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LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 1:30 pm
by aerodrummer
Hi guys - for those who want a DIY solution so you don't need the LED light on:

I made some LED markers out of wide angle 1 watt 'grow led lights'. I used ping pong balls as the diffuser, melted a hole in the balls and then hot glued the ball to a drumstick. I then wired them up to a 3xAAA battery box with a switch. When wiring up LED's you also need to get an appropriate resistor for to work with the voltage - this is very easy to calculate. I also made the same markers for the feet with another battery box. The tracking works 100%. There is really no issues with cords too much - especially for the feet. I hot glued the wire onto the sticks so it didn't move around. It also looks pretty cool with the red lights. My wife said I looked like a christmas tree. All parts are very cheap via eBay.

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 2:29 pm
by slavedave
Now that warrants a youtube video clip if ever I saw one! Sounds very interesting. It would be very cool if the community could work out a way to build a button cell battery / holder / circuit / led small enough to be fitted into a table tennis ball, and therefore would omit any wiring.

I am a member of the Vdrums forum and they have a DIY section that keeps popping out innovative home-brew solutions to (often quite complex) manufacturer kit. KVR audio also have a DIY section on their forum. Perhaps in time we will have one here on aerodrums!

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 12:44 pm
by aerodrummer
Hi Slavedave,

Here is my video, pardon my late night pyjamas! One LED was shorting out - you can see it was the really bright one due to it being faulty. I've ordered a new one. They are a really wide angle so the ball can diffuse the light nicely. I need to get some heat shrink to gather the wire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP-h_nWLrkk

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:04 am
by rebit
Very cool, cant wait to see the results !

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 6:33 am
by adamwesleyo
I thought this also. I will be getting mine tomorrow as today DHL only left a note that said sorry sir no invisible drums for you until you give me permission. So what about this? Vic Firth apparently made some sticks that had light up tips. They plugged in via USB and just the tips lit up. http://store.drumbum.com/skuSTK-43.html I would think this would be fairly easy to do if you had the tools and parts available but vic firth discontinued theirs. Apparently they were really expansive also. What about using a pair of Easton Aheads though? If I remember correctly from using them in the past they had a hollow shaft and the tips were replaceable. So you'd think you could make the stick a battery complete with USB charging and put a small LED on the tip. That way you could manufacture a ball tip that was big enough to diffuse the light as needed. I know this may seem a little far fetched but in theory if the active LED sticks do work and quite well this should work as well. Wiring, LED's, parts, and batteries are cheap so barring any weight distribution issues when placing the battery and what not. This would also allow possibilities like adding a small button that when pressed could either add a drop clutch, cymbal choke, or rimshot depending on where your hand is in relation to the instrument when it is pressed. All it would have to do is strobe the light for a millisecond and the software could be programmed to activate one of the functions. Also as I have switched to a vaporizer from smoking and I believe the vaporizer I'm using is essentially a drumstick with a light up tip minus the light up other half. It even feels right when I use it as it is about stick thickness and although a little heavier there could be a glimmer of an idea there.

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 6:46 am
by adamwesleyo
http://www.miniinthebox.com/marsing-g4- ... s_shopping

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ada ... AqML8P8HAQ

http://aheaddrumsticks.com/drumsticks-5 ... otX6jZvk9U (although I need to check if they are in fact hollow or if machining will be needed)

Upon further research just now I found Verisonic Drumsticks. They are hollow and looks like they might work.
http://www.verisonicsticks.com/hist/index.html

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:14 am
by aerodrummer
Hi Adam,

I've been looking along all the same lines and had similar ideas. It's a simple thing but has been hard to execute due to really finding a battery holder the right shape and hollow sticks..

Best idea **not yet completed** I have so far is to use a Dremel to cut a groove for wire to slot in to run from the tip to bottom of the stick. Make a mould of a drum tip shape. Pour in two part clear epoxy resin into the mould and embed an LED with 180 degree shine. Cut off the wood tips and glue on the new led tips. Run wire into the slot and fill in with epoxy filler, bog, sand it down etc. Glue on 3V button battery holder to end of sticks. Weight won't be a problem as I have light up drumsticks and they are not heavy. I do love the aerodrum concept but that bright light for me brings such bad headaches even when used with recommended lighting setup that it is unusable for me.

Some issues you might have are that if the LED is too pright, then drumming accuracy is a problem especially around the snare area. You would have to experiment to get this right before completing.

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:23 am
by aerodrummer
[quote="adamwesleyo"]http://www.miniinthebox.com/marsing-g4- ... s_shopping

This led is way too bright. Just a flat top single led is all you need.

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Ada ... AqML8P8HAQ

This looks cool! If the voltage is more than 3V you will need to add a resistor.

I was thinking along the lines of LR44 batteries x2 though I can't find a battery holder with switch.

CR2032 holders are easy to find but they are quite wide compared to the bottom of a stick.

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:00 am
by adamwesleyo
Yeah those were generic sites I did a quick search for. I guess I didn't think about being too bright but that should be an easy fix and probably require a smaller battery. Post on here when you get it up and running and I will do the same.

Re: LED Markers - DIY Solution

Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2019 9:01 pm
by Mathar
After a good 2 years I have finally found a replacement for the fragile ball markers.

My solution consists of
- Meinl MPM3 Percussion Rubber Mallet
and
- 3M high reflex film, which I could order in an Onlineshop as sample in the DIN A4 format

I cut the foil into thin strips (each about 50mm long and 2 to 3mm wide).
I stuck it on the rubber heads until everything was covered.

For me it works wonderfully and plays very pleasantly. Despite, or just because of, the short and light sticks.

Many greetings from Germany