Cue Lights

[cedd]

My thoughts exactly! Really neat solution.

I may struggle slightly with it as I haven't got the facility to program a PIC, but that's not insurmountable.

[boatman]

My thoughts exactly! Really neat solution.

I may struggle slightly with it as I haven't got the facility to program a PIC, but that's not insurmountable.

 

Thanks. The finished boards arrived this morning from ITead. The order was placed on May 15th and the shipment email received on May 21st. They look good too.

 

http://mydesk.myzen.co.uk/_Useful/CueLightFinishedMasterSmall.jpg

 

The shipping email for the slave unit boards arrived yesterday so they will be here in about 10 days.

 

Once I've tested it all, I will be able to supply PCBs for £2.50 each & programmed PICs for £1 each + £1.50 carriage (Large Letter size which will probably cover up to 5 boards and/or 10 PICs) if anyone wants to build one. I might even consider supplying ready-built and tested boards but that would be more expensive.

 

However that will be a couple of weeks away as I have to finish another schematic design first!

 

Luckily our local quarry failed to deliver 2 tonnes of sand and gravel this week so I won't be working in the garden over the weekend.

[paulears]

It does strike me that you could build and sell these, and make a fair margin. Lots of people will struggle to build them, and many won't be able to manage a box - Maybe a kit, or assembled to order?

[bruce]

.. and you could sell them with a "Made in Arran" sticker!

[boatman]

I need to assemble a test system first! Four master PCBs will just fit in one of these boxes:

 

http://uk.farnell.com/productimages/farnell/standard/42245705.jpg

 

It's also available from CPC in black here (currently with a 10% discount if you add 08 to the end of the part number).

 

How many channels would a typical system have? I will put two sets of buttons on the test system, but the PCBs will allow up to four to be used. I will also use two separate high brightness LEDs for each channel as the bi-colour (Red/Green) ones I got from Maplin are fairly dim.

[cedd]

They look excellent boatman!

 

I've no idea how many channels I'd put together in one box. Most DSM's desks I see have tonnes of channels, but I've never seen more than 3 or 4 actually get used!

 

One thing I wondered about was a remote desktop unit, with just buttons and indicators, maybe in a box similar to the one you show there. Then a multiway cable to the electronics box, which could be mounted a couple of metres away where it's convenient to route the XLR's to, without having loads of XLR's all over the DSM's desk. D type connectors would do the job nicely.

 

I've just been assembling some outstations to go with my old relay based system. I've been using some really nice arcade style buttons which have built in tri colour LED lighting, and operate a microswitch for more reliable switching.

http://www.ultimarc.com/ClassicRGB.html

You need to be a little careful with the positioning of the LED wires as they exit the switch body, but once you've got it right they're great. They're quite deep though so might need some sizeable boxes. On the up side they act as indicator and switch all in one, so only one hole required in the box.

You need to get a bit crafty with diodes with them, as they're wired with a common +ve connection, then 3 -ve connections for each LED. It's possible with 2 diodes though, and you can also connect the blue LED to the switch line so when the button's pressed it turns a nice shade of purple as it mixes with the red to show the switch press has worked.

[boatman]

They look excellent boatman!

Thanks.

 

I've no idea how many channels I'd put together in one box. Most DSM's desks I see have tonnes of channels, but I've never seen more than 3 or 4 actually get used!

I'll stick with four channels for the time being.

 

One thing I wondered about was a remote desktop unit, with just buttons and indicators, maybe in a box similar to the one you show there. Then a multiway cable to the electronics box, which could be mounted a couple of metres away where it's convenient to route the XLR's to, without having loads of XLR's all over the DSM's desk. D type connectors would do the job nicely.

I did wonder about that but it might not make sense as the buttons are assigned to channels at the channel end and not the button end. It would be easy to have just the buttons on a separate box with a D-type connector on each end of the cable. A 9-way would be fine for two sets of buttons, but it would need to be a 15-way for four sets. However, the button allocation switches are on the channel board so can't be near the buttons. I can see a redesign on the horizon already!!

 

I've just been assembling some outstations to go with my old relay based system. I've been using some really nice arcade style buttons which have built in tri colour LED lighting, and operate a microswitch for more reliable switching.

http://www.ultimarc.com/ClassicRGB.html

You need to be a little careful with the positioning of the LED wires as they exit the switch body, but once you've got it right they're great. They're quite deep though so might need some sizeable boxes. On the up side they act as indicator and switch all in one, so only one hole required in the box.

You need to get a bit crafty with diodes with them, as they're wired with a common +ve connection, then 3 -ve connections for each LED. It's possible with 2 diodes though, and you can also connect the blue LED to the switch line so when the button's pressed it turns a nice shade of purple as it mixes with the red to show the switch press has worked.

Nice buttons, but probably won't work with my design.

 

Lots of food for thought there.