Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:15 am

robotland wrote: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!

Forgot to point you to this possible source of LEDs
http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?sub ... tegory=147

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:21 am

Thanks, Crypto! I love those guys....the catalog is hilarious reading, too. I got to actually GO THERE (their outlet in the Chicago 'burbs) on my birthday last year- Godzilla toy voiceboxes! Toggle switches!! "EXPEDITE" stickers!!!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:24 am

DAng. We only get the Good Vibes outlets out here. No American Science and Surplus, no Archie McPhee, no Delphi Glass. . .

Oh the humility!

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:27 am

I was pawing at the TV screen last night, watching the Mythbusters "shopping show"....Three words: AIRCRAFT SALVAGE YARD.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 10:30 am

Where where?

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 11:29 am

The yard that they peruse must have been in NoCal somewhere....But the Big Momma of all plane graveyards is near Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, if memory serves...
For many years, I dreamed of a home/studio made from the fuselage of a B-52...I'd settle for some aluminum scrappy bits, now....Vicariously enjoying as others scampered around in Good Junk actually allowed me to tolerate the show "Wing Nuts".

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 11:47 am

We have the Sprouse Goose alone with Mig"s , Zero"s, AD Sky Raiders and a bunch other good shit. Riight here in my back yard

nickitasf · Post by **nickitasf** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:31 pm

hi,

i need to use about 30 feet of el wire for a custom. can someone give me advice if one battery powered inverter is enough to attach this amount of el wire or do i need to brake it up into smaller segments? how strong does the inverter(s) need to be?

thank you,
nicki

Tafkah · Post by **Tafkah** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:50 pm

Check out the inverter section at www.coolight.com.

And you can call or email them if you need advice.

Good Luck!

ThePikey · Post by **ThePikey** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:07 pm

It also depends on the inverter... any supplier will have a rating for how much wire each of their inverters can power, check that. Some say '1-5 ft' while others go up to 40 - 50 for just a simple battery pack. Shop around, there's other threads here with tons of links to places that sell the stuff.

jbelson · Post by **jbelson** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 4:55 pm

I have a tuxedo jacket that I lined with el-wire. Needless to say it is now play-fied. Does anyone know If I can dry clean it? the el wire was sewn on, so I'm not about to undo it.
I can unhook the inverters, thats no problem.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 5:24 pm

I know you can wash it (with inverters taken off, of course!) in a machine on the gentlest cycle you have. When it comes to dry cleaning, tho... I think it depends on the chemicals they use.

What I would do is take some insignificant garment first, sew a couple strands of hookable el-wire to it, make sure it works, send it through the cleaners (like a goodwill suit jacket or somesuch something equally inexpensive) and put it through. Then try it.

Worse case you'll melt el-wire all over the throwaway jacket, or you'll notice the el-wire will nnot work so well. But if it comes through fine, you can then run your tux with no worries. IF the el was shrinkwrapped well and tight, and as long as it doesn't dissolve in the drycleaners, I would think it would survive intact - after all, they dryclean polyester and all kinds of other plastics no problemo...

IF it turns out bad, you'll have to resort to either realizing you'll have to pull the el and resew it, OR resort to brushing the hell out of it etc to make sure you don't mess up the el.

Either way, PLEASE post trhe results so no one else has to wonder...

bb

Ranger Genius · Post by **Ranger Genius** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:32 pm

Make sure your shrink-wrapped joints are all good and tight. Maybe double-seal them with epoxy-lined shrink tubing or something. The water won't damage the wire or the casing around it, but if the phosphor inside gets wet it will go kaput.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 7:10 am

Future note: I like to cut off a sliver of high heat glue gun glue and stick it inside the shrink tubing before heating. Coats, seals, and makes things more playa and washing machine worthy.

jbelson · Post by **jbelson** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 10:35 am

Well, there are no joints really. I just used 2 10' lengths and the quick connector things. So the only opening is where it plugs into the inverter. And there is no shrink wrap at all. I sewed the el wire on by hand.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Sep 19, 2005 5:43 am

Just make sure the ends are capped tightly. I've noticed some failures in lengths of EL that have gone to humid locales, due to minute amounts of condensation- Doesn't take much, either. The very best scenario involves removing the wire before laundering. From now on, I'm designing lightup garments with the EL parts roughed out in surgical tubing (or aquarium hose) that the EL can slide into- The result can then be washed and the tubing blown out with a compressor and sportsball-inflation needle before reinstallation of the glowy stuff. Another advantage to this system is that you can swap out the color at whim....

ricochet · Post by **ricochet** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 8:21 pm

robotland wrote:Just make sure the ends are capped tightly. I've noticed some failures in lengths of EL that have gone to humid locales, due to minute amounts of condensation- Doesn't take much, either. The very best scenario involves removing the wire before laundering. From now on, I'm designing lightup garments with the EL parts roughed out in surgical tubing (or aquarium hose) that the EL can slide into- The result can then be washed and the tubing blown out with a compressor and sportsball-inflation needle before reinstallation of the glowy stuff. Another advantage to this system is that you can swap out the color at whim....

I thought I was the only one who played with that. Didn't use it for my jacket and hat, though. It's got too many jumpers between el-wire sections so it seemed easier to sew it on. Also, the clear tubing that looked best fits pretty snugly, so it can be a little tricky sliding a lot of wire in there.

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 9:06 pm

Mister Jellyfish Mister wrote:Future note: I like to cut off a sliver of high heat glue gun glue and stick it inside the shrink tubing before heating. Coats, seals, and makes things more playa and washing machine worthy.

One of the coolest things I saw on the Playa this year was Jellyfish doing this (sure, I am a geek...)

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:52 am

The J-Fish definitely gets Style Points for his soldering technique....Complete with "surgical mask" and pith helmet, it was like watching Albert Schweitzer himself operate on MiniMan.......Can't wait for ManTis to emerge!

jbelson · Post by **jbelson** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:22 pm

I ended up using DRYELL which is like dry cleaning in you own dryer. It worked pretty well. The el wire sill works, but the jacket got a little wrinkly.
I took the jacket to 2 dry cleaners that refused to clean my coat, so I had to go this route.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:05 pm

I just saw a solar carriage lantern at Costco. Didn't have a place to put it and no money anyway, so I didn't note the price. It's made of aluminum and is about 7 feet tall.

I noticed some of the sculptural solar lights are getting cheaper. They had a glow-in-the-dark gazing globe at Fred Meyer's for $20. Not exactly solar but holds a charge for a good long time. I'll probably snag it for my balcony at home but not sure whether I'll bring it to the Playa since it's glass and very snatchable. Would look seriously cool out in front of my yurt, though.

Almost · Post by **Almost** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:59 am

I've got a question for the El wire junkies out there

How much does the diameter of the El wire affect the brightness? I'm under the impression that the actual phospor center is the same size on all the wires and it's just the outer thickness of plastic coating that changes.

so is 5mm going to be all that different than say 3mm?

I'm just covering my dome in it, so it's not going to get a lot of movement, but I do want the maximum amount of light.

Is it better to go to a slightly smaller size and get more :) or pay the extra for the thickest?

Chai Guy · Post by **Chai Guy** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:07 am

If you're application requires that the El Wire be outside during the day, then you need to buy the thickest wire possible as UV light (from the sun) will damage the thinner wire.

Thin Diameter – 1.3 mm (0.05in) - for usages requiring flexibility
· General Purpose - 2.3mm (0.09in) - for common indoor usage
· Outdoor - 3.2mm (0.13in) - for outdoor usage
· Thick Diameter – 5.0mm (0.2in) - for applications requiring presence of the wire, especially when the wire is not lit.
· Double - 2.8 x 3.5mm (0.11x 0.14in) - for usages requiring long lengths

Atar · Post by **Atar** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:40 pm

I have absolutely no idea if this eBay shop has been posted before and I don't wanna go through 7 pages to find out to be honest. So here it is: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZglowQ2dstickQ2dpeople
A shop on eBay that sells 100 glowsticks for 0.01 dollar. They seem to have millions of them and I have absolutely no idea on how they could ever sell them profitable... Maybe they get a share of the shipping cost? Either way, go check it out if you want glowsticks

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:52 pm

They're probably trying to unload them because glowsticks are classified as drug paraphernalia by the DEA.

If you buy a bunch, be prepared for visitors...

Atar · Post by **Atar** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:55 pm

Then why not pay someone a couple hundred bucks and unload them at a chemical dump? Now you have to do transactions, email contact, billing, shipping. Seems to be a whole lot of hassle for 0,01 a pop....?

I guess if you're into charity it could be cool, but then just give them away or sumsuch.

And if they are clasified as drugs, why don't THEY get a visit?

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Fri Feb 10, 2006 4:58 pm

They might have, or they're afraid they will...I don't know where the seller is, and I have better things to do than plough through seven pages of something I'm not gonna buy anyway.

Atar · Post by **Atar** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 2:48 am

True, true.

Post by **AntiM** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:05 am

I've bought them in quantity on ebay and no one's bothered me ... that I know about anyway.

The quality and freshness vary widely no matter what the seller says. We give them away at night to folks who are otherwise dark. I get snippy when someone who is already festooned with sticks thinks I should give them more. Sheesh. May not bother this year.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:15 am

AntiM I have a bunch that I"ve aquired over the years. Happy to donate, if you feel like giving them out. If you're sick of that interaction, I'll find some one else...

Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

el wire in costumes

Washing el-wire?