can you help with strobe lighting?!...

[skuba]

strange request, but i'm trying to produce a halloween style lightning strike effect. i was going to buy a mini strobe which comes with 5 - 20 flashes a second, but obviously that would be a bit too uniform and not very realistic. i can't find a strobe that flashes randomly, so i was wondering if it would be possible to modify something like this?... http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/led-mini-strobe-n97jb

 

[Lectrician]

Wire a light fitting in series with a fluorescent tube starter. The starter wont last for a sustained period, but will give you nice random flashes.

 

[bernardgreen]

Disposable film cameras ( the ones you find at weddings for guests to use ) have a cheap but effective flash module that flashes when a contact is closed. The shops that develop the films were a source for these cameras from which the flash modules can be recovered. With a few you can have flashes from different locations.

The random generator would be the problem. A bit of electronica such as a Raspberry Pie processor and a few reed relays to operate the flash modules

 

[EFLImpudence]

i can't find a strobe that flashes randomly

 

[JohnW2]

i can't find a strobe that flashes randomly

Do I take it that your point is that if flashed randomly, it wouldn't be a "strobe" - or did you have something else in mind?

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

No, that's it.

Unless Simon disagrees.

 

[endecotp]

Can you solder?