars over at http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/showthread.php?20989-8-inch-RGB-Stars under buy/sell/trade.. I did not want to hijack this thread too badly...

[Henedce]

The sides would be a black plastic and the cover would be a milky white cover
I discarded a similar design to this in my testing phase .

In a simpler design you could build a coro box with a black vinyl sign cut out for half the cost of your plastic commercially made product. I found that having illuminated sides gives a more 3d effect to the stars.

Test video below .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00WYHIu0s6E&list=UUbcH2uH27u4rBn63opFisvQ&index=1&feature=plcp

[ukewarrior]

I would be very curious to know what/how you cut out the Star outline.
Slitting coro along the seam is easy, but, cutting straight on the bias is another animal.
Did you use a knife or scissors?

[mschell]

I would be very curious to know what/how you cut out the Star outline.
Slitting coro along the seam is easy, but, cutting straight on the bias is another animal.
Did you use a knife or scissors?

When I cut out my stars from coro, I used a straightedge and a utility knife. After awhile you get used to cutting across the flutes...

[boyelroy11]

I have similar plans for a 'host' of angels on the roof this year- glad to see how nicely these turned out.

[lightman]

Henedce....Very nice effect. Loved the video...

Lightman

[Henedce]

What kind of plugs/connectors did you use to connect them together?

I used a mix of 2 ,3 and 4 pin waterproof plugs from Ray Wu


I would be very curious to know what/how you cut out the Star outline.
Slitting coro along the seam is easy, but, cutting straight on the bias is another animal.
Did you use a knife or scissors?

I just use a hobby knife with a no 11 blade .


I have similar plans for a 'host' of angels on the roof this year

I look forward to seeing these. I was thinking of changing some of my window luminaries to angels this year .