Need to hire for a small project

[Speakrdude]

Does anyone do small projects on the side? Simple project for you guys, I'm sure.

Jim

 

[daddles]

Hi, Jim: I'm a retired scientist/engineer and dabble in electronics as a hobby. I do occasional consulting work/projects, so if you're interested in further discussion, PM me with a description of the project you want. Or, better, post it here for everyone to see.

So you could say that Daddles dabbles...

 

[Speakrdude]

Your PM'r says nope. You cannot receive private messages.

 

[(*steve*)]

Your PM'r says nope. You cannot receive private messages.

It may be that you can't send them until you have a few more posts under your belt.

You can post most of your discussion in this thread. If it comes to talking about money, then you may have enough posts by then and you can take it to PM

 

[daddles]

Oops, sorry, I had private messaging turned off. Why don't you post your project requirements publicly? Then you'll have more folks look at them and have a wider group of folks to select from.

 

[Speakrdude]

The project is probably very simple for someone like you gentlemen, from the looks of some of your other projects here. I'm happy to find this forum.

I need to a round, multi LED fixture (6" diameter or so) and have it produce large digits, 5-4-3-2-1 in the center,

The digits need to count down upon command from a momentary or latched trigger, 5-4-3-2-1.

I figured either the background led's should be yellow while the digits are black or vice-versa.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[daddles]

Probably the easiest approach would be to use a large 7 segment display like this one. Of course, the colors don't match your specs; there may be an equivalent display in the color you want. The other approach is to use a grid of LEDs to form the digits. The latter approach is substantially more work because of the need to build and wire the LED array. In both cases I would choose to do the majority of the electronics with a cheap PIC processor.

It might also make sense to contact a sign maker, as they may have some existing hardware that would make the job easier -- or, they might have something that already works (or is close to it).

If I were undertaking the job, I'd make a crude estimate that the first approach would take about a day of labor; the LED grid approach would take two to two and a half days of labor (most of the work is non-electronic stuff). Roughly 20-25% would be design time and the rest fabrication time. An experienced EE or technician will probably take less time than me, although I'm fairly handy in the shop.

I can speak from experience from other projects: the killer of decent estimates is the customer changing their minds about what the project should do or work after the design and estimate have been made. The usual thought is "oh, it should be easy to ...", but it rarely is. So make sure you know exactly what you want.

 

[Speakrdude]

Yeah, It looks very difficult to do it that way.

Sounds like it would be easier and just as effective to use some high-power YELLOW LEDs and form a segmented LED, for the Digit, and some sort of processor. The remaining back ground can be painted black. The complete fixture would need to fit in a standard round light fixture housing, similar to a PAR 56 or 64 size.

Jim

 

[donkey]

Yeah, It looks very difficult to do it that way.

Sounds like it would be easier and just as effective to use some high-power YELLOW LEDs and form a segmented LED, for the Digit, and some sort of processor. The remaining back ground can be painted black. The complete fixture would need to fit in a standard round light fixture housing, similar to a PAR 56 or 64 size.

Jim

from this i have 2 quick questions. 1st the size of the housing, par 56, and the desire to use highpower leds, i was wondering if this project was to be looked at or are you projecting it onto a wall?
2nd what voltages are you looking at? 115 or 230?

 

[Speakrdude]

It is to be viewed, as in, a sign. 120v.

 

[daddles]

Have you contacted a sign making business? If you're near a reasonably-sized metropolitan area, there will be many of them and maybe there's a near off-the-shelf solution.

Depending on the design wanted and the skills of the person doing the design/build, I'd estimate the number of hours to do the work would be between 5 and 20. Estimates of engineering time costs are in the $50 to $150 (USD) per hour range, although you might find a student or hobbyist willing to work at a lower wage. Thus, you're looking at a cost in the $250 to $2000 range (plus materials) to have someone do the work.