Halo Letters

[3Dsigns]

Yes, Grimco sells the exact same thing I'm wanting to try...
http://www.grimco.com/Catalog/Products/HanleyLEDFlexStripSeries

 

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

You will most likely be okay. The thin reel tape stuff LED's is the worst, but it will be a good learning experience for you to witness those types of LED's first hand rather than use it for a paying customer.

Why is it terrible?, because LED's do create a lot of heat unlike the myth that they don't, and like most computers and electronics, heat is the enemy.....the brighter the LED, the more heat. Thin strips do not dissipate heat very well, and putting this tape reel on plastic or HDU, well...you're not going to dissipate heat. My suggestion would be to cut out alum strips or sections and mount the to that to prolong the short life. I would also have this sign on a very short timer to prolong life.

Hanley is okay, it's Chinese, and the only thing that is has going for it that it's Constant Current, BUT...it still is Chinese, and that's the part you can't get away from

 

[MikePro]

we've done it a few times, and our best results came from hollowing-out the HDU, inset aluminum with welded studs, fill with LED's, polycarb backcover/lens attached to the studs.

 

[3Dsigns]

Thanks, I knew some people were using hdu in the construction because I saw some really top-notch ones in SignBuilder magazine using HAD and they mentioned "acrylic" too. I figured this, like the polycarb you mentioned, would not only help seal the back from the elements, but would help to diffuse the light more evenly. no?.

 

[3Dsigns]

This is the main sign, I'm in the process of building, for my business. The lettering will be 2" thick 15lb HDU. The background panel will be sandblasted 2" HDU with acrylic latex topcoat and 23k gilded inset border. I was originally planning to spotlight it at night, but now I'm wondering how it would look with blue LED's for a halo effect around that main panel and possibly the main copy. What do ya think?

 

[signage]

That is going to be a nice sign!

 

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

Like what you saw in the Sign Builder that caught your attention is great, but like most sign shops they run a marathon and poop out at the end. By this I mean poor planning and most importantly poor components on their part that light a sign but real awesome sign structure. If you're going to go that length I would suggest real LED modules and some alum pan reverse channel letters with your HDU laminate faces to give it that 3D effect/look. This way you're not using that cheap Chinese LED tape, the LED's can breath.

Where are you? Ahh, high humidity, moisture and heat.....in Florida, all the things electronics hate and will fail.

STAY away from the cheap stuff, your sign displays confidence at glance during day time but you don't want to convey "stay away" when it comes to night.

LED blue is no where near the brightness of Neon Blue because of phosphors and light output and one thing to thing about the reflection and background that might cause a low output light halo

 

[3Dsigns]

Hey, I'm with you on the better components. I'll do some study on that and also on what it would take for me to get "UL certified". But on second thought, I may just hold off on putting LED's in my monument sign. For one thing it's light-colored copy on a darker background and spotlights will probably do it more justice. But I already have conduit stubbed up in the poured foundation just in case. I will be running a #12 UF cable to the sign, from the shop, for spotlights and most likely will pull a wire up through the conduit to the center of the monument and leave it disconnected until I decide to use it. I may sell or lease the place one day and somebody might want to mount EMC's or something to it.