I really new to the DIY electronics...
So here is my dilemma...
I'm doing a Star Trek Fan Film and i need a schematic to light up LED's in a pattern...
I have 18 LED's the blink in a random pattern and 5 single LED's that turn on with 5 switches which also have a sound module attached and those 5 lights stay on... Also there is a solid Gel that Blinks on and off that has 3 LED's...
Here is a Link to a YouTube video of one...Star Trek Computer with Lights & Sound Original Television Series - YouTube
Thank You
I see your dilemma, but what is your question?
where to start? something specific? 
PS: you are going to hate having a sound module do the effects and recording it on camera, its better to do that in post process, even the TV show did that
why? well look at that youtube video, it may be awesome in real life, but on the video its mostly high pitched squaks recorded in a room
PS:PS: welcome aboard, you are going to have fun here being a creative type
Thank You...
My dilemma is I don't have any experience in prototyping...
I don't know where to start i have a Arduino Uno and I've tried looking on the net
to find out how to use it for this project BUT it doesn't tell you how to blink that many LED's
Thank You for your help,
Michael
do you already have an arduino? if not which one are you considering?
I have an Arduino Uno Now...
Start simple: get one led to blink on and off, without using delay()s. Learn the proper way up front and it will be much easier to get multiple LEDs working.
Look for "Blink without delay". All the code and circuit, etc, is provided for you.
in order to drive that many led's you may want to consider 3 of these (24 led's)
and reading over
the TPIC6B595N is a "high powered" version of the basic 74HC595 listed in the tutorial, in a nut shell you send it all your on off data, flip a switch (another arduino output) and boom
I have done that; that is in the first lesson...
What I need to know is how to hook them up from the Arduino to the board you know what pins to use there aren't enough pins for 18 lights how do i hook them up???
Also can you give an example of code that I can try and build off of???
Thank You,
Michael
Sorry you were posting while I was typing...
As the next step, I would recommend using a few of your digital pins to randomly blink a few LEDS, again without using delay().
If you have already done that, it may help to let people know where you are up to.
Sorry that is the only thing I have done so far is to make a LED blink that is all...
Very limited on electronics...
Ask me to wire a house I'm all over that...
jameskirk:
Sorry that is the only thing I have done so far is to make a LED blink that is all...
Very limited on electronics...
Ask me to wire a house I'm all over that...
Try getting 5-6 LEDS flashing randomly next.
Osgeld is giving you good information for final product, but if you are determined to do this yourself, starting off small and slowly building up will be much quicker than leaping into the deep end.
The other option is to go to Gigs & collaborations and ask someone to do it for you 
There are several ideas for a similar algorithm in this thread. Actual code in some of the later posts. You might be able to modify one of them to fit your needs.
If the LEDs only need on/off control then three TLC5916 chips is the easiest way. It regulates the current for you so you don't need any external resistors or anything (the TPIC6B595 mentioned earlier will need extra circuitry to make it work).
TLC5916 is probably easier to find, too. And cheaper.
Once the LEDs are working, you'll need a sound module, and maybe an amplifier. A WTV020 module would work well for this (search for "WTV020" on eBay). Be aware that they need a solid 3.6V power supply to work properly, see this thread: WTV020-SD-16P - Help & solution tree - Audio - Arduino Forum Ebay has little amplifiers, too, eg.: http://www.ebay.com/itm/170850491058, or just put a PC speaker with built-in amplifier behind the grill.
You'll need to do a bit of programming to get it to work. If you're not good at that you can ask around and find somebody who is.
Thanks for the info, fungus!
If you only need on/off control of lots of LEDs, then "charlieplexing" is a useful search term.
I think there's even a library over at the Playground.
AWOL:
If you only need on/off control of lots of LEDs, then "charlieplexing" is a useful search term.
Charlieplexing needs quite advanced programming to get the timing right with no flicker, especially when you're trying to do other stuff at the same time. Plus the LEDs are dimmer - not good on a film set with bright lights.
I wouldn't charlieplexing to a noob, the TLC5916 has a much higher probability of success.
jameskirk:
I really new to the DIY electronics...
So here is my dilemma...
I'm doing a Star Trek Fan Film and i need a schematic to light up LED's in a pattern...
I have 18 LED's the blink in a random pattern and 5 single LED's that turn on with 5 switches which also have a sound module attached and those 5 lights stay on...
You do know that's not what's happening in the video, though....right?
In the video there are 23 LEDS total, connected in three "groups" of 8, 8, and 7. And it just continually cycles from one group to the next. Which, is considerably simpler than what you're describing since you only need three "switches"/pins.
If you know it's different, and just want to design a 'better' one...that's cool. Just making sure you're not trying to exactly copy the one in the video.
jameskirk:
there aren't enough pins for 18 lights how do i hook them up???
...
Actually, there are. The pins labeled "Digital "Pins 0-13, AND the pins labeled "Analog" can be Digital Pins 14-19. So...that's 20 digital pins. But, you still wouldn't want to hook them all directly to Arduino. That would be a lot of current. Would need pins to connect to transistors to control the LEDs.
You could also always do something similar to the video, and group some of the LEDs together. Say, instead of 18 individual random LEDs...have 9 groups of two...or, 6 groups of 3...etc, etc... That would clear up some pins for the other lights.
Also, if five lights are either 'always on' or attached to five switches (not sure which way is intended from description)...they really don't even need to be attached to Arduino at all.
That's the way it is supposed to be the 18 are on 1 switch the second switch controls the Red Alert light and the 5 switches control the 5 lights above them...
If someone could help me setup the 18 LED's which i could control in patterns like maybe 4 or 5 lights in a random order that would be great...
Thanks for all the info you people are great...
do you have a breaboard?
if not you sould pick one up, they are fairly cheap and you can just plug stuff into them to make what you want, from there you get some chips, the one I mentioned or better yet the suggested TLC5916
once you have hardware then setting up software would not take too long, it could be up and running in a couple of weeks including waiting for the mail
then there is option B ...yea you could get someone to do it for you, but what about the next prop? you are subject to getting someone else to do it when you could do it yourself
back to design, how are you thinking of doing colors, a bunch of different color LED's, which gets into another topic (cause different colors require different maths), or all the same white LED's and gell's in front of the holes?
something to think about
There will be gels in front of the LED's...
All of them will be white with diffusion...
I need help with setting it up from the bread board to the Arduino...
Like wiring it with resistors and wire positions etc.