H3LLJumper
New Member
High Bright! :lol
Tron Legacy Costume
- Thread starter Rook 3
- Start date
-
- Tags
- tron legacy
High Bright! :lol
Annisse
Sr Member
You were right
and thank you both! Yes I think I may go with the High Bright White for the remake of my costume. I was just worried about its short life span but I am more concerned with making sure I have as much brightness visiblity as possible especially if this is going to be worn in the day time like at Comic Con.
games001
Well-Known Member
Hello folks. I have been following this thread with HUGE interest and I am amazed and thrilled with all the great work I have seen here so far.
I was going to take a slightly different route on some armor I will be putting into my 'Tron-ish' suit in a few weeks, but wanted some insight from those that know far more than I do about electronics and electrical wiring.
My plan was to use something like this armor set:
..and place High Brightness accent LEDs into the armored sections (under each vented plastic plate).
The issue I have is my extreme lack/no experience with the power requirements of the LEDs. The power will come from a direct 4.8v (4xAA 2500mah recharge batteries) power source. The LEDs will be something in the 5mm size range with around 1.7v, 20-30mah max each reqs. I would assume to wiring them in series, 12-14 of them (depending on brightness). There is a concern what resistor to use (if only one from the source or one on each LED, I don't know which method is best) and finally the worry of eventually over-heating the LEDs (since padded plastic does not make a great sink) due to active use over a number of hours during the upcoming Tron screening party.
Any ideas, hints, good ol' wiring instructions?? Thanks and keep up the amazing work all.
I was going to take a slightly different route on some armor I will be putting into my 'Tron-ish' suit in a few weeks, but wanted some insight from those that know far more than I do about electronics and electrical wiring.
My plan was to use something like this armor set:
..and place High Brightness accent LEDs into the armored sections (under each vented plastic plate).
The issue I have is my extreme lack/no experience with the power requirements of the LEDs. The power will come from a direct 4.8v (4xAA 2500mah recharge batteries) power source. The LEDs will be something in the 5mm size range with around 1.7v, 20-30mah max each reqs. I would assume to wiring them in series, 12-14 of them (depending on brightness). There is a concern what resistor to use (if only one from the source or one on each LED, I don't know which method is best) and finally the worry of eventually over-heating the LEDs (since padded plastic does not make a great sink) due to active use over a number of hours during the upcoming Tron screening party.
Any ideas, hints, good ol' wiring instructions?? Thanks and keep up the amazing work all.
Last edited:
kaiwalkerz
Active Member
Dude, don't go this way.
I have posted many times and noone said nothing. Ok, but now everyone is going my direction. Funny.
The amount of work and time you will need to do the suit will be completaly spoiled if you attach it to this armor.
Now, for once and for all my friends:
GO WITH SMOOTHSKIN NEOPRENE WETSUIT FOR THE RUBBER PARTS!!
BUT TWO SIZES BIGGER!!
Sorry I can't say it clearier.
I will post mine about January,
Regards my friends
I have posted many times and noone said nothing. Ok, but now everyone is going my direction. Funny.
The amount of work and time you will need to do the suit will be completaly spoiled if you attach it to this armor.
Now, for once and for all my friends:
GO WITH SMOOTHSKIN NEOPRENE WETSUIT FOR THE RUBBER PARTS!!
BUT TWO SIZES BIGGER!!
Sorry I can't say it clearier.
I will post mine about January,
Regards my friends
games001
Well-Known Member
Was that "Don't do it" aimed at my info request? If it were, I don't see a single reason that it would be difficult at all as I am not mod'ing the armor or placing the plates on another suit. I am just putting a single, small led into (under) each of the plates with a hidden line of wire leading under the pads back to the power source on the lower back area. Soldering a dozen LEDs and running some wires is hardly 'a lot' of work.
twinight
Active Member
(RE: kaiwalkerz's post) That's just one option on how to do the costume. It would be a flexible way to do a screen accurate costume.
But if you're just doing a tron "inspired" costume, I don't see how you can go wrong.
Instead of LED's which have a definite hotspot and difficult to keep positioned, I would use EL wire coiled behind the openings that are backed with a transparent white film(mylar) to diffuse the light. Easier to wire and more even lighting.
IMO I would be selective in which openings I would light up. Black out the ones you don't want light shining through. You can also do some cutting to reshape some of the slots if desired.
Ares5000
New Member
As for wiring the LEDs, what color are they and what is the voltage range of them?? Each color & size is slightly different.
Here is an LED resistor calculator that I've found very useful: LED Resistor Calculator
games001
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input thus far folks.
The EL Wire option, using a bunch of spliced quick-connects leading out to each of the seperate 'Green High Brite' cables, coiled inside each of the plastic plates, was an idea I have thrown around. Each plate would get 1ft of cable under it and have a few feet of stronger gauge electrical wire running back to the power source, thus the stress of flexing or bending would end up on the power leads, not the EL Wire itself. My soldering skills are somewhat minimal, so if I had the pros do the wiring of the coils and the driver box.. we are looking at about $50-$60 for the 12-13ft of lighting I would use here.
The LEDs would run me about $15 in total.. so one more reason I was looking at LEDs, not including the much higher level of brightness they produce over EL Wire. I have not settled on a color (though green strikes me the best for this look) and thus the LEDs voltage will be somewhere around 1.6-2.2v with consumption ranges around 20-30mah each. That's the extent of my electrical knowledge.
I was considering these points in the 'simple build' methods:
The LED option as I would only have to poke a small hole in the padding under each plate, insert the LED and wires, place a touch of glue on the hole and it's done. Simple, but with the heat issue.
The EL Wire will require me to fully open one (or more) side(s) of each plate, insert the cable, the backing reflector, and then glue/mount and reseal the plate. More complex, but I could use a sound driver or 'sawtooth' activator for better effects.
Ideas are helping me define the build.. keep um coming!! :thumbsup
Last edited:
games001
Well-Known Member
Why do I keep seeing the vision of someone screaming 'I looked at the trap!!'? :eek
Interesting items, but I worry about the lights actually blinding someone in a darkened club event, though I would think I am assuming more than they will produce.
Any idea of where I might find some details on wiring them and resistor requirements, etc?
Last edited:
actordiver
Well-Known Member
This site was helpful for me:
Resistor calculator for leds from MetkuMods - Because you love your hardware!
games001
Well-Known Member
Helpful, ty.
Seems, unless I misunderstand how this works:
12 LEDs, at 1.7v, running at 20mah, in series..
Require a power source of: 20.4v?
So in order to do 4 LEDs on each arm and 4 in the chest plates, I would have to basically wire three different sets in groups of 4, each sourced on 9v battery.
Or am I wrong in thinking this way and should be wiring them in parallel?
actordiver
Well-Known Member
Seems about right. I know my baton has 4 (5V leds @ 10Mah) running off a 9v battery and they are wired parallel, so if you wired your (which have a smaller voltage) leds in a series you could run them part series and part parallel and get away with fewer batteries. (be aware the drain on the battery would be faster that way) Also make sure you have the correct resistor for the series you want.
games001
Well-Known Member
actordiver
Well-Known Member
Check my thinking if you could.. a parallel build:
Looks good, just don't forget your resistor(s)
games001
Well-Known Member
As I understand it, you can put one main resistor on the pos to 1st LED, so long as it is made to handle the entire line and is before the first split off for the parallel circuit. Is it 'better' or just 'wiser' to put a resistor before every LED, not just a bigger one before the first?
actordiver
Well-Known Member
since resistors are so inexpensive I just put one before each of my LEDS. but I think either way will work (providing they are all the same color. From what I came to read, different LED colors have different volts, so to be on the safe put the correct resistor before the correct color...but since mine were all the same it didnt matter (however) I still had 1 resistor for each led. (guess I'm just redundant)
games001
Well-Known Member
since resistors are so inexpensive I just put one before each of my LEDS. but I think either way will work (providing they are all the same color. From what I came to read, different LED colors have different volts, so to be on the safe put the correct resistor before the correct color...but since mine were all the same it didnt matter (however) I still had 1 resistor for each led. (guess I'm just redundant)
Sounds more like you are a creature of caution and a wise way of thinking as I see it.
Now I just have to figure out what gauge wire to use that will be able to handle stress of endless flexing from the elbow and shoulder joints.
The funny thing is, if it were not for the fact that I fear the EL Wire will be too weak to glow proudly under the plastic plates of the armor, the cost for LEDs/EL Wire is not that different ($0.99 vs $1.20). The biggest difference is the work put into making the areas where the EL Wire is going to sit reflective enough to push all the ambient glow out of the holes in the plates.
As I watch videos on the soldering of EL Wire, it's not a tough job, just one that I would have to buckle down and try to do cleanly. The desire for a simple driver on the lighting set to create 'reactive' effects is really forcing me to consider EL Wire as a sane option.
Last edited:
HooDooMan1
Member
Hi everyone,
I came across this article while searching for TRON: Legacy stuff:
Tron Legacy: Light Suit Costume | Clothes on Film
Pretty interesting stuff!
Apparently, it's the first of a two-part article. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.
I figured since so many followers of this thread are trying to build TRON: Legacy costumes, it would be interesting to read how they REALLY did it!
I came across this article while searching for TRON: Legacy stuff:
Tron Legacy: Light Suit Costume | Clothes on Film
Pretty interesting stuff!
Apparently, it's the first of a two-part article. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.
I figured since so many followers of this thread are trying to build TRON: Legacy costumes, it would be interesting to read how they REALLY did it!
This is a posting for those who missed TRON LEGACY night in L.A. Go to Tron-Sector: Current News Sector. The showing included scenes shown on the 20 minute preview. Audience members got TRON LEGACY CAPS with blue glow in the dark brim and posters. Steve Liesberger the producer was in attendence. Don't worry those that didn't see it. You did'nt miss much. Also look out for TRON LEGACY Tuesday. More info released every (TRON) Tuesday. Good luck fellow programs!
