Nice work, thanks for posting. Thinking this will be my next project.

What about adding another bit of LED at the bottom to get that 'burning embers' look?

Awesome! I saw David's post on Facebook with his flames and messaged him about it. I think he's eventually planning to market a kit, but for the DIY, this is fantastic!!

I also added an IR receiver to my version so that I could adjust the settings for the flames after it is installed. These are a great addition to BK3.

Well, this completely rules! wow.

So what are you actually using from the speaker kit? Not the led's?

From what I am understanding...

from the type 12 light kit this flaming mod would use:

the light frames
the mounting hardware
the power supply
the ac power cable (for whatever type of game you have....North America or International)
the Y-splitter
the JST connector ends of the light strips (from dissecting the light strips)
the magnet pieces from the back of the light strips (from dissecting the light strips)
the female barrel type power cable end of the RGB controller (from dissecting the RGB controller)
the 3 pinned JST connection from the RGB controller (from dissecting the RGB controller)

What you are NOT using from the type 12 light kit:

the light strips
the remote control with battery

What else you will need for the mod:

the light strips
the arduino
the resistor
some wire

I think that's it as far as what's used, unused and still needed.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Doug, any chance of offering this as a turnkey product? I already have your deluxe-deluxe on my LE, but I could move that to another pin.

I have been in contact with both people that have made and shown off this mod. I have offered my light frames (which they were both using), website, and any other parts that may be of help to them to make a ready to install product available. My level of involvement could vary depending on what the other party would like to do, but it seems neither are interested.

When it comes to the arduino, I don't have any know how on programming them, editing the programing or trouble shooting them. So I defiantly fall short in that aspect. I'm planning on getting some light strips and the other needed parts to make one of these mods, with my friend, for their BK:SoR. I will see how it goes. There is no way I could even attempt to do that without this DIY thread and the help and info ScottyC has provided. I have been wanting to get some of the 144 leds / meter light strips to check out for a bit, but didn't have much of a reason to do that until now. Maybe after the project is done I will be more familiar with things and look into the arduino a bit more and try to learn more about it.

I like the look. It seems all four LED strips are run by the same Arduino channel. I think it would look more realistic and add randomness to the flames if you had four separate channels it slightly different Frane rate, color palette, etc.
Will a single Arduino Nano run for separate LED channels/scripts?

this is a cool mod! I might grab some of the programming from the fast led library for lighting effects on other games ., no nano expert but I have messed around with them for a few pinball projects

you could use 4 separate addressable led strips( I have been using 5v 60/m ) using 4 of the output PWM pins on the nano with nano programming for each strip but will need to power the strips using either a 5v or 12 power supply as the nano power output is limited to say one led(40 ma) per pin. if you are not efficient with the coding you may exceed the memory capability of the nano so would need a device with more capacity such as an Arduino

if you use addressable rgb leds there is no need for the rgb controller from the speakerlights kit . you can control the effect straight from the nano. other than the speaker frames a speaker light kit is not needed but would be cool if this would be offered as a "plug an play " from speakerlights.

Looks great on Iron Maiden, too!

While I have no Arduino experience, I've read this thread and watched the embedded tutorials and I'm going to try this DIY project. Please confirm that my list of parts is complete:

1. Speaker Lights Kit Type-12

2. Micro controller w/soldered pins and USB cables
ebay.com link: itm

3. Barrel power connector x 2 (It's not clear to me if these should be male or female.)
ebay.com link: itm

4. 5V 144/m RGB LED strip, 1m x 2 (OP doesn't specify length. Just "x2." Does he mean 1m x 2?)
ebay.com link: itm

I'll get the resistor from an operator friend and I have some spare, light-gauge wire.

Thanks.

Thanks, Scotty, for your help. I still don't know how I will replace the stock LED strip with the 144/m strip, but perhaps it will be intuitive when I get the kit and can inspect how it's made. Your thread and the clips address Arduino, but not cobbling together LED strips. I s'pose there are countless clips on YouTube for that.

In the first tutorial clip you post here, the author shows you how to visit Arduio CC and download free software. Looking at the website now, I'm seeing nothing free. Must I buy the "starter" kit for $92 just to get the basic software?

**update**

Hold on. It looks like I've found something. I'm assuming I need this IDE software:
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software_

Off to a terrible start.
My soldering iron's spade tip has destroyed the adjacent LEDS at the joint of the two strips.
Must start over, but can't salvage these strips as they are cut to 39 LED's each. If cut away the damaged LED's from the start of each strip, I will have 38 per side - too few! Once you cut the strips and then butt them together, there are at most four millimeters to work with when soldering. I can't get the solder to truly flow onto the LED's conduction pad. Do I need special solder? I'm using the same, ordinary lead operator's solder that I generally use for pinball projects. Mistake? Has it not got the right flux? I'm quickly feeling like I'm in over my head just because the soldering dexterity required seems exceedingly high.

A9E7D562-6F90-43A7-B446-89370CDC8E8C (resized).jpeg

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83C992E5-7A64-460B-BA9E-218A4A327DBB (resized).jpeg

Smaller tip - might be too hot too.

That might be lead free solder. So you'd have to suck it off first. No idea on flux, you might have to experiment.

LTG : )

Thanks, LTG, for your input.
Lead solder shown is from you.
I have just the one tip.
Do you have a spare fine tip I could use?

I have some extras, you can look through them and see if any fit your iron.

LTG : )

Tin the pads before you solder them together,I would as well put a strip of packing tape or similar on the backside of the strips after soldering to give it a little support

Not sure why you dont buy longer led strips so you dont have to bother with splicing them together?

You have to splice them together in order to get the effect.

You definitely need a pointed tip to be able to solder what needs to be soldered. Tin the pad and the wire first. Also, for the particular area you are working with, try to leave as much pad as you can when trimming the LED strips. If the adhesive is not too sticky, you can simply remove and trim those two LEDs off their individual strips. If the replaced LED strips start to separate from the frame, use a little dab of superglue.

1 Micro can easily run 4 channels, probably one gpio per strip, would need to figure out how to create 4 instances of the lib though but sure it’s possible.

Take two:

Thanks to all of you for your helpful comments.
I filed the tip of my iron into a true pointed tip and turned it down 40%.
I trimmed off the damaged LED's from the first effort and grafted a short strip onto each longer strip (repair visible). I also "cheated" the trim wherever I was making a butt joint to give me as much clearance as possible.
I did the work on a piece of stainless plate for ease of access. I will now transfer the completed unit to the frame.
The result is a bit ragged but perhaps it will suffice.
It will be exasperating if I get this into the game only to discover there's a break in either data or power. It will then come out I s'pose for take three!

DFBD2710-2440-48AD-865F-8C4C17EA8A7E (resized).jpeg

Oops!
Embarrassing mistake!
I cut out the blunder bridges with an X-acto knife.
Going to flash the code to the controller tonight and fire it up.
Odds are long that it will actually work, but I have to be optimistic!

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Question re: uploading code using Arduino IDE:

Okay, I have the software loaded and running. I have followed the link here to your code on github. Do I just capture/copy all the code and paste it into my Arduino IDE window, then upload it? I set my IDE software according to the tutorial so I'm assuming it will flash to my controller. Or do I ask IDE to search for a particular "Library"?

Developments, Good and Bad:

I cut/pasted the code into an empty IDE coding window, then saved and uploaded it to my Nano. IDE reported "Upload complete."

I plugged the stock Speaker Light Kits controller into the power supply and then a stock strip to the controller and it throbbed its way through the RBG gamut, so I knew I had power. I then substituted my Nano dongle for the stock controller and, rather than the throbbing, it appeared to be running the flame program on the stock strip. Very positive!

I then plugged my DIY kit connectors from each of the two speaker frames into the dongle using the supplied splitter.
Nothing. (Insert cartoon sound for deflation here.)

It looks like it's back to the drawing board for me. Perhaps I destroyed the functionality of the LED strips in my DIY frames when I surgically cut out the blunder bridges. I really don't want to have to start from scratch, but perhaps I do. I put about six hours into this effort so far, or the better part of my weekend. Oof!

Possible Short?

I had to use sandpaper vigorously to prep the backside of the strip. The solder was *very* resistant to flow there.
My worry is that I've created a short.
When I connect this frame/strip to power, the leads quickly start to get hot and the strip does *not* illuminate.
Do I somehow have power and ground reversed?
These strips are 5V on the "arrow" side and ground on the other, and my

29D7F8F3-EB65-4BD9-82AB-0A8CA1833C2B (resized).jpeg

Now I'm really confused.
Strip seems to revive if I peel a portion of it out the frame.

57559956-733A-469C-8ED3-0F3D914324D9 (resized).jpeg

A short or a break in continuity somewhere.

LTG : )

It's very temperamental. The strip will illuminate, but then go dark with the slightest touch, and within seconds after going dark the leads are heating up and I have to scramble to unplug the power. This is *not* a situation I can work with after the panel is closed and the game is being played! Must be a short, but I can't see where it might be happening. I s'pose I will have to build a new strip pair for the shorted side.
I get low marks on this project. Lots of time invested and still no success. I'm bushed! Still, I have learned a few things.

What’s your bracket made of? Metal? Maybe strip is shorting against the bracket somewhere? Break out your meter and find the wire causing the short. Put the strip back in the bracket, power off and test for continuity across the different solder points. Your pics aren’t great for diagnosing, but maybe when the strip is being moved, it’s shorting where your solder joints are.

Your finger is grounding it.

Something wrong there.

LTG : )

Good thinking.

Looks to be some bare metal right ahead of where he pulled the strip.

Something I've never thought about, but worth noting to avoid ever putting a strip (EDIT: of the lesser sort that I personally have on hand) on metal (contacts are indeed potentially exposed at the bottom of the strips I use).

**EDIT**: I see now my words here were too vague. I didn't mean to suggest that there should generally be concern with putting LED strips on metal (especially if a known product is intended for it). That was a rambling stream of consciousness in regard to the strips I personally have on hand, and how I interpreted the quoted post at a glance.

*****The products sold by DugFreez/Speaker Light Kits DO NOT have any such issue*****

Find better strips that don’t have pads on the bottom or put backing tape on them.

Thanks, all, for your input.

The frames are painted aluminum with no interruptions in the paint.

Strips have adhesive on the bottom and only have exposed contacts where one strip ends and another begins - perhaps once every yard or so. I had to scratch away the adhesive and then sand vigorously to expose contacts to solder leads to the backside in one spot to deliver power to the strip. In this frame, there are NO contacts on the strip bottoms that could short on the frame. To further insulate the strips from the frame, I used a layer of double-sided tape to help them adhere.

I would like to use my multi-meter to help me here, but I've never used it to find a short. I can use it to check continuity though so I will do some testing.

One more thing: one of my frames is working. It doesn't short. It's no less hacked up than the temperamental frame. The only difference between the two frames is that I didn't have sand the heck out of the back of the strip on the working frame as I just took advantage of that joint I mentioned above with the exposed contacts on the backside.

Signs seem to be pointing to cobbling together a new strip pair for the shorting frame. It won't kill me, but I'm out of gas for sure.

98F41BC5-6229-4071-A152-943AE959E0C3 (resized).jpeg

Let's see about shutting this down right now. LED light strips, if not tampered with and sanded on...do NOT conduct electricity on the back of them. None that I have ever bought do anyway. Maybe the low budget ones have an issue with that, but I've never seen it. The material of choice for LED light strips to be stuck to is metal (usually aluminum) light channels. This is not only safe...it is preferred as the metal works as a heat sink. Dispersing the small amount of heat they do put off and extending the life of the LED light strips.

I'm a bit touchy here as I have had "competitors" lie to try to ruin my businesses by making up tales about metal being a bad idea and dangerous with the LED light strips. Of course they also tried to trademark the name "Speaker Light Kits" years after I designed the product and had my website opened. That just shows what a class act those guys are. 1000s of my Speaker Light Kits have been sold since 2012 with the vast majority of them using metal frames. Besides a few stray shorts early on from the cut off connection areas of the strips coming in contact with the metal frames and blowing a couple of fuses.....it's been a non-issue. Now those connection ends are protected and checked.

Also....the metal frames I use on my SPIKE 2 Speaker Light Kits (which are being used here) are coated steel (not aluminum) and do not have any continuity to them unless you go digging a probe in them or scraping the edges or holes of the frames looking for a connection. The bare metal spot you are seeing in the picture is not a bare metal spot and I was wondering what it was myself. It looks like he may have stuck a piece of tape there or something. Now that I look at it....I'm pretty sure he put some tape there so he could make a visible mark to designate the bottom middle of the frame.

Sorry to be defensive about this, but I'm not looking forward to the "It's dangerous to stick LED light strips to metal " lie to recirculate again. Do a google search for "LED light strip channel" and you will see most of them are made of metal.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Whoa, hopefully this isn't actually directed at me...multiple insinuations of lying (responding to my post), while I merely responded to Lermods after looking at the strips I use (pictured below). [[EDIT: This was cleared up in the following posts, and I did indeed jump the gun on posting a vague/inaccurate statement]]

I'm no expert, and it sounded plausible (I confirmed nothing that he suggested).

I imagine the adhesive lining "may" be enough insulation (but I've had that fail before). Just noting that it was worth thinking about, but I doubt it would ever arise as I mostly use 3D printed parts.

If I were to assert anything false, it would be due to ignorance, not intentional lying.

I have absolutely no reason to want anything aside from the best for your business.

20210518_195141 (resized).jpg

Do you have both sides of your speaker lights connected to each other, but only one side works? If that’s the case, it’s not a short as that would take the whole thing out. Instead, it would be your power wire on that one side that has an issue. If it cuts out when you move the
Strip, it’s most likely a bad solder joint or a break in the wire somewhere.

Yes, it was directed at you...that is why I quoted you. You are the one that said:

and that is what I was wanting to respond to....so I did.

Don't misunderstand and think I was referring to you when I mentioned "my competition" that were telling people that using the metal frames were bad with the LED strip lights. They were doing that with intent to slander and sway people away from my product and toward their shoddy knock offs. I didn't think you had any ill intent with what you said...I just wanted to put a quick stop to it, as it's false. As I said, a google search will easily show the safety and advantages that using a metal backing for LED light strips has.

So no beef assumed from you and no beef intended with you. I just wanted to get the facts out there before any disinformation could take hold.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

...or possible damage to the light strip PCB.

I did question if the "competition" was referring to me. I've been buried in orders without a break since Oct. 2019, and that could only promote hope that everyone making mods is doing just as well (one of the first mods I ever bought in this hobby was from you--the RGB controller for my TWD before it was colored).

I believe I may have misunderstood what Lermods was suggesting, but what you quoted was what I thought was relevant in response to it (in regard to DIY--I would never expect a product from you to have an issue)

Sorry for any confusion or potential misinformation.

Well sorry about that...I was trying to address what you said about "worth noting to avoid ever putting a strip on metal", as nearly my entire business is putting and selling strips on metal.

I would hazard to guess if someone made a claim about how using 3D printed goods in a game should not be done and people should make note of that....you might speak up. That's pretty much where I stand on this. You mistakenly made a statement that could clearly hurt my business. One that others have said in the past for the sole purpose of hurting my business. So I wanted to clarify that what you said was incorrect.

I didn't think you were saying it with ill intent and I didn't mean to come off as accusatory. I just didn't want that, potentially business hurting statement, out there...without clarifying it and pointing out that using the LED light strip on metal is not a bad idea or an issue.

Doug (SpeakerLightKits.com)

Understood. I now see how that is a significant concern. I've added a note to that original post of mine to avoid any confusion.