Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:29 am

I went to Faerieworlds Festival this weekend. One of the vendors had some of those battery tealights in lanterns outside his booth. Looked very cool, even though the light coming from them immediately identified them as technological.

I'll be picking up a passel at Hiron's for my own camp lighting (ambient, naturally).

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:30 am

MikeVDS wrote:I'm looking for amber(ish) colored flashing LEDs. The ones with the blinking circuitry built in. They sell them individually at Fry's but I know I can find a better deal, especially in larger quantities. Anyone know a good place I can find these?

I know I can do the circuitry to make normal LEDs flash, but I'm grouping these together. Because of the "random" nature of the separate circuitry, the indirect light looks like flickering flames. If you know a better way I could make this effect, I'm open to suggestions.

\/
Check out a large auto parts for trucks.. Or LED road barricade flashers..

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:16 am

Walmart is closing out some of their LED stuff here.
I don't know if this is universal.
The Brinkmann 1 watt luxeon for $11, a very good price, though not as good as the 3 watt Brinkmann sold at Target for $30.
I also found a Garrity 1 watt, also for $11.
This is supposed to be a luxeon too.
The light pattern isn't quite as good, but okay.
It does have a rear battery pack with AAs instead of AAAs which are on both Brinkmanns.
The Garrity also has 3 small LEDs and two red LEDs.
When the red ones are in use, there is a rear one on the battery pack too.
The buttons on the Garrity are the worst I've ever seen, undetectable by touch or sight in dim light.
They are useless for a touch-on light too, which works great on the Brinkmann.
The 1 watt has a dimmer on the Garrity too, though it is a crude resistance style.
There may be other items on closeout too, that weren't at the store I went to.

JediDale · Post by **JediDale** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:14 pm

Fantastic YouTube post about the glowsticks! I may have to go get a blender
just to try to see what happens with different colors!!

Genuinely,

JediDale Of Reno

vootman · Post by **vootman** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:59 pm

Hello everybody.

As a continuation of Hoolie's question above, can anyone tell me approximately how long the batteries will last in a 2 AA inverter powering 8 feet of EL? I guess there's the question of alkaline versus rechargeable nimh too.

Thanks.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:59 am

(Somewhat late reply)
I just dug out a strand of EL that was still running from the playa, though somewhat dimly, if that answers your question. Generally, "blink mode" makes 'em last even longer although that seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me...seems like the startup/turnoff energy curve would be steeper. But then, I'm a sculptor and NOT an electrical engineer. (At least, I don't THINK I am....)
TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT ENTIRELY:
Go to your local newsstand and get (or just look through) the Hallowe'en special issue of MAKE magazine...it has some really fun stuff, including how to create a "scanning LED module" that can be used to make your own CYLON JACK O'LANTERN. Yeah!

bigbluedoggy · Post by **bigbluedoggy** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:01 pm

Not meaning to sound snarky with this, but I have been amazed at the number of people speaking up on here to the effect that they do not like to have themselves illuminated at night as it disturbs their vibe or some such. I'd rather have a blinky light on top of my head than be a speed bump for some art car or bike going too fast. I don't get it.... why do people not see the reason for this? Oh well.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:54 pm

robotland wrote:(Somewhat late reply)
I just dug out a strand of EL that was still running from the playa, though somewhat dimly, if that answers your question. Generally, "blink mode" makes 'em last even longer although that seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me...seems like the startup/turnoff energy curve would be steeper. But then, I'm a sculptor and NOT an electrical engineer. (At least, I don't THINK I am....)
TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT ENTIRELY:
Go to your local newsstand and get (or just look through) the Hallowe'en special issue of MAKE magazine...it has some really fun stuff, including how to create a "scanning LED module" that can be used to make your own CYLON JACK O'LANTERN. Yeah!

Usually the battery discharge is steady for a blink mode but lower.
It may not always be that way though.
Usually power used for blinking is lower.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:57 pm

Does anyone know if hokey spokes can be synced to the wheel speed so that it appears you are standing still or going backwards?

Rat Bastard · Post by **Rat Bastard** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 12:53 am

Wow, what a marathon of reading. I even skipped a few pages. I have a question for y'all. Which illuminates it's surroundings more? El wire or LED rope? I need help with ideas on re-lighting my MV. You can take a look at this link "http://www.flickr.com/photos/libidoloun ... 0081030844"

Currently I have 150' of 12v incandecent rope light on it which is barely enough. A 250 watt load too. I do plan to put a smaller pully on my alternator and/or add a second alternater/battery system to it. I have a pretty beefy car stereo system installed so I'll need to save power.

My thoughts are to either replace the rope light with LED or El wire. Whichever shines more light. Some parts would need to be lit directly and the fabric would be backlit. (I'll be adding more fabric to the front end too). Another thought was to use the MR16 LED lamps throughout.

I'd like to hear some people's ideas on a powersaving lighting sceme on a budget for my MV. I'm starting another thread called MV lighting tips to keep discussion focused also.

Thanks in advance.

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:37 pm

RB: I just happened to have both this past year on a small scale. I had an LED rope necklace powered by button cells.. guessing I would say it had 10-12 LED bulbs. This was really bright and highly visible. I had some EL plug and play wire with 2 AA batteries and while it looked nice on my camelbak it was nowhere near as bright. Funny thing is the rope necklace cost me about 10 bucks and the EL cost 15 bucks. I also had a bunch of those Walgrn LED "glowstiks" and while some crapped out on folks 3 of the 4 I kept for myself lasted all week long.

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:50 pm

As for higher luminescence, it's LED's over el hands down.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:29 am

For lighting the shape of a vehicle, I suggest bouncing light onto the side of a vehicle.
12V fluorescents and HID are also options.

I'm going to put together some tent kits with LEDs.
Fluorescents are far brighter by wattage, but when you need low levels, the LEDs are much simpler and work very well in cold.
If anyone out there wants to do a group purchase, we could save some money.
I'll be using 1 watt and 3 watt Luxeon LEDs.
They have a very wide angle light spread unlike small LEDs so they don't need a lens.

I will be using a battery pack that runs to LEDs that can be hung from the ceiling.
If I can find a PWM, they can be dimmed, but I haven't found one.
I will use switching to go to lower power LEDs for dimming.
I can post details, if anyone wants to make these.
They will be very simple.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:01 pm

Some new version LEDs are out claiming much higher output.
Reliability and availibility remain to be seen.
145 lumens is claimed and there is a tri unit claiming 540 lumens.
The brighter one is on the expensive side though.

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:53 pm

gyre wrote:If I can find a PWM, they can be dimmed, but I haven't found one.

Making a PWM is not that hard. If you can wire the LEDs and make them work, a PWM is not much harder. You should be able to find an application note on a 555 timer that would fill your need. If you need more information, let me know.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:28 pm

Any suggestions are welcome.
I want an efficient setup without going overboard.
I think the pucks are dimmable but with an inefficient resistor design.
That induces color shift as well as using power.
I found a tech sheet that may be helpful at luxeonstar.com.
I think the LEDs are fairly flexible on frequency.

The tricolors can be infinitely color shifted, I think.

stargeezer · Post by **stargeezer** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:31 pm

I am posting a link to an application note regarding the 555 timer. This has several reference designs and covers pretty much everything you wanted. If you need further help, let me know, but for now I am assuming you have enough experience given this information.

http://www.doctronics.co.uk/pdf_files/555an.pdf

Good luck

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:12 pm

This guy prefers fiber optics to elwire.
What do you guys think?

http://www.allyn.com/Bike_lighting.pdf

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:47 pm

Rat Bastard wrote:Wow, what a marathon of reading. I even skipped a few pages. I have a question for y'all. Which illuminates it's surroundings more? El wire or LED rope? I need help with ideas on re-lighting my MV. You can take a look at this link "http://www.flickr.com/photos/libidoloun ... 0081030844"

Currently I have 150' of 12v incandecent rope light on it which is barely enough. A 250 watt load too. I do plan to put a smaller pully on my alternator and/or add a second alternater/battery system to it. I have a pretty beefy car stereo system installed so I'll need to save power.

My thoughts are to either replace the rope light with LED or El wire. Whichever shines more light. Some parts would need to be lit directly and the fabric would be backlit. (I'll be adding more fabric to the front end too). Another thought was to use the MR16 LED lamps throughout.

I'd like to hear some people's ideas on a powersaving lighting sceme on a budget for my MV. I'm starting another thread called MV lighting tips to keep discussion focused also.

Thanks in advance.

Find yourself a big ass 150 amp Delco alternator from a mid 70's cadillac or buick. These are p/n 1117144, or 1117145, or equivalent. They are rated 110 amps at 2000 rpm, 150 amps at 5000 rpm. Keep the belt tight, or it will squeal and wear out very soon, keep a spare. One of these babies can stall a cold 13hp diesel!!! Oh, and use big wire from alternator to battery bank..

Rat Bastard · Post by **Rat Bastard** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:43 pm

My plan is to get a 200 amp one and mount it in addition to the original. It's still cold out. I ain't workin on that truck till it gets warm out dammit!

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:51 pm

Perfect for the playa: Make a wind-powered LED from a VCR motor and a pinwheel:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- ... -of-a-VCR/

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:01 am

http://sublimestitching.com/tools.html
Last item on the page. I've ordered today, so I'll give it a test on how bright it is and how long the glow lasts when it gets here.

Not Sure · Post by **Not Sure** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:41 pm

very cool phil once in awhile i see something that seems simple and easy to make the world better

Mister Jellyfish Mister · Post by **Mister Jellyfish Mister** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:09 am

phil wrote:http://sublimestitching.com/tools.html
Last item on the page. I've ordered today, so I'll give it a test on how bright it is and how long the glow lasts when it gets here.

Nice find, Nick. Let us know how they perform under your scrutinizing lab tests!

vic · Post by **vic** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 1:50 pm

I am looking for a source of inexpensive LED flashlights. What I have in mind are hand-held, small flashlights similar to the expensive, key chain ones sold in camping stores.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:58 pm

Someone had some they ordered out of hong kong for $1 to $1.50 in a small quantity.
Be sure to check battery size and if they can be replaced.
I'd get a sample first.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:14 pm

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1253

It's a start...

Burning Garlic · Post by **Burning Garlic** » Thu Jun 12, 2008 6:20 pm

Vic, check out fenix-store.com/index.php?cPath=22_69_49

the E01 lasts a long time on a regular AAA battery

oleg8888 · Post by **oleg8888** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:44 pm

pepperlime wrote:I was looking around for solar-powered lights to fit this year's theme (and my personal sensibilities) and found this neat water bottle/lantern sold at thinkgeek for $25:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/91e8/

I found one of these on my art car in 2007 BM.
Was it yours?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 11:28 pm

I found these profiles designed to hold elwire in exposed locations such as stair treads.
This might be very useful for the side of a vehicle or other places where mounting it without destruction is difficult.
http://www.elam-lytec.com/accessories.asp

Glowies, Blinkies, UVies & Other Illuminations

To ibdave!

Group Buy? Luxeon LEDs?

Re: Group Buy? Luxeon LEDs?

Fiber Optics for Bikes and Clothing

Glow in the dark embroidery thread

Re: Glow in the dark embroidery thread

Looking for LED flashlights