Ski Builders Forum

If you are getting rad and nobody sees it are you really getting rad?" I am only so rad but now I can make sure everyone sees me.

PROGRAMABLE LED SKIS - The skis have led strips built into the ski during layup. An accelerometer/gyro lets them react to what you do.



It has been a few years since I've posted anything. I've build a few pairs of skis but I've been busily building other things and haven't had as much time for skis. Up 'till now I hadn't had any problems with leaky vacuum bags but of course there is a first time for everything. I didn't get a good seal and couldn't find the leak. There was some pressure but not as much as the skis needed and things got a little delamy. Normally I would have junked them but since I had stuck them full of electronics I did what I could to salvage them.


I wired up an arduino to the skis themselves and programmed a script to flash the LEDs.

The wires are soldered to tee nuts just behind the bindings.

The battery pack and controller are small enough to fit in a pocket or backpack. I put a pushbutton in my front pocket of my pants that was big enough to press through the fabric.

I kept the controller separate from the skis so I could wire up different inputs. The accelerometer/gyro seemed like an obvious choice. Right now I just had it set so it would flash when it experiences sufficient force.

I'm going to give the whole thing another go and make some skis that actually ski well. I'm thinking of adding index-able LEDs for even more radness.

That is very cool!!
I have a LED set that I wanted to put in a longboard, but the controller I bought needs a lot of wiring.
I almost never get the opportunity to ski at night, otherwise I would also do something like that.

why not use a linear or rosette strain gauge rather than an accelerometer? that way you can just have a direct reaction to the varying resistance

edit: forgot so say, frikin cool idea!!!! Now you've got me thinking about a LEW, light emitting wakeboard

A quick phone-shot vid exploring the darker side of skiing:



I took them out earlier this week. Conditions were terrible and the skis didn't help. I had the hardest time not staring at the snow (ice chunks) underfoot. I can't wait for the next pair and some full moon powder.

Chrislandy: Lights in a wakeboard would be amazing! There are so many thing you could do with different sensors. Temperature sensing ski mood ring?

cool! Chuck says "I raise"

That's very cool!

Have you seen the ETT video of a "sound" snowboard? MP3 & sound generator linked up to a phone to use the G and gyro sensors

I thought of adding stuff to make epoxy glow in the dark but you took it to a whole new level!!

that one ski looks like Mace Windu's lightsaber!!! sick!!!

Nice Corellian Freighter Knights, but is she fast?



The next pair will have to make the lightsaber sound when they turn on.

On a warm day i went and shot 12 under par, then celebrated with a quick lunch, then hit the slopes,
When it suddenly hit me, The White Castle Runs!
This is the board that got me to the bathrooom in time.

She's fast enough for you, old man, what's your cargo?