The Countdown to Maker Faire Bay Area is On!

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds

How To: Make LED-based “Neon” Signs

Art & Sculpture Craft & Design Furniture & Lighting Home
How To: Make LED-based “Neon” Signs

It’s always great to discover another John Edgar Park tutorial on the Adafruit Learning System. In his latest tute, John shows how he used Adafruit’s Flexible Silicone Neon-Like LED Strips and a Circuit Python-powered microcontroller (the Metro MO Express) to create very convincing-looking LED “neon” signs.

Here’s a brief video of the signage in action:

YouTube player

Conventional high-voltage, glass-tube neon offers a wonderful result, but it is a skill set and art form that few have access to. These neon-like LED strips offer similar-looking results for far less investment of time, money, and learning curve. And they’re programmable!

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. And he has a new best-of writing collection and “lazy man’s memoir,” called Borg Like Me.

View more articles by Gareth Branwyn
Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 30% off early bird ticket sales ends August 31st, 2023!

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Prices Increase in....

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
FEEDBACK