LED Speaker and Cup Holder rings?!

[Detonate]

I'm wanting to upgrade the lighting in the boat during this spring.

LED lighting on all of the speakers and cup holders has been something I've wanted to do for awhile now.

We just recently remodeled our kitchen and did under cabinet lighting.
We have some left over that I'd like to use on the boat.

I can find lots of places that sell LED rings that already have the LEDs installed. Does anyone know where I can get the rings WITHOUT the LEDs???

Here are the lights we have:
HitLights High Density Weatherproof LED Lighting Strip RGB Color Changing 300 SMD LED

 

[Bruce]

I have seen cup holders drilled to install the LED into the holder without using a ring.

I wonder if you could have a glass shop cut them for you?

@JetBoatPilot, how much would you charge us to CNC cut rings out of lexan?

 

[txav8r]

You can get them at Earmark Marine Jim. I bought my speaker rings from them but made up my cupholder lights...as @maboat about my lighting. Here is a link with pics and some answers...
Who has mood lighting installed?

 

[txav8r]

Well, I link #17 in that thread, my post...but it linked something above that. Just scroll down to my post and you can see my lights.

 

[Cory]

Can someone that has the speaker rings and cup holder rings tell me how the LED strips are attached to the rings? Or better yet a picture?

I'm going to roll my own, but I'm not clear on the best way to attach the LEDs to the rings themselves.

 

[txav8r]

Cory, since you install the lights in the rings upside down, you have to use some super glue dabbed about every 3rd light or so, between the chips, to glue the face of the tape to the acrylic ring. There are more ways to do it, but I found a drop of superglue about every 1.5" the easy way. Earmark used silicone but they only used conformal coated and open LED ribbon. I prefer and have always used fully encapsulated and waterproof LED ribbon. And then I seal the ends completely so that it can literally work underwater. Is it totally necessary? Probably not, but a moist marine environment invites corrosion and corrosion will kill electrical stuff fast, especially the very thin 18ga wiring. Look at the link I posted and you can see the lights mounted in a speaker ring. You can also see how i did the cupholder lights.

 

[Cory]

Ok - I know the adhesive is on the other side of the strip, so that wasn't going to work. Superglue is workable, otherwise I was thinking of routing a channel in the arcrylic and putting the light strip in that.

How thick were your rings? 1/2 inch, 3/8ths? and it looks like you scuffed them up to make them "frosted"?

 

[txav8r]

@Detonate Jim, the strip is pretty much the conformal coated stuff, it is IP65, but it is not waterproof, IP68. I don't know if it matters that much, the stuff is cheap out of China on Ebay with free shipping. You can get the same IR controllers, power supplies, and remotes. You can always just order the other if they don't last. Also, a 1/2" reveal with a 1/2" roundover is nice on the surface mount rings. I don't know how the mount and reveal the can mounts, go over to Earmark and look at them, chances are, they have several boats in the shop being installed at any given time.

 

[txav8r]

Yep, grab your random orbital sander and get to work on them! Frosted difuses the direct light and makes it look more like a neon ring. The further inside and behind the speaker, the better the look. LED's are f'ing BRIGHT, you don't want to see them "direct"...but they make great "indirect" lights! You can just pull the adhesive off the back of the tape on the silicone encased, but the conformal coated is well stuck so just leave the paper backing on it so it doesn't get covered in dust and crap.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

@Bruce I am not sure, but if they were simple to cut and ordered in enough quantity they would not be much. We don't cut much Lexan but I can get it from my main supplier.

 

[Cory]

whats the consensus on cup holders? Ring around the outside or a puck in the bottom of the cup?

 

[txav8r]

I used 3/4" thick acrylic...? Now you have me thinking...I don't think it was 1/2", but I will check my notes when I get home.

 

[Cory]

Detonate - I'm going to order my arcrylic from e street plastics. Its a mail order house off of 30 east of Dallas. I'll cut the rings myself.

 

[Detonate]

You can get them at Earmark Marine Jim. I bought my speaker rings from them but made up my cupholder lights...as @maboat about my lighting. Here is a link with pics and some answers...
Who has mood lighting installed?

Very interesting way to do the cup holders....

I was looking at Earmark for the LED rings. They do already come with the LEDs though. I asked them about that and they replied that they are giving away the LEDs with the ring....

So I was just about ready to buy seeing that they were about $40 per ring. So I look up my style.. Ok, yeah... I'm style 9, I go to add it in my cart and Style 9 is +29... WTF? I'm sure there is a reason, but damn. Go from $40 to $70 per ring???
http://store.earmarkcaraudio.com/Xcart/product.php?productid=17752&cat=265&page=1

I'm thinking about going with Bulletlines. They have alway done me right in the past. I asked them if they offered the rings with no lights, and they do not. But he gave me a coupon code for 20% off!!!

 

[txav8r]

If someone can check my thread over at the other place...it says the thickness, I just can't remember now

 

[Cory]

Detonate, just for a reference point a 12 inch square of 1/2 inch cast acrylic is about $11. I figure I can make a speaker ring and a cup holder out of a 12 inch piece. $70 to cut a ring seems a little stiff.

 

[Bruce]

Cory, how will you cut them?

 

[Cory]

I bought a CNC machine. I just need to figure out how to use it.

 

[Cory]

But it would be pretty easy to do it with a router on a trammel.

 

[txav8r]

And easier way to do it Cory, is to make an MDF template, double side tape it to the acyrlic, and rough it out on a band saw or on with a jigsaw, but the band saw is safer and easier. Then use a template following flush trimming router bit with a bearing guide to flush trim to the template...makes a perfect ring. But if your cnc is capable and your tooling is good, that will be an even easier way to do it.