Radio Channel Sign

[H2Opolo15 10]

So as the season draws ever nearer, I have been thinking about my radio channel sign to tune into my lights. What are some easy and creative ways to either make myself a sign, or buy a cheap one? I don't have a lot of time to go build one this year. But does anyone have any suggestions?

[fxdwg 10]

lots of ideas and posts here...

http://forums.planetchristmas.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11

but i just designed and ordered 3 coro signs from www.buildasign.com

you may want to check them out.

-T

[H2Opolo15 10]

What exactly is a coro sign? Haha :santasmileyitty:

[amcdonald307 10]

For quick and dirty, I bought 2 18ft rope light at Walmart and zip tied them on to a piece of chicken wire (or chain link fence) in the shape of "88.1 fm". This was a wife-and-kids project and took about 1/2 hour, after I gathered up all the materials. (And yes, we did pick 88.1 because it was easy to spell in rope light!)

Not as elegant as others, but I needed it very large (the letters are about 2 feet high) and "see-through" as it sits between the viewers and the display.

[H2Opolo15 10]

So I've been playing with buildasign.com and I am just looking for everyone's opinions on my possible signs. I realize it ultimately comes down to which one I want. But i'm just looking for what everyone else likes as well...

Edited October 28, 2009 by H2Opolo15

[RiscIt 10]

Of those I like this the best:

Though I still think those square things are too small to be seen. As it is, our 3' x 7' sign will have lights on seizure mode between songs.

[KBoas 10]

Try to keep your design as simple as possible. Have your lettering as large as you can get it.

[H2Opolo15 10]

KBoas, what is your opinion on the first two and last two?

[mnkyboy 0]

Of those I like this the best:

Though I still think those square things are too small to be seen. As it is, our 3' x 7' sign will have lights on seizure mode between songs.

Hey that design looks familiar!

[KBoas 10]

I like number 5. Try to increase the font size. I put the largest lettering I could on my sign. Here's a picture.

[ATTACH]24975[/ATTACH]

[jeffostroff 0]

One real important point to remember with vinyl signs is if you plan to back light it, do not print it onto regular vinyl, you must use a special backlightable vinyl. The sign shops can do this for you. I think I paid $45 for my sign. Alternatively, you can front light your sign with a good white LED flood light. Then I built the enclosure below out of parts from several different aisles in Home Depot.

Here is my sign, I had a graphics house put my design onto backlit vinyl and I buil the enclosure, and used 2 LED rope lights to back light it.

Edited November 3, 2009 by jeffostroff

[Josh.2008 10]

Finally finished my sign and plotted it. Here it is.

Now off to shop to built the frame and case to put it in.

[jeffostroff 0]

Josh, that is very very awesome! Ar eyou having it backlit? IF so don't forget to have them prin it on a amterial that can be backlit.

[sforston 0]

What is the best way to mount and achor a coro sign in the yard?

[jeffostroff 0]

If you go to home depot, down the mail post aisle, they have this black metal frame with 2 legs and you jsut mount your sin in it and jam it into the soil.

Real estate agents use to plant their signs in the ground. I think it's a 16x24 frame size.

[Tim Bateson 24]

What is the best way to mount and achor a coro sign in the yard?

There are any number of answers to this question. First decide: How handy are you & How much time do you want to spend on it?

For Halloween I took the simplest solution - I used the wire from an old political sign and pushed the wire legs through the coro, then used a solar spot light in front of it. If time permits (probably not) for Christmas I hope to build a back lite wooded frame.

[Josh.2008 10]

jeffostroff:

Thanks for the compliment. I am going to backlight it with rope light I think. I am building the box tonight to house it. I printed it here at my office on a plotter. It is a thicker than usual paper. I plan to smash the paper between two pieces of plexiglass that I am picking up today at lunch. Hope this works, just taking it one step at a time.

I am freaking out!!!!!!!!!showtime is just a few days away and I have a list of "to-do's" that seems to go on forever:eek:.

[jeffostroff 0]

For those of you who might do a simple frame, here is what I was talking about from Home Depot. I used this in 2007 while I was building my own fancy wood frame sign (photo was shot on a rainy night):

[jeffostroff 0]

Here's a few shots to give you an idea of how we built the sign enclosure. We used the 2 25 foot coiled up LED rope lights for back light, and used refelctive window film from Home Depot to bounce the light all over inside:

[B_Regal78 0]

Finally finished my sign and plotted it. Here it is.

Now off to shop to built the frame and case to put it in.

Before you send that sign away, here's some advice:

We had a sign made last year from a local sign shop. He suggested that we have the sign printed on clear transparent sheet of plastic and them either tape it or sandwich it between clear plexiglass. Today we were back to have the time changed. What he suggested this time is to have a sign made without the times (would serve as the background image) and then have a second smaller sign which would only have the times, no background image, just clear with text. The two signs would overlay each other in the sign box. That way, it would be even cheaper to change the times without having to reprint the whole background again. Does this make sense? The sign in the light box would be two layers, one with the background image and one that is mostly clear with only the times.

[eldoradoboy 0]

I had mine done 2 years ago at Fast signs... got it quickly and the lady helped me lay it out and design it.. and then I placed them in realtor frames... stays up and they done blow down... plus if the sign has to change its easy to keep the frame and get a new sign...

I light the signs with e BLUE spotlight... white was too detracting from the display... blue is easy to read, visible and doesnt make things too bright....

-Christopher

[selahangel 10]

Finally finished my sign and plotted it. Here it is.

Now off to shop to built the frame and case to put it in.

hmmm...where did you get the graphic????

Angel

[joeengler 11]

I just finished my sign for this year, just have to add the molding to hold the sign in. I made the sign from wood, attached letters to coro board, painted the inside with reflective paint and added rope lights to light it up.

[jeffostroff 0]

That looks sweet! Did you use LED rope light? It will run cooler, and draw almost zero current. But 2 regular rope lights using incandescant bulbs will draw about 2 A or more.

[eldoradoboy 0]

I use an LED MR16 flood to light each of mine.. uses less Juice and doesnt produce so mucxh light that it detracts from the display

-Christopher