LED lit objective markers

[MunDMC]

Hey All,
Felt i'd share a quick and easy project as i just registered here.

Problem: in seize ground missions, i lost more than one game forgetting which objectives were, err, um, objectives.

Solution: led lit objective markers

http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv257/mundmc/17885610.jpg
http://i689.photobucket.com/albums/vv257/mundmc/ledobjectivemarkers.jpg

It's cheap and simple, requiring very limited knwledge of using a soldering iron.

Parts list:
- 9 volt battery
- suitable holder for battery, in this case Skoal containers ( i do not condemn or condone tobacco)
- 9 volt battery harnesses (Radio Shack 5 for $2)
- LED ($1 a piece, any type will do, Radio Shack)
- resistors (1/4 watt, anywhere between 100 and 1000 ohms works for me)

1) solder the black wire from the 9V harness to either end of the resistor
2) solder the other end of the resistor to the SHORT end of the LED
3) solder the LONG end of the LED to the red wire from the 9V harness
Success

I'm sure anybody with basic circuit know-how can give you more advice, but the above worked just fine for me. Enjoy remembering where the objectives are.

[eldargal]

This is such a fantastic idea. I'm dreaming of eerie lights over my WIP Eldar landscape.

[Duke]

I always wanted to know how this is done... looks like my Rhinos will have actual lights now. Well done!

Duke

[Gregory]

Awesome, but would it be possible to use a smaller battery (like a watch battery) that would fit in a standard base?

Also, does anyone with more knowledge on electronics know if it would be possible to make blinking lights? This thread gave me so many ideas for objective markers. ><

[Aegis]

Love the idea, but any thoughts for people who do not have access to soldering tools?

[oni]

That's pretty cool.

[The Green Git]

Very nice! Will have to incorporate this idea. Attention getters for sure!

[person person]

Ingenious!

[NealSmith]

Love the idea, but any thoughts for people who do not have access to soldering tools?

"Hobby sized" soldering tools are not that expensive nowadays. You can easily get a simple setup that's rigorous enough for this application without too much outlay. Even the battery pack ones should be sufficient for this kind of work.

I've been wanting to do this for so long... :) I've also been wanting to put the more realistic-looking electric candles inside of buildings to make it look like there is a fire burning inside.

[trjames]

"Hobby sized" soldering tools are not that expensive nowadays. You can easily get a simple setup that's rigorous enough for this application without too much outlay. Even the battery pack ones should be sufficient for this kind of work.

I've been wanting to do this for so long... :) I've also been wanting to put the more realistic-looking electric candles inside of buildings to make it look like there is a fire burning inside.

You can get an iron sufficient to do this with, and enough solder to do hundreds of these for less than $15.00.

[Duke]

You can get an iron sufficient to do this with, and enough solder to do hundreds of these for less than $15.00.

Can you say where we can get this?

One thing I like is that the OP said where you can get the items, but I don't know where to get a solder tool and what kind to get... Or how much, etc. can someone with more info post in repoly to this.

Duke

[StarWarsDoug]

You can get a solder tool at Radio shack for under 20 easily. Or use to before they became The shack, now not sure, I havent been in in a while.

For those of you less technically inclined, go to a craft/hobby store like Michaels or Hobby lobby. They have a handfull of options...

electric LED Tea Lights. packs of 5 for about 10 bucks with batteries. plastic case is pretty easy to bust apart, and the LED is typically on a small flicker circuit to look like a candle flame.

wedding christmas and halloween mini lights. these are battery operated led light strings. some are 3 mm leds (very tiny) some are 5mm. They run about 3-5 bucks for a string of 10 - 20 lights. wedding ones are typically all white, christmas has multicolors, or solids like red and green, halloween ones are orange and purple. I have found all of these at various times at these craft stores. they typically run on 2-3 AA batteries and will last days. Some of them have twinkle or blink options.

My Necron Monolith contains a set of this style of lights hot glued behind the clear rods to provide additional "glow"

And I've been working on glowing Wyrd/Warpstone terrain and objectives for mordheim with the flicker candles and green beach glass.

(Sorry i dont have pics right now of any of my stuff)

[rsheridan5]

This is a great idea...
I would not recommend trying to solder with an iron though... That could lead to a visit from an apothecary...
Most of this stuff is available from radio shack. They also sell the tools at places like Graybar (contractor supply)... They even sell cheap ones at Home Depot. I would recommend that you buy something called flux and some rubbing alcohol as well.
Dip the hot Soldering iron in the flux (make sure that you are not in a small room, but the fumes aren't really a concern) then take the solder wire and apply to the iron. Once a small bead is on the iron apply that bead to the connection between wires or wires and contacts. The flux really helps with heat transfer and makes the job a hundred times easier... especially with really small items. Just make sure that you clean the joins really well with the rubbing alcohol because flux is really corrosive.
Also you can find some small items using a keyword search at a place called Digikey. This place is perfect for finding small battery holders, individual LEDs, small gauge wires and such as that. It requires a lot of searching but if you want to find some really small items that are more inline with the scale of 40k, this is the place. (Each item has a spec sheet that will give you dimensions and requirements for functionality like voltage...)
If anyone has any electrical questions feel free to message me and I will try to answer as soon as possible.

[trjames]

Can you say where we can get this?

One thing I like is that the OP said where you can get the items, but I don't know where to get a solder tool and what kind to get... Or how much, etc. can someone with more info post in repoly to this.

Duke

Sorry, yeah. Radio Shack usually has a kit for $14.99 with a basic iron, some solder and a little stand for the iron, it may have some cleaner with it, but I'm not sure. Lowe, Home Depot, Menards all carry them. The tool section at Wal-Mart usually has a few cheap ones.

Another option for work of this level might be one of the cold irons kind of like this one (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=cold+solder&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=6250194945934365494&ei=iGfOSszqJYbENsmVvJUD&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4#ps-sellers) You can get an off-brand one for $12.99 I think at Wal-Mart, and you don't have to worry about it getting so hot.