The Ultimate Sports Fan Sign!

Are you a sports fan and attend games? Tired of cheesy posterboard signs? Do you want to make the ultimate fan sign? Here it is...the World's First Flashing LED Fan Sign!

Step 1: What You Need

Sign Supplies:

1 Sheet of 3/16" Foam Core. I chose black for the contrast effect
1 Package of matte or glossy sticker paper for inkjet or laser printers
Hot Glue gun or Elmer's Glue "
Color LED's (The colors are your choice based on your own taste.)
330 Ohm Resistors
A few 9V Batteries with clips
Rubber Stoppers or Bushings
Flashing Circuit (See schematic)


Tools:

Computer and printer
Word Processing or graphic design software
Scissors and X-Acto" Knife
Soldering Iron and solder
Ruler and pencil
Velcro"
Single Hole Punch

Comments

[yankee2442]

Awesome, I used to watch your weekend project videos on YouTube.

[meowsugar]

Your sign is amazing! I'm making a dance costume for my daughter, do you think this would work on a smaller scale with material? How long did your batteries last?

[mikyMonster]

what is a relay and where can i buy it? link please. Noob alert

[Dream Dragon]

With Halloween and Christmas fast approaching, it doesn't really have to be a "Sport's Sign".

Just saying.

Thanks for sharing another EPIC effect with a very SIMPLE solution.

How critical is it to have the same number of LED's on each side or the same resistance or what not?

Do you have to do ANY balancing at ALL?

[Xperiment98]

Hi how do you use Photoshop or other software to write giant letters a4 size and put the dots.

[ajax18]

what kind of relay i should use?
because when i went to shop just to buy the supplies needed in this project,, the vendor ask me what is the voltage of relay that i needed..tnx !!

[ajax18]

where shall i connect the negative and positive wire from flashing word 1&2 to circuit board? tnx for the reply..

[goober6]

why do you need to attach the resistors??

[dog digger]

So the LED's don't go POP

[The Bulldog]

Epic dude! Certainly gonna try that!

[LastDevil]

could this be made to have a DC power for indoor use? sorry for the silly question i'm new to electronics

[legoskibike]

The "9v Battery Saver" will do that :p
youtube .com/watch?v=k3IWxBFNAVs&feature=player_embedded

[jimfoxtrot]

Did they win?

[calaman25]

KipKay, nice work, i have a question, is this the relay that you used??. if it is, how you wired?.. thanks for asking.

[kusadama]

oh my god in th photo i think thats kipkay from youtube? eh no suprise, hee is a technology geniuss

[woodstockbirdy]

how much did this cost??

[Gman2005cs]

could someone provide a [shopping] list of components that i need to buy to make this project and instructions to build the circuit, thanks.

[frollard]

It's infinitely expandable - each led gets its own resistor, so you can make it as big as you want (provided your batteries can support it) shopping list: leds, equal number of small resistors (most ebay sellers will throw in resistors, make sure to tell them what ohms you want). Don't spend more than 5-10 cents each for ultra-brights. Flasher: If you can't figure it out from the diagram, then don't bother with that part, just make the sign light up.

[Medicmin]

Did you get the shopping list?

[KnexFreek]

 everything u make is unbelievable
i hope MAKE pays u well

[2muchfreetime8]

very nice, i just have one question: that type of relay is that?

[awang8]

This is awesome!!! I gotta make one of these one day, except LEDs are getting expensive... ($3.50 ea) PS: Ha ha, you got told off by security.

[kroq-gar78]

not really. if you go to radioshack, yes. but, if you go online and look for LEDs places like digi-key, mouser, and electronic goldmine, they barely cost anything. e.g. i got a 2.1V 6000mcd LED for $.21 @ Digi-key (part number: C503B-RCS-CW0Z0AA1-ND)

[theXmaker]

You can find some at ebay at a great price.. or even, you can buy some of these very cheap chinese led flashlights and disassemble the leds (try to find the cheapest!!) ;)

[kipfan23]

not 3.50 each i found some for 0.10 each you just gotta know where to look

[yokozuna]

I recently made one of these, and while I changed quite a few things, I left the theme on the front to match your sign since it was the inspiration. I rewired LED christmas lights to run off two 9Vs, and just used finger switches instead of building a circuit. Here's a pic!

[theXmaker]

For What did you used this one???!!! (GO CATS!)

[yokozuna]

GO CATS! Northwest Missouri State on ESPN2! w00t! B-E-A-R-C-A-T-S! *begins humming fight song*

[theXmaker]

I Thought U Used It For The PUSSYCAT DOLLS WORLD DOMINATION TOUR!!!!! :P

[yokozuna]

well, by going with cats instead of bearcats, it adds that extra versatility to the sign.

[theXmaker]

Great Instructable.. Btw I Wonder If U Can use 2or3-color leds.. so the colors would change!!!!

[tomonto]

(I hate the DEVIL rays) The sox will win the world series though. I like red ones not white ones just to be clear.

[tomonto]

But my opinion about the project is that I think this shouldn't be allowed in games. Its a nuisance just like "thunder sticks" of the angels, things like these aren't part of the game, it's just fans trying to influence the games by annoying the other team. You should use your hands, feet, or voice if you want to support your team, but otherwise, sit down and stop using props. But despite all this, its a very nice sign and looks great.

[Kipkay]

Tropicana Filed is very fan friendly and allows bats, brooms, umbrellas, signs, photography and video cameras. You can even bring in your own food (All food items must be wrapped, bagged, or contained within a soft-sided container), water. Tropicana recently scored the third loudest venue in all sports!! The noise and excitement level is over the top so you probably would not like it especially when the cowbells get going.

[kipfan23]

I'd bring earmuffs

[tomonto]

I can take loud ( ive been to playoff games in giants stadium and fenway) but its just a nuisance to me when people are using aids to make noise, i despise the thunder sticks because they're impossible to sit behind with them waving in your face the whole time. Even though I'm young, 16, and have grown up in the age of new ways of making noise, I really can't stand having my vision blocked or someone hitting a god awful cowbell in my ear. And as for being the loudest stadium, I imagine the dome does it with the good acoustics and, no offense if your a rays fan but, how often is the stadium FULL :\

[HilliardRulz]

thats the best part having a flag or somthing at a game, sort of joins the crowd and lets people show their support in a big way. you should try the State of Origin in australia. they dont use flags or anything but resort to fighting in the crowd and throwing beer on the field, really fun to be at though.

[r0b3rt03]

There are only three things I am not sure about with this schematic. What type of relay was used and what type of component was used for the power source? Also, what is the 1004 Diode? Thanks.

[kipfan23]

power source: 9v batteries 1 for circuit 1 for LEDs

[james.mcglashan]

i inaly see this on make zine podcast epsode 9 the newest y has it been such a long time for this to be in an epsode ??????????????