# LED Cue-light



## Charc

So I could probably just figure this out tomorrow, but I thought this would be an interesting topic for the booth, and has some educational merit.

So today I was running XLR (20 minutes before the house opened!) with the ME for a newly home-brewed cue-light system. It was pretty interesting. A little DC power supply into a hobby box, with unknown electronics/wiring inside, two toggle switches and two XLR outs. The XLR was run from the hobby box to the cue-light location, and a small adapter was attached to the end of the run, also home-brew. He took a bare connector, and wired it up with the LED sticking out the hole where the cable would be... 

Looked like a pretty nice little setup, and cheap/easy considering most theaters should have the parts on-hand.

How would you go about setting up this system? What would you do differently than described? How would you wire in the LEDs, any resistors, or anything else relating to the project?


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## derekleffew

I'd use this: TMB's ProCue.


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## gafftapegreenia

Yea, and ProCue costs how much? We all know how Charc's school loves to spend. 


Side note: TMB just gets to make all the fun widgets don't they?


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## derekleffew

gafftapegreenia said:


> ...We all know how Charc's school loves to spend. ...


Stay with the program, Greenia. This is for Charc's internship at the professional theatre, and we all know that LORT theatres have virtually unlimited budgets.


gafftapegreenia said:


> ...Side note: TMB just gets to make all the fun widgets don't they?


Yes, whatever did we do before TMB and City Theatrical? I'll tell you--we made things ourselves, with varying levels of success and, in the long run, often more costly.


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## gafftapegreenia

I guess I'm slipping, Derek. I guess I'll have to start both reading the board constantly AND start taking notes on everyone's life. 

But what about the feeling of accomplishment that comes with making your own gear, or, I mean, the smashing your head into a wall when it fails?


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## Footer

gafftapegreenia said:


> I guess I'm slipping, Derek. I guess I'll have to start both reading the board constantly AND start taking notes on everyone's life.
> But what about the feeling of accomplishment that comes with making your own gear, or, I mean, the smashing your head into a wall when it fails?



Or dealing with the SM who is smashing your head into the wall when it fails, thats usually how it goes.


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## cutlunch

OK I'll try and answer Charcoal's question before we forget it.

What you saw is fairly simple to build. It's a project you could easily handle.

First here is a quick link about wiring LED's.

http://white-leds.co.uk/led-wiring-guide.htm

Just remember different LED's have a different forward voltage. You normally find it listed in the suppliers catalouge. 

You forgot to mention whether the LED was just one colour and how they used the cuing system. Ie Did they only turn the LED on just before the cue then off at cue time? If it was this is the simplest thing of all to make. You have your battery supply so you wire battery negative to one pin of the XLR in your control box. The battery positve is then wired to one side of a switch. From the other side of the switch you could use the resistor you need to connect the switch to another pin on the XLR . Then in the XLR plug for the other end you just wire the LED across the same two pins. That's all there is to it. To improve the LED end you put expoxy resin to fill the XLR cap to hold the LED in.

For a two location system like your LD's one just duplicate the above you can use the same battery supply. Note for battery you can also use a DC adaptor. I would use at least a 9V source.

For working out the value of the current limiting resistor I would set the current value higher then you need by 10 or 15 Milli Amps this will allow for the resistance of the cable.

Charcoal would you like to hear about a slightly more complicated unit that uses a two colour LED?


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## David Ashton

I made one about 30 years ago when leds were new technology, in the control box is a 3 volt transformer connecting to 2 switches, one switch connects to the anode of a green led and the other to the cathode of a red led.
then join the green cathode and red anode together to one wire and the other side of the transformer to the other wire on the 3v transformer.
At the other end of your 2 core cable a box with a red diode cathode and the green diode anode joined together to the "live" 3v wire and the other ends to the common wire
Basically the two green leds are in series on the positive half of the waveform and the two reds on the negative.
Very safe and very cheap.


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## avkid

You need a three position switch.


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## cutlunch

Your diagram doesn't quite work but I think you have the idea but I'll go over it again to make sure.

We'll pick pin 1 to carry the common battery gnd (-) 

The battery positive is connected through a suitable resitor to a two postion switch with centre off. Connect the battery to the common input of the switch. 

Ie the one that if you put one leg of continuity meter on this switch contact leg and the other leg of the meter on either of the other switch contacts when you move the switch to the on positions you get a circuit made without having to move the lead off the common. Most of the time this is the centre connection.

Now you have detrmined the switch connections wire one side of the switch to pin 2 and the other to pin 3 of the XLR.

At the other end join the cathodes of both LED's together and wire to pin 1. Wire pin 3 to the anode of the RED led and pin 2 to the anode of the GREEN led.

To work it move the switch from the centre off position to one side then another making sure the Led's light in turn.

Try diagramming that but use three wires on your diagram.


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## cutlunch

Yes that's better you have got the idea but don't forget the current limiting resistor in the control box. It can either go in the - gnd or + leg it doesn't matter which..

Edit: Yes a couple of Led's in the control box that are in series with the ones at the far end is a good idea. This gives a fault check to the other end because if there is a wiring fault your LED wouldn't light being in series. 6V is the minium I would use.


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## cutlunch

charcoaldabs said:


> Can you elaborate on the current limiting resistor?
> Also, I want to confirm that I can wire 4 of these systems in parallel onto one 6V DC Power Supply.



Go back to the link I posted on how to wire up Led's earlier in this topic.
Remember Led's are current devices in that the more current they get the brighter they glow. 

If you don't use a current limiting resitor it's a bit like getting into a car and holding the accelerator flat down while steering down a straight line. The car will go faster and faster and eventually you'll run out of road and smash your self to pieces. Think of the Led as that car driver just because he can draw more and more current don't mean it's good for him.

So a quick refresher to work out the current limiting resistor .
You have the supply voltage eg your 6V battery.
All led's have forward voltage drop which is like how much voltage the use up. A small Led' may have 1v ( rough figures for ease)
So take this voltage away from the supply voltage.
Now from the Led datasheet as well as the forward Voltage Vf you find the maximum current rating the Led can handle Imax.
Choose the current you need for small led's typicaly 20 milliamps is ok.
A bit of maths . ( V is in volts, I is in Amps, R is in ohms)
V = I x R rearrange to find out R our resistor value .
R = V / I so in our example
R = ( 6 -1 ) / 0.02 = 5 / 0.02 = 250 

So our current limiting resistor would need to be 250 ohms and for simplicity use 1/2 -> 1watt resistors

For your thing of having 4 of these circuits from one supply that shouldn't be a problem at this low level of current. If using batteries use C or D cells as opposed to AA cells. If you use a DC adaptor rate it at say 200 milliamps current supply and you should be fine.

Hope this helps.


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## soundlight

Electronics parts vendors:
Mouser
Jameco
Digi-Key

All good vendors with large selections.

MPJA has some odd components.


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## Chris15

Now I'm going to be a pain here and pull up some of the terminology being used earlier... Someone was advocating wiring LEDs into the control box. Good idea. Wiring them in series as suggested, bad idea. To assist, find attached a quick circuit diagram as well as a couple of options for doing it with bicolour LEDs. Pin nos can be changed as you like... All bicolour options can just as easily be implemented with 2 normal LEDs back to back...

R value. You will be in a dark theatre, so brightness doesn't need to be great and if one uses lower brightness, you'll get better battery life but more importantly, less light leakage... So for 6V supply and 10mA current (Yes I know I should factor in forward voltage, but I'm not because the brightness don't matter and the "6V" coming out of an unregulated plugpack is likely to be even as high as 9v under minimal load), you go R= V/I = 6/0.01 = 600R.

With my designs above, you can add as many signal repeaters as are needed up to the rating of your transformer. Actually, the R could be commoned in circuit if you felt like it since the switching arrangement prevents the two from ever being concurrently on. At 10mA per signal, you'll probably run out of locations before you run out of juice...


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## gafftapegreenia

My favorite parts supplier:

Electronix Express


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## cutlunch

Chris15 said:


> Wiring them in series as suggested, bad idea.



Chris now you made the statement please explain it?

In my post I mentioned doing it in serial as a failsafe indicator. If the Led's on the control box fail then you know the Led's at the other end won't be lit either. I am talking about only having the same colour Led's in series on the same leg ie red - control -> red stage end

Chris with your way of wiring the control the Led's will light even if there is no cable plugged in for the other end. 

Charcoal wants four channels so these are made as four separate circuits. I agree you can use one resistor per seperate control channel but I would have one resistor for each control channel not just one in the controlbox.

I had also thought of using Bi-Led's but decided to stick with the basics so once Charcoal can get a single Led working then he can get Bi-Leds working. If you have some old faulty XLR cable that only has two god conductors you could use a Bi-Led circuit with this instead of throwing it out.

Charcoal I also just thought of another use for this box of yours.
You can use it as a very simple good/bad XLR cable detector.

All you do is plug in the suspect XLR cable to the box add your Led plug on the end.
To test just switch the Leds on and off as normal. So when you have the red Led lit on control if the cable is good the red Led should be lit.. If the red Led doesn't light then either there is a fault on the conductor wired to the Led or the common ground is faulty. But if instead the green Led lights when the red one should there are wires swapped.
Just a note if you have wired the Led's in series like I suggested the if there is a broken connection then the control Led won't light either. But you know the switch position for each LED anyway. Wriggling the Led while it is connected may help to show loose connections.


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## cutlunch

Bi-Leds are one that actually have two colours in the same package, usually red and green.
Typically they have only two leads like a normal Led.
How they work is an Led is diode they only operate with the voltage supply hooked around one way.
So they just wire the two leds in opposite directions to the two legs.
Then by changing the polarity of the voltage you change which Led lights.
Eg to keep it simple we'll name the led legs 1 and 2. 
Say the Red led is wired so it's Anode (+) is wired to pin 1 and it's cathode (-) to pin 2
Say the Green led is wired so it's cathode (-) is wired to pin 1 and it's Anode (+) to pin 2

So to turn on the red led connect the + battery to pin 1 and battery - to pin2, the green led stays off
So to turn on the green led connect the + battery to pin 2 and battery - to pin 1, the red led stays off

Just remember you still need a current limiting resistor in one leg of the circuit it doesn't matter which one.


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## David Ashton

Leds in series- good idea, its failsafe
Battery drive-terrible idea, the battery will die at some crucial point.
Bi-colour leds- terrible idea, you can only cue people who are not colour blind
The design I described earlier in this thread has run for 30 years without a fail and costs very little.
But why use 4 leds, 2 switches and a transformer when you can do the job just as well with twice as many components?


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## Chris15

cutlunch said:


> Chris now you made the statement please explain it?
> 
> In my post I mentioned doing it in serial as a failsafe indicator. If the Led's on the control box fail then you know the Led's at the other end won't be lit either. I am talking about only having the same colour Led's in series on the same leg ie red - control -> red stage end
> 
> Chris with your way of wiring the control the Led's will light even if there is no cable plugged in for the other end.
> 
> Charcoal wants four channels so these are made as four separate circuits. I agree you can use one resistor per seperate control channel but I would have one resistor for each control channel not just one in the controlbox.
> 
> I had also thought of using Bi-Led's but decided to stick with the basics so once Charcoal can get a single Led working then he can get Bi-Leds working. If you have some old faulty XLR cable that only has two god conductors you could use a Bi-Led circuit with this instead of throwing it out.
> 
> Charcoal I also just thought of another use for this box of yours.
> You can use it as a very simple good/bad XLR cable detector.
> 
> All you do is plug in the suspect XLR cable to the box add your Led plug on the end.
> To test just switch the Leds on and off as normal. So when you have the red Led lit on control if the cable is good the red Led should be lit.. If the red Led doesn't light then either there is a fault on the conductor wired to the Led or the common ground is faulty. But if instead the green Led lights when the red one should there are wires swapped.
> Just a note if you have wired the Led's in series like I suggested the if there is a broken connection then the control Led won't light either. But you know the switch position for each LED anyway. Wriggling the Led while it is connected may help to show loose connections.




allthingstheatre said:


> Leds in series- good idea, its failsafe
> Battery drive-terrible idea, the battery will die at some crucial point.
> Bi-colour leds- terrible idea, you can only cue people who are not colour blind
> The design I described earlier in this thread has run for 30 years without a fail and costs very little.
> But why use 4 leds, 2 switches and a transformer when you can do the job just as well with twice as many components?



Now it would seem I had misinterpreted Charc's thoughts on multiple units and that materially affects things. It was the thought of multiple units paralleled to display the same thing that induced the series bad comment. Because if each LED is pulling say 10mA and you have two or three remote units, then you'll be pulling 20 or 30mA through your control box LED and it'll be rather bright, probably a different colour, until it dies mid show from continual overload... 'Twould also need to change the resistor value.

My comment about using a common resistor was only in the case of tieing the Anodes of the LEDs together in Circuit 1 and a single resistor to ground instead of the two shown, but the isolation if something goes wrong wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing...

As I noted, it would the same using two separate LEDs wired as though they were a bicolour, though i they have radically different Vf values, you should use seperate resistors of appropriate values; you may need to do that anyway if you have mismatched brightnesses and this causes an issue... This use of two rather than a single would get around the colour blindness issue mentioned by David.

David, have you tried getting a 3V transformer of late? Besides, you really should still be putting in a current limiting resistor anyway...


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## David Ashton

Any cheap multitap transformer will have 3 volts between some windings,I didn't bother with series resistors but it still works, it will probably corrode to death before it fails, but if you need to run off a higher voltage then a resistor in each line would be needed.I actually cannibalized an old intercom unit for the master station and used all the old switches, I think the total cost for a 6 way system was $15.


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## Chris15

There may well be 3V between tappings but it will take doctoring something to get it pre rectification... Besides, I'd have said that a higher voltage would be more room for voltage drop over long cable...


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## David Ashton

voltage drop is a function of current and is extremely low; but it works, and has for decades and is easy and cheap, why re-invent the wheel?


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## Chris15

I think in this instance I'm going to have to use a Scott Adams quote: "_Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems readliy available, they will create their own problems"_


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## cutlunch

allthingstheatre said:


> Any cheap multitap transformer will have 3 volts between some windings,I didn't bother with series resistors but it still works, it will probably corrode to death before it fails, but if you need to run off a higher voltage then a resistor in each line would be needed.I actually cannibalized an old intercom unit for the master station and used all the old switches, I think the total cost for a 6 way system was $15.




Yes I agree it can work but whether it is a good design is a different question.

Also in this case I would feel that 3v is to low to drive two leds in series down 20+ metres of cable. Considering Vf is typically 1.4 V rougly. So you get nearly 2.8 V drop just in the leds before considering voltage drop in the wire.

So Charcoal I would suggest for peace of mind you stick with the current limiting resistors and a 6V supply for simplicity.

Sorry Allthings I missed the bit where you said you would use resistors for higher voltages.
I follow your transformer theory but in this case it would be cheaper and easier to use a plugpack he has at hand then having to wire a transformer.


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## David Ashton

100M of fig 8 cable has resistance of 6 ohms, with 20ma the voltage drop is .12v, but the main concept I was trying to get across was using ac and using the positive side for one light and the negative side for the other.


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## avkid

charcoaldabs said:


> So I've been re-spec'ing this project from Jameco, to try and get the cost down to a more reasonable figure.
> Here are the part's I've spec'ed so far:
> -$4.35 x 4 281658 Male panel mount xlr
> -$5.69 x 4 281640 Female panel mount xlr (These two are not the most aesthetically pleasing, but hey, whatcha gonna do?)


Jameco is taking you for a ride Charlie.
Genuine Neutrik-
 D Series Male XLR Panel Jack
The females are backordered until March, but they have a generic-
 3 Pin Female XLR Panel Jack
The total with shipping is under $25, a savings of $10.
Don't worry, they are the best!


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## Chris15

charcoaldabs said:


> (These are run-of-the-mill LEDs, right? So why are the pack sizes and price so dramatically different?)
> 
> -$.287 x20 1766614 Mounting hardware, 5mm led (To save on shipping I wanted to go all Jameco, but I have no clue what these look like, and how they operate. Anyone have a clue?)
> 
> More thoughts: I'd like to get some sort of strain relief on the DC in. The ME used some normal electrical strain relief, that one would see on a conduit box deal. That is an intriguing option. I'm not sure what those are called though. I also thought perhaps I should bump this up to a 9V power supply and apply a status LED in parallel with all of the cueing LEDs. So I'd need a resistor to drop it from 6V to whatever is recommended for the specific LED, probably 3V or so. Also, I have a question, can LEDs pass current if they die? Lastly, enclosure suggestions. I'm still a little shakey on what exactly I should go for, plastic/metal, what type, etc, but I _just_ realized that Jameco sells enclosures, so I may poke around on there a little.



Different materials produce different coloured light but also cost different amounts hence the difference in price I suspect...

Mounting can also be done by drilling a 5mm hole, sticking the LED in and then applying hot glue from the rear. Can't get a pic of what you have referenced so can't comment...

You could go all out and use a *real* connector for the DC... Industry "standard" is a 4 pin XLR w/ power between pins 1 & 4.

Dead LED won't be passing current...


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## cutlunch

Charcoal the four units look all right in your diagram. I take it just below the switches in the control box the Red and Green refer to Leds?

In this diagram you have failed to show any resistors. I would place one current limiting resistor in the +6v leg to the battery for each of the four sections.

What I don't understand is the two leds connected across the power supply. If these are indicators that the power is on then you really only need one. Also you need a resistor there as well. 

For a strain relief here's an idea. You will have to cut holes in the case so you will have a little bit of material let over. If it's big enough make a rectangular slice out of it. Then place over the DC adaptor cable and screw it to the case. I am not sure if the cutoff material will be big enough but this may work.

I have just had a look at the specs for the Leds you are buying. I would use 25 milliamps for working out the current limiting resistor. If you use this value both Led's should be bright enough but you will only need one resistor. Although the data sheet doesn't show Vf for the red one use 2v for both leds. The red led will handle the slighlty more current it will get by using this value.

I would aim for 25 milliamps current because this should be in the range for your DC adaptor. The most current you should draw is roughly 70 milliamps per each unit + 20 millamps for the on indicator = 300 milliamps. Actually each section should draw less then 50 milliamps but when you design you allow for variance.

I know I have been pushing the resistors but if you don't use them then your DC supply will probably not cope with the current drawn as well as the Leds may fail.

Using the figures I gave you if you do the resistor calculations I will check them for you.


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## avkid

charcoaldabs said:


> Hmm, but backordered till March.


The Switchcraft style are in stock now.


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## Chris15

cutlunch, How do you figure 50mA / section? I can only get 25mA (plus fudge factor)...


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## Chris15

Charc, cutlunch will get what I'm asking...


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## Chris15

Yes, you're building it. But I'm questioning cutlunch's maths...


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## Chris15

How about we wait for cutlunch to get back to me as to where his number comes from then we might be able to agree on things and THEN you can build it once rather than finding we were thinking different things and you've taken half of mine and half of his and ended up with something what don't work too good...


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## cutlunch

I am back. Charc I got your pm. I am not on any of these message systems you mentioned but I'll pm you later if this post doesn't help.

Good point Chris you are dead right. Sorry Charcoal I made a mistake.
When two leds are in series the current flows through both of them so in this case each of the four segments will only draw 25ma. I forgot and worked it out for parallel where both Leds would draw 25 millamps each.

So Charcoal apart from my slight error it doesn't effect your design.
These resistors we'll go over again. Each of the four section needs one resistor that is connected from the + voltage to the switch just like in your drawing excpet now the resistor replaces the wire you have drawn from + to the switch.

If you have that other LED you have drawn across the + and - V as a power on indicator you will have to connect one leg of a resistor to the + v supply rail. Then connect the other leg of the resistor to the anode of the led then connect the cathode of the Led to the - V rail. (just like in the circuit of the led calculator)

That Led calculator you found Charcoal you can use. In fact I am going to book mark it because it will give you values of resistors that you can buy not just a theorectical value you have to make up from different resistors.

Ok so here is your homework.
Using the calculator with these figures work the resistor for your single power on Led.
Source voltage = 6
diode forward voltage = 2
diode forward current (milliamps) = 25

Enter those figures into the calculator then write down the answer.

Now the two leds in series might seem harder but it's not.
Use the same value for source voltage = 6
Use the same value diode forward current (milliamps) = 25

Ok the difference is the diode forward voltage. Because we have two leds in series both are going to drop 2 volts each so add that together 2 + 2 =4.

So use 4 for the diode forward voltage in the calculator.

Once you have these worked out post the resistor values here and we'll check them.

PS for ease just use 1/2 watt resistors for all resistors it'll save any hassles.


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## Chris15

In reality, one can use any wattage resistor. By a quick sum, you're looking at about 100mW through the resistors so 1/4 watt will also work quite fine. Just use what you can easily get and is cheap.


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## cutlunch

Charcoal these values will work but they are not the same as I got using the values I gave you. 
But they are definitely not wrong and will work well in this circuit.

I am not sure what figure you changed - Supply voltage, V forward or the current If. If I stay with my values of Vsupply = 6V and Vforward = 2 but change Iforward to 20milliamps then I get the same values as you.
But if I use the 25 milliamps for Iforward then I get single led resistor value 180 ohms vs your 200 ohms.
For the two leds in series I get 82 ohms versus your 100 ohms.


But don't worry about it Charcoal your values will work and they are close enough that you pass the course !!!!!.


And a very good observation about the 25ma vs 30ma. I am just a cautious designer I doubt you would have any trouble using 30 ma for the current in your calculations. I tend to take what they say is the max value and do what they call derating ( take a lesser value). This just allows for a margin of error. In this case it's not a problem.

You can use 1/4 watt resistors for everything you don't need to buy 1/8 watt for the stages and 1/4 watt for the single led.
I only suggested 1/2 watt resistors because here our 1/2 watt resistors are the same size and cost as the 1/4 watt. 1/4 watts are fine in your design.

Don't forget I would like to see pictures if the finshed project.


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## Chris15

I also want to see photos of the finished product. Can one even get 125mW resistors? Even the 1/4 W are getting hard to find these days... Who wants a 5% 1/4W when you can get a 1% 1/2W for the same cost?


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## Chris15

Wow, can't get 180R resistors... that's sad. To get 200R, you have to be looking at the E24 series and E24 includes 180R as well, 180 is also in E12 for those who care

If you are paying more than about 4 or 5 cents for a resistor in the <=1/2W then me thinks you is getting ripped off. And even those numbers are a little pricey in my book...


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## Chris15

charcoaldabs said:


> Wiring in parallel:
> 
> I've been thinking of what the "best" way of wiring these parallel loops is. I've come up with a "twofer" idea. Holding two wires right next to eachother, and then holding the third (source) up against the other two, like this: "====------" if that makes sense? That way I could put heatshrink tubing around the connection. Perhaps I should pick up a dremel for some of the work.



It all depends on where this join is... You could put a loop through XLR on your indicator boxes, wired in parallel with the input. But your idea is essentially sound. While you didn't mention it, I'm presuming you would apply solder before heatshrinking it. You'll also want some form of mechanical protection for the join, depending on where it is. If it's inside a box, it'd be quite fine. But outside, you would probably want a layer or two of glue impregnated heatshrink around the whole thing... Not sure what you want a dremel for...


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## derekleffew

Is this "twofer" for the Stage Manager's Console or the Cue Stations? If for the Master Panel, just use multiple D3Fs. For each Q-Station, use one D3M and two D3Fs for the most flexibility.



D3M = panel mount, 3pin, male
D3F = panel mount, 3pin, female
A3M = inline, 3pin, male
A3F = inline, 3pin, female
A5M = inline, 5pin, male (DMX-512A approved/required)
A5F = inline, 5pin, female (DMX-512A approved/required)

Above are Switchcraft numbers, but any mfg. can substitute.


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## David Ashton

Now that this has become a 7 page project, why not make it really tricky and build a dmx cue light?


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## Chris15

allthingstheatre said:


> Now that this has become a 7 page project, why not make it really tricky and build a dmx cue light?



To me, it's only 2 pages.
And I'm not sure DMX is the answer. Do you really want the lighting people to be triggering cue lights? Unless we are cuing domes in which case the idea has merit. But some form of digital signal may be a better option, run 3 core looped to everything and then just include a dip switch on each unit to address it... I like... (The 3 core is for power, data & ground. Yes you could even multiplex that but it seems too much like hard work for this particular application)


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## Chris15

charcoaldabs said:


> DMX is next on the project list, I'm not sure how though, or what, or when.



If we have to guide you through the process of building and troubleshooting something DMX based, I'll be needing a pay rise. Not a % rise, and actual amount rise


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## DavidDaMonkey

I stumbled across this thread while looking to build my own system. Did this ever get built? I'd love to see pictures.


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## mstutzman

So if my inclination is right and Charc is actually "intern charlie", then to answer your question... you could have just asked me how I built my "LED Cue Light system" and I would have told you. Its funny what you find when you search to see if anyone has designed a similar system to yours.


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## derekleffew

mstutzman said:


> So if my inclination is right and Charc is actually "intern charlie" ...






Still don't quite understand the cartoon, but it seemed somehow appropriate. Where the h3ll has Charc been anyway? Is he *still* locked in that closet with the cat?


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## mstutzman

The system that I suspect started this conversation is a simple LED system, 4 switches with LED "on" indicators wired in series with individual resistors to show continuity, running on two xlr runs y'ed to four "modules" made from xlr connectors with a single led and resistor. If you really wanted to get fun with it you could use data cable giving you 5 hots and a common neutral. For the right price I will build you one, "In my free time".


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## chausman

derekleffew said:


> Still don't quite understand the cartoon, but it seemed somehow appropriate. Where the h3ll has Charc been anyway? Is he *still* locked in that closet with the cat?


 
I must.....

gafftaper said:


> Derek is actually a 12 year old girl from South Dakota... I am a 13 year old girl from Taipei.


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## mstutzman

Nice little digital cue light system. Dont think I will ever need 12 cue lights but the master "go" button is a plus. Now only if it can interface with the Ion console!

NuDelta Digital


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## cpf

mstutzman said:


> Nice little digital cue light system. Dont think I will ever need 12 cue lights but the master "go" button is a plus. Now only if it can interface with the Ion console!
> 
> NuDelta Digital


 
Well, the manual recommends contacting a "priest or spiritual advisor" in the case that the cue lights remain on when the controller is off; the company is probably the sort open to suggestions


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## tdrga

*Another LED Cue-light system*

Here's a cue light system system built in Australia by Leon Audio-

Easy to use Digital Theatre Cue Light

Very rugged and the topology independent wiring makes running cable easy. The company was very helpful in getting it to work with our "North American" cueing methods (green on for standby, green off for GO).

Also able to interface via RS232 serial port for automating cue lights.

-Todd


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## NoahNuDelta

Thanks for your comments folks. We started NuDelta Digital to deliver the best cue light system on the market. One of the "Eureka!" moments for me was when a student came back from working her summer internship and said that she spent two days running multi cable for cue lights. MULTI CABLE!?!? I was astounded. The weight and expense of that cable is a bit much when all you need is a bright LED. And so it began.......
And yes, we are open to suggestions for new products and/or product improvements.


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## gafftapegreenia

derekleffew said:


> Where the h3ll has Charc been anyway? Is he *still* locked in that closet with the cat?



He's hanging out with Hughesie in "I think CB hates me" land.


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## teqniqal

"I'd use this: TMB's ProCue." Dead Product link - no longer listed on TMB web site.


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## BillConnerFASTC

*Re: Another LED Cue-light system*


tdrga said:


> Here's a cue light system system built in Australia by Leon Audio-
> 
> Easy to use Digital Theatre Cue Light
> 
> Very rugged and the topology independent wiring makes running cable easy. The company was very helpful in getting it to work with our "North American" cueing methods (green on for standby, green off for GO).
> 
> Also able to interface via RS232 serial port for automating cue lights.
> 
> -Todd



My favorite cue light system. Simple, nearly performer and stage manager proof, and not too expensive.


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