I noticed two of the acrylic panels I ordered can be backlighted.. normally color is black with gold lettering, but when backlit the gold turns into super cool spacey green..
I’ve been thinking of backlighting it and I’d love some suggestions.
What should I use, etc.. I’ve been thinking of 2 things: ultrabright LEDS on the inside (dont like the idea) or EL-FOIL glued to the underside of the panel (Like it very much, though expensive I think, not sure how to apply it)
Any suggestions?
pics (sorry, my camera is broken, the best i can do atm)
i can imagine backlighting the whole front will be a pain with LEDs, it’s already a pain to make the control surface, it’s a complete pain if i add a whole bunch of leds onderneath it.
the EL FOIL however becomes less bright over time.. i think it’ll last ten years?
You could look at a fibre optic solution, use lots of plastic fibres to bring the light to the areas you want, then at least your light source (Led’s or even lamps which are way cooler) can be in one spot.
I’ve been wanting to do this with my sid as well. I was planning on using a cold cathode light like the ones used in computer cases. They are cheap, run on 12v and usually have adjustable brightness. I have one that I salvaged recently and it even has a mic so it can light up with the music. Only drawback is that they use an inverter and that might introduce some noise into the audio but I think that all depends on placement besides, that problem exists with using EL stuff.
I’ve been wanting to do this with my sid as well. I was planning on using a cold cathode light like the ones used in computer cases. They are cheap, run on 12v and usually have adjustable brightness. I have one that I salvaged recently and it even has a mic so it can light up with the music. Only drawback is that they use an inverter and that might introduce some noise into the audio but I think that all depends on placement besides, that problem exists with using EL stuff.
yeah, the inverters can be noisy themselves, the inverter in my sequencer drives me crazy sometimes.. i heard you have to somehow acoustically contain them and that there are special foam-sprays that do just that.
What I haven’t really thought about, is that the original C64 psu might not be sufficient for some options
I’m still looking around, I have some white leds coming in soon so I can test how the light spreads
I am curious how deep are your panels cut to do the lighting from behind? Is there a terminology for this type of panel marking/engraving? From what your saying, did you just get a panel cut that was black with gold text and you put a white light underneath the panel and you got light up green text? Would a particular metal work the best for light to leak through?
with some used el lighting for only $1 US each.They light up green already. Would this change the color scheme when used with you gold text do you think? They have new ones for $3.50 and $4.50 plus discounts on bigger orders. Can this stuff be cut and soldered back together to get longer lenghts?
I am curious how deep are your panels cut to do the lighting from behind? Is there a terminology for this type of panel marking/engraving? From what your saying, did you just get a panel cut that was black with gold text and you put a white light underneath the panel and you got light up green text? Would a particular metal work the best for light to leak through?
Regards,
echo
Metals are usually opaque… and he has “acrylic” in the title ;)
I don’t really know of other plastics you would use for panels but it would depend on the material’s refractive index, thickness and colour. It’s hard to tell from his pictures, but it may be “smokey” acrylic which would transmit some light.
with some used el lighting for only $1 US each.They light up green already. Would this change the color scheme when used with you gold text do you think? They have new ones for $3.50 and $4.50 plus discounts on bigger orders. Can this stuff be cut and soldered back together to get longer lenghts?
Regards,
echo
Because the yellow/gold letters are turning green, it actually means they are absorbing RED light and this lets the remaining GREEN light pass through. So using green backlights will probably work differently.
My Moog Voyager has a backlit panel 8), and with the intensity turned all the way up it hums pretty badly. Thankfully it doesn’t get into the audio, but there is the possibility it might for these sorts of things, as someone said.
meanwhile, i spoofed some more pics with the broken cam and bicycle lighting:
I think it might look really nice (can’t say exactly, as the pictures are leaving things a bit to my imagination), reminds me a bit of the old (70’s?) calculator displays (with those bright green characters) and some other electronics like on the picture..
