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Step 9The sequencer (design)
The 8-channel sequencer will switch the wires according to programmed patterns. It uses a Basic Stamp II microprocessor. The design is based on Mikey Sklar's el pants & bag and Greg Sohlberg's Rhino-8 sequencer. I used the Basic Stamp II for the processor, and went with Greg's suggestion & used a 9-pin connector, with 8 HV outputs and one "common", instead of individual 2-pin connectors for each of the 8 EL wire channels.
For my first attempt, I used triacs for the EL output. However, this turned out to not work right -- the triacs were triggered all the time. I'm not sure what went wrong, but having so much voltage so near the Stamp made me nervous anyway, so I redesigned the circuit to use opto-isolated triacs. These come in 6-pin DIP packages and consist of an LED next to a photo-sensitive triac, so that the low and high voltages can be kept separate. I used MOC3031M's from Mouser. The schematic is shown below. The MOCs are actually used as triggers for regualr triacs. Just wiring the HV to the MOCs won't work.
To create the board, I used my homemade PCB technique, explained in detail in my instructable here.
Parts list:
(1) Basic Stamp II (plus separate programmer board -- comes w/ BS starter kits)
(1) 24-pin DIP socket, 0.6" (you need to be able to remove the Stamp for (re)programming)
(1) diode
(8) 330 ohm, 1/4 watt resistors
(8) opto-isolators, 6-pin DIP package, MOC3031M or similar (I used Mouser #512-MOC3031-M)
(8) triacs, 400v or higher, TO-92 package (I used Mouser #511-Z0103MA)
(1) 9-pin connector (I used CAT# CON-90 from allelectronics.com, but anything similar would work)
(3) 2-pin locking connectors (I used some that were left over from an earlier order to coolight.com, so they already matched my inverter/battery pack inputs & outputs, but it looks like allelectronics.com part #CON-240 is the same thing)
(1) 2-pin header type connector (optional -- for the aux input -- I didn't use it on my board)
A note regarding the connectors: I designed my sequencer and other parts to be easily repurposed for other projects. So, all the main parts (battery pack, sequencer, wiring harness, inverter, and wires) are separate pieces that use the same kinds of connectors. That way, I can plug the inverter output directly into a strand of EL wire to test it, or use only a couple of sequencer channels instead of all 8, or not use the sequencer at all. All inputs (HV into the EL wires, 9v into the sequencer board, 9v into the inverter) use female connectors; all outputs (9v out of the battery pack, HV out of the inverter, HV out of the wiring harness) use male connectors. The only exception is the 9-pin connector that I used to organize the HV outputs from the sequencer board. That connector lets me reconstruct the wiring harness according to the needs of a particular project, without having a mess of connectors sprouting out of the sequencer board. You might want to use a different type of connector for the HV side for safety, and you might want to use a different arrangement/system of connectors entirely. Other sequencer builders (Mikey) use ribbon cable for outputs; that's a good idea too...... whatever works for you!
A note about the controller: I used the Basic Stamp II for several reasons. First and foremost, my co-worker had one he loaned me, along with the programming board, so it was free. Also, I'm totally new to controller programming, but learned BASIC years ago, so the BSII seemed very easy to learn -- and it was. Finally, the BSII has its own onboard voltage regulator, which simplified the circuit design. You could use almost any kind of programmable microcontroller, like a PIC or whatever. Obviously the pinouts would be different, and you'd have to include a voltage regulator in the design.
For my first attempt, I used triacs for the EL output. However, this turned out to not work right -- the triacs were triggered all the time. I'm not sure what went wrong, but having so much voltage so near the Stamp made me nervous anyway, so I redesigned the circuit to use opto-isolated triacs. These come in 6-pin DIP packages and consist of an LED next to a photo-sensitive triac, so that the low and high voltages can be kept separate. I used MOC3031M's from Mouser. The schematic is shown below. The MOCs are actually used as triggers for regualr triacs. Just wiring the HV to the MOCs won't work.
To create the board, I used my homemade PCB technique, explained in detail in my instructable here.
Parts list:
(1) Basic Stamp II (plus separate programmer board -- comes w/ BS starter kits)
(1) 24-pin DIP socket, 0.6" (you need to be able to remove the Stamp for (re)programming)
(1) diode
(8) 330 ohm, 1/4 watt resistors
(8) opto-isolators, 6-pin DIP package, MOC3031M or similar (I used Mouser #512-MOC3031-M)
(8) triacs, 400v or higher, TO-92 package (I used Mouser #511-Z0103MA)
(1) 9-pin connector (I used CAT# CON-90 from allelectronics.com, but anything similar would work)
(3) 2-pin locking connectors (I used some that were left over from an earlier order to coolight.com, so they already matched my inverter/battery pack inputs & outputs, but it looks like allelectronics.com part #CON-240 is the same thing)
(1) 2-pin header type connector (optional -- for the aux input -- I didn't use it on my board)
A note regarding the connectors: I designed my sequencer and other parts to be easily repurposed for other projects. So, all the main parts (battery pack, sequencer, wiring harness, inverter, and wires) are separate pieces that use the same kinds of connectors. That way, I can plug the inverter output directly into a strand of EL wire to test it, or use only a couple of sequencer channels instead of all 8, or not use the sequencer at all. All inputs (HV into the EL wires, 9v into the sequencer board, 9v into the inverter) use female connectors; all outputs (9v out of the battery pack, HV out of the inverter, HV out of the wiring harness) use male connectors. The only exception is the 9-pin connector that I used to organize the HV outputs from the sequencer board. That connector lets me reconstruct the wiring harness according to the needs of a particular project, without having a mess of connectors sprouting out of the sequencer board. You might want to use a different type of connector for the HV side for safety, and you might want to use a different arrangement/system of connectors entirely. Other sequencer builders (Mikey) use ribbon cable for outputs; that's a good idea too...... whatever works for you!
A note about the controller: I used the Basic Stamp II for several reasons. First and foremost, my co-worker had one he loaned me, along with the programming board, so it was free. Also, I'm totally new to controller programming, but learned BASIC years ago, so the BSII seemed very easy to learn -- and it was. Finally, the BSII has its own onboard voltage regulator, which simplified the circuit design. You could use almost any kind of programmable microcontroller, like a PIC or whatever. Obviously the pinouts would be different, and you'd have to include a voltage regulator in the design.
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