Electronics > Beginners
Sequential tail lights
robjodicarter:
I'm thinking of one of these but I don't know if I can put 12 volts to them, and how bright the LED's will be
Rob
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james_s:
I built one of those a few years ago when I was curious what sort of kit building experience I could get for $1.50. A 4017 only lights one LED at a time though, is that what you want? The 4017 itself will tolerate 12V though and the LED brightness can be changed by changing the value of resistors used to limit the current. An automotive electrical system is notoriously dirty from an electrical standpoint though so I wouldn't expect that to last long without some modifications to bulletproof it.
robjodicarter:
Do they light one at a time until they are all lit and start again or one at a time until it gets to the end?
And what would u have to do to make it bullet proof? And thank you !!!!!
--- Quote from: james_s on September 23, 2018, 11:51:11 pm ---I built one of those a few years ago when I was curious what sort of kit building experience I could get for $1.50. A 4017 only lights one LED at a time though, is that what you want? The 4017 itself will tolerate 12V though and the LED brightness can be changed by changing the value of resistors used to limit the current. An automotive electrical system is notoriously dirty from an electrical standpoint though so I wouldn't expect that to last long without some modifications to bulletproof it.
--- End quote ---
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Brumby:
Hi robjodicarter. Welcome to the forum.
First a little warning... We have a lot of expertise on this forum and we are very willing to share it with someone who is genuinely interested - but we don't always get it right matching the information we can share with your abilities at this time. Bear with us and let us know if we've gone "rocket scientist" on you. Also, don't get too scared if two members start having a "discussion" about something you don't understand. We can get caught up in some of the details on occasion. Usually, someone will come along, bring some sanity and get back to helping you out.
As for your project, you are quite correct to be thinking about brightness if you are looking to fit something like this to a motor vehicle - but for high brightness, you will need higher current than you can get out of those small single board units. This is going to be one of the reasons why the real deal units are not cheap. They will take something like the board you have shown as a starting point, then add a couple of components and a high power LED to each of those 10 channels. This is something that many people here could help you build, if you feel you want to take on the challenge.
It is also possible that there may be a higher powered module already available. If so, someone here might know where to look.
Anyway ... bear with us and help us to help you. If things get confusing, please ask questions. Most of us here get our kicks out of seeing someone learn and understand.
Brumby:
--- Quote from: robjodicarter on September 24, 2018, 12:01:35 am ---Do they light one at a time until they are all lit and start again or one at a time until it gets to the end?
And what would u have to do to make it bullet proof? And thank you !!!!!
--- End quote ---
Have a look at this page: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_int%C3%A9gr%C3%A9_4017 It's in French - but you can translate it.
It has details about how the 4017 integrated circuit works and an animation (about 3/4 down the page). (Don't get worried about all the charts and diagrams for the moment - but if you are of a mind to, we will be able to step you through the basics so that they make enough sense for you to understand. Maybe not today, though. :) )
From this, I would guess this is not how you would want the lights to operate - but rather something like the centre strip of this:
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