RGB LED Suspenders

[waxpraxis]

I totally forgot to post this when I made this a couple of weeks back for the DC burners Naughty Snowball 3 (which was AWESOME!)



They are just work suspenders covered in what JoAnne's called "sherpa wool". Underneath the fuzzy stuff are two 1/2m strips of RGB LEDs. The little pack on the back holds an Arduino and the battery pack. You can check it out a video of it in action here:

[maryanimal]

Those are awesome. You said you make them??

[waxpraxis]

Yep. Inside the backpack is an Arduino Uno and a battery pack. Hot glued to the suspenders (before the wool was put on) are LPD8806 RGB LED strips (I got mine from adafruit.com). I just took a 1m strip and cut it in two and wired the two together in parallel. The code is a modifed version of the AdvancedLEDBelt example that AdaFruit provides. I just changed some of the effects, slowed it down a bunch, and dialed down the brightness.

[maryanimal]

How much does it cost to make? I'm interested in possibly making a set for myself. Feel free to pm me if you wish with the details!

[waxpraxis]

It really depends on where you buy all the parts. The easiest, though most expensive route would be to get AdaFruit's LED belt kit ($60) - http://www.adafruit.com/products/332

The suspenders were $10 and I think the "wool" cost me around the same.

Then you'd have to slice the LED strip in half and rewire it like I have. You can get additional 4-pin JST connectors from adafruit as well, you'll just need to wire up a Y-splitter.

[Andrewh]

I got my LPD8806 digital RGB LED strips for 117 bucks, it is exact same as you find from adafruit.com, but they only sold by spool, not by meter.

[kiss-o-matic]

Sweet. Looks like someone w/ dick fingers (me) could even make a pair.

[dijon]

Hi Branden would you please share your modified code? I'm trying to do modify advancedledbeltkit to do simple things like slowing it down and replacing colors also. Probably making a vest, maybe shoes! Thanks for the inspiration. These strips are amazing.

[kiss-o-matic]

Not sure if you're checking this thread,waxpraxis, but in case you are:

1 )What adhesive did you use to apply the LED strip(s) to the suspenders? Did you check to make sure it can withstand the heat? All I've been able to find is that some adhesives will become unsticky "if it gets fucking hot". Last I checked, the desert qualifies as fucking hot.

2) How did you make the Y-splitter? Do you just split the wires in the ribbon thing that (usually) attaches to the PCB?

[darcitananda]

those are so badass!