Strobes
Overview
“Four strobe lights in four corners of a room flashing in sequence.”
Status
On hiatus while I’m in Germany.
The Concept
The goal of this project is to have a number (expandable!) of xenon flash bulbs (strobe lights) flash in sequence. There are two basic components to this system: the strobe light(s) and the trigger circuit. The trigger circuit will have a number of logic outs that will each go to a different strobe light. When the strobe lights recieve a signal on their trigger line, they will fire, immediately recharging for the next round. The target frequency of the entire system should be selectable between .1 and 2 Hz at minimum.
The Origin
Strobe lights have always been a fascination of mine, Ever since getting my first Radio Shack one for Christmas and rocking out in my room to Guns ‘n’ Roses. Shortly after getting that first one, I got the idea for a strobe light system that would top all other strobe light systems (that I owned). While formulating the idea for the system, I sought advice on how I might implement such a system from sci.electronics. This turned up very little help, probably because the horrible structure of the question. But, hey, what do you expect, I was 14. The idea brewed inside my head for 6 years until I gained the interest, motivation, and knowledge to allow me to begin work on it.
The Strobe Light Circuit
The strobes design that I plan on using is a line-powered circuit triggered by an SCR. The Strobe FAQ lists a circuit that somewhat fits that description: the “Medium Power Photoflash Circuit” that, as listed, uses a “shutter” to trigger it. I plan to replace the shutter with an SCR.
The Trigger Circuit
The trigger circuit that I plan on using has been borrowed from Don’s Xenon page. It entails using a 555 timer IC to feed a clock signal to a 4017 decade counter IC, which then puts a sequential signal on each of its ten outputs. This signal is what will go into the SCR of the Strobe Light Circuit(s) to instruct them to fire.
The Future
- Instead of using the 555 IC to provide the clock signal, a circuit could be made that was fed an audio signal. The circuit would filter out all but the bass component of the signal and fire a signal every time the bass struck. This could be fed directly into the SCR on a Strobe Light Circuit or into the 4017 IC to provide a chasing strobe sequence based on the beat.
- Ideally, the Strobe Light Circuit(s) and the Trigger Circuit would be connected by a fiber optic strand. This would allow the two circuit to be completely isolated from each other and would allow the Strobe Light Circuit(s) to be placed greater distances from the Trigger Circuit.
- Any other ideas on how this could be cooler, let me know.
Credits
- Sam’s Strobe FAQ has been of immense help. His knowledge on the subject is vast and he could probably build my dream project in the span of a night.
- Don Klipstein’s Xenon Flash page has been a great help also. It’s a great source of information for easy application of concepts and thorough understanding of the theory of xenon lights.
