Hello there! Brian Allen here, Training/Technical Specialist at Elemental LED bringing you my very first Instrucatable. I've always been somewhat of a music fanatic (ok...ok, so that may be a slight understatement), whether it's listening, creating, or incorporating lighting of some sort.
I was chatting with some close friends of mine who DJ this last summer about building some sort of an interactive DJ booth that would create a light show based on the music being played,much like the artist Pretty Lights. Their interest along with my own inspired me to finally come about building such a beast.
What we have here is a series of 5 LED panels that correspond with different beats, or decibels(dB), to create an instant light show. Some people have referred to my build as somewhat of a visual equalizer at times, it all depends on the type of music you like to jam to!
The trick was to build something that would have a grand appearance without a large cost that you would normally pay for at DJ or lighting stores while remaining lightweight so one can easily transport.
Overall I took roughly 25 hours for the project from designing to building. Once your done, it's as simple as selecting which mode(s) you want to use along with your iPod, smartphone, stereo, or in my case- turntables.
Here I'll walk you through the steps to build your own! I built mine to a specific size for my purpose but feel free to change it up and create your own dimensions.
I was chatting with some close friends of mine who DJ this last summer about building some sort of an interactive DJ booth that would create a light show based on the music being played,much like the artist Pretty Lights. Their interest along with my own inspired me to finally come about building such a beast.
What we have here is a series of 5 LED panels that correspond with different beats, or decibels(dB), to create an instant light show. Some people have referred to my build as somewhat of a visual equalizer at times, it all depends on the type of music you like to jam to!
The trick was to build something that would have a grand appearance without a large cost that you would normally pay for at DJ or lighting stores while remaining lightweight so one can easily transport.
Overall I took roughly 25 hours for the project from designing to building. Once your done, it's as simple as selecting which mode(s) you want to use along with your iPod, smartphone, stereo, or in my case- turntables.
Here I'll walk you through the steps to build your own! I built mine to a specific size for my purpose but feel free to change it up and create your own dimensions.
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Signing UpStep 1: What Your Going To Need To Create Your Masterpiece
Materials List:
The first group of materials you can purchase directly from us, Elemental LED!
The first group of materials you can purchase directly from us, Elemental LED!
- 4 Spools - High Density RGB LED Strip Light by the Spool
- 1 - Apollo Jammer
- 5 - DMX Decoders (I have 6 pictured, due to the fact that I purchased clearance decoders I needed to purchase a non-clearance one to adapt between the Apollo Jammer and the clearance decoders as the Apollo doesn't have an RJ45 output. I would advise sticking with decoders that have XLR ports as it will make your install much easier)
- 5 - Waterproof RGB Extension Cables
- 5 - Waterproof RGB Solder Connector Pairs
- 1 - 300 Watt 12vDC Power Supply (This can vary depending on the size of your build, mine was 220 watts total and it's advised to use a power supply that is at least 20% larger than your load to relieve stress and prolong life)
- Wire - The AWG or "Wire gauge" will also depend on the LED load attached to each DMX Decoder, in my case 18/2 was just fine.
- RGB Wire - Not much is needed, just a couple to a few inches per corner. It's color coded to assist you with wiring. You can also use RGB Strip-To-Strip Bending Extensions but soldering is always a more permanent and reliable solution.
- DMX 3-Pin XLR Cable - You can either make one from the XLR ends provided with the standard DMX Decoder or you can purchase a pre-assembled one from Elemental LED as well.
- 50' - 1"x1" Square Acrylic Tubing (I had mine pre-cut to size by TAP Plastics, they're great! Reasonably priced and pretty fast at getting your finished product to you as well.
- 40 - Flat "L" Brackets
- 70 - 6/32 x 1 1/2 long Truss Head Screws
- 70 - #6 Lock Washers
- 70 - 6/32 Hex Nuts
- 20' - 1" Wide Velcro
- Canvas Material of your choice, I used a king sized bed sheet and cut it to the dimensions I needed.
- Safety Glasses! It's never a bad idea to cover those valuable assets of yours!
- Power Drill
- Soldering Gun or Iron, I recommend using one with a wattage of something between 25-45 watts as it will prevent you from damaging the solder point on the strip.
- Solder, using a thinner solder is recommended.
- Drill Bits, this will depend on the size of the hardware you chose, I sized mine to work with the 6/32 Truss Head Screws
- Vice, it's always nice to have something to hold things still as your working on them. *Not required though.
- Tape, the stronger the better, I'll explain this when we get to it.
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You can take a look at the instruction manual for more information on the dip switch settings.
Basically each panel has a decoder; depending on what setting you "address" the dip switches to determines what colors it will output in response to which frequencies. There's more available than listed in the instructions, but it take a little bit of time to play with them all and get a good idea. If your looking for other color combinations you can simply swap the colored wires to "force" different colors. I.E. if the decoder says one setting is typically Red but you want Green, simply swap the Red and Green wires.
Brian
Being a student I know this is out of my budget. But I was wondering if you would be willing to give up information about what Apollo Jammer and DMX Decoder schematics look like. or what do they help in achieving in this? What I can understand is that they drive LED's using the signals fed by Apollo. and I think Apollo splits the audio signal into highs, mids lows. Am I correct in guessing this? Is it possible to replicate this using some other equipment. I know that I am asking a lot as you people are making these to make profit and not turn away customers. But I am still learning and have a basic knowledge when it comes to electronics. I am programming student.
However I've seen some great tutorials on indestructible and the web for doing something similar to what you requested.
Essentially the Jammer actually takes the audio input signal and assigns certain dB levels to corresponding colors. You are correct in assuming that there is a defined range for the Low, Mid and Highs. Of course this all depends on the type of light/fixture/components you have attached to the Jammer.
Hope this helps,
Brian
Brian
I also appreciate your appreciation for glitch mob.
Brian
As far as other materials go, a price conscious builder could consider using wood and basic wood screws for the frame, with staples to attach the canvas/sheet. This would be a fairly basic and cost effective way to build frames.
On the note of using a smaller amount you are correct, simply take the amount of strip light you have, I.E. 4 feet @ 4.4 watts per foot = 17.6 Watts, you should add an extra %20 to that number to determine your power supply needed. So, 17.6 divided by .8 = 22 watts, in turn you should source a power supply that has a minimum of 22 watts or more for your project.
The reason why I suggest the extra %20 is due to the fact that your power supply won't be "working" as hard as it would be if it were maxed out, this will extend the life of your system overall as well.
The DMX cables you can purchase from Elemental LED as well if you need more, the standard decoders with the XLR ports we carry come with both a male and a female DMX 3-Pin connector that you can simply make your own cable depending on length with a 3 conductor wire.
As for the power supply, I had one laying around, which helped with my overall cost of the project.
You could probably search online for cheaper power supplies, keep in mind they most likely wont be backed by the pleasant warranty that Elemental LED offers.
Brian
Also keep in mind if you don't need something as large as my setup the cost will also go down, I.E. smaller or fewer panels.
Brian