rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

[lil buggy]

need some rgb advice guys!
we have a lighted boat parade coming up here at the beaver regatta in a few weeks,,,,,,
so my plan is,,, to take the last 5 meters i have left of the rgb's and space them out along the underside(facing down and in) of my front railing, to get my whole boat to light up in all the fantastic colors that the rgb's bring!
heres a pic of the rail

and a pick of the side rail

so my question comes in " how do i shield my rgb's mounted on the long rail, from side or direct view from all the onlookers?" kinda like my stern lights up without direct vision of the rgb's

i've just started to think about this.
i believe that it will light up nicely if i space them out nicely,,,,, my issue is that, how do i shield the rgb's from sight?
spitballing but i was initially thinking foil tape, (should blend in close enough with nightfall) or ?
please help.

all is welcome to view my thread in my signature pic to spitball ideas for the parade.
thanks in advance,
and as always,
thanks for the replies

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

I'd probably rip a 1/4 out of a pc of pvc conduit. Foil tape the pvc. Tuck the strings into the pvc, it'll only shine out the 1/4 side gap. and as you bend the pvc to fit the contour of your rail, use foil tape to secure it. Or very small black zip ties. Zip ties won't leave sticky residue on the rail. Might even use pvc big enough to drill a hole for the zip ties, so they're partially hidden. You could also segment the pvc to only run between the sections of rail from upright to upright.

Lite 'em up during the flotilla

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

thanks again jb,

great idea!
like the pvc idea! i could use that to fatten up the rail and hide the rgb's. its at night so the foil tape should be invisable to the onlookers and won't blow around in the wind.
THANK YOU JB!

i'm not quite sure how i'll have to segment the lights for even flow around the front rail and supports, but i do believe you are on to something here!

YOU DA MAN!

I also like the zipstrip idea and not having to peel the sticky foil tape from the rails once all is said and done

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Hey, it's not all 'Yeah I got a tinny!' over this way. I'm a registered independent

Happy to help. Anytime

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

^^^^ bahahahaha,lmfao

 

[Thalasso]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

^^^^ bahahahaha,lmfao

Buggy: When is it? I'll be looking for you

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Weekend of the 18th
ill know more later,,, I'm sure mike will post at your marina, after all I think he's in charge of posting,,, lol
we ll be out tomorrow eve and Sunday all day

by the way your rig looks sweet, and is spotless!

I got some 1 inch PVC to play with we will be brainstorming tomorrow eve!
i would like to attach directly to the rail more permenately, cause if I know me I'll want to keep her all lit up even after the parade is said n done! The PVC will end up looking hoaky in the daylight.

I guess at anchor it won't matter much if it's in my eyes. So who knows maybe I'll attatch directly to the rail and have it on a switch so I can shut the front down while underway.
Im still trying to think of some kinda shield so the LEDs won't be visable to the eye but shine down on the big white front canvas, kinda like I did on the stern,,,,, all color no bulbs

I plan on cutting some of the segments tomorrow and maybe test them, come on up, I'll buy you a soda pop! I could always use some more ideas.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

off topic" thalasso did you move from your home spot? i havent seen you the last month or so!"

I didnt get a chance to mount the rgb's on the front rail yet cause the weather we had this weekend but i think i'll test mount them to the rail and use the 1/3rd"cut" 1 inch pvc as a deflection point to keep it all shining down at the "canvas" and not in my eyes or the eyes of the onlookers, further more i'm thinking of going back to the foil tape idea that will overlap and hide the white pvc and act as a hinge onto the rail pieces. kinda like a rigid flap of sorts..... if that makes any sense. the tape should hold the flap tight but allow it to shine exactly where i want it to.

its a shame that i cant figure out a better solution,,,, cause if i know me,,,,, once the front and sides light up, i'll wana have them on all the time,,,, just like the stern,,,and if it looks good enough, i'll want it to stay on for ever! ,,,,,,,lol
still thinking:facepalm:,
any ideas even hairbrained scheems will be greatly appretiated

 

[Thalasso]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

off topic" thalasso did you move from your home spot? i havent seen you the last month or so!"

I didnt get a chance to mount the rgb's on the front rail yet cause the weather we had this weekend but i think i'll test mount them to the rail and use the 1/3rd"cut" 1 inch pvc as a deflection point to keep it all shining down at the "canvas" and not in my eyes or the eyes of the onlookers, further more i'm thinking of going back to the foil tape idea that will overlap and hide the white pvc and act as a hinge onto the rail pieces. kinda like a rigid flap of sorts..... if that makes any sense. the tape should hold the flap tight but allow it to shine exactly where i want it to.

its a shame that i cant figure out a better solution,,,, cause if i know me,,,,, once the front and sides light up, i'll wana have them on all the time,,,, just like the stern,,,and if it looks good enough, i'll want it to stay on for ever! ,,,,,,,lol
still thinking:facepalm:,
any ideas even hairbrained scheems will be greatly appretiated

No i am still there. Saw you go by Sat night. You were all lit up. ( lights )

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

bahaha,,, that lightning scarred us all in!
headed down to the marina now, for a few hours,,, well see what i get into. feel free to stop down for a soda pop!

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

i got a test fit done on one side, looks like i need another 5 meters to do it right. here are some test pics.

nice coverage, but i will have to look at pvc or some other kind of shielding,,, to be continued,,,
i cut the strip in half to start the process and had a bear of a time soldering,, in fact i couldnt get one wire soldered on the strip!.
i must be missing a thin layer of something preventing the solder from sticking to the strip. in any event half the strip will do either from the windshield back on the rail or from the windshield to the bow. note; i didnt like either way,,,lol

if i can finally get a sucsessfull solder done and split the front section into 8, 1ft sections, a side, that the color will be ok,,, 16 1/2ft sections, a side, would look better though,,,, not sure if i have enough time to get it done, but i'm gonna take another shot at soldering the wires on the strip tonight,, i wish i had a bunch more clips,,,,,, cause i woulda been done allready

 

[markheck1]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

WOW, that looks really cool, especially the blue

 

[Thalasso]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

i got a test fit done on one side, looks like i need another 5 meters to do it right. here are some test pics.

nice coverage, but i will have to look at pvc or some other kind of shielding,,, to be continued,,,
i cut the strip in half to start the process and had a bear of a time soldering,, in fact i couldnt get one wire soldered on the strip!.
i must be missing a thin layer of something preventing the solder from sticking to the strip. in any event half the strip will do either from the windshield back on the rail or from the windshield to the bow. note; i didnt like either way,,,lol

if i can finally get a sucsessfull solder done and split the front section into 8, 1ft sections, a side, that the color will be ok,,, 16 1/2ft sections, a side, would look better though,,,, not sure if i have enough time to get it done, but i'm gonna take another shot at soldering the wires on the strip tonight,, i wish i had a bunch more clips,,,,,, cause i woulda been done allready

Buggy:I think your cooper might need to be cleaned. There is a liquid for this. Look at Radio Shack.Good luck in the light up parade

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Thanks man, agreed it does look cool , the test pics above are the strip uncut, since I don't have a second strip I'll have to cut many times to spread the light across both rails.
Didn't get anything done yesterday!
Thalasso, you got me! I didn't use flux at all, not sure if that matters, but I guess not using it could be the issue.
Is that the stuff your talking about? I'll take a shot at it tonight, if I can't get the solder to stick ill prolly bow out of the parade
Hopefully tonight goes better

 

[Thalasso]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Thanks man, agreed it does look cool , the test pics above are the strip uncut, since I don't have a second strip I'll have to cut many times to spread the light across both rails.
Didn't get anything done yesterday!
Thalasso, you got me! I didn't use flux at all, not sure if that matters, but I guess not using it could be the issue.
Is that the stuff your talking about? I'll take a shot at it tonight, if I can't get the solder to stick ill prolly bow out of the parade
Hopefully tonight goes better

Rather me try and explain it and not do it well enough, here is a little copy and paste.Hope it works


In order to make solder stick, it is necessary to clean any dirt or oxidation off the wire. Any impurities act as insulation and prevent bringing the metal up to temperature. Gently scrape with a knife until you see shiny new-looking copper, without cutting into the metal and removing any of it. Then apply flux. When the flux gets close to the melting point of solder, it bubbles and cleans away any remaining oxidation.

The tip of the soldering iron also has to be kept clean. If it appears other than shiny silver, it is not clean. It has an oxide [/B]coating. You can't solder with a tip like this. Here again the oxide acts as a thermal barrier. If you put solder against a corroded tip that is up to temperature, the solder will just crumble and fall away. To clean a tip, let it heat up and then wipe it on a slightly damp sponge. Then you can add a little flux and melt some solder on the tip to coat it.

you need to clean your tip (of your iron) first. if its not too bad, just wipe it on a wet sponge a few times, apply solder to it, and wipe again. you may have to do this a few times, but when the solder starts sticking to the tip (will turn silver) you know you got it.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Thank you sir, looks like I was skipping a few steps!

Sice the strip before cut and peeled is covered in silycone, the clips I used on the interior lights didn't require additional scraping etc,,,
ill give it a try after work and see how it goes

Again thanks for the heads up

 

[Thalasso]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Thank you sir, looks like I was skipping a few steps!

Sice the strip before cut and peeled is covered in silycone, the clips I used on the interior lights didn't require additional scraping etc,,,
ill give it a try after work and see how it goes

Again thanks for the heads up

If you want to use my slip help yourself, and as you say go party with the big boys.There will be food and bands. The race boat crews will be there also.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: rgb light sheilding to enter lighted boat parade,,, please help

Thalasso, thank you for the offer! I may just take you up on that tonight! I stopped down last night to drop some donations and your place was hoppin, as always. Shame you won't be down, but enjoy your trip!