Adding to the traffic lights strobe lights with their own hands
This craft, namely how to add strobes to the exhaust lights, has its pluses and minuses, but I think this will not stop the craftsman or someone who wants to repeat this scheme. Pros – you can screw on almost everything your imagination is capable of, simple logic circuits are nervously smoking a pack of cigarettes without a filter, and plus – a fairly simple and inexpensive circuit for self-assembly. Cons – not everyone can understand and smoke the tuning algorithm, you need a logical mind and understanding of the basics. And not everyone is able to flash the microcontroller. The auto-tuning is not too big and the number of radio parts used is smaller:
On the reverse side you can see the terminal block. It is a bit smaller than the previous parts but it has 3.5mm leg spacing:
Connected legs of the terminal block:
Now the description of the appointment of the words on the picture, given in the nizheno-written algorithm of work and setting:
Operating algorithm:
DXO operation mode:
When power is applied to the input, if there is no ILL clearance plus, the siren lights are on at full brightness. If there is a clearance plus, then the brightness will depend on the brightness setting with SET buttons on the board.
The brightness can be from zero to maximum. Example of implementation: When the ignition is turned on, the LEDs are on full brightness. The LEDs are dimmed and light up at half intensity. The brightness of the lights changes smoothly when you turn the lights on and off. There is also one subtlety: the active signal at the parking lights input is minus.
This means that if you do not connect a clearance wire to this input, the circuit will be in clearance mode and you can adjust the brightness with buttons.
Strobe mode of operation:
If you connect the ground wire to the KEY input, the LEDs will start strobing. The strobe will strobe as long as the KEY input is grounded.
Tuning algorithm:
Adjusting the brightness of the LEDs:
If plus is applied to the ILL input, you can adjust the brightness with the SET buttons on the board. Press and hold the minus button – the brightness decreases smoothly. press the plus button – increases. Total ignition time from minimum to maximum is 1.3 seconds. Frequency of PWM on the output 295 Hz
Strobe tuning:
The strobes must be turned on, i.e. the KEY input is energized. Pressing both SET buttons on the board simultaneously and holding them depressed will enter the strobe tuning mode. In this case, the LEDs will start blinking. Releasing the setting buttons after the desired number of blinks leads to entering the desired setting item. At the same time the strobes start to strobe, and the subsequent pressing of the SET plus or minus buttons leads to the setting of the desired item.
Each item setting is memorized when the power is removed from the strobe input. If you don’t want to save the item setting, just remove power from the circuit and the setting will not be saved.
1 item – setting the number of flashes:
With the “plus” button, click to increase the number of flashes per strobe, with the “minus” button, click to decrease. The range is from one flash to 127. Also with this item you can click the type of strobe:
a) normal – strobe flashes, then pause, the LEDs in the pause are not lit. b) Inverse – strobe flashes, then pause, the LEDs in the pause are lit.
The number of flashes and strobe type are clicked one after the other. Example, if you click the SET “+” button:
1.- 1 flash, normal; 2.- 1 flash, inverse; 3.- 2 flashes, normal; 4.- 2 flashes, inverse; 5.- etc., up to 127 flashes.
The 2nd point is to adjust the pause between the strobe packs of each channel. Button “plus”, pressing and holding this button increases the pause Button “minus”, pressing and holding this button decreases the pause.
The third point is to adjust the “speed” of the strobes: The “plus” button, pressing and holding this button increases the speed The “minus” button, pressing and holding this button decreases the speed. This setting proportionally changes the width of each flash and the pause between flashes (not to be confused with the setting of the pause between packs!).
The 4th item is the setting of the duty cycle, or, less accurately, the width of the pause after each individual flash in the pack By pressing and holding down this button, the duty cycle increases By pressing and holding down this button, the duty cycle decreases. Minimum value: 50/50 – flash duration equal to pause time Maximum value: 1/3
Factory reset: Strobe must be ON, i.e. KEY switch must be energized. Pressing both SET buttons on the board simultaneously and holding them depressed, followed by blinking the LEDs more than ten times and releasing the setting buttons will result in a factory reset.
Factory settings:
- 4 flashes in each strobe pack 4 packs of strobes per second (two are first channel and two are second channel) 50/50 – duty cycle 0.12 seconds – pause between packs 50% – brightness in clearance mode.
Sources, firmware, proteus model and everything you need for self-assembly: download…
2 simple circuits for making an automotive strobe light
The process of adjusting the initial ignition timing is greatly simplified by the use of special devices. At the heart of their work is the stroboscopic effect. The meaning of this physical phenomenon is as follows: if you illuminate the moving object of a short light flash, it appears the visual illusion that he remained in the same position in which it caught the flash.
Make your own hands strobe light on LEDs is very simple. There are schemes of simple devices, which can repeat even inexperienced hobbyist radio.
LED strobe light on a NE555 timer
The main component in this strobe circuit is the NE 555 integrated timer. This is a common chip often used in electronic home-made products.
As a light emitter I used a prefabricated assembly of six LEDs from a Chinese flashlight.
The potentiometer P1 is used to set the pause time between the pulses that are applied to VT1. By opening at the moment the signal is applied, the field effect transistor “lights” the strobe.
Note that at the moment of flashing, the current flowing through the emitter exceeds two amperes. This circumstance forces the use of a limiting resistor with a power dissipation of at least 2W. There is no reason to worry about LED failure. The ultra-short operating time in such modes will not cause any damage to the semiconductors.
Instead of the transistor shown in the schematic, you can use its closest analogs: IRFZ44, IRF3205, KP812B1 and others.
The requirement for diode VD1 is high speed. A domestic version of KD522 can successfully replace 1N4148. Also any Schottke diodes will do well.
The capacitance of the capacitors can be increased by one order of magnitude. This will not affect the performance of the circuit in any way.
This is what the assembled device looks like, with three high-power LEDs.
Stroboscope assembly
The small number of parts allows you to make a stroboscope of LEDs in a hinged fashion or by using special mounting panels. If no mistakes are made in the soldering process, the circuit will work immediately, without further adjustment.
Strobe on a TL494 PWM controller
Another variation of assembling a car strobe light on LEDs with your own hands is based on a TL494 PWM driver. The cost of the chip is in the range 10 – 20 rubles apiece, so it is not scarce. You can also get the component you need from an old ATX power supply from a personal computer.
Diagram of a LED strobe on a TL494 PWM controller
As in the previous case, the emitter is controlled by a MOSFET transistor. Here it can be of any type that meets two requirements:
- Rated current from 2A;
- The internal structure is N-type.
Examples of suitable poles: AP15N03GH or IRLZ44NS.
Use the VR1 trimmer to set the duty cycle (flash duration) and VR2 to set the frequency. It is more convenient to use potentiometers with a linear relationship, so the adjustment process is much easier.
The light source in this strobe circuit is one powerful LED. To connect a 12 volt LED strip, resistor R6 must be removed and a jumper installed instead.
The remaining elements of the LED strobe light circuit can be any with the specified ratings.
The printed circuit board of the device
It is possible to minimize the size of the design by using SMD components. Some novice radio amateurs try to avoid using them, believing that the assembly of small parts is too time-consuming. And in vain! With a little practice you can easily accomplish this task. But the result will be a great reward for your patience.
A sample implementation of the LED strobe light PCB is shown in the figure.
Sample PCB for a strobe light
Here the double-sided method of wiring is used. Large radio elements are installed at the top: chips, terminal blocks and electrolytic capacitors, resistors and capacitors of size 1206, LEDs of size 0805, MOSFET-transistor in DPAK package at the bottom. The regulating resistors were replaced with trim resistors. This was done to reduce the design.
The appearance of the board of the ready made device from both sides is shown below. The LUT method was used to transfer the pattern with the tracks onto the foil textolite. The etching was made in an aqueous chloride iron solution.
If you want to repeat the strobe light LED scheme with your own hands, you can use the project for the Sprint Layot tracer, changing it if necessary according to your own needs. Download the project file.
The strobe light circuits discussed in this article are characterized by their simplicity and low cost of electronic components. The total cost of materials will cost dozens of times less if you buy a ready-made strobe light on LEDs. In addition, it is much more pleasant to use a homemade device, and the experience gained in the process is irreplaceable and invaluable.
