Connecting lights to the Prop-1

[JezzieRose]

I am building a pirate cannon, that fires from inside the cannon -

5mm red LED (to simulate a fuse),
2 second burst of Fog (from a Fog machine),
1.5 second burst of air (from an air tank),
12v landscape spot light ( to simulate the explosion)
mp3 sound of a cannon firing.

My question is, can I hookup both the LED and the landscape light directly to the Prop-1?
If yes,
do I need a resistor?
what gauge wire do I use for the landscape light to extend it to the Prop-1 from inside the cannon?
what pins do I connect the wires to?

 

[JackMan]

You can connect the LED directly to an OUT terminal of the Prop-1 with a 470 ohm resistor if you are powering the Prop-1 with 12v. We would need to know the amperage draw of the landscape light to answer that part of your question. Landscape lighting wire is typically 16 - 18 gauge. Your programming will determine the location of your connections to the  Prop-1. Typically OUT0 - OUT5.

[JezzieRose]

Yes I am powering the Prop-1 with 12v.

The landscape light is 10 watts, 12 v, so my guess is the amp is .83.  (watts/volts) and yes the wire attached to the landscape light fixture is 18 gauge.

[bsnut]

Here's things to remember when hooking up your landscape light and LED or anything else to the prop1

1: Make sure that landscape light and LED amps doesn't go over the ULN2803A rating on the prop1. I think 10 watts at 12 volts landscape light is over the rating of the ULN2803A. Here is the specs on OUT's terminal block from prop1 docs on this site

OUTx output low current (sink) – per terminal IOUT 225(min) 500(max) mA
OUTx output low current (sink) – per group IOUT8 1200(max) mA

If you want to do larger loads (amps) above 6 watts, you will need to use a DC coil relay, which means you need to connect your landscape light to the N.O. contacts of this relay or you can use RC4 with a DC relay. 

2: Make sure that LED has a series resistor connected to the anode on the LED and resistor is connected to the V+ terminal on the prop1 and cathode on the LED to one of OUT's terminal on the prop1. Here's how to size the series resistor (rs) when using LED  RS= supply voltage - LED voltage / LED current
 
3: When using fog machines you need to use a relay to control them. The N.O. contacts from that relay will control the burst of Fog.

Jon has lots of information on this site for you to use and if you have any more questions please ask that's what we are here for.

     

[JonnyMac]

You'll need to put a relay between the Prop-1 and the landscape light.  

What I would suggest is an LED brake/turning/back-up light replacement bulb from an auto parts store.  You can get them in red, yellow, or white, they are really bright (have to be seen in daylight), and draw less than 100mA -- which means they're safe to connect directly to the Prop-1 OUTx terminals (V+ is common).

We'll need more details on the MP3 player to help with code there.

[JezzieRose]

I have a RC4 with one relay to control the fog machine, can I just add another relay to the RC4 to control the landscape light?

I already have the light installed inside the cannon however I can still remove it to replace with a brake light if you think it is a better way to go.

I will get to the sound later, after I get the lights to work.

[bsnut]

Yes you can add the extra relay to the RC4 that will work to or can do what Jon suggested. I let Jon break the bad news to you this time I didn't want to ;D.

 

[JezzieRose]

I will check out replacing the landscape light with the brake light and see how that works.  Nothing goes to waste around here, I'm sure the landscape light will find a home lighting up the rum drinking Pirate display.

Thanks for the help, I will re-post when I have more questions about the sound.

[JonnyMac]

The brake light will cost about 9 bucks at an auto parts store (I was in Pep Boys today and checked), a relay for the RC-4 is $15 and will require you to switch AC than needs to go through a transformer for the landscape light.  I think the brake/back-up light will be brighter and give you a better effect.

[JezzieRose]

I agree, I will be heading to the local auto parts store tomorrow.

I am sure I will have more questions when I get to the programming, however I will do as much research on this forum as I can.