# Chaser light Jacob's ladder??



## Gweede (Aug 7, 2014)

Would someone here be able to direct me to instructions on how to create a faux jacob's ladder using chaser lights? I'd prefer to make of a couple of them in an upright clear plastic tube or container. 

Thanks!


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

Any way I put this it seems to sound bad and I don't mean it to, but what exact part are you needing instructions on?

Are you looking to use off-the-shelf (OTS) chaser lights and need help with the remainder of the construction.... are you looking for help on a circuit to make several strings of normal lights chase...... are you looking to do this with all OTS components, or looking to scrounge a bunch of material, etc?


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Here you go:
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/aec/led-chaser-kit/1.html
Just use two LEDs instead of one in each output. You'll need to change the resistor accordingly.


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## Lightman (Aug 25, 2014)

I ran across this link to a EL based Jacobs ladder. Take a look...

http://www.digitalmisery.com/projects/halloween/el-ladder/


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

Lightman said:


> I ran across this link to a EL based Jacobs ladder. Take a look...
> 
> http://www.digitalmisery.com/projects/halloween/el-ladder/


yoink! nice find Lightman


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## Gweede (Aug 7, 2014)

Many thanks to Otaku & Lightman! These are great and will be very helpful. I better get cracking on it.


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## Lightman (Aug 25, 2014)

*Jacob's Ladder - LED Light Pipe Style*

Gweede,

I have developed an inexpensive LED based Jacob's Ladder special effect (video below). It is proof of concept, but actually works pretty good. I couldn't stop thinking about a simple way to do it that doesn't require fancy EL wire drivers, so I gave it some thought, researched the web, and developed this concept.

Here is the bench top fab I did to prove out the concept....










As you know, Real Jacob's Ladders use very high voltage that is dangerous for not only kids but adults too. Incorporating them into Halloween displays can be dangerous. This approach removes the hazard yet still looks realistic.

It is based on $1 Target blue LED bracelets that incorporate light pipe concept to make bands glow. The bracelets are hacked, then configured with "V" shaped structure driven by an LED sequencer. I used an SX processor running simple code to sequence the bracelets on and off, 1 by 1 with 25ms delay between periods. The SX processor can be replaced with any LED sequencer.

The bracelets are opened and stretched out and layered small hoop to large arc. I then trimmed it with foam board to represent the vertical "V" poles.

Here is a demo video with a little how its done. I added some electric sound effects that would be played by a sound card. This is proof of concept...take a look...


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## Lightman (Aug 25, 2014)

Here's a little something extra...If you look carefully at the photo below, you will see small "lightning bolts" etched into the vinyl band. These pick up the light and illuminate brightly on each scan. Kind of serendipitous!










Here are the etched lightning bolts lit up on a scan....


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## Gweede (Aug 7, 2014)

Thank you for the incredibly helpful video, Lightman! Now off to Target to search for those bracelets. Thanks again for all of your help!http://www.hauntforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

A few years ago I had some Christmas lights, the led in a silicon tubing rope style, that came with a multi function controler. I remember one of them was a chaser type as well as blinking, fading, ect. They might be a really easy way to get the effect you want.


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

Bone Dancer said:


> A few years ago I had some Christmas lights, the led in a silicon tubing rope style, that came with a multi function controler. I remember one of them was a chaser type as well as blinking, fading, ect. They might be a really easy way to get the effect you want.


you would still need to sync the sound effect to the light action..

one of those perfect storm type controllers with a mic input might work.
the sound effect triggers the lights. 
(the unit flickers the power, you'd want constant on/off cycle i think)

mikkojay's arduino fourbanger might be the cheapest way to sync power & sound.


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## Lightman (Aug 25, 2014)

*Audio Module Added to Jacob's Ladder

*I added an MDFly AU5016 audio module ($6.95) to the Jacob's Ladder proof of concept prop. The SX processor triggers both the arc bracelets as well as an arc'ing sound effect. The sound module only requires a single discrete line brought low to trigger sound. An all in one package....and it works great!

I chose this module because of its interface simplicity. It uses a discrete signal line that is taken from 5V (high) to 0V (low) to trigger a sound effect. It supports 8 separate discrete lines for 8 separate sound effects. For the Jacob's Ladder I only needed the first discrete. If you want, you can hook up a more complex serial interface for more control. But, its not needed for this project.

These modules support both wav and mp3 with a standard SD card port. The audio output is right/left stereo to hook up to any external amplified speaker system. You can buy these modules on MDFly.com at $6.95 each.

You can see it in action in this video.... Take a look...


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## BillyVanpire (Apr 22, 2015)

Nice work lightman..im not familiar with the SX, how much are they?


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## Lightman (Aug 25, 2014)

BillyVanpire said:


> Nice work lightman..im not familiar with the SX, how much are they?


The SX processor is an older micro controller that is in "end of life" phase. You can still find some and they cost about $1. In their heyday they were a few bucks.

The SX was designed and fabbed by Ubicom that let Parallax market and sell the chip. Parallax offered the SX processor as a standalone micro controller that pretty much left all the competition in the dirt when it comes to speed. It had interrupts, plenty of I/0 at very high source and sink capabilities, internal program memory and registers for variables, watchdog timers, brown out protection, etc. It was the speed demon of the Parallax line running at 75MIPS. Many called it a PIC on steroids!... LOL. You program it in assembly or a higher language called SXB (SX BASIC).*

Unfortunately, Ubicom decided end of life was in the future for the SX unless someone wanted to pick up the foundry. Parallax decided to decline and went with their own design and fab of a new processor called the Propeller, an 8 cog parallel processor.

Personally, I decided to do an "end of life" purchase of the SX processor since I have so much archive code and props using it. It is my "go to" processor when something has to be done right away. Using the SX is a fast "design to fab" process for me and has a very small footprint. Nothing else compares.

I have since begun all new designs with the Propeller, but still fall back to the SX when in a pinch. I have also enlarged my arsenal with the PIC processor family (limited) and the PICAXE.

Hope this helps and sorry for the long winded response...


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## Hemlawk (Sep 23, 2015)

I want to make the faux JL, but I know nothing about electrical stuff.


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