Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 7:32 am

I sympathize. My wife ordered me NOT to drape myself with EL before we went out for New Year's dinner.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 8:03 am

robotland wrote:I sympathize. My wife ordered me NOT to drape myself with EL before we went out for New Year's dinner.

Yeah, yet if you did it anyway everybody would come up to her and tell her how creative and inventive her husband is. Still, we must keep the home fires burning too.

Got a new el wire costume project. Check it out at www.MutantVehicle.com/MiniMan.htm

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 11:19 am

Hey, Mr.J.Mr.! That's a cool idea! Regarding the voicebox- I found a (cheesy) one at a costume store around Hallowe'en time....you could be "an alien", "a monster" or, "your self".....
Just a thought- to save your lower back, maybe a sandbag or weighted "tail" to offset the lever-action of the puppet pipes would prevent your vertebrae from becoming a broken fulcrum.....And you'll have to rig one arm to drop prematurely....

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 1:28 pm

Heh heh! Yeah, maybe a big lead cock in front to balance the whole thing or we could just modify one of these:
http://www.jwin.com/04_Products/prodDet ... 1&cateL=16#

Talk about a center of gravity!

swampdog · Post by **swampdog** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:19 pm

I'm actually planning to get some orange highway coveralls to use as a base for EL wire pictures - I was planning to do MYSELF as the man (among other things) - (surely this has been done before?) (don't call me shirley)

The proportions would be funky, but it seems pretty easy. (btw, I'm planning to become an EL wire junky over the next few weeks, I may be coming to you guys for advice).

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 8:39 pm

Welcome to the crack house that is El Wire, Swampy. Great minds think alike as that was something I wanted to do on a black surfer's wetsuit, but the idea got supersized after I morphed it with Kernul Killbuck's puppet idea. I've only been to one burn, but I've never seen a picture of anybody trying to "be the man" and your idea will always be "on theme". Be sure and post some pic's for us to see.

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 5:05 pm

I just got cool blinky lights from HD that are emergency road flares! Thay are supposed to last 250 hours on 1 D battery. I am going to use them as dome markers. YeeHaw!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 8:57 am

Martiansky wrote:I just got cool blinky lights from HD that are emergency road flares! Thay are supposed to last 250 hours on 1 D battery. I am going to use them as dome markers. YeeHaw!

_
That will be great on top of a tower.

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:14 pm

A tower...hhhmmmm(ponders idea)

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:29 pm

Martiansky wrote:A tower...hhhmmmm(ponders idea)

_
I have a twenty ft tower. Hopeing put a 6ft. man on it. Don't need to dig eney holes to set it.

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:32 pm

I was thinking of somehow putting my blinky on top of my dome. It is a touch style turn-on light. But up on a pole would be neat too.

How did you make a 20' tower? Does it have guy-wires?

Otisserie · Post by **Otisserie** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 7:41 pm

robotland wrote:BLINKY UPDATE:
I finally finished moving the studio, and have busted out the blinkies. New Project: Project Pro-ject, testing projected light onto walls, surfaces, insides of things....

Last year I got a simple kit with 5 LEDs that blinked in various patterns and simply replaced the stock LEDs with ones that project their light. By adjusting their aim I made a necklace pendant that projects a light show on the person you are dancing with. Just be sure it's aimed low enough that you're not projecting into your partner's eyes.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 5:09 am

Nice idea! I'm going to create a rear-projection light show for the top dome of The Snowman, simulating his "thought processes".

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:43 am

Martiansky wrote:I was thinking of somehow putting my blinky on top of my dome. It is a touch style turn-on light. But up on a pole would be neat too.

How did you make a 20' tower? Does it have guy-wires?

If you're still going for the "frequency 2 default on 10' conduit" dome, then you'll only need another dozen-or-so feet to get twenty if you start from the "roof"- We did that the other year, running three sticks of conduit up in a tripod with a beacon on top. (The bases were bolted to three of the five vertices of the top pentagon.) Very stable, and gives you something to hang on to while standing on your dome!

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 10:04 am

Did you have any trouble wrapping your dome with tarps with the extra tripod on top?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 10:16 am

I actually made custom panels for the upper dome AND tower.

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 10:26 am

You rawk, Robo!

I can't wait to see your head projector thingy! Sounds saweet!

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:21 pm

Man... I've really got to start learning about LEDs. Hmmm...

Martiansky · Post by **Martiansky** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:24 pm

Me too!
Those LEDs that Otissere was talking about sound very interesting!
I'm starting with glow bracelets and some el wire for now.

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:36 pm

Just not enough time in life to do it all, huh?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 5:47 am

I finally started a Half-Finished Projects shelf in my studio. (They used to just go...well, EVERYWHERE.)

LeChatNoir · Post by **LeChatNoir** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:11 am

Haa... I like it. Kinda like ostracizing them, causing the other finished projects to look upon them with disdain.

Oh the shame... you’ve got to help them robot... poor little unfinished projects. They need your help to not be shunned any longer.

Great idea, man... I think I’m make use of it myself. I think I’ve got an empty outbuilding I could use.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 7:41 am

What I SHOULD do is make SEVERAL shelves. And put them on either side of the studio entrance, so it's a "Walk Of Shame".

....unfinished projects OUTBUILDING? Dear God, the SCALE of it all!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 8:11 am

I have a wooden model ( still in the box ) of 06's project. Plan to break it out when i get back from 05.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 8:48 am

That's it. I give up.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 8:10 am

Starting new BLINKY projects! A new source of illumination, gleaned from the clearance rack at a nearby adventure store- A series of the replaceable bulb-cartridges from compact book lights, wired together to provide even illumination to a glowing orb that sits atop my domes.....Camping places seem to be slowly phasing out lots of incandescant lights as LEDs get better, and we Widgetmaking Wunderkinds can only stand to benefit!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 8:32 am

Heck, we bought two desk lamps (to use as bedside in camp reality) with 20 leds a piece this weekend. "The world I growed-up in is gone."

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:24 am

Where'd you get the lamps? I picked up one of those little "puck" under-the-cabinet LED lamps to play with, and was powerfully underwhelmed with its output despite its having 12 white diodes....
There are LOTS of red or amber clusters out there, in the automotive section.....The ones designed to replace taillights are nice and compact, and kick ass for brightness. You can also get packs of three or four "singles", ultrabright diodes with a foot or so of wire leads already connected. I used two of those to make the "ground effect" lights for my kilt......

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:30 am

Office Muck.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:24 pm

I'm there.

Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

or, simply

Crack House of El Wire

Light show on your partner