Tranquility Base Arcade - LED Lighting Project...

Alan173

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
Messages
1,537
Reaction score
98
Location
Macomb County, Michigan
Well...this plan has been in the works for quite some time as I enter year 3 (???) of creating my basement arcade (will this project ever be completed?). Anyways...I wired in some LED features before I drywalled and I have roughed in the first one this evening. Knowing there are some folks with killer cades on this site with features that are just over the top....I figured I would post up some progress as I scratch the surface of silliness in my basement.

My girls call these 'Rainbow Doorways' which I thought was kinda funny. I basically designed a custom cross section (plexiglass/white masonite/standard case molding/drop ceiling trim strips) to make a plain looking door jamb during the day....turn into a lighting freak show when the cade gets fired up. Everything was custom except for the LED strips...and I had to modify those as well to go around the 90 degree corners. I can control everything via a keypad I wired/recessed into the wall which will eventually be behind my small bar area. I could not really capture any of the vivid colors or how cool this looks in person....and the video is crummy....but hopefully you get the idea. You can do 30-40 custom lighting features from a crazy flashing white strobe light to a slow/fade/burn of 7 colors....to flashing red/green Christmas lights.....whatever. It is amazing how lighting and music totally changes the feel in my arcade space. Another cool surprise is the effect the LED's have on my black light carpet...CRAZY!

This doorway is not even finished yet...but I was geeked about the results so far. Let me know what you guys think...

Here is a crummy video of a very fast 3 color pulsing/fade that the camera sort of captured (my video camer seems to struggle with the changing light source)....:(

 

Attachments

  • Blue Corner.jpg
    Blue Corner.jpg
    83.2 KB · Views: 181
  • Up Blue Door.jpg
    Up Blue Door.jpg
    83.6 KB · Views: 197
  • Red Door.jpg
    Red Door.jpg
    71.6 KB · Views: 213
  • Plain Door.jpg
    Plain Door.jpg
    85.8 KB · Views: 256
  • IMG_1715.jpg
    IMG_1715.jpg
    124.4 KB · Views: 185
Last edited:
Thats awesome. I love the daytime "stealth look!" You should post some pics of the steps too!
 
LOL...well...the innocence of a 5 year old came up with that one...and after all this planning and work...I always find my daughters first impressions totally hilarious. They call them just like they see them.

Oh the innocent days are looooooong gone for all of us...;)...
 
I love LED stuff, and that looks awesome.
 
That is the coolest gameroom mod I have seen all year, seriously. Great work, just when you think nothing new will pop up here comes this sweet setup.
 
Man that looks sweet! Like someone else said, the stealth mode when off is nice too, adds to the surprise. Job well done!
 
Thanks guys! I hope to have doorway #2 finished up this weekend with similar results.

I was really surprised about the effect the LED's have on the black light carpet. I thought for sure it was going to wash everything out...and the effect is exactly the opposite...
 
f'in niceeee!!

F'in nice!!!!
I wanna see a future post, as you do the 2nd one a step by step.
We all want to be able to obtain that level of coolness!!
I can drywall :)
 
Looks great!

Did you buy frosted plexi or did you sand?
Did you edge light it, or is it lit from behind?
I've been working on a ceiling lighting system using the RGB LED strips but I'm having to use a completely different diffusion material to avoid a spotlight effect from the LED's proximity to the plastic.

Awesome work!
 
Back
Top Bottom