Led flasher with variable delay for first led, and variable time between all flashes?

[philgib]

OK, I am a total moron in electronics and I would like to start with that first project.

I would like to :
- Delay manually between 0 and 5 seconds by increment of 0,01 second the moment when the led flashes first ;
- Change manually the time between 2 flashes between 0 and 5 seconds by increment of 0,01 seconds

Is that easily feasable ? I was thinking about the cheapest possible led flasher (kit or not) with some potentiometer to change the resistance at the very start ?

Thank you very much

Phil

 

[ronv]

Maybe just a little more info.
1- push a button.
2- wait 0 to 5 seconds (adjustable)
3-Turn LED on for (how long?)
4-Delay 0 = 5 seconds (adjustable)
5-Flash once more (2 flashes only?)
6-Get ready to start again?

 

[philgib]

So here is a a little drawing to explain further :
**broken link removed**

Basically, I need a single-led flasher with 2 turning knobs, one to adjust A and one to adjust B.

B is because I will use several of those units independently and need to synchronise flashes between units.

 

[ronv]

You need to synchronize the units together somehow or they will gradually drift apart due to component tolerances, voltage, temperature, etc.. If power is developed from the ac line you could use that or if they are not to far apart you could use a light sensor. Or, something we haven’t though of yet.

 

[philgib]

Ok. Do all 555 have an internal clock so that i could base led flash on that and thus limit drifting ?

 

[MikeMl]

Maybe you can do something with this:

 

[philgib]

MikeMi,

This is utmostly interesting.
Could you pls tell me where in the world did you find that and what it is for ?

Thank you

Phil

 

[MikeMl]

MikeMi,

This is utmostly interesting.
Could you pls tell me where in the world did you find that and what it is for ?

Thank you

Phil

I designed it after reading this series of posts...

Just for you ...

 

[ronv]

You must be able to see all of them or you wouldn't care if they all blinked at the same time so I would use an IR master slave approach. A good clock might help but the one in my car is off by over a minute in 3 years. Tell us about your project in broader terms so we can see the whole picture.

 

[philgib]

Thanks for caring Ronv.

I would like to create visual effects, like in a plane when plane power is down to show paths to safety exits. The light seems to be "moving" forward as one led is blinking one after another. Obviously yes, a cable linking all of the lights would make things easier, but my goal is to have them wireless.


I am planning to use it all night long.

 

[ronv]

ok i think i understand.
right now the only thing i can think of is an ir link from one to the next. when one turns off the next turns on. this continues down the string. not sure yet how to get back to the first one. maybe it is just timed. this would have a maximum range between lights of 20 or 30 feet. are the lights further apart than that? closer means less power.
battery powered? how long between battery changes. just a regular led for the flasher?

 

[philgib]

You are right, IR range is very limited. I am looking at 100 feet or more range. That is why I need autonomy more than a link.
I am curious about atomic clocks. Is that so expensive to include into the scheme ? That zould rely limit any discrepancy for a 12 hours-long run.

Led should be powerful enough to be seen flashing from a 500 yards distance , I do not know what it means in terms of power. Like, how much power eats a led of that kind (flashing 0,1 seconds long every 5 seconds ? Yes, that means I would 50 different and autonomous flashing leds)

Thanks again for helping a moron

 

[ronv]

I'm not sure how you would start each LED if you did have a good clock. I have this vision of someone trying to turn on a switch as they watch this line of lights coming towards them. How far apart is each light.

 

[philgib]

Could be 1 yard or 100 yards...

I am adding the following drawing : **broken link removed**

Sorry I have the logic from an IT guy, I know nothing about electronics...