taylord Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Hi all, I'm looking to construct 4 x stained glass windows, about 2m high x 1.2m, wide for an upcoming performance of Sister Act. I'd like to fly them in front of our black cloth legs, from the same bar, but try to light them somehow. I was thinking of using some painted gauze or similar stretched over a frame and then use LED tape around the inside. If possible, I'd like to be able to patch the light source in to our dimmer too. Does anyone have any other ideas/experience/tips etc please? Many thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Vacform? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Clear perspex/PVC/ acrylic/polycarbonate sheet and LED edge light the sheet to show up the colours etc. Just don't scratch the sheet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Clear perspex/PVC/ acrylic/polycarbonate sheet and LED edge light the sheet to show up the colours etc. I would make a 6" deep white painted lightbox behind the window and put the LED tape round the edge of it. Edge lighting acrylic only works well when you can see the other edge, or if you engrave patterns/grooves in the surface of it. For DMX control of LED tape use something like this (many similar options available)http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182321874268 don't get it involved with the dimmers as it's very hard to make it work properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Tim, Is there a particular LED tape you'd recommend to go with this controller? Interested in having a play myself now, so if I can pick up a few bits from eBay... Searching with "LED 5050 RGB" brings up quite a lot of potential junk! Thanks,Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Tim, Is there a particular LED tape you'd recommend to go with this controller? Interested in having a play myself now, so if I can pick up a few bits from eBay... Searching with "LED 5050 RGB" brings up quite a lot of potential junk! Thanks,Kevin Do you want RGB or just white? You can get white 5050 which has 3 whites in each LED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Ooooo RGB http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif but if you've also got an all--white recomendation too! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif When you say "all white" is that the same colour temp, or three die with different colour temp? Thanks!Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 They're all the same white, it's just for extra brightness. I don't have a particular led tape to recommend but have had success buying from ebay before. You want 5m reels of 5050 with 60 leds/m. (300 leds in 5m). Should cost about 15 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Thanks Tim! Hope that helps the OP too... I might look to see if "uncle" bigclive has any videos on the subject! ETA: Giving some of this a go... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5m-Super-Bright-12V-5050-SMD-300-Leds-Flexible-Strip-RGB-Home-Decoration-Light/192259457657?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 It's not clear-plastic enclosed so not for external use. Let's see.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I bought some RGB tape from ebay - two 5m rolls for 17 quid - and fixed one under the fascia of the house, driven by a simple 12V controller. It's survived three years in all weathers so far ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigclive Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Thanks Tim! Hope that helps the OP too... I might look to see if "uncle" bigclive has any videos on the subject! I've covered LED tape in a few videos, but not recently. The generic LED tape sold on eBay is a bit variable in quality, but of you don't buy the rock-bottom cheapest it's usually pretty serviceable. The price is so low now that I regard it as a consumable and recommend that any installation using it considers the ease of swapping it out for new stuff if needed. There's a huge range of LED styles available from small low current chips to the larger high current single chips and the 5050 three chip LEDs mentioned. For indoor use I recommend the non waterproof version as it sticks to surfaces better than the stiff waterproof version. There's a new kid on the block in the form of the 230V LED strip. It works the same way as the traditional Xmas ropelight material, but has a flat PCB strip inside. The downside is that it is just a rectifier feeding a multiple of series strings of LEDs and resistors, so there can be a slight flicker if you look for it. The upside is that it can be dimmed if there is a packer load on the circuit for the dimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I have found that the waterproof coating goes milky/opaque over time and you lose light output. Plus, it's not actually waterproof as there are exposed pads on the rear of the strip which corrode if they get wet. And as Clive says it's quite stiff. So I'd avoid the waterproof version. You can peel off the waterproofing with a bit of care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylord Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Thanks for all the advice guys. Hadn’t considered acrylic due to small budget but its sounding like the best option right now! Tim - are the DMX controllers fairly straight forward to wire up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Tim - are the DMX controllers fairly straight forward to wire up? Usually - just 12V in from a suitably beefy power supply then common positive + rgb negatives out, and the 3 wires for DMX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Check with local pubs/ restaurants to see what pens they use on acrylic notice boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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