Seven Segment LED

[Brian]

I was wondering if anyone knew of a Seven Segment LED which can been seen in daylight.

I have been asked to build a Timer for hours and minutes for tee ball games. I would like to have the numbers fairly large so they are visible from a distance and bright enough as well.

I have looked at 5 inch and 7 inch but not sure if they can been see outside. I only need three digits.

Or is there another more visible solution for the digits.

Just thought I would ask and see if anyone had done this already. I feel I can do the hardware once I come up with the best solution for the digits.

Thanks in advance.

[Archangel]

Hi Brian,
Since you need only 3 digits, it might be less time consuming to make your own, using as many hi brightness leds as you deem needed. Shading the display helps a lot too, either by using a hood over it or by recessing the display from its bezel surface.
Medium Density Fiber Board (MDF) is readily available, cheap, easy to machine.
It's what a lot of sign makers use, If you do not wish to fabricate it a sign company could do that for you, and in fact might be a good resource for commercial displays.
And now I am thinking they might "sponsor" your effort for putting their logo on the back, or even your employer might.

[kellyseye]

check also the requirement for digit height at given distance to enable it to be read clearly - there are charts that specify the minimum character heights.

As mentioned, there are no cost-effective 7-segment displays of 'large' size but using discrete LEDs (ultra-bright) will work if the viewing angle isn't too excessive. I've also seem electro-mechanical displays using dots (dot matrix) and segmented (7-segmented) that operate by rotating fluorescent coloured 'panels'. These can be found on some surplus websites.

I found this lot after a one-line web search http://evilmadscience.com/productsmenu/partsmenu/107-sevensegment

[Brian]

Yes I had found that one. It looks good. Expensive but good.

I also read the thread where the epoxy style would be better for outside.

Thanks for the ideas guys. As always I appreciate all the help.

[Amoque]

I am thinking that LCD is the way to go in sunlight (I'm not sure just how big you need--i have some single 2") or perhaps a video overlay onto an old VGA monitor... You could watch highlights between innings too!

I looked at mechanical "Flip" type displays, but the mechanics of this method seem very involved.

[Demon]

Ultra-bright LEDs are the way to go for outside applications, just look at new vehicles.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5959/dsc01334id9.jpg

You might want to consider 12V ultra-bright LEDs.