Nitro knobs ring lights MASSIVE FAIL. Dern!

nomadradio · Jul 23, 2019

File this under "nice try, no cigar".

Here's the pinball-table "post light" with a 6mm control shaft. The hole is too small. Drilling it out would likely destroy the LEDs.

The company Comet Pinball doesn't post mechanical drawings of their stuff, so this is how we find out the size of the center hole.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

At least not this time.

73

loosecannon · Jul 24, 2019

any chance these could be useful for you?
https://multitron.co.uk/instrument-control-knobs/ring-lighting/

LC

nomadradio · Jul 24, 2019

Looks very cool.

Minimum order 50 units for the RGB version. 500 units for white.

And no order info on the web site. Looks like one of those "request a quote by email" distributors.

A cool page I hadn't seen before. Thanks.

73

TruckerKevin · Jul 24, 2019

I’m glad you posted this. I was one of those eager followers who were waiting for the results. It was in my mind also, to see if the hole could be enlarged. Guess that answers that.

I thought you would have posted it under the old thread that I was following, I’m fortunate that I looked and saw it here!

Shadetree Mechanic · Jul 24, 2019

Slowly enlarge the hole with a tapered hand reamer? Might be able to get it just right.

nomadradio · Jul 25, 2019

My cheap chinese caliper says the hole is 4.5mm diameter.

I don't see a full 3/4 of a mm around the rim of the hole before it starts to cut into the plastic body of the LEDs.

Besides, if each one takes that much labor to actually use, the customer won't want to pay what all that adds up to.

The "home gamer" might want to try it. If I can't make it a commercial proposition I'm not interested.

73

711 · Sep 21, 2019

My alternative to the LED ring , you need the daughter board for the LED , usually 8 for $6 on the Bay. LED options galore, easily swapped when you get bored of that color
http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/alpha-clear-shaft-pots-w-bushing/

https://www.ebay.com/i/263071303976...MIn_rekNHi5AIVD9NkCh1OdQafEAQYASABEgKVXPD_BwE

red97k1500 · Oct 9, 2019

I wonder if these would work?
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/marktech-optoelectronics/MTLR-WZ700-C/1125-1285-ND/5226572

It says 5.21mm diameter in the description I don’t know if that means for the hole in the middle or not.
Edit:
Never mind it looks like there 105 dollars a piece lol... there for some kind of medical application

red97k1500 · Oct 15, 2019

It’s a tight fit but I think these will work I hand teemed them

red97k1500 · Oct 15, 2019

They won’t fit over a ten turn clairifier though but these will indeed work.... step right up folks you too can have retina burning blue nitro light rings

red97k1500 · Oct 16, 2019

Never mind nomad was right all along the face plate wont go all the way down it’s close but no cigar... the only knob it will actually work with is the channel selector

walterjn · Mar 31, 2020

Hopefully y'all don't get to unhappy with me for bringing this thread back to life. However I've been wanting to do something to give my radio a little custom look without looking too cheesy. I liked the look of the Grant lt, yet didn't care for the green. From what I have seen, nobody made anything I liked the look of. I never wanted red, green, & blue is just too hard on the eyes at night. I did my own led lighting.

walterjn · Mar 31, 2020

I used 3mm uv leds. I ran 3 leds per resistor for most of them. Tapped into switched power to run them all, no extra switches. I installed them into the back of the steel that the knobs & switches mount to. I did have to grind the dome down/off so that they would fit in the .110" space between that & the plastic faceplate.
I did have to enlarge the holes in the plastic faceplate behind the knobs to get it just right. When the knobs are installed, you don't see the larger hole. Just the glow from the light. It is bright enough to see the purple glow during the day providing that you are someplace semi shady, & it is not overpowering at night. Kind of a fun project for a couple of days.

Handy Andy · Mar 31, 2020

Nice Project, good work...

Are you aware of "dimple"?

The "notch" on the top of the Dome can be sanded to reveal the plastic "white" underneath.

IF you are creative, you can use clear glue to make a Fiber Optic path to the top notch and illuminate the notch and allow the chrome of the plastic around it to hide the translucence, it makes the "mask" so you can easily see WHERE in rotation the knob is at, not just the knob ring.

I've seen radios arrive to the shop with multi color purposed lighting to help the driver find "home plate" by color coding the lighting, Red for Volume Power, Green for RF Gain, Amber for Squelch - stuff like that. - we had a guy at the shop that did this kind of custom work and was contract only - never knew how much he charged but he had a lot of expensive toys he'd play with while waiting for work - let's say he didn't really need the job, just something to do.

walterjn · Mar 31, 2020

Thank you. I think I'm understanding what you're saying, the dimple on the end of the knob that you can see in good light or feel. I've kinda been trying to get something like that done, I just haven't given it too much thought as to how. I have considered a clear resin, I'm just not too sure as to how well that would work.

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Nitro knobs ring lights MASSIVE FAIL. Dern!

nomadradio

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loosecannon

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